A pilot from Steinbach claimed top spot on the weekend at the Midwest Aerobatic Championships in Nebraska. Luke Penner competed against more than thirty other pilots in winning his first ever competition, in the first competition he ever took part in.

Penner grew up in a family known for flying. The Penners own and operate Harv's Air south of Steinbach. Penner says his father Harv taught him how to fly when he was in his early 20's and

today he is a flight instructor.

Penner says he vividly remembers the first time his father introduced him to the world of aerobatic flying. They were in their Pitts Special Aerobatic Biplane, the exact plane he flew in last week's competition. Penner recalls his father performed a rolling manoeuvre, which means rolling the airplane 360 degrees and flying upside down. He notes looking up to see the ground was both unnatural but also "very right" about flying.

"It was something that definitely struck a chord in me and I'm much more comfortable and much more happy when I'm flying upside down than right side up," he says.

Today, Penner teaches aerobatic flying. He says spreading his passion is contagious.

"The thing that I like about it so much is that it's an expression of creativity," shares Penner. "Whereas other types of flying is more regimented in the sense that it just doesn't really allow you to express yourself fully."

He says aerobatic flying is the most physically demanding type of flying and requires the most precision because your life literally depends on it.

"It's really a connection between man and machine," he says.

Penner left for Nebraska last week without a coach. But he says within the industry there are a lot of experts willing to offer a helping hand. And that is exactly what happened in Nebraska. While there he connected with an off-duty judge who offered to coach him during the weekend. For two days leading up to the competition, Penner would take to the air, while his coach would stay on the ground and offer tips by radio.

Penner says Thursday and Friday were relatively calm days but then came Saturday, the day of the competition with winds of more than 40 mph. As a result, he had to compensate for the change in weather conditions.

As part of the competition, pilots must perform ten manoeuvres in only three and a half minutes. Penner says he had literally seconds to recover from one stunt before beginning the next manoeuvre. After completing his first flight, he walked to the scoreboard, hoping to have at least cracked the Top 5. To his surprise, he saw his name at the top of the list with a score of 88%.

"I had to do a double or triple take, I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing," admits Penner. "I thought this can't be real, how can this be happening it's my first competition."

The next day, Penner proved Saturday hadn't been beginner's luck and pulled off another high score, claiming first prize in his inaugural competition.

Penner will now spend the next few months practicing for what he is hoping is a trip to the U.S. National Aerobatic Championship in Texas at the end of September. He expects more than 100 competitors at various levels will take part there.

"If that goes well then next year I'd like to move up into the next category level, which is the intermediate level, which presents new challenges and new ways of flying as well," he says.