(SCROLL DOWN FOR THE AEROBATICS VIDEO) Mark Jefferies was one of the participants at the Volkel in de Wolken airshow, I had a little chat with him.

Mark is best known for winning alot of aerobatics championships in all classes. Mark got his PPL(Private Pilot's Licence) in december of 1980 and almost immediately started with aerobatic flying. Mark was also part of the Aerostars display team and still does solo display flying to this date.

When did you catch the flying bug?

Mark: "I guess when my dad took me up in a Tiger Moth at the age of 7 from Marshals a/p Cambridge."

Mark entered his first aerobatics competition in 1984, in 1985 he won 5 of the 6 contests he entered in a from spare parts built, Bucker Jungmann. Mark went on to win the National title in the advanced and unlimited class on 10 occasions. Besides the already big achievements, Mark also won a bronze medal at the Advanced World Aerobatics Championships, which is quite an achievement as there is very tough competition.

Was aerobatics something you knew you wanted to do even before you had your PPL?

Mark: "I guess so, during my PPL I took great interest in being able to control the a/c, even doing spinning on an early solo flight much to my instructor's shock!"

And what made you start entering aerobatics competitions?

Mark: "I was challenged once at a fly in to an aeros contest, so the bug caught me then in 1984."

Besides flying, Mark also runs a thriving business where he sells planes, mostly Russian planes like the Yak-52, Yak 3 and even the L-29 jet, the company's name is Yak UK, which is based at Little Gransden, close to Bedfordshire, Great Britain. Is it hard to run a business and combine display flying?

Mark: "The business operates from Monday to Friday and gives me time to make bookings and Saturday & Sundays for approximately 4 months are very busy with shows, approx 50 per year."

There was a small mishap in 1998 were Mark and Clive Daverson were flying an L-29 jet to Great Britain, where they were intercepted by a SU-27 after having to deviate to Kaliningrad due to severe snowstorms. The SU-27 tried to blow them off course by it's wake. Due to Mark's skills as an aerobatic pilot, he avoided disaster in which the SU-27 almost crashed.

Mark shows great skills when it comes to aerobatic flying, his displays always look dazzling. One sometimes wonder how you keep from getting dissoriented.

Mark: "Well blue is always up and brown is down ! Admittedly fast rolling is confusing but with practice you can keep up with the a/c."

Below you can see how dazzling his display is, a video showing his display at Volkel in de Wolken.

You used to fly the Extra-300, what's so great about the Extra 330sc you fly now in comparison to the Extra-300?

Mark: "The full control ability below stall speed with the larger more aerodynamic efficient controls."

The strain on the human body with these maneuvers is big. G's ask alot of a person. How tough can you be on yourself as far as aerobatic flying goes?

Mark: "Extremely especially when training for a world championships, the G makes you so deeply tired and you have short term memory loss."

Mark has been active in the flying scene for quite a while, one wonders if he still has plans for the future.

Mark: "Currently I'm enjoying flying at shows around the world shipping my a/c to Asia and middle east recently. www.airdisplays.com then click world shows."

If you ever want a display pilot for your airshow or someone that flies at your wedding and you want it to be good, book Mark Jefferies. His display will not dissapoint you, they are very spectacular, but also show the skill that is involved in aerobatic flying.

A big thanks to Mark Jefferies for taking the time to do this interview.