The occasion was the Otago Aerobatic Championship and the quirky titles described nifty moves by about 15 pilots who took part in the two-day contest.
Two-time national aerobatic champion Ivan Krippner,
of Wanaka, was one of those competing and he said the Cromwell airfield was the perfect venue.
''We like Cromwell and they make us feel welcome. The weather is great and the airfield boundaries are 1km by 1km - which is perfect for competition as that's the size of the box we have to fly in.
It's uncontrolled air space and it's a pretty cool place to have a contest like this,'' Mr Krippner said.
One of the event organisers, Southern Lakes Learn to Fly flight instructor and aerobatics instructor Trevor Cray, of Wanaka, said the ''fun weekend'' was aimed at aviation enthusiasts and also intended as a lead-up to the national aerobatics championships at Waipukurau, at the end of next month.
''It's aimed at showing what you can do with aircraft like this and getting people along who might be interested in aerobatics training. We take people up for a fly with us and within half an hour they're doing a loop and a roll,'' Mr Cray said.
The pilots were competing in three sections, primary, sportsman or advanced, and had to complete set sequences involving loops, rolls, stall turns and spins.
''Flying is supposed to be fun and this certainly is. You're getting up there and being free, doing some cool things, which makes it pretty special,'' Mr Cray said.
''I think aerobatics should be part of all pilots' basic training because it teaches you things like spin-recovery, for the worst-case scenario. After aerobatics training, you're a safer and better pilot.''
Potential pilots could begin training at any age, he said. Although people might view aerobatics as ''thrill-seeking'', it was actually a very ''controlled'' activity.
The national championships were made up of three main elements. One was a set sequence pilots were given about a year in advance, so they could practise.
Pilots could also demonstrate their ''freestyle skills'' if they wanted.
Another element of the competition was an unknown sequence, which pilots only received the night before the event.
