ELTONAS MELECKIS
Coach
Eltonas Meleckis – team coach and aerobatic flying professional from Tauragė, Lithuania. For a few decades he was an active aerobatic competition pilot and medal winner of World and European championships. His career as a pilot began in 1981 in Vilnius Darius and Girėnas aeroclub and ever since he dedicated himself to aviation: competing, teaching and coaching, mainly focusing on aerobatics. Eltonas is continuously flying for 43 years and has over 2000 aerobatic flight hours.
In his trophy collection he has 2 gold, 8 silver and 3 bronze medals from World and European aerobatic competitions, while also holding a record of becoming overall Lithuanian champion as much as 13 times in a row!
For 20 years (1991-2012) Eltonas have served in Lithuanian Air Force, where he retired in rank of lieutenant colonel.
Moreover, E. Meleckis is an official national and international aerobatic judge with experience of being a judge assistant at the World Championship in the United States (2013). This experience is especially valuable in preparing the top levelaerobatic pilots, while looking from the perspective of both the coach and the judge.
Currently, Eltonas is still actively involved in aerobatics, working as the coach of Lithuania's national aerobatic team, flight instructor at Vilnius Darius and Girėnas aeroclub, as well as an official representative from Lithuania in the FAI Aerobatics Commission (CIVA).
Commission (CIVA).
ANTANAS MARČIUKAITIS
Adviser
Antanas Marčiukaitis – aerobatics professional from Kaunas, Lithuania, who started his career in 1981 in Kaunas aeroclub, doing flight training on Yak-52 airplane. From 1983 to 1985 did his training on L-29 military jet trainer and upon leaving the army in 1986 he fully focused on aerobatic flying. Now he is one of the most experienced aerobatic pilots and instructors in Lithuania.
During his active years in aerobatic competitions, he was a member of the Lithuanian national team and successfully competed in the “Unlimited” level World and European championships. Antanas is not only the highest-level aerobatic pilot but also a highly qualified aviation technician. In the aviation community, he is well known as a "Red Bull Air Race" technician and pilot, where he took part from 2008 till the end of the project in 2019.
While already accumulated more than 1500 aerobatic flight hours, today Antanas continues to fly as a test pilot and aerobatic formation pilot. He is also working as a flight instructor and is always open to share his priceless experience with those who are seeking to be at the top of this sport.
KAROLIS MANELIS
Technician
Karolis Manelis – pilot and engineer from Vilnius, Lithuania. Since childhood Karolis have been interested in sports and everything that had an engine inside such as go-karts, RC models, motocross and other.
This passion has brought him to racing and engineering at auto and moto sports. After graduating the university at Aeronautic Engineering studies, he took part in maintenance and repair of an uncountable number of different planes.
His valuable experience and knowledge together with passion for technical sports makes him an important member of an ambitious team. Karolis does not only repair the planes but he flies them as well, holding a pilot license with more than 500 flight hours.
