|
45
z
z
zzzzz
e
This year’s Red Bull Air Race
World Championship began in
mid-February in the United Arab
Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi, with
the first of eight planned tourna-
ments between fourteen pilots of
high-speed single-engine aerobatic
aircraft. Whoever earns the most
points among them in the overall
standings will be crowned world
champion.
Contestants compete to record
the faster possible flight time
through a course set with ski-slalom
style gates composed of 25-metre-
tall inflatable pylons. The course is
set over water in all competitions.
The planes reach speeds of up to
370kph, flying at dangerously low
altitudes over water, making the
race exciting for spectators.
The World Championship was
launched for the eighth consecu-
tive time in Abu Dhabi, a city that’s
home to many fans of motor
sports. Locals have already grown
accustomed to enjoying the antics
of these aerobatic pilots each
February. Abu Dhabi is a city that
loves speed, so it is understand-
able that every year, in addition to
traditional Formula 1 and Power-
boat Formula 1 races, it also hosts
a race between aircraft. They even
endeavoured to build the world’s
fastest roller coaster in a local
amusement park.
The race circuit for the Red Bull
World Air Championships is around
five kilometres long and competi-
tors must pass through seven gates.
The pylons representing the gates
are a specific technological ad-
vancement, as they must simultane-
ously be very delicate – collapsing at
the slightest touch of a plane’s wing
– and must also remain upright in
windy conditions.
The race was won by Britain’s
Paul Bonhomme, a former triple
world champion. He completed
the course in 57.7 seconds, only
eight-tenths of a second faster than
the runner-up. These figures best
demonstrate how equal the best
pilots are, and that they have almost
perfected their flight path through
the gates.
