Red Bull Races Come To the Big Apple
Last month, the City of New York and the surrounding areas were given a huge aviation treat. With summer just a few days away, the world’s best pilots competed in the 5th (of 8) leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Championships series. The Red Bull Air Races are a competition that is commonly referred to as “the NASCAR of the skies.” Only the best of the best the world can offer get to compete here. Previous competitions this year have taken place in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Perth, Australia, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and Windsor, Ontario. It was now New York’s turn and for three days the action would take place just a few meters over the Hudson River, with Lady Liberty watching in the Harbor. The scene was set here to see if Austrian Hannes Arch could do what only two other flyers in Red Bull flying history have done before; win a fourth consecutive Red Bull Race. With the New York temperature reaching the high 90’s, 13 flyers from 11 different countries came to New York to perform for the masses. Since there are no airfields over the water, the international teams needed to set up shop a few miles away at Linden Airport in New Jersey. It was there that the pilots and crew would work diligently on the final preparations for their aircraft. As the pilots worked with a make-shift course (comprised of colored Red Bull cans) in the back of the hangar to visualize the track, maintenance managers worked on their aircraft so that they could get the most of their aircraft. Team communication coordinators were putting together schedules and setting up media interviews for the pilots and their crew and all security at the airport were on full alert getting all their preparations ready as well. Emergency crews were set up strategically around the airport and hangars just in case. One can say that the atmosphere at this airport was different. I learned to fly at this airport known for building Wildcat fighter aircraft during WWII. However, for the first time in it's long history, and reporters from all over the world present, this uncontrolled airport had an international flair to it.
Yes, it did take a long time coming into a city that in the past has not had a high regard for aviation especially after 911. It would be difficult for anyone to believe this race could even take place at all. Especially for those who were here back on that day and have vivid memories of low flying airplanes crashing into OUR twin towers less than a mile from where this race would take place. Yet on this day there were hundreds of reporters from all over of the world at the race site and at the airport getting ready to write a little history. We all found ourselves at this tiny airport in Linden, New Jersey marveling at a new portable Red Bull Race tower, which was set up specifically (at both locations) for these races. We also made sure our laptops were charged in the press area and watched as the many digital TV screens were being set up around the airport and the viewing area. It was also here that we all got to see some fantastic aircraft like the Edge 540 and MXS-R racing aircraft, the preferred airplane for these races. It was a place to witness for the first time a new flying machine called the Corvus Racer 540 flown by Peter Bensenyei of Hungary. Some say this plane will be the one that everyone will be flying in the future. It is sleeker than the others and is a little faster as well.
As mentioned earlier, the pilots who compete in this World Championship series come from many different countries and truly represented the best that each nation had to offer. They are Great Britain’s current Red Bull Air Race season leader, Paul Bonhomme followed by Austria’s flying sensation Hannes Arch and at #3, Englishman Nigel Lamb. Behind them, former world champion, American Kirby Chambliss (#4) and Australian Matt Hall rounded out the top 5. Canada’s Pete Mcleod, Frenchman Nicolas Ivanoff, American Michael Goulian, Germany’s Matthias Dolderer, and Hungary’s Pete Besenyei follow them and the final five in this year’s world championships included Yoshihide Muroya of Japan, Russia’s Sergey Rakhmanin, Alejandro MacLean of Spain, Czech Martin Sonka and Brazilian Pilot Adilson Kindlemann. Three pilots did not compete in New York. Yoshihide Muroya and Adilson Kindlemann didn't make the trip and Australian Matt Hall did not compete in New York due to an incident that occurred in a previous race. It was just a month earlier in Windsor Canada that Matt created a stir. He unfortunately lost lift on one of the high G turns and grazed the water with both wings and the main landing gear. On his behalf, he did manage to recover the aircraft and fly safely back to the airport but as a result of the water impact, his landing gear was cracked. The race committee decided that he should not compete in New York. He was able to fly the course in training but was not able to compete pending a full investigation.
For anyone, who has not had the pleasure of witnessing the race up close, it set up like this. There are two days of racing at each event. Day one is the qualifying round. It is here where all 15 pilots compete in two races with the best overall top 10 times making it to day two. On race day there is a wildcard heat (not needed in New York) and two additional pilots get to compete making twelve for final competition. Heats continue until the final four pilots remain. In the final race, the fastest time determines who will finish first. 12 points are given to the winner of the race, 11 for second, 10 for third and so on... The actual track or course is set up usually over water (lake or river) miles away from where the pilots take off. Seventy-foot air filled Pylons or gates are used to set the course and pilots need to fly through the course passing between these pylons. You need to fly through these pylons either vertically (pylons painted red)) or horizontally (in blue) as fast as possible. The pounding on bodies of these aviators can reach or exceed twelve 12G’s and special G-suits are used to combat these effects. These G-race suits were introduced at the 2009 Abu Dhabi race. The problem here is that the high G environment is not sustained and is present for just a second or two. Since these suits are cumbersome and heavy, many pilots including American Kirby Chambliss don’t like them. "It’s already too hot enough in these cockpits and for the seconds of high G’s one receives. It would be best to grin and bear it for the short period of time we experience it” said Chambliss. However, Red Bull likes to have this additional safety feature and to date, there have been no fatalities in the history of this race.
Austrian Hannes Arch said “the course itself in New York was as tough as they get.” What made this course even tougher was that the participant is competing right across from the most beautiful skyline in the world and because of this these, small planes need to compensate for the air currents and wind tunnel effect that these buildings bring. This can make precision flying close to such buildings even more difficult than usual. Did I also mention that flying right next to Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan might also cause some pilot stress as well? It’s like a major league pitcher stepping on the grass at Yankee Stadium to pitch in the World Series. Flying in New York…It simply doesn’t get any bigger, better or high pressure than that. Rookie Czech pilot Martin Sonka summed it up best when he said “It is a big city, one of the biggest I have seen and that makes it even more challenging.”
As for the race itself, it was a close one with American favorites Michael Goulian and Kirby Chambliss entertaining the crowd and staying close with the front-runners. A controversial call by Red Bull air race judges put American Michael Goulian (improper gate entry) out of the running and the finals. It also looked like fellow American Kirby Chambliss would not be on the podium as well. The favorite for this race was Hannes Arch and he was well on his way to winning a 4th consecutive Red Bull Race when he hit a pylon on his last run and received a 6 second penalty. This moved Englishman Paul Bonhomme to first followed by countryman Nigel Lamb into second and for the second time this year, America’s own Kirby Chambliss took 3rd in front of a very happy crowd. Over 75,000 lucky onlookers were able to witness the final day of competition across the river in the primary viewing area located in Jersey City, New Jersey. The races were also televised on Fox Television and taped for a worldwide audience of over 100 million people.
In the end, Paul Bonhomme won the race, but the real victory belongs to the City of New York, The Red Bull Race committee and most importantly, the people of this metropolis who in the aftermath of 911, were able to see flying portrayed in a positive manner once again. Something that has not happened here in a very long time. On a more personal note, it was great to see this event take place in a city of this magnitude. By taking place in New York, it also gave added credibility to the race itself and also stirred up some real interest here in America. Many race fans, told this reporter, they would love to see the Red Bull Air Races return to the "Big Apple" in the future. I for one would be very much in favor of that.
Pete Trabucco has been a pilot in the New York/New Jersey area for 20 years and currently works for CRS Jet Spares out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
By Pete Trabucco