Final project - Red Bull

The red bull air race championship event was officially launched in 2005, which is approximately nine years ago. It has gained much hype over the years and is now a globally renowned sport. Between 2005 and 2010, the red bull organization had already conducted 45 thrilling races in iconic places all over the world, locations such as London, Abu Dhabi, Budapest, New York, Perth, Barcelona, San Diego and Rio de Janeiro (Thomas, 2009).

The planes that are used in the red bull air championship are designed and built to perfection so that they may be as agile as possible. This is because the competition is a combination of exhilarating speed, extreme maneuverability and low altitudes. The aerial race tracks that are used are specially designed. They are end products of extensive evaluation and research. The current sophisticated pump-up pylons that are used as air gates are the results of evolved pylons which were first developed in 2002. They are safer and are constructed to be robust. In case of any pylon burst or hit, they can be easily repaired and pumped within minutes. The race teams in the previous years had the mandate to modify their planes in whichever way they wished but in 2014, the propellers and engines were modified and standardized for all teams. This was done to ensure that no team had an added advantage over the others (Thomas, 2009).

Some of the planes which are used in the event include: the Edge 540 Zivko Aeronautics from the United States (Planes, 2014). It is an aggressive one-seater air craft which is already famous amongst the pilots participating in the championship. The specification of the Edge 540 V2 are;

LENGTH: 6.3m                                WINGSPAN: 7.44m

ROLL RATE: 420°/sec                    CLIMB RATE: 3,700ft/min

TOP SPEED: 425.97kph (230kts)                 MAX G: +/-10G

WING DESIGN: Symmetric, carbon fiber

MXS-R

This plane is famous due to the kind of technology it possesses. It has a flawless design and is praised for being aerodynamically efficient. Some of the specifications it possesses are as follows:

LENGTH: 6.51m                  WINGSPAN: 7.32m

ROLL RATE: 420°/sec        CLIMB RATE: 3,500ft/min

TOP SPEED: 425.97kph (230kts)      MAX G: +/-12G  

 WING DESIGN: Symmetric, carbon fiber

Corvus Racer 540

This plane is relatively new but has already attracted massive attention. It was designed in 2007. Most of the parts in this plane are made out of carbon fiber.

LENGTH: 6.57m                           WINGSPAN: 7.4m               ROLL RATE: 440°/sec,

CLIMB RATE: 4,300ft/min         TOP SPEED: 444kph (240kts),  

 MAX G: +12G/-10G                     WING DESIGN: Symmetric, carbon fiber

2005

This was the year the red bull world air race championship was launched. The race consisted of 10 pilots who were battling it out in seven different races. The races took place in, San Francisco (USA) Abu Dhabi (UAE), Rock of Cashel (Ireland), Longleat (Great Britain), Rotterdam (Netherland), Budapest (Hungary) and Zeltweg (Austria). This was from 8^th April to 8^th October. Mike Mangold, an American, was the winner in 2005. He won by 36 points while Hungary’s Peter Besenyei who emerged the first runners up had 32 points (Thomas, 2009).

2006

In 2006, there were eight races and eleven pilots battling it out for the championship title. The races took place in: Barcelona (Spain), Istanbul (Turkey), Abu Dhabi (UAE), San Francisco (USA), Budapest (Hungary), Perth (Australia), Berlin (Germany) and Longleat (Great Britain). This was from March 18^th to November 19^th. This time, the title was won by Chambliss who accumulated a total of 38 points.

2007

In 2007 thirteen pilots participated in the championship. However, unlike in the previous years, the calendar was extended to include ten races. The races took place in London (Great Britain), San Diego (USA), Istanbul (Turkey), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Perth (Australia), Monument Valley (USA), Porto/Gaia (Portugal), Interlaken (Switzerland), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Budapest (Hungary)  from April 6^th to November 3^rd. Mangold reclaimed his title in 2007 as the red bull air race champion after a close battle with Britain’s Paul Bonhomme. They had the same points and the winner was decided by a tie breaker. 

2008

Twelve pilots were involved in the race in 2008. The races took place from April 10^th to November 2^nd .The race locations were Perth (Australia), Detroit (USA), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Budapest (Hungary), San Diego (USA), Porto (Portugal), Rotterdam (Netherland) and London (Great Britain). Hannes Arch from Austria became the first European to win the championship.

2009
In 2009 Bonhomme won.  The races took place from April 17^th to October 4^th. Four rookies were added into the competition including the first Australian, first (something is missing here) and first Canadian, Matt Hall, Yoshi Muroya and Pete Mcleod respectively. Matthias Dolder a German was also new in the competition. 

2010

In 2010, Bonhomme became the second pilot to claim two titles in the process equalling Mangold’s record. The races took place from March 26^th to August 8^th. The locations for the races were: Abu Dhabi (UAE), Perth (Australia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Ontario (Canada), New York (USA) and Lausitz (Germany). Arch’s eleventh place finish in the first stage in Abu Dhabi proved costly as it made him the first runners up despite winning four of the six races.

 

 

 

2014

In 2014, after a three-year break, the Red Bull Air Race World Championship returned bigger and better.  There were a number of safety and technical improvements, including the changes of the material and height of the lightweight pylons and the standardization of propellers and engines for all of the participating pilots (Stanton, 2013). There is no doubt that the sport has been taken a notch higher and is now better than ever. This year the challenger cup was introduced in the competition. The challenger cup was a new avenue for the young pilots to sharpen their aviation skills. The 2014 race took place as from February 28^th to November 2^nd. The locations were, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Putrajaya (Malaysia), Gdynia (Poland), Ascot(Great Britain), Dallas (USA), Las Vegas (USA) and China. Nigel Lamb, a British pilot won the red bull air race challenge 2014 for the first time by 62 points. Hannes Arch came in second with 53 points and Paul Bonhomme third with 51 points (Stanton, 2013). 

2015

Russia and Japan have been added to the venues of the 2015 red bull air race world championship. The 2015 season will commence on February 13^th – 14^th in Abu Dhabi (UAE), the second stage is going to be held on 16^th – 17^th May in Chiba (Japan) then Sochi (Russia) on the 30^th -31^st May, the fourth stage will be in Budapest (Hungary), then on the 15^th and 16^th in Ascot (Great Britain), sixth stage will be in Spielberg (Austria), then Texas (USA) and end in Las Vegas (USA) on the 18^th of October 2015.

 

 

References

Planes. (2014, November 18). Retrieved from RedBull: www.redbullairrace.com/en_INT/article/planes

Stanton, C. (2013). Red Bull air race returns 2014.

Thomas, S. (2009, May 1st ). History. Retrieved fro m Redbull: www.redbull.com