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Flying Into Writing: Huntington Beach Airshow: Never A Dull Moment
By Eric McCarthy
(Eric McCarthy)Wow! Just…wow! Does it get any better than this? Beautiful Southern California weather and a world-class airshow, on the beach – or, in my case, on a boat! Sponsored by Breitling – makers of exquisite aviation watches – and in just its second year, the Huntington Beach Airshow managed, once again, to secure a plethora of top-tier performers for the weekend show that benefits the Aerospace Education Foundation of Huntington Beach.
Last year, it was the USAF Thunderbirds and the Breitling Jet Team headlining the show, with a host of other military and aerobatic performers, including an F/A-18 Super Hornet Demo, and performances by John Klatt, Bill Stein, and, having just finished their Red Bull Air Race season the weekend before in Las Vegas, both Michael Goulian and Kirby Chambliss. An impressive lineup for their inaugural event, and with just a few months’ marketing, they drew over a half a million people!
This year? Well, they really outdid themselves with wall-to-wall entertainment kicking off at noon each day! This year, it was the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds that held the top billing for the show, with at least a dozen additional performers and demonstrations scheduled between noon and 4 p.m.
Red Bull Air Race 2015
By Ruggero Piccoli
The third act of Red Bull Air Race 2015 was held on May 30 and 31 in the city of Rovinji, Croatia. On the original planning, this race should be staged in Sochi, but during the first months of the year, the Air Race Staff faced financial and organizational problems in Sochi due to the situation of the international markets, as underlined by Erich Wolf, General Manager of the Red Bull Air Race,“Our partners in Russia are facing extremely high exchange rates. This makes it impossible to set up an infrastructure fulfilling our high standards and also to provide our fans with tickets at affordable prices. Nevertheless, we still hope to stage a race in Sochi in the future.”
By the way, Rovinji has been for sure a good alternative with its beautiful scenario. The small city is a well-known tourist site located in the central part of the coast on the Istrian Peninsula. Its pre-Roman origin and the beautiful waters of the Adriatic Sea make the city the second most popular tourist site of Croatia. Together with the success of last year’s race won by Arch who beat Bonhomme for just eight hundredths of a second, the narrowest margin of victory in the sport’s history, these have been good guarantees to bring the race again in Rovinji for the second straight year. The race in Rovinj, the first of four European stops, paid tribute to the rich aviation tradition in the region, which includes nearby Slovenia, Austria, and Italy. For Dolderer and Martin Sonka of the Czech Republic as well as for Arch, it was also a sort of home race.
The Pylon Place - March 2014
Red Bull Air Races are BACK!
By Marilyn Dash
Kirby Chambliss flying over Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Garth Milan Red Bull Content Pool)After a three-year hiatus to revamp and rework, the Red Bull Air Races are BACK! As someone who has seen four races in person and all of them via video, I could not be more thrilled.
Many things have changed, but some things have remained the same. The most important aspect that has not changed is the pilots. All 12 of the pilots are returning racers.
The UK’s Paul Bonhomme, the Red Bull Air Race World Champion for 2009 and 2010 is the early favorite to repeat. But Austrian, Hannes Arch who won in 2008 is also looking to return to the top. Both of these men are very competitive and have kept their skills up flying airshows and competition. American, Kirby Chambliss won in 2004 and 2006 and is always striving for perfection. Michael Goulian, another American returning pilot is ready to take it all.
Red Bull Air Race World Championship Tickets On Sale
Global Series To Bring High-Flying Action to Dallas/Fort Worth and Las Vegas
Tickets for the Red Bull Air Race World Championship season are now on sale, as the world’s fastest motorsport series returns to the skies at exciting new locations around the world after a three-year break. The 2014 schedule includes two U.S. based races, in Dallas/Fort Worth at Texas Motor Speedway on September 6-7 and in Las Vegas at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 11-12. A wide range of tickets – everything from general admission to Race Club hospitality areas with fine catering and the best views – are available with pricing starting at $39 for a weekend of high adrenaline racing.
The Red Bull Air Race World Championship features the world’s best race pilots in a pure motorsport competition that combines speed, precision and skill. Using the fastest, most agile and lightweight racing planes, pilots navigate a low-level aerial track made up of air-filled pylons 80 feet high at speeds of up to 230 mph. The competition is expected to be even more intense in 2014 as all 12 pilots will be using a standardized engine and propeller, intensifying the focus on pilot skill and precision flying through the high-g turns in the challenging race courses.
Tickets are now available through redbullairrace.com, ticketmaster.com, lvms.com, texasmotorspeedway.com and in person at both the Las Vegas Motor Speedway box office (800/644-4444) and Texas Motor Speedway box office (817/215-8500). Each ticket for the Finals on Sunday will also grant the ticket bearer access to Qualifying and the Challenger Cup on Saturday. Available ticket options include:
General Admission Weekend Packages - $39
Sunday ticket also grants Saturday access
Includes: open seating location (no assigned seats). Neon Garage and Hangar Walk (hangar area access at set times) can be purchased for an additional $25 (adult) and $19 (junior) at the venue on the day of the event.
Reserved Terrace Weekend Packages with VIP access - $59
Sunday ticket also grants Saturday access
Includes: front stretch terrace seats with excellent sightlines of the entire Speedway; wide, flip-down seats with cup holders and a private concourse with restrooms, concessions and elevator access; Neon Garage and Hangar Walk for both days.
Race Club Weekend Packages - $350
Sunday ticket also grants Saturday access
Includes: premium seats in the main grandstand; VIP Clubhouse Room access with food and beverage (Saturday and Sunday); Neon Garage & Hangar Walk for two days; an assortment of food and snacks served on Sunday (beer and wine will be included, in addition to soda and water); one VIP parking pass for every two tickets purchased; theater-style flip-down seats with cup holders; official event program; and special Red Bull Air Race pilot appearances.
Two-time world champion (2009 and 2010) Paul Bonhomme of Britain will lead a field of 12 hard-charging challengers from nine other countries in his quest for an unprecedented third straight title in the high-speed, low-altitude sport. The complete field also includes two Americans: Kirby Chambliss, who won the world title in 2004 and 2006, and Michael Goulian. The rest of the pilots include: 2008 champion Hannes Arch (AUT), Nigel Lamb (GBR), Matt Hall (AUS), Peter Besenyei (HUN), Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA), Matthias Dolderer (GER), Yoshi Muroya (JPN), Pete McLeod (CAN) and Martin Sonka (CZE).
Extremely motivated after the three-year break, the pilots have been training feverishly with their crews to get their agile and lightweight racing pilots in peak condition ahead of the eagerly awaited Red Bull Air Race World Championship season-opener in Abu Dhabi on February 28/March 1. The racing then moves on to Putrajaya, Malaysia on May 16/17, Gdynia, Poland on July 26/27, Ascot, United Kingdom on August 16/17, Dallas/Fort Worth September 6/7, Las Vegas on October 11/12 and China on November 1/2. More information is available at www.redbullairrace.com.
Red Bull Air Race World Championship Returns in 2014
Global Series Returns with Seven Races, Including Two U.S. Stops in Dallas/Fort Worth and Las Vegas
American Red Bull Air Race pilot Kirby Chambliss “breaks in” Las Vegas Motor Speedway with inaugural flight. (Garth Milan, Red Bull Content Pool )The Red Bull Air Race World Championship will be back in the skies beginning in February 2014 with a seven-race World Championship staged in six countries on three continents. Of the seven races, two will take place in the U.S. - Dallas/Fort Worth at Texas Motor Speedway on Sept. 6-7 and Las Vegas at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 11-12. Fans will be able to watch the entire seven-race 2014 Red Bull Air Race World Championship on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2, and can sign up to be reminded when tickets become available at
2013 Dayton Air Show
By Mike Heilman and Joe Gust
The 2013 Dayton Ohio Air Show was the site of the fatal crash, which ended the lives of wing walker Jane Wicker and her pilot, Charlie Schwenker. Wicker and her pilot were making their first appearance at Dayton in their modified Stearman. The aircraft lost altitude when Schwenker inverted the Stearman for a low level pass with Wicker sitting on the bottom of the wing. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it may take up to a year to find the cause of the accident.
The accident took place at the beginning of the airshow on Saturday, June 22. The airshow organizers cancelled the remainder of Saturday’s events. The spectators were informed that their tickets would be honored for admission on Sunday. This was the second accident in 39 years of the show. In 2007 Jim Leroy was killed when his Pitts crashed during the show.
Michael Goulian flying his state-of-the-art Extra 330SC over the Dayton Ohio Air Show. Goulian made is second straight appearance at the Dayton show. Goulian is the Air Show Industry 2012 ICAS Sword of Excellence. (Mike Heilman)The 2013 show went in the record books as the first all-civilian airshow in its 39 years of operation. The show organizers in 2012 moved the date to June to accommodate the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, but because of the federal sequester the Thunderbirds were removed from the show lineup. There were several large airshows that cancelled this year due to the military jet teams cancelling their participation in the 2013 season. The Dayton show officials decided to keep the date and to put on an all-civilian show.
Michael Goulian
A One of Kind Airshow Performer
By Pete Trabucco
Michael Goulian and author Pete TrabuccoIf you are like me, you love to go to airshows. To be able to see the best demonstration pilots from all over the nation (and sometimes from around the world) is truly a thrill for all to see. These pilots perform their magic at local shows and do things with an airplane that most of us would believe is impossible. Whether it is seeing those daring young men (and women) at Sun N’ Fun or Oshkosh, one can argue that there is no finer way or cheaper way (try taking your kids to a ball game these days) to seize the day and enjoy some of the greatest shows on earth! What these performers do on a daily basis does indeed defy the laws of physics as well as the imagination.
Chambliss, Goulian Blame Low Power Engines for Poor Season
By Kirsten Corrigan
The two American pilots in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship will be happy to draw a line under the 2009 season but neither former world champion Kirby Chambliss nor super focused Michael Goulian will be wasting a moment in the off season as they prepare to stake a claim on next year’s title. Chambliss finished 4th overall in the championship, making up for a slow start in the second half of the year, while Goulian had to settle for a 10th place result despite a career-first win in Budapest.