Red Bull Air Racing - WOW!

[Monster Dave]

Here are some pics from the recent Red Bull Air Race that took place in Europe - this has to be one of the coolest races to see! Has anyone ever gone to one of these races?

[hankthe8th]

I went when it was in San Francisco two years ago. (3 years ago?) It was pretty cool. Highly recommended. Smoke on.

[SheMonster]

Isn't there a member on here who flies in that?

[gojira]

Reno has comparable races every year in mid-September. Not sure if sanctioned or part of the Red Bull circuit, but they're still kewl nonetheless.

A friend of mine is part of the RareBear crew. These guys are nuts.

[gojira]

Info on the Reno races here.

[DCXCV]

Saw the one at San Diego this year - it was pretty cool.  I'd recommend it if you can get to one. 

Couple of shots:

[Ash]

i too was there in SD this year and it was teh awesome.  worth going for sure!

[MrFryMoto]

i wanna go!

[Triple J]

I've seen the Reno ones a couple times. Friggin' cool! 

[Monster Dave]

I've seen the Reno ones a couple times. Friggin' cool! 

It just looks amazing!

First evolution - Air Racing


Second evolution - Pod Racing


Third evolution - Speeder Bike Racing


Fourth evolution - to heck with air, I'm going retro digital:

[il d00d]

I went to the one in Budapest in 06.  It was Awesome.  Unfortunately, I picked the wrong bridge to stand on, so I had to watch the second half of the course.  The first had the planes starting by flying between the bottom of one of the Chain bridge and the Danube.
I am not sure of the format at other locations but this was pretty much an all-day affair.  The opening act to the race was a parade of planes of various vintage - this was capped off by a commercial airliner virtually buzzing the crowd.  This actually freaked me out a little bit - there was a very 9/11 vibe to that stunt.
Then, just prior to the race, there was a stunt plane expo, which was incredible.  As far as I can tell, the the object of stunt flying is to end up in a situation that would normally be fatal to lesser pilots.  And then just effortlessly fly out of at will, like, whatever fiery death, up yours.  I think this was one of the guys flying that year, Zoltan Veres

[Monster Dave]

I wonder how many G's those guys pull?

[DCXCV]

I wonder how many G's those guys pull?

They pull over 9 on some of the maneuvers - sometimes over 10.

[Oldfisti]

They pull over 9 on some of the maneuvers - sometimes over 10.

Dang!

[Ash]

they weigh almost nothing (less than a light car) and have over 300 HP... it's amazing to watch them change direction!