Saturday, May 07, 2005
Peter Besenyei and Red Bull Air Racing
My video yesterday was of a fellow who could fly very low, upright or inverted. Well, the fellow's name is Peter Besenyei.
Peter Besenyei was born in Hungary in 1956. From an early age he gravitated to aviation. At age 20, he entered his first aerobatic competition, and has been involved ever since. He is a World Champion, and has invented many of his own maneuvers. He also has a very fertile mind, as you will soon see.
If you’ve been to an air race or merely seen one on TV, you know the usual drill. A half-dozen or more pilots fly 10 to 12 laps around a three-to-nine-mile oval pylon course, and the one who crosses the finish line first wins (usually). That’s the way most air races have been run for nearly a century. Airplanes fly at high speeds close to the ground. Now, there is something new in air racing. The Red Bull Air Race World Series is quite different from conventional air racing. Sponsored by Red Bull Energy Drinks, the series was introduced in Europe in 2003 with only a half-dozen competitors, but it was remarkably successful, and the whole concept was the product of Peter Besenyei's imagination.
Pilots fly individually against the clock on a tight, 2,000-meter course that keeps most of the action directly in front of the crowd rather than several miles away. Competitors must fly a specific attitude (usually knife-edge or straight-and-level) between five sets of inflated pylon gates that stand only 60 feet tall, meanwhile maneuvering through a slalom-style course. Distance between the twin rubber cones that comprise each gate varies from 33 to 45 feet, depending upon the difficulty of the entry and exit maneuvers. Despite the tight course, racers typically reach speeds as high as 250 mph on some diving recoveries. Competitors are also required to execute specific maneuvers during the flight, usually a four-point roll, a two-of-four-point vertical roll, two low-level knife-edge passes in opposite directions between two pylons and a 11/4 vertical roll-up followed immediately by a touch-and-go landing on a specified section of adjacent runway. The latter sounds almost impossible out of a near-vertical dive, so Besenyei made it even tougher. To compound the difficulty, the runway touchdown mat is only 39 feet long, and penalties are assessed if the aircraft touches ground outside the center 12-foot target zone. Peter has a very "diabolical mind".
Red Bull kicked off the series in 2003 with two events, one in Austria and the other in Peter Besenyei’s home country of Hungary. In 2004, the schedule included three races, two in Europe and the third in the U.S. The first of the 2004 events was held in June at Kemble Air Day in Gloucestershire, U.K., the second in August at Budapest, Hungary. The latter race attracted several hundred thousand fans who lined the banks of Budapest’s Danube River to witness a wild race on a course that demanded a flight beneath the city’s famous Chain Bridge. The final race of the season was held in conjunction with the world’s premier racing venue, the 41st Annual National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nev.
For 2005, there will be 7 races, with the first one already concluded, being completed in Abu Dhabi in April. The next race is June 12 in Rotterdam. Check the "dish", and "check" it out.
Super Final Results - Abu Dhabi
1 Peter Besenyei HUN 1:36.67
2 Steve Jones GBR 1:44.22
3 Mike Mangold USA 1:45.50
4 Nicolas Ivanoff
(Speakers on for all!!)
VIDEO AND IMAGES -See the Rotterdam race course, Abu Dhabi highlights, and an interview with Peter!
VIDEO -Peter at work!
VIDEO -More Peter! Love the "tail-slide"!
(Red Bull also sponsors SUPERMOTO Motorcycle racing!)
INTERACTIVE SITE! -This is a great site, lots of info!
RED BULL AIR RACE and SUPERMOTO
Peter Besenyei was born in Hungary in 1956. From an early age he gravitated to aviation. At age 20, he entered his first aerobatic competition, and has been involved ever since. He is a World Champion, and has invented many of his own maneuvers. He also has a very fertile mind, as you will soon see.
If you’ve been to an air race or merely seen one on TV, you know the usual drill. A half-dozen or more pilots fly 10 to 12 laps around a three-to-nine-mile oval pylon course, and the one who crosses the finish line first wins (usually). That’s the way most air races have been run for nearly a century. Airplanes fly at high speeds close to the ground. Now, there is something new in air racing. The Red Bull Air Race World Series is quite different from conventional air racing. Sponsored by Red Bull Energy Drinks, the series was introduced in Europe in 2003 with only a half-dozen competitors, but it was remarkably successful, and the whole concept was the product of Peter Besenyei's imagination.
Pilots fly individually against the clock on a tight, 2,000-meter course that keeps most of the action directly in front of the crowd rather than several miles away. Competitors must fly a specific attitude (usually knife-edge or straight-and-level) between five sets of inflated pylon gates that stand only 60 feet tall, meanwhile maneuvering through a slalom-style course. Distance between the twin rubber cones that comprise each gate varies from 33 to 45 feet, depending upon the difficulty of the entry and exit maneuvers. Despite the tight course, racers typically reach speeds as high as 250 mph on some diving recoveries. Competitors are also required to execute specific maneuvers during the flight, usually a four-point roll, a two-of-four-point vertical roll, two low-level knife-edge passes in opposite directions between two pylons and a 11/4 vertical roll-up followed immediately by a touch-and-go landing on a specified section of adjacent runway. The latter sounds almost impossible out of a near-vertical dive, so Besenyei made it even tougher. To compound the difficulty, the runway touchdown mat is only 39 feet long, and penalties are assessed if the aircraft touches ground outside the center 12-foot target zone. Peter has a very "diabolical mind".
Red Bull kicked off the series in 2003 with two events, one in Austria and the other in Peter Besenyei’s home country of Hungary. In 2004, the schedule included three races, two in Europe and the third in the U.S. The first of the 2004 events was held in June at Kemble Air Day in Gloucestershire, U.K., the second in August at Budapest, Hungary. The latter race attracted several hundred thousand fans who lined the banks of Budapest’s Danube River to witness a wild race on a course that demanded a flight beneath the city’s famous Chain Bridge. The final race of the season was held in conjunction with the world’s premier racing venue, the 41st Annual National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nev.
For 2005, there will be 7 races, with the first one already concluded, being completed in Abu Dhabi in April. The next race is June 12 in Rotterdam. Check the "dish", and "check" it out.
Super Final Results - Abu Dhabi
1 Peter Besenyei HUN 1:36.67
2 Steve Jones GBR 1:44.22
3 Mike Mangold USA 1:45.50
4 Nicolas Ivanoff
(Speakers on for all!!)
VIDEO AND IMAGES -See the Rotterdam race course, Abu Dhabi highlights, and an interview with Peter!
VIDEO -Peter at work!
VIDEO -More Peter! Love the "tail-slide"!
(Red Bull also sponsors SUPERMOTO Motorcycle racing!)
INTERACTIVE SITE! -This is a great site, lots of info!
RED BULL AIR RACE and SUPERMOTO
