Posted by Flightline UK on September 23, 2009 under Red Bull Air Race | 
Heat is on as 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championship finale heads to Barcelona
BARCELONA, Spain – Britain’s Paul Bonhomme will try to clinch his first-ever title in the 2009 season finale in Barcelona on 3-4 October after seeing the crown slip from his grasp at the very end of both the 2007 and 2008 seasons. But Bonhomme will be feeling intense pressure from defending champion Hannes Arch of Austria, who is just four points behind, going into the climatic battle over Spain’s Mediterranean shoreline on the Front Maritim. In a thrilling race in Porto earlier this month Bonhomme topped Arch before a season-record race day crowd of 720,000. Spain’s Alejandro Maclean, who took a promising 7th place in Porto, will be hoping for an even better result and even bigger crowd when the Red Bull Air Race rolls into to his home country for the first time since 2006.
Barcelona is expected to be one of the most challenging races so far this year. With the track located on an open coastline, nature will play a role in the outcome. Sudden shifts in wind direction and ocean swells which could cause the Air Gates anchored to floating barges to rise and fall slightly will require the pilots to be extra vigilant in order to avoid costly time penalties.
Bonhomme, who leads the championship standings with 55 points, has been the epitome of consistency so far this year with 2 victories and 3 second place finishes. He has managed to stay at or near the top this year even at races when he did not have the fastest plane. After stalking Austrian ace Arch and his red-hot “silver bullet” Edge 540 through the first half of the year, Bonhomme finally moved ahead of him in the 4th round in Budapest. He then widened his lead from 1 to 4 points in Porto.
“I’ve been in this situation before and I can tell you that a 4-point lead is not a lot – especially when there’s 13 points available in Barcelona,” said Bonhomme. “It’s not a big gap so we’re still going to have to concentrate hard in Barcelona. It’s a very different course.” The track in Barcelona will be full of non-stop twists and turns that will put a premium on pilot skill in contrast to the sheer power that was required for the straight out-and-back course through the Douro River valley in Porto.
The Red Bull Air Race World Championship has grown even more competitive in its 5th season with the addition of 4 high-flying rookies. In Porto, newcomer Matt Hall from Australia got the first podium of his career with 3rd place, a record-breaking achievement that lifted the former fighter pilot from Down Under from 5th to 3rd overall in the championship.
Arch is relishing his new role as the hunter rather than the hunted since slipping behind Bonhomme with a season-low 4th place finish in Budapest. “Now I really get to put the pressure on and I will hunt down Paul in Barcelona,” said Arch, who has 1 win, 2 seconds, a 3rd and a 4th so far for a total of 51 points. “I have to attack. It suits me better. This game isn’t over yet. Paul is already feeling the pressure. The Barcelona track is better suited to my plane. I’ll go to Barcelona with the mindset of giving Paul a hard time.”
An estimated 1 million watched the 2006 Red Bull Air Race in Barcelona, the Catalan capital widely regarded as one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. Spectators will be able to view this year’s race from the beaches along the Front Maritim when Qualifying takes off on Saturday 3 October at 13:00 local time followed by Race Day on Sunday 4 October starting at 13:00.
Posted by Flightline UK on September 15, 2009 under Military Airshows |
The future of the Royal International Air Tattoo is assured, organisers confirmed, following the announcement by the United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) that it will be restructuring RAF Fairford.
In a press release issued from RAF Mildenhall Suffolk, on September 15, the USAFE said the restructure would take place from October 1 in order to refine the command’s capability to support required missions and commitments to NATO and European allies.
It goes on to say: “RAF Fairford is a forward-operating base primarily used for bomber operations and transient missions. The base and mission will remain open, but day-to-day operations will be restructured to meet the base’s new lean operations status.
“The USAFE commander made this decision after reviewing a detailed study of the RAF Fairford mission, facilities and manning. This review highlighted an opportunity to maximize combat effectiveness while prudently using taxpayers’ money.
“Headquarters USAFE and 3rd Air Force – UK are working the restructuring process in coordination with the appropriate counterparts in the Ministry of Defence.
“The 420th Air Base Group at RAF Fairford will deactivate and establish the 420th Air Base Squadron. This new squadron will be realigned under the 422nd Air Base Group at RAF Croughton. The 420th Munitions Squadron, realigned under the 422 ABG July 1, will remain in place at RAF Welford.
The move will result in a change of base support functions required at RAF Fairford. The details of these changes have not yet been determined. Further information will be released upon approval of final decisions.”
Air Tattoo spokesman Richard Arquati said that despite the changes it would be business as usual for the airshow.
He said: “We work closely with US Air Force in Europe (USAFE) personnel throughout the year and enjoy very strong relations at every level.
“The Air Tattoo remains grateful for the support it has received, and will continue to receive from the USAFE in staging Europe’s largest airshow.
We fully understand USAFE’s reasons for the restructure at RAF Fairford and look forward to working more closely with the team at RAF Croughton as we plan for next year’s airshow.”
Posted by Flightline UK on September 13, 2009 under Red Bull Air Race |
Britain’s Paul Bonhomme won a thrilling Red Bull Air Race today in front of a record-breaking crowd of 720,000 in Porto to widen his lead to 4 points over defending champion Hannes Arch of Austria. Australian rookie Matt Hall took a sensational 3rd place, the first podium of his career, and jumped from 5th to 3rd in the overall championship.
Bonhomme stopped the clock in 1:09.23 on his final run through the 6.6-km course set up through 17 Air Gates on the Douro River under brilliant blue skies in the coastal Portuguese city to beat Arch by 0.94 seconds and Hall by 2.00 seconds. It was the second 2009 win for Bonhomme, who now has 55 championship points compared to 51 for Arch. Hall has 33 points and has overtaken both Nicolas Ivanoff of France and Mike Mangold of the United States on the strength of his stirring performance.
“Thank you Porto,” said a delighted Bonhomme upon hearing over the radio that he had won the tight battle. “It’s a beautiful city and we love it here,” he added. The British ace also became the first pilot to win more than one race this year but quickly warned the championship was far from over – he saw it slip out of his hands in the final race of 2007 and 2008. “I’ve been in this situation before. Four points is not a lot when there are 13 points available to the winner. It will be ‘all-guns-blazing’ for Barcelona.”
Arch had been leading this year’s championship until the fourth round in Budapest, when the Austrian failed to get on the podium for the first time in over a year with a disappointing fourth place. Arch came to Porto looking to grab the lead back from Bonhomme. He stumbled in Qualifying on Saturday in front of a crowd of 200,000, finishing ninth after hitting a pylon and had to watch Bonhomme win an extra point awarded to the fastest Qualifier. But Arch bounced back in style on Sunday despite the intense pressure, putting in one brilliant run after another to advance to a Final 4 showdown against Bonhomme, Hall and Hungary’s Peter Besenyei.
“After qualifying yesterday I nearly gave up and said ‘okay I have to fly cautious’,” said Arch. “But that doesn’t fit my style. I have to try to be the fastest. I’ll go to the final race in Barcelona with the same mindset: attacking and giving Paul a hard time. I think Paul is already feeling the pressure he’ll be under. The Barcelona track is better suited to my plane.”
Hall, a former RAAF fighter pilot, was thrilled to become the first rookie to win a spot on the podium after he had come so close in his first two races, taking 5th place in Abu Dhabi and San Diego. After slipping to 7th in both Windsor and Budapest, Hall was determined to focus on flying clean and eliminating errors and it showed on Sunday. “It’s something I didn’t expect,” he said. “People had been saying I’d get on the podium here. But to actually follow through and do it is amazing.”
Porto was a disappointing race for Americans Kirby Chambliss and Michael Goulian. Chambliss was forced to retire with engine problems despite posting the fastest time of the day in the Top 12 placing him 8th. Goulian, who won the first race of his career in Budapest last time out, fell to 9th place. Mangold, the 2007 champion having a remarkably consistent year, salvaged some U.S. pride by taking 5th place, which leaves him 4th overall.
Two other rookies had promising results in Porto. Matthias Dolderer of Germany took a solid sixth place and Japan’s Yoshi Muroya got 10th place after taking a career-high 4th in Qualifying on Saturday.
The 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Champion will be decided at the season finale in Barcelona, Spain on 3/4 October.
Posted by Flightline UK on under Royal Air Force |
The 2010 Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team has been announced.
The positions for next year are:
Red 1 – Squadron Leader Ben Murphy
Red 2 – Flight Lieutenant Ben Plank
Red 3 – Flight Lieutenant Kirsty Moore
Red 4 – Flight Lieutenant Dave Davies
Red 5 – Flight Lieutenant Zane Sennett
Red 6 – Flight Lieutenant Mike Ling (Synchro Leader)
Red 7 – Flight Lieutenant David Montenegro
Red 8 – Squadron Leader Graham Duff
Red 9 – Flight Lieutenant Simon Rea (Executive Officer)
Red 10 – Squadron Leader Graeme Bagnall
Red 11 – Wing Commander David Firth-Wigglesworth
Senior Engineering Officer – Squadron Leader Garry Ball
Junior Engineering Officer – Flight Lieutenant Andy Bryant
Team Manager – Squadron Leader Jon Trott
Adjutant – Warrant Officer Alan Murray
Public Relations Manager – Nikki Wright
Public Relations Officer – Emma Thomas
Squadron Leader Ben Murphy will become Officer Commanding and Team Leader of the Red Arrows at the end of the 2009 season. He is currently Red 6 and will take over from Wing Commander Jas Hawker who is in his third and final year of leading the Team.
Squadron Leader Murphy says: “I am delighted to have been selected to lead the Team for the next three years. It’s a real privilege and an honour to have this opportunity.”
Posted by Flightline UK on September 8, 2009 under Civilian Organised Airshows and Trade Events |
Shoreham Airshow will return in 2010 over the weekend 21st-22nd August, once again sharing acts with the Bournemouth Air Festival.
The 2010 show will celebrate a number of important anniversaries. The show will mark the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain along with a number of other shows. However, Shoreham Airport also marks it’s own 100th Anniversary in 2010 and Shoreham will host a number of displays celebrating this important anniversary. Shoreham Airport is the UK oldest licenced airfield in the UK.
Shoreham Airshow is the Royal Air Forces Association’s premier airshow of the year and will hopefully include a strong line up from current RAF types in the air and on the ground.
Posted by Flightline UK on September 7, 2009 under Civilian Organised Airshows and Trade Events |
With just over 2 weeks to go things are hotting up with the organisation of the Battle of Britain
Airshow at Cotswold Airport, Kemble.
15th September is Battle of Britain Day and so this show is the culmination of the week where heroes
from 1940 will be remembered across the country and what better way than to see the Royal Air
Force Battle of Britain Memorial flight (Lancaster, Spitfire & Hurricane) take to the skies over Kemble.
As well as these Warbirds there will be flying displays by the RAF Hawk which this year carries the
branding of our charity partners, the RAF Benevolent Fund, the Antonov AN2, which is the worlds
biggest single engined bi-plane, a Jet Provost, Pembroke, Ryan PT22, a pre war American training
aircraft, a vintage jet Vampire and the iconic Rolls Royce Spitfire. All of these planes are planned to
be displaying on both days of the show.
But the fun doesn’t stop there! In true Kemble style there will be lots of other things to see and do
including Military Vehicles, Classic Cars, Trade stands, a display of up to 50 static Vintage Aeroplanes
will be flying in and Cirencester Model Aircraft club will be showing off a selection of their models
and we will have a small model flying display each day.
Kemble also continues to support both the RAF Benevolent Fund and resident charity Fly to Help at
the show. Both charities will be running a joint raffle over the weekend with two fantastic prizes – a
limited edition Frank Wootton print of Battle of Britain fighter ace Johnny Johnson flying his Spitfire
in the skies over Europe and a trial flight in a chipmunk donated by Fly to Help. The Frank Wootton
print, entitled “The Straggler” is signed by the author, AVM Johnny Johnson and Adolf Galland, one of
Germanys top scoring fighter pilots of World War 2.
Martin Henshaw, Regional Director of the RAFBF, said ‘Relationships such as the one we have with
Kemble are invaluable to the Funds work and fundraising and we are delighted to once again be
involved. Everything is in place for another fantastic Kemble event so all we need now is the weather
and the public support to guarantee another fantastic weekend of flying and fun for all the family!’
Tickets are available now at just £10 in advance (£15 on the day) on line at
www.battleofbritainairshow.com, by phone on 08712 301 079 or at the following TICs: Cheltenham,
Malmesbury, Tetbury, Chippenham, Stroud, Bath, Cirencester, Swindon and Gloucester.
