It All Comes Down To Two Pilots

The battle for the first world title in aerobatic air racing came down to the final two pilots Sunday at Stead Field in Reno (NV). Finding enough extra speed, American pilot Mike Mangold (Victorville, CA) eclipsed pre-race favorite, Kirby Chambliss (Flying Crown Ranch AZ), to win the first Red Bull Air Race World Series Championship.

"It was unbelievable out there," said Mangold, 46, a former US Air Force fighter pilot and current US Aerobatic Team member. "Maximum speed, maximum G-forces, tough obstacles--I'm just glad I got through it. It's the best two minutes in air racing."

The Red Bull Air Race, which made its US debut at the 2004 National Championship Air Races this weekend, takes air racing to new heights as pilots execute gravity-defying aerobatics while navigating through a twisting race course of five pylon obstacles stationed just over 500 feet in front of spectators. Pilots run one at a time against the clock.

For the second day in a row, cool and windy skies provided another challenging obstacle for Mangold, Chambliss and the other two elite finalists - former U.S. Aerobatic champion Mike Goulian (Arlington, MA) and former World Aerobatic champion Peter Besenyei (Budapest, Hungary).

In fact, Besenyei clipped a 50-foot, air-filled pylon during his knife-edge run through Gate 3, bringing it down and incurring a 10-second time penalty.

Mangold, who piloted his Edge 540 plane to Saturday's Red Bull Air Race USA Championship in a clean, errorless flight, also encountered some trouble in today's World Series final.

"I had a little problem with the Touch and Go," Mangold said about the obstacle that requires the plane to touchdown on a 12-by-36 foot target zone. "It was a little gusty today. I think I touched again and again."

Chambliss, who also pilots an Edge 540, is good friends with Mangold off the runway. But, today the competition proved to be fierce in the sky.

"Everybody wanted it and we were all pushing it as much as we could," said Chambliss, 45, a three-time U.S. Aerobatic champion. "Mike's airplane, straight and level running flat out, is 7-8 knots faster than my airplane.

I couldn't make up that speed difference. I turned every pylon as close as I could, hung it out as far as I could, and just couldn't quite make it."

Sunday's race in Reno served as the final championship round of the 2004 Red Bull Air Race World Series. Chambliss won the first round in the United Kingdom on June 20, narrowly beating Besenyei by a mere .03 seconds, and he also captured the second round race in Budapest, Hungary on August 20 over a stunning course set on the Danube River. Fittingly though, the winner-take-all World Series Championship final was crowned in Reno, the worldwide home of air racing.

For Chambliss, he'll have to wait another year to win the world title. Even so, he took great satisfaction with the reception Reno gave to this new style of aerobatic air racing.

"I'm an American and I wanted to help bring this to the US because it is so exciting, not only from a pilot's standpoint, but also from a spectator standpoint," Chambliss said.

Competing in qualification heats earlier in the week were British pilots Steve Jones and Paul Bonhomme, and American pilot David Martin (Possum Kingdom Lake, TX). German pilot Klaus Schrodt did not compete due to mechanical problems.

FMI: www.us.redbull.com