Eyes on the skies of Zeltweg as world-class pilots take center stage

Courtesy of Red Bull Media Service Team

Pilots showcase thrilling aerobatic choreography in Austrian skies.

185,000 visitors and 200 aircraft from 20 nations descended on the Hinterstoisser Air Base in Zeltweg, Austria for AirPower 2019 on Saturday.

Here’s all you need to know:

– The Austrian Federal Armed Forces, the Flying Bulls and the international top squadrons such as Frecce Tricolori, Patrouille Suisse and Patrulla Aguila were amongst the pilots who took to the skies to perform their thrilling aerobatic manoeuvres.

– Concert pianist Andreas Woyke improvised live on a Bösendorfer concert grand, turning Austria’s largest air show into the largest “concert hall” of the country combining classical music and aerial acrobatics as two gliders performed choreography to the classical music.

– The Flying Bulls show displayed many highlights of their legendary fleet, including North American B-25 Mitchell, Lockhead P-38 Lightning, Chance Vought F4U Corsair, Alpha Jet, and North America T-28B Trojan.

– Austrian helicopter pilot and former ski jumping star Thomas Morgenstern (AUT) showcased his skills at Air Power for the first time.

– Morgenstern revealed – “It’s something completely different when you show your flying skills at an air show in front of so many fans. This makes me proud to be part of it.”

Catch highlights of all the action from Air Power on Red Bull TV on 21 September 2019.

Red Bull Air Race Tech Talk | A Winglet Lowdown

Courtesy of Red Bull Air Race

Let Jim Reed, the Red Bull Air Race’s Technical Director, take you through the sport’s history of winglets, right up to the race in Kazan where Matthias Dolderer needed to work on his after a hard pylon hit.

— About: The Red Bull Air Race World Championship features the world’s best pilots in a motorsports competition based on speed, precision and skill. Using the fastest, most agile and lightweight racing planes, Red Bull Air Race pilots navigate a low-level aerial race track made up of air filled pylons, flying at speeds reaching 230mph while withstanding forces of up to 10g. The objective is to complete the course, navigating the 65 feet high specially designed inflatable pylons known as Air Gates in the fastest possible time. Red Bull Air Race pilots must pass between the Air Gates in the correct position taking care not to touch them with their wings. The pilots compete for points at each Red Bull Air Race and the one who accumulates the most at the end of the season is crowned Red Bull Air Race World Champion.

2019 FAI World Aerobatic Championship highlights video

Courtesy of FAI Air Sports Channel

The French Aerobatics team wheele and tumbled their way to victory in both the team event and three of the four other programmes at the 30th FAI World Aerobatic Championships 2019, which took place from 22 to 31 August. French pilot, Louis Vanel, won the Mixed and Men’s events, with star female pilot Aude Lemodrant – also on the French team – taking first place in the Women’s competition. In the Freestyle programme, Robert Holland (USA) once again climbed to the top of the podium to continue his years-long run as FAI World Champion in that category.

WEBCLIP: FAI World Aerobatic Championships | French pilots dominate in spectacular competition

Courtesy of quattro media

The French pilots showed a strong performance at the 2019 FAI World Aerobatic Championships, which took place from 22 to 31 August.

The French pilot Louis Vanel is new Aerobatic World Champion! His compatriot Alexandre Orlowski (FRA) took place 2. Mikhail Mamistov (RUS) on place 3 could not defend his title but still save a place on the podium.

Also the women’s competition was dominated by French pilots: Aude Lemordant (FRA) is new World Champion. Vice World Champion is Svetlana Kapanina (RUS). Bénédicte Blanchard (FRA) took place 3.

Robert Holland (USA) defended his title in the Freestyle competition. Castor Fantoba (ESP) came in 2^nd and Martin Sonka (CZE) completed the podium on place 3.

The title in the team and mixed competition went to France, too.

Held at the Châteauroux-Centre airport in central France, this 30^th edition of the competition involved some 18 teams from countries including Australia, Switzerland, Russia, and the USA.

The sport of Aerobatic flying is high adrenalin and demands strict focus and extreme skill.

Each pilot must complete an aerobatic routine in front of a panel of judges in the 4 following flight programs:  Free Known, Free Unknown 1, Free Unknown 2, Free Unknown 3. A separate World Champion title is awarded for the Frestyle program. Points are awarded and deducted for how each manoeuvre is executed, as well as if the pilot goes outside the competition area with its size of 1 square kilometre which is defined for the competition.

French pilots are the artists of the sky | FAI World Aerobatic Championships 2019 from World of Freesports on Vimeo.

The final race. One last World Championship title. All or nothing

Courtesy of Red Bull Air Race

For one last time, 14 of the world’s most exceptional pilots will face off at speeds of 370 km/h and forces up to 12 G as the 2019 finale of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship takes off in Chiba, Japan. The crown is still within reach for three of the sport’s biggest stars, including a home hero, and with wins coming down to as little as 0.003s this year, the battle on 7-8 September will be a thrill-packed clash of the titans.

— About: The Red Bull Air Race World Championship features the world’s best pilots in a motorsports competition based on speed, precision and skill. Using the fastest, most agile and lightweight racing planes, Red Bull Air Race pilots navigate a low-level aerial race track made up of air filled pylons, flying at speeds reaching 230mph while withstanding forces of up to 10g. The objective is to complete the course, navigating the 65 feet high specially designed inflatable pylons known as Air Gates in the fastest possible time. Red Bull Air Race pilots must pass between the Air Gates in the correct position taking care not to touch them with their wings. The pilots compete for points at each Red Bull Air Race and the one who accumulates the most at the end of the season is crowned Red Bull Air Race World Champion.

FAI World Record – Large Formation Sequential Records – VFS Head Up

Courtesy of FAI Air Sports Channel

On 26 May 2019, 20 skydivers broke the world records for Large Formation Sequential Records – VFS Head Up, 2,3 & 4 formations.

The 20 skydivers are: Trenton Alkek (USA), Steve Curtis (USA), Sara Curtis (USA), William “Bill” Dawson (USA), Christopher “Ian” Durell (USA), Ryan Durr (USA), Gerardo Fernandez Navarro (Mexico), Nathaniel Freihaut (USA), Matthew Fry (USA), Randy Lund (USA), Joseph “Joey” Mire (USA), Codie Moffet (Canada), Konstantin Petrijcuk (USA), Natalie Pitts (USA), Chad Ross (USA), Ryan Sass (USA), Todd Scrutchfield (USA), Seth Studer (USA), Dalton Swan (USA), Jeffrey Veenendaal (USA)

FAI World Paragliding Championship 2019: in the sky

The 16th FAI World Paragliding Championship in Krushevo, North Macedonia, was a success: good organisation, fine weather, challenging tasks and impressive pilots’ skill!

FAI World Paragliding Championship 2019 wrap up video

Courtesy of FAI Air Sports Channel

Joachim Oberhauser from Italy has won the 16th FAI World Paragliding Championship after a nail-biting two-week-long competition in Krushevo, North Macedonia, 7-17 August 2019.

Oberhauser, 43, came out on top after 10 days of intense competition flying. He finished ahead of 149 other pilots from 48 different countries to win the title of FAI Paragliding World Champion and a prestigious FAI gold medal.

Meryl Delferriere, 21, from France won gold in the Women’s category and is the new FAI Women’s Paragliding World Champion.

A total of 21 women took part. Italy and France meanwhile shared a remarkable equal first-place in the Teams category.