Dan wrote:
Anyone ever been to the Red Bull air races? They look interesting.

Mary and I attended the inaugural Red Bull Air Race in the US, which
was held in 2004 at the Reno Air Races. It was awesome!

Here's what I wrote at the time:

Red Bull Air Race
***************************
The Red Bull Air Race was a new addition this year, and it proved to be
incredibly popular. A timed event, each aerobatic pilot had to fly
the
same closed course, marked by giant, inflatable pylons spaced directly
in
front of the grandstands. With specific assigned maneuvers, each pilot
threw his plane around the course with wild abandon, to the delight and
amazement of a very jaded and knowledgeable crowd.

The wind was really whipping, which made the course doubly exciting as
the
inflatable pylons waved ominously back and forth, seemingly trying to
knock
down the planes. They set up three gigantic "jumbotron" TVs out in
front of
the crowd, and, with live cameras transmitting from inside the
cockpits, you
could clearly see those giant pylons waving to and fro as each
competitor
knifed between them!

Coolest of all: Each pilot had to do a touch-and-go landing, on a 4
foot
patch of yellow chalk right in front of the stands -- coming out of a
loop!
If they missed, it was a huge penalty.

Exciting doesn't describe it!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"