"Smoke On!" - Red Bull Air Race.

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Manoevering their colourful logo covered planes through the tough river Danube course demands exceptional skill,experience and almost superhuman like aviation knowledge. Only the world's very best pilots compete in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. The race pilot's know exactly which speed is right for each sector. Flying too slow means losing the race, so does flying too fast over the 370 kph course speed limit, which incurs instant disqualification.

I have just spent an unforgettable few days in the beautiful city of Budapest, though sadly over the three nights I was there, did not manage to see very much of the historic sights of this amazing city, as all my attention was focused on the Air Racing over the two days. I was accompanied by my good friend Ged who didn't hesitate when I first mentioned the idea of travelling to Hungary.I think he must be almost as impulsive as me when it comes to travel and new experiences! When we were planning our flights and hotel accomodation, we were so lucky as there was a special promotion on with British Airways, which meant that buying the hotel and travel sectors together saved so much money, we got a five star hotel with breakfast and room upgrades on arrival, plus all return flights from Aberdeen, for just over £350 which I thought was incredible. I thought this was too good to be true and there must be a catch somewhere, but no! On arrival at Corinthia Grand Hotel, I went to the reception desk in the imposing marble hall to check in and was politely told that the upgraded stay had indeed gone through and that we had to use the private lift to get to the 1st floor Mezzanine area where we would be met and could proceed with check in formalities there. Wow...these things don't normally happen to me, so I felt like royalty. We were shown to a big oak desk at the entrance to the executive lounge and were offered champagne as we received our room keys and details of our stay! What a welcome and positive first impessions!

The day of the race dawned bright and hot, with temperatures of 30c plus. So the walk down to the riverfront was punctuated with brief stops for cool drinks and ice cream. At first there didn't seem to be that many spectators about, but as we neared the famous Chain Bridge to cross the Danube from Pest onto the Buda side,our progress slowed considerably as we were joined by tens of thousands of other race goers!

Ged and myself had decided to really treat ourselves and had bought tickets for the full hospitality package, at 288 euros a bit pricey but looking back on it now,money well spent. Ahead in the distance at Batthyány square close to the underground station,we saw the red,yellow and blue livery adorning temporary buildings by the riverside, advertising to the world their presence with flags and banners that the hospitality areas that the Race Club provided were close by.

We were met at the entrance to the Race Club enclosure by some beautiful looking uniformed girls who put wrist bands on us so we could come and go as we pleased,they checked our tickets, we put our passes on over our heads and headed straight in to the beer tent to see what they had on offer for us, purely to get a cold glass of liquid refreshment to combat the fierce heat you understand! Lunch was also being served when we arrived so we grabbed a plate and joined a short line to go survey the fare on offer. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the food. There was plenty of it and a great choice of various chicken, pork, beef, fish and salad dishes, so everyone was well catered for. Well done Red Bull!

Happy and full of excitement for the day ahead we took our seats in the grandstand overlooking the Parliament building at the otherside of the river and marvelled at the unique and stunning location. I could not belive that aviators would be flying so fast in such a confined place as this. Before the racing started properly, a comprehensive list of aviation entertainment was laid on for us in the form of various air diplay teams from Red Bull and the vivid yellow and black Brietling jets performing some of the most amazing manoeveres I have ever seen. August 20th is a National Holiday so the Hungarian airforce flew past with one of their "Hind" combat helicopters proudly displaying the national colours underneath on a weighted cable.

The large LCD screens on either side of where we were sitting flickered into life with loud fast music and videos of the Race highlights from previous events, shortly after an Austrian Traffic controller and commentator announced the imminent arrival of the first of the days competitors. In the glare of the afternoon sun a tiny speck could be seen approaching low and fast up the river towards the iron bridge. With a deep thick gravelly voice reminiscent of a Bruce Willis bad guy in the "Die Hard" movies, an Austrian accented controller said "permission to start, smoke on!" Me and Ged thought this was highly amusing, we added for dramatic effect, " You have ten seconds to comply!" I don't think our British humour translated too well into Austrian so we thought it wise to discontinue our mimicry before we started an international incident!

The small high powered aircraft came roaring into view with a bright white plume of smoke trailing out behind it. As it apprproached the bridge I was astonished to see it dip out of view then reappear as it sped towards us after having flown under the bridge. Now that is what I call making an entrance you remember! The commentator told us via the video screens that the pilot only had 3 metres clearance for his tail as it passed under the roadway and only less than 2 metres clearance for the belly of the aircaft and the waters of the Danube. I can't help thinking what the approach must have been like, aiming at the base of a large iron bridge at something the size of a postage stamp that only became larger to see properly at the last moment as you speed towards it at 370kmh skimming the river. These guys must have nerves of steel and fantastic reflex actions and spacial awareness! One small mistake.....I don't even want to think about it! On completion of this jaw dropping feat, he turned sharply right towards a serious of giant inflatable airgates floating on a rafts, flying perfectly through without his wings touching the fabric skin. He negotiated incredibly tight turns pulling extraordinary G-forces even pulling up vertically as he approached another bridge at the end of the race circuit, turning in on himself going upside down to position himself for the return leg of the course in what seemed from my perspective, a perilously close journey past the gothic parliament building. Thrilling stuff! There were still another nine other guys to do this, what a day!

August 20th is a huge national holiday in Hungary and as such was a perfect finale and a fitting way to end a few incredible summer days in Budapest. Mike Goulian from the USA was crowned the race winner and as darkness fell over the Danube, at 9pm the brightly lit street lights and floodlit buildings suddenly went dark, there was a palpable air of excitement coming from the murmuring 650 000 spectators who had gathered the 6kms on both the Buda and Pest sides of the river. An audible hush befell the watchers as a lone rocket faintly traced it's path up into the night sky from the Chain Bridge heralding the beginning of the most amazing firework display I have ever witnessed, bursting into a shower of glittering light, illuminating the faces looking skywards and casting ethereal dancing shadows on the old fascades of the riverside buildings. This was followed by a caccophony of bangs and small explosions as a whole arsenal of pyrotechnics were released all around us in a co-ordinated sympony of light and colour to join the sky display. More traces of rocket fire reached upwards from the castle overlooking the city, the chain bridge and on floating platforms out in the darkness of the river. An orchestra struck up classical music in perfect unison to accompany what was going on in the sky overhead.

After 20 minutes I was quite literally shell shocked and elated and let out a whoop of joy with the tens of thousands of others feeling the same emotions as I at the end of a truly remarkable day! I am a new convert to the Red Bull Air Race experience, but it won't be the last time I do this. Once the dates are announced for next year I will start my planning for the next host city somewhere worldwide.

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Photos

Chain Bridge
Széchenyi Chain Bridge basks on the River Danube in the fading summer evening glow.

Pilot: Matthias Dolderer
Red Bull Air Ace from Germany.

Comments

[Ged Taylor]

annual event
a defo must for an annual event i think had a ball red bull put on one hell of a show