O/T ... Aerobatic Air Racing!

[AirDOGGe]

(From the AERONEWS.NET website...)


Aerobatic Racing – The Next Generation of Air Shows

Wed, 10 Mar '10
The ARC Racing Series Adds Thrilling Addition to Air Show Circuit

In 2009, the International Federation of Aerobatic Racing developed a new revolution in aerobatic performance. Imagining as an entirely unique addition to the air show circuit, the Federation started the Aerobatic Racing Challenge Series. The Aerobatic Racing Challenge Series (ARC Series) consists of high-performance aerobatic duals, featuring pilots competing against one another in a jaw-dropping race to the finish.

Two pilots, flying side-by-side about 500 feet apart, race through a series of 8 to 10 aerobatic maneuvers. Rule infractions or incomplete maneuvers result in penalties added to the pilot’s overall clocked time. The pilot that completes the aerobatic sequence in the least amount of time wins the race!


Presently, there are two categories of race planes accepted: high-performance aerobatic aircraft (including the Pitts S-2B/C, the Edge-540, the Extra-300/300, the Staudacher S-300, etc.) and warbirds (including the T-28, the T-6/SNJ, or Harvard.) Both similar and dissimilar aircraft compete against one another so pilots must strategically harness each aircraft’s unique handling advantages to win.


READ the full article at: http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?C...-ef06adf900b0&

[race9]

Re: O/T ... Aerobatic Air Racing!

Hmm, Red Bull air racing with more than one plane and warbirds.

[Stevo]

Re: O/T ... Aerobatic Air Racing!

"Both similar and dissimilar aircraft compete against one another so pilots must strategically harness each aircraft’s unique handling advantages to win."

So, a Pitts and a T-6 could find themselves racing against each other?

[AirDOGGe]

Re: O/T ... Aerobatic Air Racing!

So, a Pitts and a T-6 could find themselves racing against each other?

The vid mentions use of energy management, and the sample racing footage have the planes high up in the sky, "rocket racing"-style.

Can a T-6 out-dive a Pitts? The latter has a smaller frontal area, but has a higher drag coefficient due to double the # of wings and use of structural wires.

[race9]

Re: O/T ... Aerobatic Air Racing!

I think what they meant was a Pitts flying with an Extra, and a T-6 flying with a T-28.

[GeoffS]

Re: O/T ... Aerobatic Air Racing!

I saw the ARC races at the Fairbault Airshow last fall. IMHO it was pretty cool. Very crowd-friendly. You could really see exactly who was ahead at any one time. There was added excitement generated because the dissimilarity in planes (ex. Pitts vs. Staudacher) would often cause multiple lead changes during the race depending on relative performance of each plane for different types of maneuvers.