The Red Bull Air Race is a one-of-a-kind, global racing series that takes place in 9 countries with 15 of the world’s top aerobatic pilots, all around the world. With such a far-reaching field of competitors you’d assume these pilots hardly see each other in the offseason, right? Not the case.
Paul Bonhomme has a history of being a stick in the side of Team Chambliss as a fierce competitor but with Chandler, AZ on the up-and-up of places to fly, the charming British pilot has also moved in as our friendly neighbor. That’s right, two Red Bull Air Race pilots with neighboring hangars, at one tiny, regional airport.
How did it happen?
Well, Len Rulason got his start in the Red Bull Air Races working as the technician for Team Chambliss. From there he moved over to working for former Red Bull Air Race pilot, Steve Jones and recently swapped teams again to work for Matt Hall. Len has always been based out of Arizona so when he made the initial switch to Jones’ team, it seemed only logical to relocate the plane there. In England, since the Edge is an experimental plane, limitations are placed on how many days per year it can fly. Arizona on the other hand allows for unlimited flight hours and also provides ideal winter weather, making it the perfect place to modify planes.
Maybe a little too perfect.
That’s where Team Bonhomme came into play. Jones and Bonhomme have been long time friends, originally competing together as the Sukhoi Duo, in aerobatic competitions around the world. After Jones moved his operations to Arizona, his friend and competition Team Bonhomme was quick to follow. One would think keeping your plane in Arizona while living in England would pose major difficulties but Bonhomme and Jones both fly for British Airways in the off-season, making trips to Arizona relatively easy.
“It’s just an all-around great place to modify airplanes. You can fly all the time, even in the winter. The climate we have here provides a lot of opportunities for testing and modifications during the off season, especially compared to what little flying these guys could do in England,” Chambliss said.
Jones left the Red Bull Air Race, and Chandler, AZ, after 2008, but Team Bonhomme and Chambliss still call the small, regional airport home. As you can imagine this makes modifications, testing and keeping secrets much more difficult when your competition is also your next-door neighbor.
Team Chambliss, Bonhomme and Hall all have ties to Chandler and the final pieces of the puzzle are Austrian, Hannes Arch and former rookie, Mattias Dolderer. For the 2010 races, Hannes will be the only pilot receiving the newest edition, V3 Zivko Edge. His plane is scheduled to be finished in Oklahoma before being sent to Chandler for disassembly and shipment to Abu Dhabi. Team Dolderer has spent part of the off season working on their plane in the Mohave desert of California, making Arizona a reasonable place to transport for disassembly.
Officially Team Chambliss is the only one that calls Arizona home, but Kirby says he doesn’t mind sharing. It may be more difficult to modify the plane with prying eyes but it also keeps things intense and exciting; just the way we like it!
