Sweet and Low Down

Forget about flying high. Fast and furious competitors in the Red Bull Air Race World Series will do the airplane limbo over the Detroit River.

By George Bullard

No Bull: Kirby Chambliss of Arizona was the 2006 Red Bull air racing champ.

Photo Courtesy Red BullAir Race World Series

For Kirby Chambliss, it doesn’t get much better than flying a souped-up airplane fast and low.
Very low, as in 30 feet up. And he’ll do just that this month over the Detroit River in the Red Bull Air Race World Series.
“It’s amazing,” Chambliss says of flying the low lane. “It’s unlike any other kind of racing because you’ve got the vertical element in it. You’re zipping through these gates at 260 miles an hour, low above the water, pulling 10gs; things are whipping by.”
The “things” are goal posts anchored in the river. Racers thread through 60-foot-tall inflated pylons set as close as 32 feet apart. Fly fast and accurate between the posts, you win. Fly slowly, you lose. Miss lining up the aircraft correctly through the gates and penalty time is added to your run.

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