Air Races

[BrandonJ1780]

I'm watching the Red Bull Air Races on FSN, this one's in Berlin, and this Besenyei guy just pulled 13 G's...not sure if that's a big deal to you pilot-types (no idea how many G's fighter pilots can take--Tom Cruise and Top Gun notwithstanding :icon_wink ...), but man, 13 G's while he's turning at near 35 feet off the deck, wow...Might be worth checking out next time they're on...

 

[Chubby]

Dunno how accurate those G meters are.

 

[CarolinaCowboy]

Man if that is accurate thats insane....idk how dude didnt pass out I mean im guessin that got G suits but that still alot if im not mistaken!

 

[BrandonJ1780]

I was about to ask if there's a "G-standard' across the board, if a G in these air races is equal to a G in, say, an -18, but thought I'd spared myself the expected sarcasm...=)...Figured G's are G's everywhere I guess...

 

[AllAmerican75]

Well, a G is a measure of gravity. So one 1 G is the normal force of (Earth)gravity exerted on your body. 3 Gs is three times that force. So yes, Gs are the same across the board.

 

[phrogdriver]

Question. How do air races make money? It has to be tremendously expensive to compete, and the TV ratings aren't exactly Monday Night Football caliber.

 

[BrandonJ1780]

AA75--thanks for pointing that out :icon_wink ...see Chubby's comment above.

 

[BrandonJ1780]

Phrogdriver, you gotta be right on the TV ratings...these guys have sponsorship that isn't exactly Nascar-esque, but still pretty solid. Saw a 'Castrol' plane, a 'Breitling', of course at least one from Red Bull. In-cockpit camera showed one as he came in to land, commentators said they don't have flaps --pretty smooth regardless.

 

[Jay]

The majority of the pilots are retired or current airline Captains and all make shznit cans of money, that's how....plus sponsors. As for G's, Patty Wagstaff hangs upside down for hours so her body can get used to negative G's and she can pull some insane amount of negative. I've seen like -2.9, that's all I ever care to see, and civilians like Shawn Tucker, they pull like +10-11 in their routines(something close to that) essentially they can tolerate G's extremely well, probably better than the typical military pilot. Why? Maybe because they fly 1000 hours per year of aerobatics, whereas we fly 200, who knows.

 

[Schnugg]

Most I've pulled was 8.7 sustained in an F-15B. It really hurt.
You could spike to 13g for a moment or two if you were at max g going through trans-sonic pitch at a high mach turn, but most likely not sustain it. F-16 drivers can turn sustained at 9g max and train to that in the centrifuge.

 

[JIMMY]

keep in mind, civilian aerobatics (air show/air race/ competition, whatever) is a lot different than say dog fighting. He may have pulled 13 G's but it wasn't sustained. It was probably a quick 3-4 sec pull. Same for tucker, most of his stuff is around only 5-6+, with various portions of heavy stuff, but again very short time frame (although he does have some pretty heavy negative stuff in there.) It's still a lot of G, but its not the same as in a dogfight where ur sustaining the G for a LOT longer period of time.
The most ive pulled is 8.5 in an extra 300, but only for around 5-10 sec. 6G's would be WAY worse if sustained for a much longer period.

and ya most of those peps are RICH off there butts. Same with competition aerobatics. Almost anyone that flys in the unlimited category (highest category) is independently wealthy. As cool as the red bull air races are, i think its sad that thats the only way such outstanding (civilian) flying can get recognized. I think its the same as any sport, mostly get money through sponsorships.

but hey, its still cool

-jP

 

[JIMMY]

Dunno how accurate those G meters are.

accurate.

 

[JIMMY]

Man if that is accurate thats insane....idk how dude didnt pass out I mean im guessin that got G suits but that still alot if im not mistaken!

they dont wear G-suits. even if they did, the equipment to operate them would add too much weight to the plane.

 

[HeyJoe]

The Blues don't wear them either even though they do have the equipment. There's a nice Military Channel special showing how they train to it in Centrifuge and later highlights episode when one Blue had to leave team in middle of season for physiological reasons.

Another thread has the Blue Angel video of an Atlanta area reporter passing out repeatedly under moderate G. It's something you have to train to and stay on top of continuously. Still, 12 Gs is a lot of G. I've been to 9 repeatedly in F-16s and it hurt!

 

[Steve Wilkins]

The Blues don't wear them either even though they do have the equipment

Yep, and their control sticks are modified with spring pressure unlike fleet F/A-18s. They rest their right arms on their thighs while holding the stick when they fly, so if they wore g-suits, the constant inflation/deflation would move their arm and wreak havoc on the maneuvers