Air race world series.

I don't know how many people follow the Red Bull Air Race World Series but these pilots that fly these planes are amazing. The pilots have to navigate a challenging obstacle course at speeds of around 200Mph (320Kph) and approximately 60 feet from the water.

The pilots must pass each of the air gates correctly while completing a required aerobatic maneuver. There are three different gate types, They require a specific manner of crossing. The blue gates must be crossed in level flight, red gates must be crossed in vertical flight otherwise known as "knife-edge" and the slalom gates as their name implies.

If a pilot doesn't pass through a gate correctly he will incur a time penalty. A 3 second time penalty is received when the pilot flies too high above the gate, An Incorrect turning maneuver, Incorrect level (horizontal) crossing or knife (vertical) angle or an incorrect knife direction. A 10 second penalty is imposed if a pilot touches a gate. And you can be disqualified for dangerous flying, For example Flying too low, Course deviation, Not executing the prescribed aerobatic maneuver and crossing the crowd line.

The Aircraft used are high-end aerobatic planes like the Extra 300SR, the MX Aircraft MX2 and the Zivko Edge 540X, These Aircraft have a wingspan of less than 25 feet or 8 meters.

The airgates that the pilots must pass through are are approximately 65 feet (20 m) high, and spaced 33 to 49 feet (10 to 15 m) apart. The pylons are made of a fabric that will shred if a pilot hits it. If a pylon gets hit it will replaced at the time of the incident and usually takes a matter of minutes.

Points are awarded for finishing places. 1st receives nine points, 2nd receives eight points and so on through ninth who receives one point. A pilot must compete in all eight races and the pilot that has earnt the most points is the Air race champion. The eight venues for the red bull air race are Abu Dhabi, San Diego, Detroit, Rotterdam, London, Budapest, Porto and Perth.