When the concept of the Red Bull Air Races first went aloft as a trial balloon, Peter Besenyei winced at some of the ideas being floated.

“We were going to fly through laser lights and waterfalls,” the two-time aerobatics world champion from Hungary said yesterday.

 

Getty Images After flying through the middle of Budapest (above) and other cities, Red Bull pilots should find the skies above San Diego Bay wide open.

Besenyei vetoed the idea.

The Red Bull Air Races he envisioned weren't going to be a stunt show. They were going to be the ultimate test of flying skill.

“We wanted to develop a competition that would be the best for the best,” he said.

The result was the development of the precision flying competition that San Diego will host Friday and Saturday afternoons just feet above the waters of San Diego Bay.

Isn't that a bit risky, air races over San Diego Bay – particularly after what happened at the Reno National Air Races last week . . . three fatal crashes in four days, including one that claimed the life of Lemon Grove's Steve Dari?

Although both events are labeled air races, the events are quite different.

Reno is a speed race around pylons matching multiple planes on the course.

The Red Bull Air Races feature one plane on the course at any given time, the competition being man and machine against a mile-long course marked by pylons and gates.

And the international field of 13 pilots in the Red Bull Air Races was selected from the upper echelon of the world's best aerobatic pilots.

“These planes are more maneuverable and stronger than what you would see at Reno,” said Victorville's Mike Mangold of the craft being flown here.

Four different models of propeller-driven aerobatic aircraft will be in competition over San Diego Bay.

The average length will be 21½ feet with a wing span of around 24½ feet. Constructed of steel tubing and carbon fiber, the planes weigh around 1,200 pounds with the six-cylinder piston engines rated between 310 and 330 horsepower.

The top speeds are around 260 mph.

“We're seldom at top speed,” said Mangold, who won the Red Bull Air Races series championship in 2005 and again leads the standings with two races to go.

“Speed is secondary to making the turns and positioning the plane to get through the course clean (without drawing a penalty for hitting a pylon or flying too low or high) in the shortest amount of time.

“I don't like to talk about other pilots and other events, but there is a very high level of professionalism here.”

Mangold, a former military aviator who has flown for American Airlines since 1990, was entered in the Reno Air Races and decided not to compete.

“It was a tough decision, but we were not sound. Some things came up. I can't say what happened with the accidents, but what happened at Reno shows you the tough decisions you have to make.

“I know when to say 'no.' I've been called a coward. I've been told I'm a quitter. But if it's not 100 percent right, it's not right.”

San Diego will be the 29th race in the history of the Red Bull series, and the series has never had a fatal crash.

Of course, no motorsports event is accident-proof. The Red Bull Air Races pilots ride the edge.

“But we don't take chances,” said Besenyei, who is third in this season's standings. “This is not stunt flying. I hate that word. This is precision flying. Most of the pilots who want to do this would never be able to qualify.”

Just to be eligible for the Red Bull Air Races, a pilot must rank in the top half of the World Aerobatic rankings. That reduces the pool to between 30 and 40 pilots.

“Next we look at low-level air show experience,” said Besenyei. “Then a pilot who still qualifies is invited to our training camp. We cannot take chances.

“We have flown over the Thames in London. We have flown in the middle of European cities. In Budapest, we flew under a famous bridge and in front of the parliament building.

“We fly where we cannot just try. We have to do.”