2007 info here

Kirby Chambliss

Кирби Чамблис

Team: Red Bull

Chambliss World Champion 2006

Kirby Chambliss is the ranked number 3 in the Red Bull Air Race World Series 2005 and flies number 3 in 2006.          Photo: Rob Vogelaar, www.air-races.com

2007 info here

Results Red Bull Air Race World Series 2006 Kirby Chambliss:

Results Red Bull Air Race World Series 2005 Kirby Chambliss:

٭didn't show up, other air show to do.

2007 info here

Kirby Chambliss - Airplane aerobatics
Some people build their dream home on a golf course. Kirby Chambliss built his on a runway. "My hangar is part of my house, and I can fly upside down right past my door," says the genial Texas native. It's all part of being one of the best aerobatic pilots the United States has ever known.

Chambliss is captain of the U.S. Aerobatics Team, and he's a rare four-time winner of the National Aerobatic Championship, which equates to second most titles on the all-time list. One of the ways he stays in peak form for the demands of competition is by performing in air shows around the world, and in a new Red Bull Edge 540 plane, Chambliss is bringing his heart-stopping feats to more fans than ever before.

Commercial pilot and champion pilot
From the time he was a child in Corpus Christi, Texas (where he was born in 1959), Chambliss wanted to be a pilot. His father taught skydiving, and young Kirby loved to ride along. His favorite part was when the pilot would race the skydivers back to the ground by putting the plane into a steep spiral.

In high school, Chambliss earned extra money as a lineman, fueling aircraft. He began formal flight training in 1979, and by December the 20-year-old soloed for the first time, earning his private license the following March. Chambliss worked as a certified flight instructor and then as a night freight pilot, but it was taking aerobatic training for a job flying a business jet that inspired him to save up for an aerobatic plane of his own.

In 1985 Chambliss bought a Pitts S2A and started rigorous aerobatic training. In his very first contest, he won top honors in the intermediate category, and he rapidly worked his way up to the elite "unlimited" level. Chambliss was first named to the U.S. Aerobatic Team in 1997, and since then, he has taken four U.S. National Aerobatic Championships (including three consecutive from 2002-2004), as well as a variety of medals at the World Championships. In 2000, he was crowned Men's Freestyle World Champion.

Athlete and showman
Today, Chambliss is at the top of his game. He has earned virtually every license that aviation has to offer, he's flown more than 60 types of airplanes, and he's logged more than 24,000 hours (nearly three years!) in the air. And, he says, he's still learning.

"We do things in aerobatics now that would have broken an airplane five or six years ago," Chambliss comments. "Sometimes I land and think, 'How did that plane take it?'" He chuckles and adds "Of course, we pilots have the same bodies as always, and we have to take it!'"

What Chambliss and his airplane have to withstand is a span of 18 G's. Propeller planes, unlike jets, can handle negative G's, and the Zivko Edge 540 can go from negative 8 to positive 10. Chambliss likens the craft to "a rocket with wings." While only a few years ago it was impressive for a plane to turn end-over-end just once, these days pilots can tumble half a dozen times before pulling out. It's an incredible test of timing, concentration, and courage - not to mention stamina. To stay in shape, Chambliss runs and lifts weights, in addition to flying aerobatics three times a day, four days a week.

Outside of training and aerobatic competitions, Chambliss doesn't have any trouble impressing crowds when he performs at traditional air shows throughout the year. However, now that he has partnered with Red Bull, he'll also be entertaining at non-traditional events. "I'll be performing at all types of events, like a wakeboard competition, for example," he notes.

Having enjoyed flying in locations from Mexico and Hawaii to Europe and Asia in the past, Chambliss especially enjoys competing in the Red Bull Air Race World Series, a new aerobatic air racing series with rounds in several countries. He won two events in the United Kingdom and Hungary and finished runner-up at the season finale at the U.S. round in Reno, Nevada during the inaugural 2004 season.

In-between events, the personable pilot enjoys coming back home to Flying Crown Ranch, Arizona. What does his wife Kellie think of setting up house at an airstrip? "She's a commercial pilot herself," Chambliss says proudly. "She's perfect for me."