Английская Википедия:Air racing

Содержание

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Текст

Файл:North American T-6 Texan race start 2014 Reno Air Races photo Don Ramey Logan.jpg

T-6 Gold Start passing the finish pylon at the 2014 Reno Air Races

Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a previously estimated time.

History

The first 'heavier-than-air' air race was held on 23 May 1909 - the Prix de Lagatinerie, at the Port-Aviation airport south of Paris, France. Four pilots entered the race, two started, but nobody completed the full race distance; though this was not unexpected, as the rules specified that whoever travelled furthest would be the winner if no-one completed the race. Léon Delagrange, who covered slightly more than half of the ten Шаблон:Convert laps was declared the winner.

Some other minor events were held before the Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne in 22–29 August 1909 at Reims, France. This was the first major international flying event, drawing the most important aircraft makers and pilots of the era, as well as celebrities and royalty. The premier event — the first Gordon Bennett Trophy competition — was won by Glenn Curtiss, who beat second-place finisher Louis Blériot by five seconds. Curtiss was named 'Champion Air Racer of the World'.

Файл:Farman III.jpg

Louis Paulhan in a Farman III at the 1910 Los Angeles International Air Meet at Dominguez Field

The first air race in the United States was the 1910 Los Angeles International Air Meet at Dominguez Field, just south of Los Angeles, from 10 to 20 January 1910. The event was organised by pilots A. Roy Knabenshue and Charles Willard, who raised funding from railroad magnate Henry Huntington, and the Los Angeles Merchants and Manufacturers Association. William Randolph Hearst carried coverage of the event in his Los Angeles Examiner, and hired a hot air balloon with a promotional parse touting his newspaper. The event attracted 43 entrants, of which 16 appeared. It was there that aviation pioneer and military pilot Jimmy Doolittle, then thirteen, saw his first airplane.

In the years before the First World War, popular interest in aviation led to a large number of air races in Europe; including the 1911 Circuit of Europe race, the Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Air Race, and the Aerial Derby.

In 1913, the first Schneider Trophy seaplane race was held. When the competition was resumed after the war, it was significant in advancing aeroplane design, particularly in the fields of aerodynamics and engine design, and would show its results in the best fighters of World War II.

On 19 October 1919, the Army Transcontinental Air Race began along a Шаблон:Convert route from Long Island, New York to San Francisco, California, and back, which would see widespread carnage; including seven fatalities (two en route to the race). Of the 48 aircraft that started, 33 would complete the double crossing of the continent.

Файл:Curtiss Racer NASA GPN-2000-001310.jpg

Jimmy Doolittle on his Curtiss R3C-2 Racer, the plane in which he won the 1925 Schneider Trophy Race

In 1921, the United States instituted the National Air Meets, which became the National Air Races in 1924. In 1929, the Women's Air Derby, nicknamed the 'Powder Puff Derby', became a part of the National Air Races circuit. The National Air Races lasted until 1949. The Cleveland Air Races was another important event. In 1947, an All-Woman Transcontinental Air Race, also dubbed the Powder Puff Derby was established, running until 1977.

In 1934, the MacRobertson Air Race from England to Australia took place, with the winning de Havilland Comet flown by C. W. A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black.

Файл:Start formation Formula One Racer 2014 Reno Air Races photo Don Ramey Logan.jpg

Start formation Sport Class 2014 Reno Air Races

In 1964, Bill Stead, a Nevada rancher, pilot, and unlimited hydroplane racing champion, organised the first Reno Air Races at a small dirt strip called the Sky Ranch, located between Sparks, Nevada, and Pyramid Lake. The National Championship Air Races were soon moved to the Reno Stead Airport, and have been held there every September since 1966. The five-day event attracts around 200,000 people, and includes racing around courses marked out by pylons for six classes of aircraft: Unlimited, Formula One, Sport Biplane, AT-6, Sport, and Jet. It also features civil airshow acts, military flight demonstrations, and a large static aircraft display. Other promoters have run pylon racing events across the US and Canada, including races in Las Vegas, NV in 1965, Lancaster, CA in 1965 and 1966, Mojave, California in 1970-71, and 1973–79; at Cape May, NJ in 1971, San Diego, CA in 1971, Miami, FL in 1973 and 1979, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1984; Hamilton Field, California, in 1988; at Dallas, TX in 1990, in Denver, CO in 1990 and 1992, in Kansas City in 1993, in Phoenix, Arizona in 1994 and 1995; and in Tunica, Mississippi in 2005. Numerous other venues across the United States, Canada, and Mexico have also hosted events featuring the smaller Formula One and Biplane classes.

In 1970, American Formula One racing was exported to Europe (Great Britain, and then to France), where almost as many races have been held as in the U.S.A. Also in 1970, the California 1000 Air Race started at the Mojave Airport with a 66 lap unlimited air race that featured a Douglas DC-7, with one aircraft completing the circuit.

Файл:Red.bull.air.race.arp.750pix.jpg

Air racing in England: the Red Bull Air Race heat held at Kemble airfield, Gloucestershire. The aircraft fly singly, and have to pass between pairs of pylons.

In 2003, Red Bull created a series called the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, in which competitors flew individually between pairs of pylons, while performing prescribed manoeuvres. Usually held over water near large cities, the sport has attracted large crowds and renewed media interest in air racing. The inaugural season had stops in Austria and Hungary. In 2019, Red Bull decided not to continue the Red Bull Air Race World Championship.

Aero GP has multiple aircraft racing together pik around pylons, and is based in Europe where it has held an air race each year since 2005.

Powered paragliding or paramotor races have been organised by the Parabatix Sky Racers made up of the world's top paramotor pilots. The first occurring on 4 September 2010 in an airfield in Montauban, Southern France. These are foot-launched ram-air wings powered by small two-stroke engines, and allow for much smaller race venues such as city parks or beaches, where the audience can see the pilots up close as they carry out spectacular manoeuvres swooping close to the ground-pylons during the race.

In November 2021, the first remotely-piloted eVTOL drag race between two Airspeeder craft took place. In 2022, The remotely-piloted racing series (Airspeeder EXA Series) began in 2022 with Zephatali Walsh named as the inaugural season champion. The aircraft, built by Alauda Aeronautics, use electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) technology and are designed to be crewed by human pilots.

Historical championships

competition	1st race	primary description	course	field	sanctioning body
Шаблон:AnchorGordon Bennett Trophy	1909	time trials	Pilon, rally (1920)	open
Шаблон:AnchorDaily Mail aviation prizes	1910	various events to encourage aviation	point to point & circuit	open	Daily Mail
Шаблон:AnchorCoupe Deutsch de la Meurthe	1912	encourage aviation	cross-country circuit	open	Aéro-Club de France
Шаблон:AnchorSchneider Trophy	1913	encourage seaplane development	triangle	seaplanes	Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)
Шаблон:AnchorPulitzer & National Air Races	1920	unlimited	pylon	open
Шаблон:AnchorKing's Cup air race	1922	handicapped race for light aircraft	cross-country (UK)	British pilots	King George V
Шаблон:AnchorDole Derby	1927	California to Hawaii	point to point	open	National Aeronautic Association (NAA)
Шаблон:AnchorChallenge International de Tourisme	1929	encourage light aircraft development	technical trials & rally	light aircraft	Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)
Шаблон:AnchorThompson Trophy	1929	unlimited	pylon	open	National Aeronautics Association (NAA)
Шаблон:AnchorWomen's Air Derby	1929	unlimited	transcontinental (US)	female pilots
Шаблон:AnchorBendix Trophy	1931	unlimited	transcontinental (US)	open
Шаблон:AnchorMacRobertson Air Race	1934	commemorate 1934 Melbourne Centennial	intercontinental (UK to Australia)	open	Royal Aero Club (RAC)
Шаблон:AnchorFormula V Air Racing	1977	provide affordable racing	circuit	formula aircraft	Formula V Air Racing Association

Active air races

race	1st race	description	sanctioning body
Aero GP	2005	pylon races plus additional disciplines
Air Race Classic	1977	All women's cross country race, with handicapped speed planes; courses change every year with at min. 2100 NM routes, completed within 4 days; previously known as the All Women's Transcontinental Air Race (AWTAR) which in turn was popularly known as the Powder Puff Derby - founded after the first Women's Air Derby of 1929
Air Race 1 World Cup	2014	pylon races, 8 aircraft together, first one across the line wins
Air Race E	2020	Airbus-sponsored, similar to the Air Race 1 with experimental electric aircraft
Airspeeder	2022	eVTOL races with experimental electric aircraft, digital circuit tracks with one & two aircraft at a time.
British Air Racing Championship	1952	handicapped air races	Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association
European Air Racing Championship	2000	handicapped air races	Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association
Hayward Air Rally	1965	Proficiency navigation and fuel planning competition, starting in Hayward, CA (KHWD), courses vary every year.
Parabatix Sky Racers	2010	Paramotor precision air races, pylon racing, interactive ground obstacles, one & two aircraft at a time
National Championship Air Races/Reno Air Races	1964	unlimited class pylon race, also includes Formula One class	Reno Air Racing Association
Schneider Trophy	1981	landplanes, revived commemoration of original races	Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association

Classes

Restricting aircraft to a specific type or design creates a competition that focuses on pilot skill. Air racing events such as the Reno air races, incorporate multiple classes or aircraft. These may be defined by the race organiser, or by a sanctioned group. Some air races are limited to a single class. Classes used at the Reno races are as follows:

class	first race	primary description	course	sanctioning body
Шаблон:AnchorT-6 Air Racing	1946	T-6/Harvard/SNJ with a P&W R-1340-AN-1 engine	pylon
Шаблон:AnchorBiplane Air Racing	1964	Шаблон:Convert engines, mostly Pitts Specials	pylon	Professional Race Pilots Association biplane division
Шаблон:AnchorFormula One Air Racing	1970	Шаблон:Convert engines	pylon	Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)
Шаблон:AnchorFormula V Air Racing	1972	Шаблон:Convert Volkswagen engines	pylon	(defunct)
Шаблон:Anchor Sport Class Racing	1998	experimental piston powered aircraft with engines up to 1,000 Cubic Inches and capable of a 200 MPH minimum qualification lap speed.	pylon	Sport Class
Unlimited Air Racing	1964	Generally standard or modified WWII fighters, i.e., P-51 Mustang, F8F Bearcat, Hawker Sea Furys	pylon	National Air-Racing Group (NAG)
Jet Air Racing	2002	L-39, L-29 Provost, Iskra, and de Havilland Vampires	pylon	Racing Jets, Inc.

Notable racing pilots

• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• Pancho Barnes
• Lowell Bayles
• André Beaumont
• Péter Besenyei
• Louis Bleriot
• Paul Bonhomme
• Alan Cobham
• Jacqueline Cochran
• Glenn Curtiss
• Geoffrey de Havilland
• Geoffrey de Havilland Jr.
• Jimmy Doolittle
• Amelia Earhart
• Roland Garros
• Eugene Gilbert
• Claude Grahame-White
• Gustav Hamel
• Harry Hawker
• Frank Hawks
• Alex Henshaw
• Steve Hinton
• Skip Holm
• Benny Howard
• Amy Johnson
• Hubert Latham
• Tony LeVier
• Johnny Livingston
• Mike Mangold
• Paul Mantz
• Jim Mollison
• John Moisant
• Blanche Noyes
• Adolphe Pégoud
• John Cyril Porte
• C. W. A. Scott
• Lyle Shelton
• Thomas Sopwith
• Louise Thaden
• Bobbi Trout
• Roscoe Turner
• Jules Védrines
• Jimmy Wedell
• Steve Wittman
• Charles Terres Weymann

Racing airplanes

Файл:P-51D Mustang Dago Red.jpg

P-51D Mustang Dago Red

See also

• Model aircraft#Competitions
• Drone racing