Frank Versteegh (born 19 September 1954) is a Dutch

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

. He is also an airshow organiser, a flight safety committee member, a FAI judge and a freestyle aerobatics competitor. Versteegh was born in

Oosterbeek Oosterbeek is a village in the eastern part of Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Renkum in the province of Gelderland, about west of Arnhem. The oldest part of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp (Lower Village), on the northern bank ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and started his flying career in 1972 at the age of 18. Between 1982 and 1994, he competed in European and World Championships. During his career, he flew in over 1,250 aerobatic displays at major aviation events all over the world, using over 160 different types of aircraft. He flew his first display in a

Cessna 150 The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 22-23. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. In 19 ...

aerobat in 1983. Between 1987 and 1989, he flew in the Pitts S-2S G-SOLO, which also flew in the Rothmanns team as a solo aircraft. In 1989, the Pitts was sold to a German buyer. He flew back in a newly acquired Zlin 50 LS which had been Manfred Strossenreuther's prior to his death near

Teuge Teuge is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland, between Apeldoorn and Deventer. It is part of the municipality of Voorst. Its population is around 800 people and it is best known for being the location of Teuge International Airport. The ...

in the Netherlands. In this aircraft, Versteegh won the Open Dutch National Unlimited Aerobatic Championship in that same year. His sponsor "Shake 20" made it possible to purchase his new

Extra 300 The Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 is a two-seat aerobatic monoplane capable of Unlimited category competition. It was designed in 1987 by Walter Extra, a German aerobatic pilot, and built by Extra Flugzeugbau. Design and development Design of ...

, a mid-wing composite mono-plane. Versteegh flew three years in this plane under a Shake 20 license, but changed to a new sponsor "Volny" in 1995. During 1996, Volny made it possible to purchase his current airplane, the Extra 300L. In July 1997, he was the first pilot ever to make a touch and go in an Extra 300L (D-EZOZ) on a 70-meter-long river freighter. He performed the feat on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Rhenen Rhenen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, and Elst (Utrecht), Elst. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, n ...

in his home country. The stunt took place during an airshow which was attended by 50,000 spectators. After participating in the FAI World Cup of Aerobatics for three years, he specialized in freestyle

and skydancing. Currently, Versteegh is one of the selected pilots in the

Red Bull Air Race World Series The World Championship Air Race is a series of air races sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). Originally established in 2003 as the Red Bull Air Race, and created by Red Bull GmbH, the event involves competitors navigating a ...

, already participating since the event started in 2003. He was, however, unable to score any points in the 2005 and 2006 series finishing in 8th and 11th position. Versteegh has a Jack Russell Terrier called "Joe the Co", who is known as his mascot. Joe the Co was born on 12 July 1996 and has been flying alongside Versteegh in the Extra 300L, the Bücker "Jungmann",

Robinson R44 The Robinson R44 is a four-seat light helicopter produced by Robinson Helicopter Company since 1992. Derived from the company's two-seat Robinson R22, the R44 features hydraulically assisted flight controls and a larger engine. It was first ...

A-26 Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major Col ...

and many other aircraft. The dog joins Versteegh in most of his airshows.

Competitions and tournaments

;1982–1994: * Dutch Aerobatic Champion ;1985: * South African Masters La Mercy,

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

;1987: * Eurobatics Speichersdorf,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

;1989: * Masters Palaborwa,

* Eurobatics Becescaba,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

;1990: * Masters

Ocaña, Spain Ocaña is a municipality of Spain, in the province of Toledo, Castilla–La Mancha. Toponymy The term ''Ocaña'' seems to have the base word ''olca-'' that originates from the Celtiberian 'fertile ground, meadow', and could have evolved into: ...

* World Championship,

Yverdon Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Ancient Rome, Roman era) is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Jura-North Vaudois District, Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

;1991: * International Masters of Aerobatics,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

* Eurobatics,

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

;1992: * World Championship,

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

;1993: Contest director World Glider Aerobatic Championship,

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...

* Breitling World Cup of Aerobatics ;1998: * Freestyle Cup

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

, Italy (Winner of the Reggiani Freestyle Cup) ;2000: * Freestyle Cup Milano Bresso, Italy (Silver medal) ;2002: * Italian Free Style Championship

(Second position) ;2003: * Melilla Masters,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

* Italy Reggiani Trophy (Fourth position) ; 2006: * Italian Freestyle championships (First position) Legend: * CAN: Cancelled * DNP: Did not participate * DNS: Did not show * DQ: Disqualified * NC: Not classified

References

Official websiteRed Bull Air Race World Series official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Versteegh, Frank 1954 births Living people People from Renkum Sportspeople from Gelderland Dutch aviators Dutch air racers Red Bull Air Race World Championship pilots Aerobatic pilots

Competitions and tournaments

See also

References