Aero GP is an international
air racing
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 pre ...
series with up to eight specially designed high-performance sports planes all racing together at speeds of up to around a tight circuit just metres off the ground and from each other.
The competing pilots are military and civilian pilots from around the world. Aero GP is the only international, televised event where aeroplanes race simultaneously. Aero GP officially started in 2005 in
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
. From there it has travelled to several countries in Europe and Middle East. Instead of the checked flag pattern, Aero GP judges its participants on the basis of points won in individual events; hence, there is no clear winner until the end of the event. The YouTube page for Aero GP has not been updated since 2013 and the original website is no longer online, so it is assumed that this racing league is now defunct.
Competitive elements
Three primary disciplines in series decide the annual ''World Champion Flying Ace'':
Air Racing: All racing at the same time, between six and eight aircraft reach speeds of at just above the racecourse.
Air Combat: A real air-to-air "
dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...
". Pilots take to the skies in an attempt to outmanoeuvre, hunt down and shoot each other out of the sky, in the style of military air combat.
Barnstorming: A third element which can consist of any of the following, depending on the venue: aerobatics, stunt flying or precision target dropping - pilots drop bombs from their aircraft at low altitude, aiming at various targets.
History
The first Aero GP was held in 2005 although the concept dates to 2000. The inaugural event, held in Slovenia, was televised in over 100 countries. Since then Aero GP's have been held in
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
,
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
(twice), the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
in the
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
.
Pilots
Aero GP pilots have backgrounds in flying a range of military and aerobatic aircraft. They come from a variety of countries and backgrounds.
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...
s,
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 ...
champions, and
civil aviation
Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, which can be both private and commercial. Most countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and ...
pilots are all known to compete. They are put through tremendous amounts of
G-force
The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...
when performing in their aircraft.
Regular Aero GP pilots
* Andy Bickmor
* Zoltan Vere
* "Smokey" Youn
* Gerry Coope
* Mark Jefferie
2008 series
The series consisted of two Aero GP's. June saw the Aero GP team return to
Constanta in Romania, and this was followed by a second round in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
, UK.
2009 series
The 2009 series saw Aero GP visit the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
for the first time. Aero GP headlined the
Al Ain
Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is Oman–United Arab Emirates border, bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al A ...
air show in the United Arab Emirates between January 29 and 31. Multiple other venues were discussed for 2009, and these were to be announced in the new year.
Accidents
During the Malta show on 10 September 2006, two planes, an
Extra EA-200
The Extra 200 (Type EA-200) is a two-seat, tandem arrangement, low-wing aerobatic monoplane with conventional ( taildragger) landing gear fully capable of Unlimited category competition, built by Extra Flugzeugbau.
Designed by Walter Extra, it ...
and a
Yakovlev Yak-55, collided just outside
Marsamxett Harbour
Marsamxett Harbour (), historically also referred to as Marsamuscetto, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It is located to the north of the larger Grand Harbour. The harbour is generally more dedicated to leisure use than the Grand Ha ...
off
Valletta
Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...
. The Swedish pilot of the Yak-55, aerobatics champion
Gabor Varga, died instantly. However, the Irish Extra 200 pilot, Eddie Goggins, suffered only minor injuries and was soon released after the crash.
planecrashinfo.com Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents: 2000s
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References
{{Reflist,
refs=
[The Aero GP Website](_blank)
/ref>
[17 teams will participate in the show from around the world, Abu Dhabi Tourism, December 28, 2008](_blank)
{{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118191602/http://www.abudhabitourism.ae/en/news/alain.fly.aspx , date=January 18, 2009
[Swedish aerobatic champion Varga dies in first stage of Malta Aero Grand Prix aerial race in Malta - Print By: Justin Wastnage London, 11 Sep 2006](_blank)
/ref>
External links
Aero GP
Further reading
Formula 1 air race coming to Mumbai - Times Of India - IANS - Aug 3, 2011
Air racing