With speeds of up to 400km/h and G-forces up to 12, skill and technology have come together in Makhanda skies. Tracy Smith and David Maclennan watched the action and spoke to the actors.
Makhanda has been host to world-class aerobatics this month, as Gqeberha pilot Patrick Davidson uses the Makhanda airstrip as a base for his Air Race X championship bid. The website (airrace.com) describes it as: “an aerial motorsport utilising the latest technologies, where pilots with the world’s best flying skills compete remotely in terms of precision and time in operating race-specialised small aircraft under extreme conditions”.
The 400 km/h top speeds and up to 12G of acceleration forces are part of those extreme conditions.
The contestants use GPS locations as virtual pylons to fly between and their laps are recorded and reported to the Japan-based competition centre. Pilots compare their performance over several attempts over a period of 10 days.
The 2024 Air Race X series features eight pilots from around the world, with three races scheduled. The first of two remote rounds is under way; the next remote round is in September, which can be watched via online streaming. There will be a Digital Round in October, which can be experienced in XR as well as being streamed online.
Following Davidson on the ground are his manager and Red Bull team coordinator Greg Ritz, and professional photographer Jeff Latham.
“I missed some of my goals in today’s race, so I will try again tomorrow,” he told our citizen reporters who were among the amazed onlookers at the Makhanda aerodrome last Wednesday. “I’m hoping for better, stronger winds, for a better take-off and a better performance.”
Davidson, who is sponsored by Red Bull, is one of only eight pilots from around the world competing in the contest for precision and speed.
Talk of the Town followed up with questions for Davidson, sent and received via WhatsApp.
TALK OF THE TOWN: How long have you been flying and who or what got you started?
PATRICK DAVIDSON: I started flying with my dad and grandpa at a young age. I remember getting sick in the plane fortunate my love for flying got me through the bumpy flights. My taste of aerobatic success came when I won first aerobatic contest with a safety pilot at the age of twelve. I continued flying aerobatics in a Yak52 until I was able to do my license in a T6 Harvard. I did my solo on my 17th birthday before school and never stopped flying. When I was 25 I became South Africa’s youngest aerobatic champion, securing a spot in my first FAI World Aerobatic Championship.
Aerobatics has always been a passion of mine as it involves precision and discipline and that’s what I knew growing up. Air racing was a dream, watching 14 of the world’s top pilots on TV racing meters of the ground through pylons and under bridges…. Air Racing was the F1 of flying and the only way you could get in was by invitation only. Not to mention that you had to have a military “top gun” background or be in the top 10 of the Unlimited World Aerobatics ranking in the world…. But even then you had no guarantee of being selected.
TOTT: How did you get involved in the Air Race X competition?
PD: My quest to be an air race pilot started in June 2016. I know this sounds weird but I had a dream I was racing in the Red Bull Air Race and Greg, an acquaintance, was there with me. I contacted Greg [Ritz] the next morning and told him about the dream and all he said was “Hectic, I’ll call you back”… And the rest is history, I arrived in Spain that November for my first training camp as a Challenger Pilot, which is like the F2 of Air Race and we raced in the Red Bull Air Race 2 full seasons 2018 and 2019 with Greg as my manager.
In 2020 Covid hit and the Red Bull Air Race was shut down. That meant a lot of people lost jobs and had to find different ways of surviving. Through it all, some of the original Air Race Pilots started working on ideas to bring racing back but the biggest obstacle was money, sponsorship, investors.
In 2022, three of the Master Air Race pilots created a “virtual reality” race experience and I was fortunate enough to be invited as one of the 8 pilots from around the world to take part in this world’s first VR reality Air race know now as Air Race X. ARX consist of 8 pilots from around the world racing each other without leaving their own country with the use of cutting edge precision technology, we are talking about racing through GPS markers being measured to 3cm precision. 2023 was the first time that ARX was held and we competed from our home field in Seaview, Port Elizabeth. The concept was very new to me and the technology involved to bring this VR / AR racing experience to its target market was very overwhelming but satisfying because myself and 7 other like minded pilots from around the world got to do something we love… fly fast and compete.
TOTT: Why Makhanda’s aerodrome?
PD: Last year we raced from our home field in Seaview, Port Elizabeth and found the undulating terrain very challenging. The technology used to measure the flight was so precise that we struggled to maintain level flight with the uneven terrain, with Red Bull Air race it was easy because you could judge your high as you fly through the pylons but with air race X there are no pylons. We are using ground markers that are flat 3x3m white sheets on specified GPS locations.
We looked at various options that are not too far from home and Grahamstown was an option. We consulted with ARX to see if the GPS track would fit within the aerodrome space and then contacted the flying club. We then went through the legal process of applying to the CAA and with all parties happy, G-Town was our flying field of choice and soon became the topic of conversation within the international air race community.
TOTT: How do you prepare for a challenge like this?
PD: Like any sport you need to be fit for your Dicipline. Air Racing and aerobatics requests a lot of core, neck and general fitness not to mention gravity fit. I pull between 10 and 12G’s on every lap of the circuit. That is 10 – 12 times my body weight. So if y helmet weighs 2kg it becomes 20kg’s on my head during a big pull to complete a high turn. I gym 2 times a week with a trainer and do a lot of MTB riding and Padel. Leading up to a competition I would increase my gym volume and cycle less just for the risk of injury. As a Red Bull Athlete I also have to go to Austria for assessments minimum once a year.
TOTT: Do you have a daytime job? ????
PD: Yes I do have a real job. I have a earth moving and demolition company with my brother in PE which takes up most of my time.
TOTT: What’s you recommendation for a young person who thinks they’d like to be a pilot and/or stunt flier?
PD: If you want to get into flying I recommend you contact the Grahamstown flying club and go for an introduction flight with Peter. If you really enjoy it and you are passionate about it chase your dream. Hangout at the flying field help the pilots and learn as much as you can and then enrol to do your PPL and take to from there. Don’t stop dreaming that how I started.
I just want to thanks everyone for the support and being so accommodating. To learn more about the rules and to follow the racing visit www.airracex.com
Air Race X will be broadcast live on YouTube Sunday May 26.
- Additional reporting by Sue Maclennan. This article was first published in Talk of the Town, May 23, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
