Energy Drink maker Red Bull looks to get media attention by coming up with the most outrageous aviation-related events imaginable. If that’s the goal, then this year’s Red Bull Aces championship, a race among “pilots” wearing wing suits, was surely a success.
Held in the skies above Arizona last weekend, the race pitted wingsuit flyers against each other, with the racers speeding down a 4,300-foot “course” defined by balloon-style gates through which the competitors “slalom.” (Yes, I’m wearing out the quotation mark key.)
The racers jump from a helicopter mothership, and then, according to Red Bull, reach speeds of up to 160 mph, as they fly/descend through the course, with the fastest finisher winning the crown.
This year’s winner was Noah Bahnson, who edged out second-place finisher Will Kitto and third-place flyer Andy Farrington, all of the USA, giving the host country an unprecedented sweep.
After passing the finish-line gate, the racers deploy their parachutes to land under the canopy back at the race center.
Learn more about the Red Bull Aces contest.