The Quadro Will Make or Break Your Race

Many say that a Red Bull Air Race involves following a course cleanly and quickly in order to win it. This is true; however, a standard Red Bull Air Race track does give the pilots some wiggle room, in order to maximize their setups and shave off hundredths of a second.

The most prominent way to better their time over that of their fellow competitors is the quadro.

The quadro consists of four red pylons arranged in a square formation. Usually, the track for the Red Bull Air Race is designed so that once one end of the quadro is flown through, the plane has to make a 270-degree turn to go through it again from another end.

Of course, all tracks are not created equal, and it's all about angles. What might have worked in the last race in getting you to the top-four shootout might not work out for you in the next race.

The way I see it, the quadro is the most decisive element of one's Red Bull Air Race. When watching the manner of flying that the pilots take to the course, the angle that one takes to the quadro either gets them to gain or lose the most.

According to Mike Mangold, "The biggest decision a pilot has to make is how hard to roll." He says, "Pull hard, the tighter the radius, the shorter the turn, but the drawback is the exit speed."

The problem for the exit speed is that once you exit the quadro, you will be slow because of the drag created while making that turn.

So basically, all pilots have a dilemma: Either go short and tight but have a slower exit, or long and roomy when making that 270-degree turn in order to make the race.

It is a tough decision that the pilots make, and while hundredths of a second may mean little or nothing to us, to the pilots of the Red Bull Air Race, it's the difference between winning and losing.

Stay tuned this coming week; the Red Bull Air Race will return to its home of Budapest, host of the race since its inception.