The Chicanes: Not As Easy As They Look

For those that watch motorsports with a passion, they know of the chicanes: a place where cars slow down and passing is more possible.

In the Red Bull Air Race, a chicane is a set of three or four single pylons that a pilot must fly around in a slalom style. As for angles, the pilot has a choice of flying wide or narrow.

Should the pilot fly wide, he will lose valuable tenths of a second while not putting a whole lot of pressure on the body and can make a quick exit to the next gate and improve his time.

If he goes narrow, the pilot can gain tenths of a second but will have the added expense of putting g-forces on his body and be slow to respond to other gates.

In air racing, it's all a matter of how much you can put on yourself and how much you're willing to give in the pursuit of the fastest time.

When observing chicane flying, it's all about the type of track in order to maximize time.

For example, in Abu Dhabi, it was the first time that there were two chicanes in a row, and as a result, flying narrow meant getting the fastest time. However, with flying narrow, it meant that some pilots were hitting the pylons too, therefore adding a 10-second penalty to their times.

Just to show how narrow the chicane was, when observing Hannes Arch's final flight in the Abu Dhabi track, one could clearly see the pylons shaking in the slipstream of his aircraft.

In contrast, at Detroit, a wider angle was taken in the chicanes because of the track's technicality. As a result, no pylons were hit, thus giving some room for pilots.

Overall, while not the same as a quadro in terms of making or breaking an air race, the chicane still poses a technical challenge for the pilot. Every track is different, so the approach that pilots take will not be universal but there will be similarities.

The next Red Bull Air Race will be held in Porto, better known as the city of bridges, where the new and exciting blend with the old and historical. See you in a fortnight!

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