The Science of Air Racing

My human biology degree from the University of Toronto is almost finished and there has to be a way to connect the amazing sport of the Red Bull Air Race to my field of study.

The Red Bull Air Race is a sight to behold for both aviation buffs and the casual observer. In the real world, fields of science are not mutually exclusive—you will have two or more very different fields working in harmony with each other and the RBAR is no different from that. It is a sport that has a lot of physics (the other f-word!) and biology that are intertwined within each other.

g Forces on the Human Body

Probably the most obvious of both the physical and biological aspect of the Red Bull Air Race involves the forces of gravity. The name says it all!

g forces are a non-SI unit that measure how much force is put on both man and machine.

When g forces are implemented on a human being, the first thing that they notice is that they feel something heavy push down on them and that everything appears to blur out or get dark if there are more g forces being used on them. That is what is known as positive g. You as the pilot have your body pushed because of the high speed force against you.

As well, with greater forces of gravity, blood has a harder time circulating, thus causing limited flow to the brain and other extremities of one's body. This causes a sort of numbness and a person can even pass out because of the lack of circulation.

A better way to understand the concept of the positive g is when riding a roller-coaster at optimal speed. You feel force hitting against you.

Typically, a roller-coaster rider experiences three g of force at max for a period not exceeding three seconds. There are exceptions with some amusement park rides pushing g forces upwards of six!

Typically, a human being of average weight can sustain a lot of g for a very short time on the body, but only seconds. However, they can withstand it much longer if g is isolated on a small portion of the body like the arm or leg.

The amount of g forces experienced during sports vary. For a Formula One driver, they tend to experience about six g at a max during cornering and about two g when accelerating. One exception to this is the spectacular crash that Robert Kubica had at the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix in 2007. He had experienced approximately 75 g of force.

In the Red Bull Air Race, around three to five g is the norm because of air-speeds of over 350 kph and low resistance during acceleration with forces exceeding that of 10 g when it comes to the tricky maneuvers like the half-Cuban eight.

It's tough, and while 10 g on the body is very difficult, and can even black out a person of average build, a Red Bull Air Race pilot has to put a lot of time and dedication into training himself to be able to take that type of stress on the body.

Staying fit and being flexible are the best ways to be able to tolerate g forces. It's a common sight that before a qualifying and race, Mike Mangold is seen doing push-ups and stretches before he hops into his Edge 540.

Doing a warmup regiment before a race is an excellent way to stay flexible and be able to tolerate g forces more. There is more than what the audience sees, which includes a strict diet and plenty of working out during the time between races or even seasons.

While none of the pilots disclosed what their secrets were to staying fit well into their 40s and 50s, the main hints I got were keeping the weight off, regularly exercising, and staying energized.

In the Red Bull Air Race, if you want to separate the men from the boys, g forces are the way to do it. The ones that pull higher g tend to be the ones that will shave off tenths or even hundredths of a second in order to make it to the flyoffs. The reason for this is that pilots will take the "inside line" which can be more punishing, but have the potential for a greater reward.

As Paul Bonhomme told me in Detroit: "I love g...it's good for your cardiovascular system!"