An Hour With Matt Hall, Part III: Talking New Team and Fan Q & A

Matt Hall and I sat down together for a telephone chat on a dreary January afternoon. As well as talking at length about his team, his goals, and answering questions that fans had for him, Matt also revealed a very interesting detail about his team—Dennis Sawyer will be his mechanic.

In the young sport of the Red Bull Air Race, Dennis Sawyer is to Red Bull Air Race what Adrian Newey is in Formula One.

So, without further ado, Let's see what Matt had to say during our chat in the third and final installment of An Hour With....

What are your goals for this coming season?

The first goal, or priority, is to be safe. Don’t do anything that’s dangerous, and don’t even scare anyone—including myself. If I can go through a season without any scares or near misses with hard objects, that’s a good thing.

After that, I’m looking to build my team with my mechanic and team coordinator so that way we’re all somewhat self-sufficient, and we know what we’re doing without interrupting each other.

After that, it’s all about me getting as fast as possible on the track. As you can see, being fast is not my number one priority.

Staying safe, building the team and running it efficiently are my top priorities. After that, I will start to look at results.

The reason for that is, if I only look at results, and nearly kill myself, when I get out there onto the track, and my team isn’t doing the right thing, there’s no point in being in the series the next year.

What about your season-to-season goals?

Obviously, 2010 is where I want to make a good run at the championship, and I want to be seen as a contender by earning spots on the podium after each race, etc. Obviously, I’d have to be silly not to say I want to be a world champion in 2010, but I have to be realistic about the chances. They aren’t high, but they are achievable—as Hannes [Arch] proved in his second year.

As the ultimate goal, I would like to be champion in 2010. Realistically, I would like my first two seasons to be about consistency.

On to the topic of Team Hall—have you decided who will be doing which duties on the team yet?

Yep! The team is pretty much on rails now. "Matt Hall Racing" is what we’re operating under.

I’ve got a team coordinator who is a lawyer and is self-employed as a property developer. He can keep everything in line.

I have a mechanic who’s going to be working for me in Dennis Sawyer, who served as Mike Mangold’s mechanic for the last several years. He’s elected to work for me, and that’s great because he knows the system of the Red Bull Air Race. He is also an accomplished aerobatics pilot.

Apart from that, I’ve got my wife and son who will be travelling with me. She will make sure that I’m happy and that the family’s having a good time at each race.

What goals or deadlines have you set for your team from season-to-season?

Basically, I’ve written a large document for my team which has a to-do list.

At the moment, there’s quite a bit of things that we’re working on getting set for first race. I haven’t given any specific deadlines because we’re actually almost ready to go.

The plane is ready to go—which is the important part—the uniforms are on their way, my team coordinator Damien is making sure the legal side of things are taken, and they’re all very proactive people, which means that I don’t have to put deadlines on them!

So is Dennis Sawyer keeping you realistic in terms of goals that are set for this coming year?

Not so much right now. Dennis hasn’t had a lot of input in terms of development. We’ve exchanged quite a few e-mails, and he seems happy in what he’s seen of our organization.

He’s pretty happy with the direction I’m setting, and he’s just waiting until I come to America. I’m using my military organization and command skills to plan this. But, my ears are open to suggestions—and I've got some big ears.

Apart from the two types of aircraft depending on weather conditions in the Red Bull Air Race, which aircraft would you most prefer to use if you were able to modify it to the specifications required?

I guess you’re talking about if I would like to race in the Extreme, right? I think that the MXS, if we can get the weight down on it, will be a fantastic race plane. It’s got a smooth line as far as aerodynamics go, and the Extreme has overall faster lines.

If the Extreme was able to meet race specifications, and somebody else did the experimenting on it, then I think it would become a very fast race plane.

You flew the Extra 300SR at the qualifying camp. How different is it compared to the Edge or MXS? Is it easier or more difficult to control?

The Extra I flew was easier to fly than the MXS I’m going to be racing. An easy plane to fly will also be a slower plane. It will be more stable, which means that it won’t be able to roll as fast, meaning it can’t pull  G's as quickly.

I think I was pretty lucky to get that Extra at Qualifying Camp because it was quite easy to fly at a low level and I could concentrate on learning to fly through gates. Not having flown the MXS yet, I suspect that it’s going to be more challenging to fly, but not un-flyable. I need it to be a natural extension of my body.

Will you be taking on any sponsors for this coming season? If so, who are they?

I hope so, but I haven’t gotten any yet. I’ve signed up a marketing agent here in Australia who’s looking to find local Australian sponsors, but it might just be an international sponsor who would like to use my wings as a billboard. I have to see how that will play out, but hopefully I will have sponsors at some point this year.

Will you be planning anything special for the Australian leg of the tour if the Air Race goes to Perth again?

I haven’t really thought of anything yet for the Australian leg of the tour, and that special something would probably be in 2010.

I am planning to do something in Australia prior to the 2009 championship kicking, off so in late March, early April having some sort of demonstration/party. As far as the 2010 championship is concerned, I haven’t thought of anything yet.

What advice would you give to young military pilots who have aspirations to fly in the Red Bull Air Race?

Really, I would just have to say to be the best military pilot you can be. As I said earlier, the skills and mental discipline I learned in the military helped in how I will be racing. Take advantage of it there, be extremely good and once you’ve become the best you can be, then take the step across laterally into racing if you can.

The final five portion is where I ask five questions that don’t require much thought, and they can be even light-hearted:

The city I would most like to win an Air Race is…

Sydney

My hero or heroes in aviation is or are…

Charles Kingsford Smith

Apart from Air Racing, other sports I like to follow are…

Cricket (chuckles)!

I like to relax by…

Reading a book!

If I wasn’t a pilot, I would rather be…

A Yachtsman.

This last portion of the questions are from fans who have their own questions

How has your training for the Air Race differed from your training in the Air Force? What new techniques have you had to work on?—Dave from San Francisco

I’ve had to work on being an individual. In the military, it’s a team effort and I’m flying as part of a squadron or as part of a formation and I have a lot of people around me assisting me in doing that job.

In aerobatics and air racing, it’s really all up to me—it’s my decision, my application of my plan in terms of how it will go. The disciplines and flying styles are very similar though, as I’ve said previously.

Which would you prefer—flying in combat or flying for competition? Which is more challenging?—Sarah from India

Flying in competition is actually more challenging. I wouldn’t prefer to go into combat. I’ve been there and it’s a different emotion. It can be extremely challenging, and it’s all about staying alive. The competition side is about keeping it all under control. In combat, you can't really measure perfection unless you’re using weapons.

Who is your favourite air race champion? Whose style and technique do you like the most?—Sarah from India

I would probably say that I watch Paul Bonhomme the most because of his style of flying and how he keeps his composure under pressure. His flying style is very coordinated and measured, and it seems to get him consistent results.

For a rookie, Matt is quite mature about what he's going to do. He realizes that being at the top is a step-by-step process, and not one that can start immediately.

He is the fan favourite to be the top rookie for the upcoming season, and judging from our conversation, I can understand why.

You can read the other two parts of the interview in the following links:

Part I

Part II

Special thanks to the Red Bull Air Race for their support to put the writer in contact with Matt, to the fans for their questions and of course, Matt Hall himself for taking time out of his busy schedule to take part in this interview.

If you would like to ask a a Red Bull air race a question in the future, please keep an eye on the Bleacher Report Red Bull Air Race section.