In this first in a series of Tech Talks, Red Bull Air Race Technical Director Jim 'Jimbo' Reed takes a closer look at wing design, and explains how the forces of flight make raceplanes fly.
The sight and sound of a Red Bull Air Race race plane screaming through the pylons is something to behold. Fans can feel the power of the race plane engine as it flies through the track, and it's all thanks to the six-cylinder Lycoming Thunderbolt engine.
Technical Director Jim Reed offers up some tech talk on the standardized 3-blade Kevlar Hartzell propellers used by all pilots in the Red Bull Air Race.
Technical director of the Red Bull Air Race, Jim Reed explains the pilots' office - the cockpit.
Technical Director of the Red Bull Air Race, Jim Reed, explains how the pilots can control their airplane.
The pilots of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship often talk about being able to change the CofG (Centre of Gravity) as it can help them in the racetrack. But what exactly is the CofG, and how can it affect the handling of the raceplane? Technical Director of the Red Bull Air Race, Jim 'Jimbo' Reed is on hand to explain...
In this latest Tech Talk, Red Bull Technical Director, Jim 'Jimbo' Reed explains the finer points of aircraft handling. He inlists the help of Master Class pilot, Cristian Bolton to explain how they set up the raceplane to give them the exact handling they want in the track...
In the Red Bull Air Race aerodynamics is king. So how do you make your raceplane fly smoothly through the air when there's a big, square engine at the front? Technical Director Jim 'Jimbo' Reed explains how to make flying as efficient as possible...
Every team in the Red Bull Air Race is trying to gain the smallest advantage against their rivals. Due to the introduction of standardised engines and propellers, the teams have looked at aerodynamics. Here Jim 'Jimbo' Reed, the Technical Director of the series, explains where on the raceplane the slightest change can make a big difference.
Red Bull Air Race Technical Director, Jim Reed, covers the two types of aircraft that compete in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship.
Aviation legend and Red Bull Air Race Technical Director, Jim ‘Jimbo’ Reed is back with another Tech Talk! This time it’s all about the stall, how it effects the raceplane, what happens and why! In the Red Bull Air Race every second counts and if a pilot stalls his wing during a high-G turn it can cost them a fraction of a second – that’s the difference between winning and losing!
In motorsport everyone tries to gain that extra advantage over their rivals. Some even bend or break the rules. However, in the Red Bull Air Race there is the eagle-eyed Technical Director, Jim 'Jimbo' Reed on site to make sure rules are obeyed. And as a former team technician he knows how every rule can be broken, although he would never have dreamed of doing it himself.
A wing stall will cost the pilot valuable time in the track, so the technicians and teams come up with ideas on how to try to lower the chances of this happening. Red Bull Air Race Technical Director Jim 'Jimbo' Reed explains one technique – vortex generators – and how they can help...
To ensure a fair sporting event occurs in the Red Bull Air Race everything has to be measured. There is a unit inside every raceplane called the Position Reporting Unit (PRU), it can measure 40 different parameters at a rate of 1,000 times per second. Technical Director Jim Reed explains all...
To the untrained eye, the raceplanes might look exactly the same, apart from the paint scheme. But those who know are well aware that there are plenty of minute differences, one of the most obvious is the winglets and wingtips. Here Red Bull Air Race Technical Director Jim "Jimbo" Reed explains what they do, and why every team has a variation on a theme...
With each team trying to shave hundredths of seconds off their run time, they will try anything they can to reduce drag and increase speed. In Chiba Yoshihide Muroya tested a smaller vertical tail, but changed it back soon after when he realised he needed more time with it to get used to the change in handling. Let Red Bull Air Race Technical Director Jim "Jimbo" Reed explain the advantages and disadvantages of having a smaller tail...
In every motorsport, safety is always a topic of concern. To put people's minds at ease, Technical Director Jim 'Jimbo' Reed is on hand to explain how the pilots remain safe, no matter what might get thrown at them during a race...
The Challengers now compete in the Edge 540 V2 – the same raceplane flown by many of the Masters, but there are notable differences. Jim 'Jimbo' Reed, the Red Bull Air Race's Technical Director, compares the two planes.
