A Look At Romania And Romanians

Aero GP is a cutting-edge motor sports series involving high-performance aerobatics aeroplanes racing around a tight circuit at near ground level, dropping bombs on targets and competing in real air to air combat heats. The competing pilots are highly trained military and civilian pilots from around the globe. Aero GP is unique in that it is the only international, televised event where aeroplanes race simultaneously.

Competitive elements

Three primary disciplines in series decide the annual World Champion Flying Ace:

Air Racing: All racing at the same time, between six and eight aircraft reach speeds of 500 km/h at just 10 metres above the racecourse.

Air Combat: A real air-to-air “dogfight”. Highly trained pilots take to the skies in an attempt to out-manoeuvre, hunt down and shoot each other out of the sky, in the style of military air combat.

Barnstorming: A third element which can consist of any of the following - depending on the venue: aerobatics, stunt flying or precision target dropping - pilots drop bombs from their aircraft at low altitude, aiming at various targets.

History

The first Aero GP was held in 2005 although the concept dates to 2000. The inaugural event, held in Slovenia, was televised in over 100 countries. Since then Aero GP's have been held in Malta, Romania (twice), The United Kingdom, and Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

The Pilots

Aero GP pilots are among the best in the world. Highly trained in a range of military and aerobatic aircraft, these pilots represent the most elite level an aviator can achieve. They come from a variety of countries and backgrounds. Fighter pilots, aerobatics champions, and civil aviation pilots are all known to compete.

Aero GP pilots have taken years of dedicated work and training to get to the Elite level of the sport. Their bodies are put through tremendous amounts of G- Force when performing in their aircraft. The sort of forces which a normal human cannot begin to comprehend - blood drains from the brain and goes to the legs. Then the brain begins to shut down – first to go is colour vision, then the peripheral vision and soon afterwards you lose consciousness.

Being an Aero GP pilot is having the skills and endurance to go way beyond the normal human experience and the ability push your physical and mental capacity to the very limit under the most extreme and trying type of conditions.

2008 series

The series consisted of two Aero GP's. June saw the Aero GP team return to Constanta in Romania and this was followed by a second round in Blackpool, UK.