Red Bull Air Race

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CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom – Current Red Bull Air Race world champion Paul Bonhomme has been awarded the top UK prize for outstanding achievement in aviation. The Royal Aero Club’s Britannia trophy for 2009 will be presented to the race pilot at a ceremony in April. With a growing haul of silverware from his impressive flying achievements, the trophy cabinet at the Bonhomme residence must be getting full.

Dating back to 1913, the historic Britannia trophy has been given to pioneering British pilots for nearly a century and Bonhomme’s world championship win has been duly noted as an outstanding achievement in aviation.  “To say that I am chuffed to bits would be an understatement,” said Bonhomme, who received the good news while test flying his Edge 540 in Phoenix, Arizona ahead of the first race of 2010, which takes place in Abu Dhabi next month. “I’d like to pass a huge thanks to Alan Cassidy MBE and the British Aerobatic Association for the nomination,” he added.

INSPIRATIONAL ROLE MODELS

Bonhomme says his lifelong fascination with flight began as a young boy, when he would listen in awe to his father’s inspiring stories. “He would enthrall my brother and I with his tales of Army helicopter flying and flying for the airlines,” said the British pilot who obtained his pilot’s licence aged 17 – the minimum age you can legally fly in the UK.

Another key role model for the young Bonhomme was an aerobatic pilot called Richard Goode – a man well known in UK aerobatic circles and who later became an important mentor for Bonhomme. “Certainly without Richard’s influence I would not have progressed in the aerobatic world nearly as quickly,” admitted Bonhomme, who often says being in the right place at the right time has been a major factor in his success. “Richard asked me to display his Pitts at the World Aerobatic Championship in 1986 when the wind was too strong for competition flights – a nerve-wracking moment for a 22-year-old!”

Now a role model himself for future generations of pilots, Bonhomme is aware that this responsibility is not to be taken lightly. “It is possibly the most important factor in aviation if you want to proceed,” said the world champ, when considering how instrumental a good role model can be in a pilot’s progress. “You need someone to advise you on safety, how to handle yourself, on how to be confident – but not too confident, and on a regular basis, you need to be reminded that complacency can be extremely dangerous. That should go on until the day you stop flying.”

 

 


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