Far from the departures gate at the airport, this is air-based action as you’ve never seen it before…

If you lift your gaze to the skies in Al Ain next week, you could experience any of the following things: plumes of smoke, roaring engines and people hurling themselves from planes in parachutes.

But prepare for amazement, rather than alarm, as aerobatic aces will dipping, diving, swooping and looping for an action-packed contest.

Returning for its 11th year, the Al Ain Air Championship will be hurtling at breakneck speed into the skies above Al Ain International Airport from 17th to 19th December for some spectacular stunts guaranteed to make you ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’.

It’s the Formula 1 of the skies where some of the leading pilots in the business can be seen plying their daredevil trade. The competition is fierce so you can expect these high fliers to pull out all the stops.

Gaining altitude

Earning your stripes as an aerobatic performer is no walk in the park. Pilot Richard Goodwin, from the UK-based team of the same name, has logged his flying hours in a number of different ways.

“I was brought up in the military, so flying was always around me. I joined the Royal Air Force, and then after that I became a commercial pilot,” he says. “The aerobatic displays have added a new dimension to my flying over the last ten years.”

However, if aerobatic flying was a natural progression for fighter pilot Richard, it was a very different route into the sport for Amanda Scheffler, co-owner of the all-women skydiving team The Misty Blues.

A certified welding inspector by trade, Amanda found herself looking for ‘something to do’ and found it, of all places, by hurling herself from a plane.

“It started with curiosity,” she says. “When I was 18, I was bored and needed to add a bit of spice to my life. My friend Cindy was telling me about her skydiving team and I thought to myself, ‘I want to experience that!’”

Since then, Amanda has clocked up over 1,200 jumps and has been with the Misty Blues for nine years of her 14-year skydiving career.

Adrenaline rush

Far from being scared, these daredevils get a kick out of their stunts in the skies and out of conceiving complex combinations to wow the crowds on terra firma.

“It’s a tremendous amount of exhilaration,” smiles Richard. “It’s a mental and physical challenge unlike any other, and the best part is that feeling of all my hard work come to fruition right from building the plane to completing the routine.”

“I love bringing something different to the airshow arena and entertaining the public too,” he adds.

For Amanda, that first jump gave her a rush that has had her hooked ever since.

“I remember my first jump feeling so great. It’s the closest you come to being able to fly,” explains Amanda.

“It was an incredible rush of life!” she adds. “I had never experienced my physical senses so focused on the moment before. It was loud and windy and an overload of the senses and I knew once I landed I had to do it again.”

The highlight of the act is all in the audience for Amanda, which provides a rush that cannot be replicated: “I really enjoy interacting with the crowd while flying in my canopy.”

Tricks of the trade

Although it might seem easy to fall out of a plane, Amanda notes that there’s a lot of complicated planning involved to get the team working in harmony and near terminal velocity.

“It first starts with thinking through all of the possibilities of what could possibly go wrong,” she explains. “We make changes to ensure those possibilities are limited and talk it all through together. Then we go out and do the sky dive and make small modifications until it’s just how we want it.”

For aerobatic pilot Richard, it is a little like assembling a 3D puzzle in the sky.

“We’ve got three dimensions to play with, so our aim is to get things repeatable and predictable.

“How we approach it is by perfecting all the individual manoeuvres, and then we choreograph the manoeuvres into a routine,” he adds.

“One of my favourite manoeuvres is called the ‘Tower of Power’,” laughs Richard. “We get a lot of speed on and we pull up into a vertical. We roll the aeroplane on its vertical axis so the plane starts going backwards.”

Marvellous machines

But what about the machines themselves, also the stars of the show? Richard explains that it’s all in the modifications to build the perfect plane, something with which he has always been fascinated.

“My love for aircraft started when I was making model aircrafts as a kid. I’ve combined my passion for building things with my passion for flying the aircraft I now have.”

The goal is to keep the plane as light as possible with a highly modified engine in it to give the best possible performance.

“The biplane is not high-tech like other planes; it’s got spirit and soul. It’s made of wood
and material. When you sit in it, it’s like you’re putting those wings on.”

Top guns

Alongside Richard Goodwin Airshows and the Misty Blues, there will be six other teams loop-the-looping for that grand prize. With 11 acts in total flying in from all over the world, the competition has never been tougher.

Aerobatic aces from Poland, Saudi Arabia, the US and Belgium, to mention but a few, will be setting their navigation for Al Ain International Airport to show off their stunts, the roar of their engines and colourful trails.

The UAE’s own national team Al Fursan will be taking to the skies in a series of dazzling displays with plumes of smoke in national colours. The team comprises seven Italian-built Aermacchi jet aircrafts and is known for its tight formation flying.

One of the undoubted highlights will be the UK-based Breitling Wingwalkers. The cat suit-clad team will be swooping in for the show with an act featuring aerobatic manoeuvres and daring stunts attached to the wings of the plane in mid-air.

Plus keep a look out for the distinctive green and white jets of the Saudi Hawks, as well as the Glider FX display, which will see planes tumbling and rolling through the air without even an engine to power them.

You be the judge

The action kicks off with some team flying displays on 17th December, where the aerobatic aviators will be giving a taste of what’s to come.

Day two will see teams go head to head in the ultimate action-packed sky showdown, with a series of knockout rounds designed to test each ensemble to the limit. Don’t miss the grand final, where the remaining four teams will face off.

Competitors will be ranked according to four categories when swooping, diving and hurtling through the skies for the grand prize.

Power, grace, national pride and the ‘wow’ factor will all determine each team’s overall score.

This year, alongside a panel of official aviation experts, the public will get to let their voices be heard and take part in the judging process.

Attendees will be able to vote through the dedicated app to have an impact on who scoops the prize and is crowned champion.

On solid ground

If you’re getting neck-ache from watching all the action in the skies, get your head out of the clouds because there’s plenty to see on the ground too.

One of the high points will definitely be the air drag race, where a turbo-charged Mercedes AMG E63 with a roaring 585 horsepower engine will square off against pilot Richard Goodwin’s speedy biplane to see who has the fastest acceleration.

UAE drifting champion Ahmed Al Ameri will be showing off his driving skills with a wheel-screeching motorsport display, while motocross team Freestyle Motor X will be ramping up the action with a series of death-defying tricks.

Pilot Javier Teijeiro will be dropping in from the skies too, with a paramotoring display to wow audiences.

If that’s not enough action for you, there will be a hot air balloon show each night of the championship, and live music from the New Orleans Jazz Band, the Swing Pack and Gari Deegan will keep the fun going after dark.

If you’re hungry for more, there will also be a variety of tasty food options from tacos to tikka to fill your belly with on the day.

Need to know…

When: 17th-19th December
Where: Al Ain International Airport, Al Ain
Cost: From AED 30 per day. Tickets are available from Virgin Megastores across the UAE and tixbox.com. You can also get your hands on tickets from outlets at Dalma Mall in Abu Dhabi or Al Ain Mall and Bawadi Mall in Al Ain.
Find out more: alainaerobaticshow.com

Camille Hogg