Kirby Chambliss - Former Red Bull Air Race World Series Champion

Flying at over 250 mph and pulling a span of 20 negative and positive Gs isn’t enough for Kirby Chambliss- he needs to be able to do this at any given time. So he built a runway for his light-weight, high-speed plane just feet from his back door at his home outside Phoenix, Arizona in a neighborhood aptly titled “Flying Crown Ranch.” One of the perks of living in his neighborhood is, “My hangar is part of my house, and I can fly upside down right past my door,” affirms Kirby. As five-time U.S. National Aerobatic Champion and Red Bull Air Race World Series Champion, this guy puts in a lot of practice.

First-ever Air Race World Series

The Red Bull Air Race World Series emphasizes high-speed precision flying and Kirby finds his background of acrobatic flying helpful as the maneuvers need to be aggressive in this race series. Pilots navigate a slalom-like course of 50-feet tall air-filled pylons are breakneck speed, racing the clock and ultimately each other. The fastest aggregate time of the fist and second round wins the race and a split second is the difference between picking up six points for a win or none.

Like any other global motorsports series pilots accumulate points and vie for the title of world champion. With a select group of eleven world-class pilots carefully chosen for their abilities, the competition is tight.

Chambliss captured the Air Race title in 2006 by winning four of the eight races throughout the season.

Growing up Flying

But Chambliss is used to flying hard and fast. In fact that’s how he got hooked on flying.

When he was a child in Corpus Christi, Texas, Chambliss’ father taught skydiving, and when Kirby rode along his favorite part was when the pilot would race the skydivers back to the ground by putting the plane into a steep spiral.

In high school, Chambliss earned extra money as a lineman, fueling aircraft. He began formal flight training in 1979, and by December the 20-year-old soloed for the first time, earning his private license the following March. Chambliss worked as a certified flight instructor and then as a night freight pilot, but it was taking acrobatic training for a job flying a business jet that inspired him to save up for an acrobatic plane of his own.

In October 1988, the 29-year-old became the youngest captain at Southwest Airlines. Shortly thereafter, he bought a Pitts S2A and started rigorous acrobatic training. In his very first contest, he won top honors in the intermediate category, and he rapidly worked his way up to the elite “unlimited” level. Chambliss was first named to the U.S. Aerobatic Team in 1997, and since then, he has taken five U.S. National Aerobatic Championships, as well a variety of medals at Worlds. In 2002 he was crowned Men’s Freestyle World Champion.

Performing, Racing and Winning

Currently Chambliss still performs at airshows, but competing in the Air Race series keeps him busy training and flying across the world to races. The 2006 season had nine stops in as many countries, and next year’s calendar is expected to be more. However, Chambliss finds time to keep learning which he says is very important for a pilot.

Kirby has won three of the Air Races in 2006 and one of his motivations is; “Second place is only the first loser.”

To stay in the ultimate condition for this physically demanding series Chambliss runs and lifts weights, in addition to flying three times a day, four days a week.

In-between traveling to different continents for various races, the personable pilot enjoys coming back home to his wife Kellie, a pilot herself, and their baby Karly.

Career Highlights