Air Racing
It's not easy catching up with a high-altitude, high-speed stunt legend
We spoke to double Red Bull Air Race world champion Kirby Chambliss to hear how he ended up getting nominated for a Taurus World Stunt Award.
There's much more to Kirby Chambliss than his long and eventful history in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. He's clocked up a total of over three full years in the air during his career, flown over 70 different types of aircraft and has a trophy cabinet full of world and national flying championships to show for it.
Despite all that, he's still finding new ways to raise the bar and this year has been nominated for a Taurus World Stunt Award for his work on the Michael Bay film 6 Underground. We had a chat with the Texan during a brief spell on terra firma to find out all about the nomination and everything else he's been up to in a year that's been even more upside-down than usual.
How much fun is it to be nominated for a Taurus World Stunt Award for 6 Underground?
I'd done a couple of small things before, but that was probably the biggest so far. I enjoyed it. I'd love to do more of that stuff.
We did a little bit of filming with [film director] Michael Bay, but I was working with [aerial coordinator/pilot] Frédéric North, who does so much air-to-air stuff and he knows what Michael wants before he even gets there, like some of the stuff on the ground when they are moving the airplane around, shaking the plane and a little bit of air-to-air. We went out for three or four flights of 30–40 minutes each, or maybe a little bit longer. We had a lot of footage before Michael even got there and then with Michael we did one 30–40 minute flight before the sun went down and he left.
Here in Phoenix it's either heaven or hell and right now it's just starting to be heaven
What's it like flying in Arizona, where you currently live?
For the most part, in summer, I'm out early because of the heat, so I can watch the sunrise. Here in Phoenix it's either heaven or hell and right now it's just starting to be heaven after the hell of the summer. Where I was born and went to school in Corpus Christi, Texas, we had the humidity as well as the heat, which made it seem worse sometimes.
I love it out here because, for so long, I was having to fly out and train three times a day when I was on the US team and super active in racing. I can always count on the weather, even if it's hot and miserable. Back in Texas, with the low clouds, it made it hard to practise – that was frustrating. It worked out best for me to move out here and especially my place, because I can literally go out the door and fly.
Kirby Chambliss prepares for take-off in Japan
© Mihai Stetcu/Red Bull Content Pool
What does a regular flying day look like for you at the moment?
I've only done two air shows the whole year, where we would normally have done 15 to 17 shows a year. One of those is even down in El Salvador, so it's kind of crazy right now. I'm still doing some filming events and we have a team practice thing coming up. I just finished filming over in Maryland, which is 1,850 nautical miles away. We hopped over there for two days for a special project.
I'm still managing to stay busy. At the start of November, I've got the Red Bull Air Force guys coming out to work on a special project at the house and I've got another air show in the middle of November.
What other sports do you enjoy watching in your downtime on the ground?
If it doesn't have a motor on it, I'm probably not going to watch it on TV! I raced motocross as a kid and I love watching MotoGP™. I've been able to perform at a couple of different races in Austin and Sonoma. I perform right before the race and I can't wait to get the helicopter to run me right back over, so I can watch the race. Those bikes are super powerful and they're usually pretty small guys. If Formula One is on, I also enjoy watching that.
1 min
Kirby Chambliss on why Red Bull Air Race is different
The double Air Race champion explains what makes Red Bull Air Race unlike more conventional sports.
Is raising the bar with each new project now the main factor behind doing it?
I'm open to all kinds of stuff. The last few special projects have been initiated by other people, where I give them my opinion about what I think would be cool. We just did a project with Travis Pastrana. I want to stay busy.
You can find out if Kirby Chambliss takes home a Taurus World Stunt Award by tuning in to the live show on November 21.