Following my fourth consecutive win at the US national Championships - all with my Westland Scout, I wanted to build something that would be totally different. In chatting this through with some friends, I decided on doing an accurate model of the Red Bull aerobatic machine - I could then fly in both aerobatic and scale championships!
Researching the machine was easy to begin with as there are many excellent photos and videos around, but getting detail up-close photos was going to be difficult. Then through various contacts I came across Harald Reiter, the general manager of the Flying Red Bulls who invited me to Austria to photograph their one close up. He also introduced me to Chuck Aaron the pilot who flies a similar version in the US.
I was fortunate enough to meet up with Chuck in California who gave me the ride of my life - sitting next to him as he performed his aerobatic routine. It was an experience of a lifetime - it was this machine that I ended up replicating.
