The weekend of September 21st and September 22nd, 2007 will go down in San Diego aviation history as the first time San Diegans looked to the skies for world class racing.
The Red Bull Air Race World Series in San Diego brings together fourteen of the most skilled pilots on the planet. The pilots race against the clock and each other on an aerial race track, zooming through giant inflatable pylons called "air gates" a little over a mile long. Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines streak across the San Diego Bay just 20 feet above the water, at speeds exceeding 250 miles an hour, and pushing up to 10 Gs.
My friend and I both heard about this simultaneously. Images of aerial NASCAR danced through his head, while my brain immediately flashed back to the pod races featured in the Phantom Menace. Unfortunately, the Red Bull Air Race pilots do not race side by side ala "Tailspin" (the old "Ducktails" spin-off), but rather are timed individually. Either way, the Red Bull Air Race World Series is guaranteed excitement -- the likes of a World War II Dog fight.
The San Diego Embarcadero parks north and south (behind the San Diego Convention Center) are recommended viewing sights for this event. However, it should still be visible from multiple locations around the San Diego Bay, and from many of the Downtown San Diego office buildings lining the waterfront.
Many San Diego Bay tour companies (including Hornblower) are offering special cruises around the bay and will probably afford the best viewing experience, as they will be closest to the action. These tours can range from a basic $30 boat ride to a
3.5 hour excursion, featuring cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. That one will run you about $100 a piece, but it's a "best date ever" contender.
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