Shihab Alireza Wins Hearts of Race Lovers With His Aerobatics
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Author: Arab News (K.S. Ramkumar)
Released 12 April 2007
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA (31 March 2007) - It was Saudi pilot Shihab Alireza’s day yesterday. Hundreds of spectators who had gathered along the Corniche to see Shihab’s feats burst into loud cheers as he exhibited his skills in aerobatics around the Corniche fountain.
Citizens and expatriates arrived at least an hour in advance to take vantage points along the seafront to watch the professional pilot of Saudi Aramco in action.
His skillful maneuverings along with Austrian pilot Hannes Arch, one of the official contestants in the Red Bull Air Race 2007 series, especially while scaling heights, turning twists, flying low and executing tight turns through a slalom course consisting of specially designed two pylons, known as ‘Air Gates,’ drew loud cheers from the crowd.
All safety precautions had been taken, as a helicopter hovered over the venue and remained stationed in the air and a Coast Guard vessel took its position in the water to respond to any eventuality. Traffic police had a tough time regulating the flow of cars on the Corniche street.
Shihab Alireza executes a tight turn through a slalom course during his exhibition of skills as a trainee of Red Bull Air Race 2007, at the Jeddah Corniche on Friday.
Photo by Hasan Hatrash
“I love to fly and keep dreaming about it all the time. This was the best flying day in my life,” Shihab told Arab News after the show.
Later, addressing a press conference, Shihab extended his sincere thanks to Makkah Gov. Prince Abdul Majeed for enabling to launch himself as a trainee in the Red Bull Air Race from Jeddah, his birth place. “I am also grateful to Saudi Aviation Club Chairman Prince Sultan ibn Salman for extending full support to me, which has resulted in my selection as a trainee for the Red Bull Air Race,” he said.
Prince Sultan was instrumental in shaping Shihab as a potential air race contestant. “He supervised and followed various stages of the stringent and harsh tests that I underwent before the organizing committee of the International Red Bull Air Race nominated me as the first Arab pilot to take part in the training session of the Red Bull Air Race 2007,” Shihab added.
Shihab said the day’s show was not an official part of the Red Bull Air Race. “However, I hope one day Jeddah will host one of the official rounds of the Red Bull Air Race,” he said, adding that he has been getting enough encouragement and support to complete the training session so that he could use the opportunity to compete as one of Red Bull Air Race’s official contestants during 2008-09.
Air race lovers had started gathering along the Corniche from early afternoon to savor the performance of Shihab, who at 36 is the first Arab and youngest trainee pilot registered in the Red Bull Air Race.
“I had never seen such aerobatics before and would like to thank Shihab and Red Bull for giving me this opportunity,” Abdul Rahman Dosari, a postgraduate student at King Abdul Aziz University, told Arab News.
The Red Bull Air Race, described as the only air race of its kind in the world, involves 12 rounds that are hosted by global cities. They include Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Istanbul (Turkey), Barcelona (Spain), Interlaken (Czech Republic), London (UK), Budapest (Hungary), Porto (Portugal), San Diego (USA), Acapulco (Mexico) and Perth (Australia), aside from Abu Dhabi (UAE), which hosts the first round of the race on April 6.
The Red Bull Air Race is a competition in which the world’s most talented pilots are up against each other in a race based on speed, precision and skill.
The competition features a dynamic new discipline of flying, called ‘air racing’ where the objective is to navigate a challenging race course in the sky, in the fastest possible time. Flying individually against the clock, the pilots have to execute tight turns through a slalom course consisting of specially designed ‘Air Gates.’
The Air Race is not just about speed — precision is crucial to success because any mistakes incur penalty points which are then added to the pilot’s time. Flying low to the ground at speeds that can reach over 400kph, while attempting difficult turning maneuvers, require immense skill that only a certain number of pilots in the world possess. That is why the pilots are hand selected, based upon their expertise and experience. These pilots are at the top of their game.
Permission to Reprint is granted by Khaled Al-Maeena, Editor-in-Chief of Arab News.
Shihab Alireza is a professional pilot, flying a Boeing 737 for Saudi Aramco.