"This is about as close as anyone could safely get to the risky sport of air racing. It shows you just about everything you'd like to see or know about the planes, the pilots and the sport, and you feel as though you're on board with the pilot, screaming by with your hair on fire. It's a great full-screen experience." —juror Kevin Flatt
"Crazy! An intense competition encapsulated in a clean and fast Flash experience that provides proof that some people have way too much time on their hands." —juror Robert Hodgin
Overview: The second episode of the Red Bull Copilot series, Air Race swings into action with champion aerobatic pilot Kirby Chambliss as he races through a low-altitude obstacle course. Users can control camera angles as well as multiple data streams and sound tracks.
• Flash Communication Server with streaming video
• Automatic bandwidth detection
• 40 video files, 3 audio tracks
Comments by Tim Barber:
"When the crew at Red Bull first told us about Air Race our immediate thought was, 'That's completely insane.'
"Within minutes we knew it was perfect for the second episode in the Copilot series. The first episode focused on Supermoto—a new form of motorcycle racing with a track composed of dirt and pavement. Air Race takes things to another level altogether with aerobatic pilots racing high-performance airplanes through a low-altitude obstacle course.
"Our goal for the Copilot series has always been to take the audience off the sidelines and involve them in the action with the athletes. The only catch is that it has to happen over an Internet connection.
"With Copilot: Air Race, we captured three-time national aerobatic champion Kirby Chambliss in action on a private Red Bull Air Race course in Arizona. The production involved a crew of about 20 people on location for 4 days—2 for preparation and 2 for the shoot--a helicopter, 3 airplanes and 104-degree heat. We shot hours of footage with about 20 different setups.
"Using the Flash Communication Server, we pulled these elements together into a site that puts the user in control of nine synchronized camera angles and multiple sound tracks, as well as data feeds for air speed, altitude, g-force, pitch, heading and GPS position.
"The Copilot series was conceived and produced as a broadband experience, as our highest-quality video streams are 700kbps, about 13 times what a typical modem supports. The site's built to start each user at the highest video quality available and automatically step them down to a level of quality their computer and Internet connection can support.
"The third episode of Copilot is currently in production and will benefit from the insanity of Copilot: Air Race."
