Without going into all the details leading up to my ‘event’ today, here is what actually happened in the cockpit.

Going into the track, I had mentally prepared for a SW wind, which involved a slight change for one of the gate angles, though it was clear there was only a slight breeze, and it was more from the WNW.

Once in the track, I felt I was flying quite well, back to my normal smoothness and the engine was feeling strong in the cold conditions. In general, at the halfway point I felt I was on a pretty good time.

Coming back on the second lap, I noted to myself that the wind was not as I had planned and I had no need for the angle change going into gate 11, the first of the Knife Edge gates.

Unfortunately, mental preparation is a powerful tool, and regardless, I still found myself going into the Knife Edge gate deeper than I needed to. This then had a follow on effect that I came through the next Knife Edge gate, gate 12, pointing almost straight at gate 13.

It is well known by all the pilots that the turn out of gate 12 is challenging and requires some of the turn completed before the gate, what we call getting some turn room. Unfortunately, I no longer had the opportunity to get my normal amount of turn room, so ended up flying through gate 12 with a very large angle required to make it back to the Chicane.

This is where I made my grave mistake. Rather than taking the aircraft to its limit and seeing if it had enough turn potential to get around the corner, I looked at where I wanted to go and tried to force the aircraft to that point.

Aircraft will only develop so much lift, I know where that limit is in my aircraft, though unfortunately I exceeded this limit momentarily which resulted in a dynamic stall of the wing.

I felt the wing let go and roll slightly to the left, and it all happened pretty quick from there. I was able to get the wing un-stalled and started rolling right and pulling. I felt an impact, which after review was the left wingtip, then I was flying again.

I knew I was still descending so I thought it was probably my gear coming off. I then had a second impact, which felt a lot worse, which I thought was probably the prop and tail hitting the water (it is quite amazing how quickly and clearly you think in a situation like this).

Basically, I just kept flying the aircraft the whole time, not giving up on it, and luckily for me, it retained enough energy and angle of attack to be able to drag itself out of the water (believe me, the water felt as though it was trying grab me).

Looking at the photos, I was quite surprised how much the impact nosed the aircraft over trying to flip me into the water.

From there great support came in from the Air Race. Drew Searle, the race director, was talking with me about how things looked on an initial inspection from the TV camera in the tail. It was he that first informed me that my wingtip was damaged (I did not know that my wings had hit at that point) and I informed him I thought my gear was gone.

I stayed orbiting in the race box so I had support if I had to ditch, had Jurg in the camera helicopter join and inspect me. It took a little while to confirm that my gear was still on, though we were not sure how strong it was.

During this time, my thoughts were for my family who were on the ground watching as this occurred – not something I want to put them through!

I was then handed over to Nigel Lamb who was in his MXS in the hold, who joined and inspected. He informed me that apart from the wheel pant missing, the landing gear looked intact, though the tires may be damaged.

I then flew back to the airfield, declared an emergency with the tower, though emergency services were already on standby due to the efficient coordination from the race.

I climbed up to 2000’ to slow down and conduct a controllability check (making sure I can slow the aircraft down to landing speed without an issue), then flew a wide circuit to land. I was still not sure if the gear was damaged, or the tires were flat, so I had to make a slow and smooth landing, half expecting the gear to collapse, or have directional issues on touch down.

Jurg followed me in, confirmed it looked clean on landing and I taxied off to a normal shut down.

From there, off to the doctor for a quick check up, Pedita was driven out to see me, I did a press conference, then started working on the aircraft.

Now after only 4 hours after the event, I am sitting in my hotel room, rather disappointed in myself, though glad to be here getting a hug from my family.

Jack is packing the aircraft as we speak and it will be on a truck tonight enroute to the factory in North Carolina for assessment and repairs .

Then it is just a matter of me getting my brain back in the game, and the aircraft back in the air.

So, what are the lessons here? A touch of overconfidence, when on a good run, clouded my natural instincts…for me, stay in the present, fly the aircraft, don’t think about the result that may be ahead.

Thanks for everyone’s support, we will be back!!

Matt.

All the teams are now back home getting ready for the next two races, both of which will be interesting for a number of reasons.

Firstly, there is 4 weeks between the Rio and Windsor races, and the aircraft are already in Windsor. This means that there are quite a few teams planning on building their aircraft early and doing modifications to them.

I expect to see a number of different set ups with engine changes, cowl changes, wingtip changes and weight changes to the aircraft for the Windsor race. I even expect to see a few new aircraft racing!

For us at Team Hall, we are planning on some minor things, though we are reasonably happy with the aircraft overall at the moment and consistency is our biggest challenge.

Secondly, most teams will be staying with their aircraft between these two races, as there is only a week off between them…hardly the time to fly internationally back to home, just to get some jet lag and turn around to fly back again 3 days later.

So, once again, I think some teams will take the opportunity to work on their aircraft and also get some flying training in.

This can always lead to a more aggressive flying style, though it can also lead to fatigue leading into the second race. Once again, for Team Hall we are planning on staying in the US and I will keep the plane near me, though apart from some testing and a little training, I will be using the time between the races as recovery time.

Thirdly, the pressure. There are three North American teams who will have immense pressure put on them at these next races. There are 11 other teams who will be flying, who will also have greater than average pressure due to the significance of the first ever race in NY…that alone drives people to want to do better than normal. Just think…the person who wins the first ever race in NY City on the podium…quite a dream.

Then apart from the location pressure, is the championship pressure.

To date, this year has already had quite a few upsets…Hannes finishing quite low in the first race, though after only the third race has charged back to the front of the pack.

Paul, still Mr Consistent, though having two third place results in a row, and no doubt watching Hannes come racing back.

Nigel, with his new wingtips, has flown error free, though still has not broken into 1^st place for a race yet…surely something that is on his mind.

And me…after a frustrating start to the year, I feel I have been consistent when it counts, though I too am looking at the guys ahead of me wondering what I have to do to jump ahead…relying on their errors is not my style…I want to beat them!

Then just on my heals…Pete…my training buddy from 2008. He has a new plane and something to prove in Windsor. I managed to turn all the pressure into positive energy in Perth, I am sure he will be aiming at doing the same at his home town race in Windsor. We have seen he has a fast plane, has never been in the top 4…guaranteed this is the place he wants to get his first podium.

Kirby is getting a new engine and history shows this is his race….regardless of how his season is going, he always does well in this track. Then Nicholas, a man who can fly as fast as the winners, though has not had a consistent set up this year, which is no doubt holding him back.

The lower half of the field is no less capable of being on the podium. Just quickly you have Matthias, who will more than likely be flying a new V3 Edge the same as Hannes at this race. Peter will unveil his new design, which has potential to be the fastest aircraft in the track and Yoshi can always put in a fast time….you watch.

What can I do about it?? Nothing…all I can do is concentrate on myself, my team and my plane. And if I can do no more there, all I can do is relax and enjoy myself, as no amount of thinking and worry will change how it stacks up on race day.

I am interested to see how these next two races go.

Matt.

Sunday, race day in Rio, was one of the most confusing motivational days I have had in my life

I went to bed on Saturday post qualifying, happy with a good spot for entering the race the next day…4^th is pretty good as you can see what is going on in the track, and make some tactical decisions as you fly.

I also went to bed on Saturday night knowing full well the weather was forecast to be quite poor. Get up on Sunday morning, rain, and then it started in my head….4^th is a good result for a race…what if I make a mistake and drop back some places…what if I don’t get to race and miss my opportunity to get another podium?

I am quite sure all the race pilots were thinking a similar thing, especially those near the top of qualifying. It goes with the term “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”, and here I had a bird in my hand.

The team had a chat in the morning within the hangar walls and I explained to the them that it was harder to wind up from thinking we were not flying, than wind down from expecting to and cancelling. I briefed them all that I am treating everything as though it is a blue sky day and there is absolutely no doubt I can go flying and I will do well with the opportunities I am presented….and if any words other than that come out of my mouth, they were to steer my thoughts back to a positive direction.

Flying started, I got into my routine, was feeling quite relaxed and had stopped considering not flying…I was ready, I was in the cockpit, I was focused.

I was rolled out onto the grid stand, could see some weather coming for the first time and that thought enters my head…what if this is the last flight I get to do and the rain makes is more difficult for me? Push that thought back out and back into positive thoughts. Close the canopy, give Jack the wind up signal and a tap on the canopy from the officials to tell me ‘rain delay’. At first I did not know how bad and was told I could remain in the cockpit in the grid stand, but after a few minutes it became obvious there were still 4 other pilots who needed to race before me, most of whom had actually already taken off and were coming back home without racing.

We rolled back into our hangar then started waiting. Nothing I can do about it and here come the thoughts…4^th wouldn’t be bad…takeoff in 25 minutes…this is the one and only round…don’t make a mistake on this flight…4^th wouldn’t be bad…then finally “Race is cancelled, yesterday’s results stand”.

What I thought would be a great relief that I had just hung unto 4^th actually turned into great disappointment. I felt I had not earned the result and had been ripped off the opportunity to do even better. A bizarre run of emotions!

In hindsight, what it shows is that I am driven to race and improve.

The desire to hold 4^th place was purely nervous energy hoping things did not go wrong for me. The disappointment was due to the effort we all put in to accomplish that day…race the aircraft against the other pilots and see how we can improve our position in the World Championship standings.

That was a good lesson for me and brought me back to reality a little to understand that it is not about the final result, it is about being very privileged to tour the world and race these specialized aircraft to their limits….that is why I do this!!

So, was the race supposed to happen this past weekend? I don’t think so. It was the correct decision by the race committee to try to get the race in and a timely cancellation at the same time.

My wife did not attend this race, first time ever and neither did my son. That is three strikes against racing that day and while we won’t generally admit to being superstitious, we generally are, and the results were safe and good.

Next stop home, then Windsor.

Matt.

Fatiguing, overwhelming, exhilarating, emotional, satisfying….just a couple of words to explain how the last two weeks of my life played out.

The race week in Perth was one of the hardest weeks I have endured in my life to date. The pressures and stress levels I felt were similar to those I experienced while in combat. A great deal of work to be done, having to make some pretty hard decisions on the future, a patriotic desire to do well and scared beyond belief of making a mistake.

It was also a difficult week for the race in general, which pushed a lot of aspects we knew one day would be tested, but kept our fingers crossed and in our ears all the same.

Adilson Kindleman crashed his MXSR N19MX (for those into detail, you will recognize this as my 2009 aircraft) into the Swan while turning at low level between gate 2 and 3. Ironically, I had discussed this turn with the media and Adilson himself regarding the difficulties of this turn. Unfortunately when Adilson crashed, the conditions were about as bad as one could imagine for that turn…a 20 knot tailwind. The fortunate result was due to all of our training, survival equipment and the professionalism of the rescue teams, Adilson was breathing the rescue diver’s scuba air 40 seconds after impact and was on the rescue boat after approximately 80 seconds. What would normally be a deadly crash, proved that the Air Race is moving forward as the number one professional motorsport, as we re-entered the track the following morning for more training.

Regarding my track training and racing…that too was up and down. We were struggling to set the Centre of Gravity (CoG) correctly, as we had excess weight to put in the aircraft, though had put a lighter engine in, and a larger battery behind my seat. It came down to trial and error in the track. Unfortunately, as the CoG moves rearward, the aircraft becomes unstable, which resulted twice in me G Stalling the aircraft and getting an over G which forced me out of the track and training. We finally came up with an acceptable solution on Saturday morning before Qualifying, which I took into the track with a conservative attitude to see how it felt. It all felt good, we qualified seventh, with a strong knowledge I could knock time off the following day. As I sat in the hotel room on Saturday evening with my wife, I told her I thought I could knock 3 seconds off my time…I was wrong….I knocked 3.5 seconds off and gained my best result to date in front of a very supportive home crowd.

Overall, the week ended well. The support was absolutely amazing, the atmosphere electric. I can not imagine a more fitting result for the fans both at the race and watching live on TV…well maybe first place, but we will give that a go next year!!

Lastly, I would like to take the opportunity to thank my technician Lenny for getting the plane ready to race in North Carolina this year and continuing to improve it with me to get this fabulous result. As it turns out, it was a fitting end as Lenny is now moving back full time to his own home and business in Arizona. Lenny will be replaced by Jack Moshovis, Perth born and bred, and setting the team up for the first time as a full Aussie team. Thanks to both Lenny and Jack for the past and the promising future.

See you in a few weeks in Brazil!!!

Matt.

This past week has been without doubt the most demanding of my professional career as a race pilot.

I have had many, many commitments with media and sponsors, some challenging flying, even more challenging weather and of course fear for the health of one of my colleagues. Overall, the week has been in a word, draining.

But it has also been great! I have been embraced by the people of Perth and indeed people from all over the country and it has reinforced again how proud I am and how great it is to be an Australian.

Tonight I was fortunate enough to have dinner with the guys that came to Perth as part of my Official Supporters Tour and it was so relaxing to sit down and meet them all and feel their passion for aviation and the Red Bull Air Race. It is empowering to have the support of these people.

Pete McLeod, Matthias Dolderer and Yoshi Muroyda were kind enough to come along and meet the supporters too which was awesome and something I am very thankful for.

After that dinner my team, my wife Pedita and the rest of our team ducked over to the Air Race’s Prepare for Takeoff Party at the High Flyers Club. What a great event and I have to recommend if you ever get the chance to go to one of these events jump at it.

Paul Bonhomme, Matthias and Alex Maclean and I were introduced to the guests and interviewed and I got a wonderful cheer from the crowd was something I have never experienced before. It was amazing and something I won’t forget for a long time.

I may not forget but now it is something I must put out of my mind so I can focus on the job at hand – flying safely and smoothly – in order to do the best I can.

Off to bed now – a great weekend awaits.

Cheers

Matt

I am now back home after the first race in Abu Dhabi last weekend. I have to admit, I am disappointed in the result, though optimistic for the year. Looking at it on the surface, I came 8^th, and could not get the aircraft started for the super 8.

If we scratch a little deeper we find the following:

We only had the aircraft flying for a total of 8 days prior to shipping to the first race. In that time, we had an engine failure and engine change, rewired a new electrical system in, and replaced a damaged vertical fin…not an ideal way to head into the first race.

At the race itself, we had very trying atmospheric conditions, fitting all the race equipment in the aircraft for the very first time, and chasing ongoing ‘new aircraft’ problems all week which resulted in 2 battery changes and 3 boost pump changes, and the fuel tank out of the aircraft 3 times.

While these are not meant to be excuses, when you then look at the improved times we did all week, working our way from 7^th on Training 1, to the second fastest time on a number of occasions, we actually kept it together pretty well.

I honestly believe that a podium was within easy reach had we kept the plane in the air.

I also look at the Championship in a broader view. I am in this for a long time hopefully, and while it seems devastating for the year, it is not for my career.

My goals this year continue to revolve around safety and improvement, with the results following from this attitude.When I look at my goals and the race, we actually did achieve them.

Once again, below the surface, things are actually on track, with a small dent in the armour specifically for this season’s Championship. I would rather be where I am, than having not been safe or not improved myself

The exciting news is we already have the aircraft in Perth, and Lenny is already working hard on improving it.

Things we are working on: new engine, new electrics, a few aerodynamic mods, and a new data tracking system for track analysis. All this, no jet lag for me, and a home crowd for the first time all points toward a good race for us. I will be arriving in Perth to train a week early, leaving home after just 6 days. I will be running the new engine in, and testing the new equipment for a number of days before the other teams turn up.

If you are in Perth, and specifically around Jandakot airport next week, keep an eye out for the yellow race plane with the Australian flag and the Southern Cross…give me a wave and I promise I will wave back!

Matt.

Welcome to the new Matt Hall Racing website and what is shaping up as a great 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championships!

It is hard to put into words how excited and enthused I am about this year and the Red Bull Air Race season.

Once again I am going to be afforded the privilege of travelling the globe to fly my race plane against the planet’s best race pilots. Abu Dhabi, Perth, New York, Budapest and the list goes on…….sometimes I feel like the most privileged person in the world.

Last year was my first in the Championship and I was lucky enough to finish the year on the podium in third place overall, far exceeding my expectations. All year I really focussed on trying to learn as much as I could while having fun and most of all flying safely.

That won’t change this year and I now know if I get those three things right – learning, fun and safety – I am in for another wonderful year.

As for my chances in 2010, I am not one to make predictions about my own performances or get too caught up in the results of the other pilots but I can say with some certainty that I am more confident going into my second season than I was before my debut year of competition.

Last year I wasn’t sure what to expect or how I would handle myself and while I know I still have a lot to learn I am at least now familiar with how the race works and I am getting better at bringing the best out of myself.

And I will need to because I know everyone else will have lifted the bar in the offseason, both in and out of the aircraft. Last year I was a definite underdog which is just how I like it and while I still consider myself that way I know there are some people who will be expecting good things from me. Nothing like a bit of friendly pressure.

All of that just raises my excitement level and leaves me as keen as I’ve ever been to do what I love most – fly!

Thanks for the support and I look forward to catching up in 2010.

Matt