Aero-TV: Precision Insanity -- Chuck Aaron's Aerobatic ...
- 15 years ago
Red Bull Gives You... Rotors? So what makes pilot Charles "Chuck" Aaron's airshow act so special? Well, all you had to do was watch his HELI-AEROBATIC act at Oshkosh to know that something SERIOUSLY DIFFERENT had come to Wittman Field. The Red Bull BO-105 CBS, made by Eurocopter/Messerschmitt Boelkow Blohm (MBB), blew everyone away with a routine rarely seen anywhere, much less at world-class airshow like Oshkosh. As noted in our 2008 Oshkosh coverage, how he got there is enough to write a book on. It almost seems that he was born into aviation, although Chuck will say he was never pushed into it. For him, his father (a flight instructor) was "my greatest inspiration." This ignited the fire... but it was rotorcraft that gave him that feeling of a "magic carpet ride." Fast forward several years... to when energy drink company Red Bull asked him if he could make a helicopter perform aerobatics. Chuck needed some time to ponder the notion, but he soon came around to the idea. However, it took one-and-a-half years to convince the FAA, and several modifications to his helicopter, to make that dream a reality. Besides the aerobatic certificate, Chuck also has an aerobatic move named after him -- similar to the Lomcevak, called (naturally) the "Chuckcevak." So what drives Chuck to do what he does? "I really want young kids to see what I'm doing, take that experience and take their own dreams and say what can I do that is as big as that is in aviation." And what's next for Chuck in all his endeavors? Chuck is working on making additional modifications to his aircraft so he can hover upside down. "It's going to take a lot of work and even though I know how to do it, it's going to take a lot of nerve to do it, and I'm just not there mentally yet," said Chuck. Come See One Of The Most Amazing Helicopter Flyers in The World... On Aero-TV! FMI: www.redbullusa.com, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews Copyright 2008, Aero-News Network, Inc., ALL Rights Reserved.