"… paint my airplane pink"

The fastest Red Bull Air Race pilot 2007 reviewing last year’s season: In part two Mike Mangold discloses what his highlights were, what his family thinks of flying and what plans he has for next year.

The image may be wrong, but you don’t seem like someone who has sentimental feelings very often. Nevertheless, could you say which Air Race 2007 it is that you connect the most emotional memories to?

I don’t have many sentimental feelings about my flying. Istanbul was special because many obstacles were overcome to win that race. A year before, we brought out the new White plane, and hit a pylon to lose the race. This year the right wingtip separated during qualification, it took tremendous effort to repair the airplane and win the race 18 hours later.

What does your wife, who’s also an aerobatic pilot, think of your performance of the year gone by – and what weaknesses did she point out to you?

My wife, Julie, is very supportive, as are my children. She gave the best advice: don’t let the rulings from the race tower affect your style of flying. The kids are very critical, always offering tips after each race. My son Nicolas tells me to turn the propeller faster and to close up the openings on the fuselage. My daughter Melissa says I should paint my airplane pink!

At the beginning of last season you were slowed down by health problems. How are you now health-wise – and how important is physical fitness if you want to win the World Series?

Almost fully recovered, I do know my weaknesses and how to compensate for them. In 2007 physical fitness was most important due to the multi-sortie format and the higher G turns included in most race tracks.

After technical difficulties in 2006, you continued to develop your plane this year, and now you own arguably the fastest machine in the field. Will you continue to use it in 2008 – and if yes, what modifications will you make?

My White airplane was the best suited aircraft for the 2007 style of Red Bull Air Racing. I do plan on flying it in 2008, with very little modification. Next year there’ll be several major changes in the RBAR rules affecting the type of aircraft set-up optimized for winning the series. I honestly don’t know what set-up is needed, because it’s too complex to predict what effect all the new rules will have on the race.

How are you going to spend your time between now and the next Red Bull Air Race season?

First priority is spending time with my family. Secondly, I’ll enjoy some other hobbies like skydiving, skiing, and snowboarding. Additionally I’m working on a project to modify a jet to race at the Reno Air Races in September 2008. Finally, in the short time we have the RBAR plane before the first race in Abu Dhabi we’ll do a complete maintenance check and add a new paint scheme.