Peter Besenyei - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Péter Besenyei is a renowned Hungarian aerobatics

Aerobatics

Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...

pilot

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

and world champion air racer. He was born on June 8, 1956 in Körmend

Körmend

-Places of interest:The town is especially well known for its castle which used to belong to the Batthyany family, one of the most important aristocrat families of Hungary. Blessed Ladislaus Batthyány-Strattmann , a famous ophthalmologist who was beatified by the Catholic Church, lived in the...

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

. He lived near the airport of Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

and became interested in flying when he was a child. From watching 1962 World Aerobatic Championships he decided to become a pilot. At 15 years of age he flew a glider

Glider (sailplane)

A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...

for the first time. In 1976 Peter entered his first flying competition by piloting a glider and showed his talent, finishing in second place.

Peter Besenyei became an aerobatics pilot and won several titles in national and international championships. He won his first gold medal in 1982 at the Austrian National Championships. His specialty is free-style aerobatics. He invented a number of original snap rolls and, in 1984, the "knife-edge spin". In 1995 Peter Besenyei won 2 gold and 2 silver medals and he was named the most successful aerobatics pilot of his time. In 2001 Besenyei flew upside down under the Széchenyi Chain Bridge

Széchenyi Chain Bridge

The Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary...

, that spans the river Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

in Budapest, a maneuver that became a standard in air races today.

Besenyei is sometimes referred to as the godfather of the Red Bull Air Race because of his work helping develop it. He was asked, in 2001 by Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n energy-drink company Red Bull

Red Bull

Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...

, to help develop the concept of an air racing

Air racing

- History :The first ever air race was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1908. The participants piloted the only 4 airships in the U.S. around a course located at Forest Park...

competition. With enthusiasm he helped set up the rules and regulations and carefully selected the most daring pilots, with skills and courage, to handle the extreme physical and mental challenges of the air race. The first race was held in 2003 in Zeltweg

Zeltweg

Zeltweg is a town in Styria, Austria. It is located in the Aichfeld basin of the Mur River in Upper Styria. Larger municipalities in the vicinity are Judenburg, Knittelfeld and Fohnsdorf.-History:...

, Austria. After two years the competition became a worldwide organization of Red Bull Air Race World Series

Red Bull Air Race World Series

The Red Bull Air Race, established in 2003 and created by Red Bull, is an international series of air races in which competitors have to navigate a challenging obstacle course in the fastest time. Pilots fly individually against the clock and have to complete tight turns through a slalom course...

.

He is currently a test pilot

Test pilot

A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....

for the Hungarian Aviation Office and a flying instructor for aerobatic pilots on Zivko Edge 540

Zivko Edge 540

The Zivko Edge 540 manufactured by Zivko Aeronautics is a highly aerobatic aircraft. Capable of a 420 degree per second roll rate and a 3,700 foot per minute climb rate, it has been flown to victory on the international Unlimited aerobatics circuit several times since the mid-1990s...

. Peter enjoys car racing, skiing, sky diving, fishing, and photography. Peter is divorced from his first wife, but now married to Tünde and they have two daughters Dóra and Nicolette.

Achievements

1982:

Austrian National Championships – overall winner

1990:

World Aerobatics Championships – 2nd

1993:

Breitling Aerobatics World Cup - 3rd

1994:

World Champion of the Compulsory Program

1995:

European Champion Freestyle
European Champion of the Compulsory Program

1998:

FAI World Grand Prix Series 1st

2000:

World Champion Freestyle

2001:

FAI World Grand Prix Series 1st

2003:

Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

- 1st

2005:

FAI World Series Grand Prix, Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

- 1st

Honors

1996 - "Gold Medal of the President of the Republic of Hungary" by President Árpád Göncz
Árpád Göncz
Árpád Göncz is a Hungarian liberal politician and former President of Hungary . Göncz played a role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956...

Péter Besenyei at the Red Bull Air Race World Series Red Bull Air Race World Series The Red Bull Air Race, established in 2003 and created by Red Bull, is an international series of air races in which competitors have to navigate a challenging obstacle course in the fastest time. Pilots fly individually against the clock and have to complete tight turns through a slalom course...
Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Points	Wins	Rank
2003 2003 Red Bull Air Race World Series season The 2003 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the 1st Red Bull Air Race World Series season. It started on June 28, 2003 and ended on August 20.In the 2003 season, there were two air race venues only, Zeltweg in Austria and Budapest in Hungary....	1st	1st											6	2	1st
2004 2004 Red Bull Air Race World Series season The 2004 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the 2nd Red Bull Air Race World Series season. It debuted on June 20, 2004 and ended on September 18.In the 2004 season, the number of air race venues increased from 2 to 3 locations...	3rd	3rd	3rd										12	0	2nd
2005 2005 Red Bull Air Race World Series season The 2005 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the 3rd Red Bull Air Race World Series season. It began on April 8, 2005 and ended on October 8....	1st	2nd	2nd	1st	3rd	4th	4th						32	2	2nd
2006 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series season The 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the fourth Red Bull Air Race World Series season. It began on March 18, 2006 and ended on November 19....	3rd	1st	2nd	CAN	3rd	DQ	2nd	2nd	1st				35	2	2nd
2007 2007 Red Bull Air Race World Series season The 2007 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the fifth Red Bull Air Race World Series season.-New pilots:Sergei Rakhmanin of Russia and Austrian Hannes Arch were chosen to join the 2007 series after completing a qualification course in October 2006, held in Arizona, USA...	1st	5th	1st	5th	CAN	3rd	3rd	4th	4th	6th	CAN	7th	31	2	3rd
2008 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series season The 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the sixth Red Bull Air Race World Series season. The 2008 champion was Hannes Arch, who won the series for the first time.-Aircraft and pilots:-New pilots:...	4th	8th	5th	CAN	6th	4th	5th	7th	CAN	7th			34	0	5th
2009	United Arab Emirates 10th	United States 4th	Canada DNS	Hungary 10th	Portugal 4th	Spain 8th							24	0	8th
2010 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship The 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship was the eighth official Red Bull Air Race World Championship series. Paul Bonhomme became champion for the second successive year, finishing each of the six rounds of the championship in the top three placings, two of which were victories...	3rd	10th	11th	10th	8th	9th	CAN	CAN					21	0	10th