The line in your head

Kirby Chambliss heads to Istanbul (Turkey) and the fourth race of the season on Saturday leading the Red Bull Air Race World Series. In an interview, the 46-year-old American talks about big birds, funny rumours and the advantages of living in the desert.

First time in Istanbul?

Yes. It's a beautiful, exciting city.

Have you had time to explore Istanbul as a tourist?

Not really. I've been here a couple of days already, but I've primarily been focusing on my machine and the course. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to see anything of the city from the plane - sightseeing at 250mph is not that easy...

What can you say about the course after the first few training flights?

It's quite a narrow course, but the most important issue is the birds. There are an unbelievable number of birds flying in our air space.

What kind of birds?

Big ones!

You'd think the birds would interfere.

It's not without its risks when they crash into your plane. Not that they cause any great damage, but there's a spot behind the propeller where the engines take in air. If you stuff enough birds in there, the air supply can get cut off and you can no longer fly.

But afterwards you could hold a barbecue with the birds you collect involuntarily.

Sure, there are enough animals flying around up there to invite the whole city to a party.

But to be serious again: what can you do about the birds?

Before each run, the organisers fly a few laps with the helicopter and the noise is supposed to scare them away. I just hope it works.

Apart from the birds, the Istanbul course is special for another reason: it's the first time that single pylons will be used, forming a slalom section through which the pilots will fly. Have you made any special preparations?

I heard a funny rumour that I reconstructed the entire Istanbul course at home on my ranch and have been training on it. That would have been great, but I would have needed at least 20 people to help and quite a lot of money. No, in truth I haven't done any special flight training for the slalom. I'm using the practise days now to familiarise myself with the new course.

What effect does the slalom section have on the rest of the course?

It makes the course slightly slower than usual, because we can't approach the tight gate combinations too quickly. The g-force exerted on the pilots is therefore lower; the maximum we have to cope with is about 10g.

The weather forecast for Saturday predicts 86 Fahrenheit (30° Celsius). As a desert-dweller, you must have an advantage?

Of course, the temperature is the same for everyone, but at home in Arizona we just had 117 Fahrenheit (47.2° Celsius). For me, the temperature here is pleasantly cool. I like being in Turkey.

So how hot does it get in the cockpit of your plane?

We sit directly behind the engine and so really feel the heat. But on the other hand, we're only in the cockpit for a few minutes and we're too busy with other things to complain about the temperatures.

Apart from the practise sessions: how else will you be preparing for Saturday's race?

I run through the course over and over in my head and try to find the perfect line through the gates. It's difficult enough to find the perfect line in my head, but it will be even more difficult to find it in the plane.

Istanbul will host the fourth race of the Red Bull Air Race World Series 2006, you won in Abu Dhabi and Berlin, that's two out of the first three races. Does that make you favourite to win in Istanbul?

Of course, each race is different, but I do think I can win this race. I have a good crew behind me, my equipment is good, and the food in Istanbul is also good. I'm feeling very comfortable and hope that I can still say that after the race.