A MONTH TO WRAP UP THE SEASON

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:46:13 +0200

Before the last race (the last two in Budapest and Lisbon being cancelled), it was time for our team to evaluate the season and start discussing the next steps of our strategy.

According to our pilot, this season was full of surprises (sometimes bad ones). But he assumes: for him, this sport is spectacular, but risks are analysed and the races controlled. His limits, he knows them, it is the flying experience which makes the difference.

Nicolas knows he will not be champion this year, but he has the objective to finish in the first five ranks. The differentiation factor this year was the new engine, which is not yet performing as expected, but also the fact he had a new plane designed, much faster - which means taking more risks and unfortunately each mistake on the path or the positioning of the plane costs a lot.

The major challenge for the team this year was to create a new plane with very good aerodynamics in only three months. A united team, under pressure, who realised miracles. Nicolas always speaks about his plane with pride and passion: “ I am unable to fly in a plane I do not like. The aesthetics of flying is also the one of the curves and lines of a plane. Mine was realised by a designer, just as a concept car would be thought: beauty, performance and the flow”. He also looks for this aesthetic when flying. With a powerful energy, sometimes difficult to control, Nicolas always has new ideas and could modify the look of the plane at any time.

We all needed a break after the race in New York. What an amazing race, suspense until the last second. Whether it was the race or the training sessions, that week was incredible. FANTASTIC!

We will not make any change on the engine for the last race and, to reach our objective, we count on Nicolas’ concentration skills and expertise.

As you could guess, the team is not resting and Nicolas participates to numerous air shows:
- 2 July, with Hannes Arch, he went to the big celebration of Züri Fäscht 2010, fantastic landscape above the Zurich lake where he flew with 2 helicopters shooting fireworks.
- Sunday 4 July, he came back to his native country to be present at the 100th anniversary of the Niort air show where he contributed to the new « Free Flight World Master », gathering the best aerobatics French pilots.
- At the end of the month, he will spend some time training with Mike Goulian, one of the American pilots of the Red Bull Air Race, before flying to Wisconsin and participating to the biggest air show, the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, gathering over 2500 race planes!

And all this without forgetting the race in Lautsizt in Germany on 7 – 8 August!
Join us to live the end of the season with the Ivanoff team!

A MAGIC PLACE

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:51:12 +0200

This first race in New York is magic. The venue is just amazing, the landscape unbelievable…
I am discovering New York for the first time and I enjoy it so much.
We are also spending time with the media that also enjoy such an impressive race in such an impressive place.
Last night, our sponsor, the watches Hamilton, the brand of American heritage which creates modern masterpieces of design and Swiss technology, has invited us to a cocktail.
The evening was charming and the visitors so enthusiast. When I was a kid, I was always dreaming about flying, laying there on my bed and watching the ceiling. I had the chance to meet young visitors, also dreaming of flying one day. Signing autographs for them was so rewarding, and reading the dream in their eyes was extraordinary and made me feel even stronger for the race this weekend. The show must be made and I’ll be flying with the eyes of a kid.

Hamilton has a long aviation heritage dating back to 1919 when its aeronautical watch looked after the first American airmail postal service between Washington and New York. Watches from Hamilton continued to play a leading role in the pioneer age of aviation with pilots using them to check their position in the air, calculate air and wind speed, and to time radio communication on route. By the 1930s Hamilton was the official watch of the commercial airlines, TWA, Eastern, United and Northwest.
www.hamiltonwatch.com

FROM ONE ADVENTURE TO THE OTHER

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:10:51 +0200

Landed in New York, it was time for us to step back and analyse the crazy week race in Windsor.

We are of course fairly disappointed to end in 7th position, however our minds are at ease with the decision we had taken: the security of our pilot before all.

The racetrack in Windsor was very demanding, especially in the 270-degree turn at the end of the track. Nicolas had taken the decision to take the turn easier even though he would loose some tine, and that’s when trying to recover these precious seconds that he made mistakes such as hitting a pylon or a 20° knife edge… Nicolas never forgets about the show, but as an experienced pilot, he remains inflexible on security.

Nicolas, together with Martin Sonka and Alex McLean, flew to New York on their planes. The rest of the team followed. We took 48 hours to recharge our batteries and get a bite of the Big Apple, before to start training Nicolas and make the usual checks on the plane.

Half way through the championship, our engine is not as performing as we had thought. The plane is still very agreeable to fly however the power is not there. We will concentrate the rest of the season on improving this issue.

As for all races, we have a busy schedule this week:
- Wednesday 16: calibration flight
- Thursday 17: T1 around 10h00 (local time) and T2 around 14h00
- Friday 18: T 3 at 10h00 and T4 at 14h00. Compensation training around 15h15.
- Saturday 19: Q1 at 14h00 and Q2 around 15h00
- Sunday 20: Wild card at 13h15; Top 12 at 14h08; Super 8 at 14h50 and Final 4 around 15h26.

So, if you are supporting your favourite team during this Football World Cup, put away your studs and come to support us!

A PILOT WEARING AMERICAN AND SWISS COLORS

Fri, 4 Jun 2010 18:48:21 +0200

Nicolas was honoured to assist yesterday to a cocktail organised by Hamilton Watches and Phoenix Jewellers.
Nicolas wears the colours of the brand having American heritage and which creates modern masterpieces of design and Swiss technology since 2006.

Hamilton has a long aviation heritage dating back to 1919 when its aeronautical watch looked after the first American airmail postal service between Washington and New York. Watches from Hamilton continued to play a leading role in the pioneer age of aviation with pilots using them to check their position in the air, calculate air and wind speed, and to time radio communication on route. By the 1930s Hamilton was the official watch of the commercial airlines, TWA, Eastern, United and Northwest.
www.hamiltonwatch.com
www.phoenixjewellers.ca