- Paul Bonhomme
Infobox Red Bull Air Race Pilot
Name = Paul Bonhomme
pixels =
caption =
date of birth = Birth date and age|1964|9|22|mf=y
team = Matador
debut = 2003
country = flagicon|United KingdomUnited Kingdom
best = 2nd (2007)
2006 = 4th (26 points)
plane =Zivko Edge 540
website = [http://www.airracepilot.co.uk www.airracepilot.co.uk]Paul Bonhomme (born
September 22 ,1964 ) is an Englishaerobatics andcommercial airliner pilot.Bonhomme was born into an aviator family. His father was an airline pilot and his mother worked as a
flight attendant . His brother is a commercial pilot.Bonhomme's flying career started in 1980 at
White Waltham Airfield as a generaldogsbody by cleaning hangars, polishing aircraft and refuelling aircraft.At age 18 he gained his
Private Pilot License and subsequently became aflight instructor . In 1985 he became an air taxi pilot and in 1987 joinedAir Cymru , a Welsh charter airline, flying theBoeing 737 . Now he fliesBoeing 747 s forBritish Airways .His aerobatics career started in 1986, flying an Ultimate Pitts. He went on to fly the Yak-50,
Extra 300 and then theSukhoi Su-26 in 1991. He has flown over 500 public displays and also flies vintage fighters for "The Old Flying Machine Company" atDuxford Aerodrome .Aircraft types Bonhomme has flown include the
Supermarine Spitfire (MkV, MkIX, MkIXT and Mk14),Hawker Hurricane , P-40 Kittyhawk,F4F Wildcat ,F6F Hellcat ,F8F Bearcat ,P-47 Thunderbolt ,P-63 Kingcobra ,P-51 Mustang and AD-4 Skyraider.Since 1994 he has been flying formation displays around the world with his colleague Steve Jones in "The Matadors" team. The team won three gold medals and one silver medal in the FAI series. He has competed in the
Red Bull Air Race World Series since 2003.Bonhomme enjoys also on-road and off-road motorcycling, mountain biking and playing golf.
* CAN: Cancelled
* DNP: Did not participate
* DNS: Did not show
* DQ: Disqualified
* NC: Not classifiedee also
*
Competition aerobatics
*Red Bull Air Race World Series External links
* [http://www.airracepilot.co.uk Home Page of Paul Bonhomme]
* [http://www.channel4.com/sport/microsites/A/airrace/bonhomme.html Channel 4]
* [http://www.russianaeros.com/aerobatic_displays.htm Aerobatic displays]
* [http://www.fulldeflection.com Aerobatics website]
* [http://www.redbullairrace.com/ Red Bull Air Race World Series official website]
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