Stunt pilots set for Tipp battle

International stunt pilots are to do battle above the skies of Tipperary in a bid to be crowned the world’s number one flying ace.

The event around the famous Rock of Cashel next Sunday, dubbed the Formula 1 of the Skies, is the fourth leg in the Red Bull air race world series.

A specially designed course, around 1.5km long, will be home to nine aerobatics pilots from around the world testing their planes to the limit by pulling off stunts while topping speeds of 400kmph.

The aviators fly through a series of air filled gates 19m high completing manoeuvres in small single engine planes.

Under G-forces of up to 10-times their own body weight pilots must complete a string of stunts, such as vertical and horizontal rolls and loops, in the fastest time to take all the glory.

Cashel joins a select band of sites around the world which have staged the show this year along with Abu Dhabi in the Persian Gulf, Longleat estate in England and Rotterdam in Holland. The race will move on to San Francisco and Hungary later in the year.

Around 60,000 fans are expected to descend on the Tipperary town and the event will also be broadcast live on TV3 on July 24.