I spent Father’s Day weekend with my father at the Red Bull Air Races. Flying is his passion in life. He’s a pilot, tows gliders, repairs their wings, builds model RC aircraft and we even once discovered he had built a full-sized airplane in the basement! (Okay, so we weren’t too surprised by the airplane in the basement. To be expected.) Attending these air races is not my typical weekend fare, and it was quite special. Between dad's passion for speed in the air and my passion for speed on tarmac, it was a fantastic medium for spending time together. The air races got me thinking about this whole freedom and precision thing.
The Red Bull race pilots spoke of their passions for aircraft, flying and racing
. They speak of the freedom they have in the air. It’s empowering. They MUST be precise while slicing air, or there are severe consequences. The air race has strict requirements and limitations—Speed (230 mph max), Acceleration (12 g's max), Wing angle through gates (exactly 90 or 180 deg, Smoke Trail (1 sec penalty if off or inconsistently flowing), Weight (aircraft is weighed pre-race). And above all - DO NOT SLICE THE PYLONS. The aircraft (and the pilot, due to g-force pressures on the body) must be in pristine shape for the sake of racing.
Despite this need for speed and precision, each race pilot attacked the course in a slightly different way, using a personally choreographed set of movements. Because the only angle restrictions were imposed for gate-crossing, everywhere else on the course was fair game for unrestricted play.
The end result, however, was the same for each: crossing the checkered pylon.
Sound familiar? Well, if you’ve been following our discourse on 
the advantages of KeyCreator and 3D Direct Modeling, it should! Just like these race pilots, KeyCreator customers require speed with precision. Though everyone is working toward the same end-goal (getting that top product that results in good business and food on the table), everyone executes it differently. Frankly, who cares how you got there, or the steps taken? What matters is doing what you need to do to win. This is the beauty of a 3D Direct Modeler like KeyCreator and, for that matter, a brilliant piece of aircraft.
:::::::::::: SMOKE ON! ::::::::::::::
