Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Tumbling through the sky at 400km/h means leaving all ego outside the cockpit, even for Australia’s top aerobatic pilot.
Paul Bennet has spent decades carving up the skies, as he pulls off torque rolls, double hammerheads and flips to the delight of audiences hundreds of metres below.
Growing up at Old Bar on the NSW mid-north coast, Bennet later moved to Newcastle where he truly fell in love with the sport and began to stretch his wings.
“When you close the cockpit, the world changes,” he told AAP.
“It’s just you, the air and the airplane.
“You become one with the plane and your wings become your arms – it’s pretty cool.”
Bennet began competing in aerobatic championships during the 2000s.
He was National Advanced Aerobatic Champion in 2008 and National Unlimited Aerobatic Champion in 2009, claimed Queensland and Victorian championships in 2011 and 2012, and was crowned Australian Freestyle Aerobatic Champion in 2016.
After a break from the competition scene, he returned to sweeping awards, winning the Australian Unlimited Championship again.
Despite the plethora of accolades, Bennet says he still has to go into every flight with fierce concentration.
“A lot of it’s in the mind,” he said.
“It’s nice to put on a show without being a show-off; there’s a difference.
“You can’t let your ego get in the way or you can hit the ground.”
Bennet continues to travel the world to perform for millions of waiting viewers.
Over the weekend, he will soar above Atlantic City in New Jersey as part of the Soar and Shore Airshow with other iconic planes including the Warbird Thunder and the USAF F-16C Fighting Falcons.
Taking control of a Wolf Pitts Pro, one of the highest performing acrobatic biplanes in the world, Bennet will perform 360 degree loops in the span of a second.
For him, the best part of the show will be enjoying the crowd’s reactions.
“Seeing the smiles on people’s faces when you’ve done what – in their mind – they thought was impossible, that’s pretty cool,” he said.
