Aussie Women making history in Pylon Racing
- JetSheila
- Nov 2
- 2 min read
After last week’s Women in Aviation conference in Brisbane, I had so many people ask me about the difference between Airrace X (formally Red Bull Air Racing) and NCAR Racing jets
Pylon Racing, especially after hearing about my incredible friend and fellow Airshow pilot Emma McDonald from BeyondGravity who is currently the only woman in the world competing in AirRaceXtreme racing!
How cools is that!!
And here’s the extra cool part, we’re both Aussies and right now, we are the only two women in the world competing in these high-speed, high-risk air racing categories. We joke about it but clearly, there’s something in the water Down Under! 😅
While our worlds look and sound similar from the outside, they’re actually completely different and I wanted to share with you the key differences across both types of pylon racing and how we both compete.
We have very different aircraft types:
Our aircraft are very different, the Airrace X aircraft are piston aerobatic, and the Jet Class Pylon racing aircraft are various turbine jet engine military training aircraft.
Both are designed to achieve different things in pylon racing.
• Airrace X: Aerobatic propeller aircraft like the Edge 540 or MXS-R — ultra-light, agile, built for precision and speed.
• NCAR Jet Class: Ex-military jet trainers like the L-29 or L-39 — heavy, powerful, and incredibly fast.
Race Format
The racing format for each different type of pylon racing is vastly different. Airrace X is focused on one pilot racing against the clock, for the fastest and cleanest line through the pylons, where the Jet pylon racing, although still all about the fastest time has the addition of other aircraft racing alongside you, a bit like the NASCAR of the sky! That's why they call it the fastest motor sport on earth!
• Airrace X: One pilot at a time fly their circuit, against the clock through inflatable pylons, precision and finesse are everything.
• NCAR Jet Class air racing: Multiple jets (up to 8 in a line up race) flying head-to-head, just metres apart around solid pylons, restricted to altitudes of a minimum of 50 feet above the ground to a maximum of 250 feet around a 10 mile track, speed, strategy, and discipline rule the day.
Speeds of both aircraft are different.
• Airrace X: Around 460+ km/h (270 mph).
• Jet Class: Over 650 km/h (400+ mph).
Both of these types of pylon racing require extraordinary skill, focus, precision and courage and both carry very real risk.
There’s no competition between Emma and I, we laugh about it, because I could never do what she does in her aircraft, and I’m sure she’d say the same about racing jets! But that’s what makes it so special. We are both out there pushing the boundaries in our own way, flying different machines but sharing the same passion for precision, performance, and possibility.
Two Aussie women. Two different worlds of pylon racing. One incredible sisterhood in the skies. 🏁🔥
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