As impressive as the precision-flying performance of the Red Bull Air Race pilots is, it is also a remarkable logistics achievement. Driven to come up with better ways to move the cumulative total of 5,000 tonnes of race equipment around the world each year, Red Bull Air Race logistics manager Christof Reichl and his crew are endlessly inventive in coming up with creative solutions to the myriad of challenges in transporting the race’s infrastructure to the four corners of the globe

“We’re always looking for ways to improve,” said Reichel. “The race gets bigger each year and so do the challenges. But that’s what makes the job so much fun: getting everything where it belongs when it’s needed.”

The entire infrastructure – everything from the race airplanes to the 5-storey high race tower, portable hangars, grid stand, Air Pylon barges, and High Flyer’s Lounge for hospitality guests – is packed up and moved after each race. As much as possible is transported in lower-cost container ships or by truck. But air freight is also required.

The dismantling and reassembling of the planes for the overseas journeys is a truly astonishing feat. The planes are disassembled into 10 major pieces. The wings are removed and placed in 8-metre long boxes that look like giant guitar cases. The rudders and horizontal stabilisers from the tail structure are also fragile and put into cases lined with thick foam padding. The stripped-down 6-metre long fuselage is strapped down to an air freight pallet. It takes 6 hours to take the planes apart and about a day and a half to put them all back together.

“The whole race infrastructure would fit in about 7 or 8 jumbo jets but it makes more sense to ship as much as possible,” said Reichl. “Or everything would fit in about 70 trucks if we sent it all that route.” Another new challenge is the modern-day pirates. Many container ships have been hijacked by pirates demanding ransom off the coast of Somalia. Reichl said that a Red Bull Air Race could be staged anywhere in the world but he could easily write a book about the wide variety of challenges dealing with an never-ending series of obstacles – from difficult customs requirements to shipping delays and a whole host of problems. But that is why his job is so special. “There’s never a boring day,” he said.

Pictures free of charge only for editorial use: Balazs Gardi for Global-Newsroom.com