Paul Bonhomme (born 22 September 1964) is a British

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

and

commercial airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ai ...

pilot and owner/race pilot of Team Bonhomme, the Red Bull Air Race World Champion for 2015.

Racing career

Bonhomme was born into a family of aviators. His father was an airline pilot and his mother worked as a

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

. His brother is a commercial pilot. Bonhomme's flying career started in 1980 at

White Waltham Airfield White Waltham Airfield is an operational general aviation aerodrome located at White Waltham, southwest of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. This large grass airfield is best known for its asso ...

as a general

dogsbody A dogsbody, dog's body, or less commonly dog robber is someone who does menial or drudge work.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, 2010''s.v.''/ref> Originally, in the British Royal Navy, a dogsbody was a semi-sarcastic colloquialism for a ...

by cleaning hangars, polishing aircraft and refuelling aircraft. Paul Bonhomme001

At age 18 he gained his

Private Pilot Licence A private pilot licence (PPL) or, in the United States, a private pilot certificate, is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The licence requirements are dete ...

taking first the FAA licence at Redbird Airfield near Dallas, Texas and subsequently became a

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

. In 1985 he became an

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

pilot and in 1987 joined Air Cymru, a Welsh charter airline, flying the

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...

. He now flies as a captain of

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

s for

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

. His aerobatics career started in 1986, flying an Ultimate Pitts. He went on to fly the Yak-50,

Extra 300 The Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 is a two-seat aerobatic monoplane capable of Unlimited category competition. It was designed in 1987 by Walter Extra, a German aerobatic pilot, and built by Extra Flugzeugbau. Design and development Design of th ...

and then the

Sukhoi Su-26 The Sukhoi Su-26 is a single-seater aerobatic aircraft from the former Soviet Union, powered by a single radial reciprocating engine. The Su-26 has mid-mounted straight wings and fixed landing gear, the main gear mounted on a solid titanium ar ...

in 1991 for Richard Goode Aerobatics. He has flown over 650 public displays and flies vintage fighters for "The Old Flying Machine Company" at

Duxford Aerodrome Duxford Aerodrome is located south of Cambridge, within the civil parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly west of the village. The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and is the site of the Imperial War Mus ...

. Aircraft types Bonhomme has flown include the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

(MkV, MkIX, MkIXT and MkXIV),

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

P-40 Kittyhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atla ...

F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...

F8F Bearcat The Grumman F8F Bearcat is an American single-engine Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft introduced in late World War II. It served during the mid-20th century in the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the ...

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

P-63 Kingcobra The Bell P-63 Kingcobra is an American fighter aircraft that was developed by Bell Aircraft during World War II. Based on the preceding Bell P-39 Airacobra, the P-63's design incorporated suggestions from P-39 pilots and was superior to its pr ...

, Hawker Sea Fury II,

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

and AD-4 Skyraider. Since 1994 he has been flying formation displays around the world with his colleague former Air Race pilot and Television commentator Steve Jones as "The Matadors". They won three gold medals and one silver medal in the FAI series. He has competed in the

Red Bull Air Race World Championship The World Championship Air Race is a series of air races sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). Originally established in 2003 as the Red Bull Air Race, and created by Red Bull GmbH, the event involves competitors navigating a ...

from its inception in 2003 until 2015, achieving an unsurpassed record of 46 podium finishes out of 65 races that includes 19 race wins.

Awards

In 2010 Paul was awarded the Guild Sword of Honour by the

Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators The Honourable Company of Air Pilots, formerly the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN), is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Company was founded in 1929, and became a Livery Company in 1956. Elizabeth II granted ...

. Bonhomme was the 2009 recipient of the

Segrave Trophy The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and wat ...

Personal life

Bonhomme's hobbies include flying his own Robinson R22 Helicopter. He is married with a stepson and three daughters, and lives in

South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 162,119 at the 2021 census. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambridgeshire Rural District. I ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Legend: * CAN: Cancelled * DNP: Did not participate * DNS: Did not show * DQ: Disqualified * NC: Not classified

References

External links

Home page of Paul Bonhomme

Aerobatics website

Red Bull Air Race World Series official website
http://www.redbullairrace.com/en_GB/article/bonhomme-hall-and-arch-make-2015-wc-podium {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonhomme, Paul 1964 births Living people English aviators British air racers Aerobatic pilots Red Bull Air Race World Championship pilots Red Bull Air Race World Championship winners Britannia Trophy winners Segrave Trophy recipients Commercial aviators

Racing career

Awards

Personal life

See also

References

External links