The only representative of the fairer sex in this year's flying display is Frenchwoman Brigitte Delasalle, who was a member of the winning national team at the 1994 World Aerobatic Championships in Hungary.
Despite flying the brutally powerful Breitling-sponsored Sukhoi Su-31 - which has a take-off weight of only 820kg (1,760lb), but engine power of 400hp (300kW) - the diminutive aviatrix holds the airshow crowd spellbound daily as she performs a delicate and (dare one say, ladylike) series of manoeuvres which show off the tiny Russian aerobatic aircraft to perfection.
Brigitte is the only woman in Europe flying the Su-31, which has a rate of roll of 400° per second and is stressed to +12g and -8g. The positive power-to-weight ratio, provided by the Vedenier M14 PF nine-cylinder radial engine, means that she can virtually hover the aircraft, with the airframe either completely stationaryè or sometimes slowly revolving around its horizontal axis.
Source: Flight Daily News