Red Bull Air Race planes demonstrate takeoffs from the USS Midway.

Fleet Week San Diego, the country’s largest tribute to the military, is adding another aerial show to its calendar — the Red Bull Air Race World Series.
Thirteen pilots will navigate high-performance race planes through inflatable “air gates” on an aerial race track over San Diego Bay. The pilots race against the clock and fly 10 to 20 feet above the water at speeds of 260 mph. Qualifying takes place on Sept. 21 to determine which pilots take part in the finals Sept. 22. Crowds can watch from Embarcadero Park.

Race day events will include a demonstration by Navy aircraft from past and present and a sideshow by Red Bull’s fleet of aircraft. An MiG-17F is part of the fleet, as is the Red Bull Helicopter, which flies upside down.

This year’s 11th anniversary Fleet Week activities will be staged from Sept. 17 to Oct. 28 with more than 20 events.

The other air show on the calendar is Oct. 12-14 at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The show will include military and civilian pilots flying aircraft ranging from vintage biplanes to the latest in aviation technology. More than 200 ground displays are part of the event. A special twilight show on Oct. 13 will have music and fireworks.

Among this year’s Fleet Week events:

• The Port of San Diego Sea & Air Parade Sept. 29. Guided-missile distroyers, frigates and Coast Guard vessels will parade through San Diego Bay. Aircraft and Navy SEAL team demonstrations will be featured along the shoreline.
  
  
• Navy ship tours, Sept. 29-30 and Oct. 6-7. Tours will take place at the Broadway Pier.
  
  
• The Marine Corps Recruit Depot Bootcamp Challenge, Oct. 6. Civilian and military participants are invited to become Marine recruits for a day, trekking through a three-mile course on the MCRD grounds. Runners will face the drill fields and MCRD’s obstacle course. People who want to participate should contact the Semper Fit Division at (619) 524-6058 or (619) 524-0548.
  
  
• SRT Coronado Speed Festival, Oct. 6-7. Vintage cars will race a 1.6-mile course at Naval Air Station North Island. The course winds around military hardware displays and aircraft hangars. The festival also will include car shows, a vendor village with auto accessories and a display of collectible autos.

The full schedule of events is online at fleetweeksandiego.org.

Pilots in the Red Bull Air Race World Series are making their final United States stop on a 10-city worldwide tour. The race winner is the one who accomplishes the best time after two runs of the same course. Pilots race on a twisted course with five groups of specially erected “spinnaker” pylon obstacles. Flying against the rules results in disqualification or in a time penalty added to the flying time.

The first six ranked pilots of each race leg are scored from 6 to 1 points, top down. The air racer with the most points at the end of the series becomes Red Bull Air Race world champion. The champion of the 2005 season was Mike Mangold from the United States. The champion in 2006 was fellow American Kirby Chambliss.

Fleet Week San Diego is presented by the San Diego Fleet Week Foundation, a nonprofit corporation. Sponsors include the Unified Port District of San Diego; SRT; The San Diego Union-Tribune; North Island Credit Union; DRS Technologies; Raytheon; California Fuel Cell Partnership; TriWest Healthcare Alliance; Northrop Grumman; Bank of America; AT&T; BAE Systems; Cunningham BMW; General Atomics; KOGO; General Dynamics; Viejas; Sea World; Lincoln Military Housing; Lockheed Martin; Serco; Brecht; Hornblower Cruises and Events; Navy Federal; Solar Turbines; SAIC; SDG&E; San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau; County of San Diego; San Diego State University; San Diego Symphony; USA Federal Credit Union; city of Coronado; Cubic Corp.; Frontier Airlines; GEICO; New Car Dealer Association; and Rockwell Collins.