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James Hinchcliffe goes for a different kind of high-speed ride

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe is used to racing around at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but on Wednesday, he got to experience a new type of speed off the ground.

Red Bull Air Race World Championship leader Kirby Chambliss took Hinchcliffe for a flight in a two-seat, aerobatic plane. Hinchcliffe experienced a variety of high-speed aerobatic maneuvers during the flight as Chambliss explained his techniques.

“You see corn fields and houses and sky, and then corn fields houses and sky in incredibly rapid succession. You don’t have a real great sense of the speed, which is probably a good thing to be honest doing some of those tricks,” Hinchcliffe said.

Chambliss’ race plane is different from the one Hinchcliffe rode in and can reach speeds of 200 mph. However, Hinchcliffe still got to experience a high rate of speed.

“Just to be pulled in that many different directions with that kind of force for that amount of time was very, very cool. It’s incredible when he explains this thing doesn’t perform nearly as well as his race plane does,” he said. “My respect for these guys, while already high, is even higher after experiencing something like that.”

Hinchcliffe is not the first IndyCar driver to fly with Chambliss. Alexander Rossi did it in 2016, one month after winning the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The Red Bull Air Race World Championship will take place Oct. 14 and 15 at IMS.

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