The Air Race Is Back—and Mélanie Astles Is Ready

Monday, February 21, 2022 at 06:35 PM ET

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Astles looks forward to competing in the new Air Race with her own team, and guiding young people into aviation. [YouTube Screengrab: Mélanie Astles]

Key Takeaways:

French aerobatic champion Mélanie Astles will lead an elite team in the newly relaunched "Air Race" series, set to begin in May 2022 with a focus on new technologies like zero-carbon fuels.
Astles is launching a project to train and mentor young aspiring aviators, aiming to give back to the community and inspire future generations, especially young girls, in aviation.
She attributes her recent competitive success to mental preparation and relaxation techniques, believing that flying relaxed leads to optimal performance under pressure.

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Mélanie Astles hasn’t taken much time off during her career, since the French aerobatic pilot took savings she had from working at a petrol station and turned it into her initial pilot certificate, starting when she was 21.

So, the pandemic presented a somewhat frustrating hiatus for a champion who’s ready to race. The Unlimited and Advanced classes managed to fly some competitions, but it hasn’t been the same in the past two years.