07/06/2024
Kirby Chambliss to Receive 2024 Bill Barber Award for Showmanship
EAST TROY, WISCONSIN, June 6, 2024 -- World Airshow News has announced that Kirby Chambliss is the 2024 recipient of the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship. One of the most prestigious awards in the airshow industry, the list of Barber honorees reads like an airshow hall of fame.
Long regarded as one of the top competition aerobatic pilots in the world, Chambliss won the very first aerobatic contest in which he competed, eventually working his way up to the top Unlimited level of competition. He was crowned United States National Aerobatic Champion five times between 1998 and 2005, and as a member of the U.S. National Aerobatic Team, won 13 medals at multiple world aerobatic championships. Thanks to his creative and aggressive flying style, Chambliss was the 2000 Freestyle World Aerobatic Champion.
In 2003, Chambliss began competing against top aerobatic pilots from around the world in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, flying in every Red Bull air race until that competition ended after the 2019 season. Chambliss was the Red Bull Air Race World Champion for both the 2004 and 2006 seasons.
Throughout his aerobatic competition and air racing careers, Chambliss has also flown airshows all across North America in his now famous Red Bull Edge 540. He is known for his high-energy aerobatics as well as his signature “Cobra” takeoff. In recent years, he has thrilled airshow crowds as a member of the Red Bull Air Force alongside the Red Bull Skydivers and the Red Bull helicopter.
The Bill Barber Award for Showmanship began in 1986 and is awarded to airshow performers or teams that have demonstrated great skill and showmanship. World Airshow News magazine and the friends and family of the late Bill Barber present the award annually.
The 2024 Bill Barber Award for Showmanship presentation is planned for late July during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
