Salzburg, Austria – The long awaited unveiling of the new generation Edge 540 V3 took place last month with Austria’s Hannes Arch at the controls for a series of test flights ahead of the season opener in Abu Dhabi on 26-27 March. Flying from the Zivko Aeronatics base in Oklahoma, USA, the former world champion was filled with confidence as he prepared to start the 2010 season with a calculated change in race strategy.
“I had the first flight in mid-February, not long before we had to ship the aeroplane to Abu Dhabi,” explains the pilot who narrowly lost out on the 2009 title in a fierce battle with winner Paul Bonhomme that lasted the entire season. “Very quickly, from the first moment onwards, I could see the very big potential of the new aircraft. There was a definite change from the old Edge and everything we tried to accomplish with the new aircraft worked out so far.”