Nigel Lamb is a renowned English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 aerobatics

Aerobatics

Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...

 pilot

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

.

Nigel Lamb was born on August 17, 1956 in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 (then Rhodesia

Rhodesia

Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

). He was inspired to fly by his father, who was a Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 fighter pilot in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and at age 11 first applied to join the Air Force and persisted until he was finally accepted at 18.

After finishing his schooling at Umtali Boy's High School, Umtali, (now Mutare) Nigel Lamb joined the Rhodesian Air Force in 1975 and gained his wings to fly jets and helicopters in 1976.

In 1980, Lamb left the Air Force as an instructor and moved to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 to join the Marlboro Aerobatic team and has now been a professional display pilot for 30 years, flown over 1,750 public displays in over 30 countries worldwide including leading the first civilian team to fly in China in 1996. Nigel is the only pilot to have won the British National Unlimited Aerobatic Championship 8 times consecutively, and has spent the last five years putting his skills to the test in the highly challenging Red Bull Air Race World Championship, finishing the 2010 season in third position.

He also featured in some major movie productions as an aerial display pilot flying a variety of historical aircraft including a Spitfire

Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...

, P-51 Mustang

P-51 Mustang

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...

 and a P-40 Kittyhawk.

Nigel Lamb is married to successful aerobatic pilot Hilary, and together they have three sons, Max, Daniel and Ben.

He enjoys skiing

Skiing

Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

, scuba diving

Scuba diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

 and squash

Squash (sport)

Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...

.

Achievements

1986 -1993:

• British Unlimited Aerobatic Champion - 8 times. consecutively

1989:

• Masters of Aerobatics South Africa
  South Africa
  The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
  
   – Silver medal
• Member of British team in three World Aerobatic Championships and two European championships.
• British Freestyle Champion - 4 times.

  Nigel Lamb at the Red Bull Air Race World Series Red Bull Air Race World Series The Red Bull Air Race, established in 2003 and created by Red Bull, is an international series of air races in which competitors have to navigate a challenging obstacle course in the fastest time. Pilots fly individually against the clock and have to complete tight turns through a slalom course...
  Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Points	Wins	Rank
  2005 2005 Red Bull Air Race World Series season The 2005 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the 3rd Red Bull Air Race World Series season. It began on April 8, 2005 and ended on October 8....	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	9th	8th	7th						0	0	8th
  2006 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series season The 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the fourth Red Bull Air Race World Series season. It began on March 18, 2006 and ended on November 19....	9th	6th	8th	CAN	6th	DQ	6th	8th	8th				3	0	9th
  2007 2007 Red Bull Air Race World Series season The 2007 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the fifth Red Bull Air Race World Series season.-New pilots:Sergei Rakhmanin of Russia and Austrian Hannes Arch were chosen to join the 2007 series after completing a qualification course in October 2006, held in Arizona, USA...	11th	7th	8th	8th	CAN	10th	7th	6th	7th	3rd	CAN	8th	5	0	9th
  2008 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series season The 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Series season was the sixth Red Bull Air Race World Series season. The 2008 champion was Hannes Arch, who won the series for the first time.-Aircraft and pilots:-New pilots:...	8th	6th	12th	CAN	8th	5th	6th	5th	CAN	2nd			30	0	7th
  2009	United Arab Emirates 4th	United States 6th	Canada 8th	Hungary 9th	Portugal 11th	Spain 2nd							32	0	6th
  2010 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship The 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship was the eighth official Red Bull Air Race World Championship series. Paul Bonhomme became champion for the second successive year, finishing each of the six rounds of the championship in the top three placings, two of which were victories...	2nd	4th	2nd	4th	2nd	4th	CAN	CAN					55	0	3rd

Legend:

• CAN: Cancelled
• DNP: Did not participate
• DNS: Did not show
• DQ: Disqualified
• NC: Not classified

Filmography

1. Flyboys (2006) (chief pilot)
2. Hart's War (2002) (pilot: P-51 Mustang
   P-51 Mustang
   The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
   
   )
3. Tmavomodrý svet (2001) (pilot: Spitfire
   Supermarine Spitfire
   The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
   
   ), aka Dark Blue World (International: English title), aka Leidenschaft in dunklen Tagen (Germany: TV title)

External links

• Channel 4
• IMDb Internet Movie Database
• Aerobatics
• Red Bull Air Race World Championship official website