Jet 1 Cup Inaugural Season

[n33d4sp33d_85]

https://www.tampafp.com/jet-1-cup-david ... ial-sport/

[Adam]

So this guy still exists? Fascinating.

Denis Oliver (then using the name Denis Olivier Mouterde) is the chap who announced the Darts Aviation Cup and a nine-ship jet aerobatic team, based in Malta, some time around 2016/17. They had a very swish website and were selling tickets for a four-figure sum to take part in a fighter jet competition, when ordinary members of the public would be put through a few days of training and then dogfight each other with an instructor in the back seat. They said the whole thing would be filmed for a reality TV series, with all the competitors living on a superyacht for the duration. They were also selling tickets to watch from the ground. There's an article about the jet team here:
https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/nati ... k6QzzXTWUk

The whole thing looked a bit implausible, but thinking I might have a scoop of some kind for This is Flight, I set up a video interview with the owner. He was very charming, but I raised some questions, including:

• How come the L-39s on your website have any identifying marks/numbers edited out, but are mostly in fact owned by a huge variety of unconnected companies across the USA, Baltic states and Russia?
• If non-pilots will be at the controls, will the action really be low enough that it can be enjoyed by spectators on the ground?
• How come your debut event is scheduled to be held at an airport where the runway is 50% too short to handle L-39 operations? (Muchamiel, Spain)

As far as I can recall, the answers were mostly "it's a secret" or "don't worry, we've done it before". I had doubts over whether it was legit so given their site was selling products for money, I never published the article. Fairly soon after, their website and social media pages went down. There was never any press coverage of the competition itself, so that idea disappeared without a trace.

So obviously I had to look at the new company website, jet1cup.com, when I saw this thread and realised it was the same thing! They're promising a 16-round competition involving 12 aircraft, running from September 2022 until May 2023. Every race will be in the USA or central America There's no attempt to disguise aircraft identities this time: they used two Patriots Jet Team aircraft for some publicity shoots last year, wearing temporary Jet 1 Cup decals, and an unmarked jet from the Topgun Fighter Foundation for another shoot soon after. Clearly, a fair amount of money has been put into some very slick promo material - which makes it all the more surprising that they don't seem to have put any effort into building their social media following or getting any meaningful media coverage. They've used the phrase World Championship a few times, which is perhaps a little suspect given there's no mention of the FAI anywhere. But the big difference is that the format seems plausible this time around - real pilots flying the jets, and gamers on the ground remotely controlling the weapons system. And they're not actually selling anything (at least, not yet).

So I guess it might be for real this time? But I'd be interested to hear what other people think of the idea...

Good find, n33d4sp33d_85!

[n33d4sp33d_85]

Here's some details regarding the inaugural season of the Jet 1 Cup.

We're excited to be at the helm of the Event Aviation Operations in the Western Hemisphere for the 2022/2023 Jet 1 Cup Inaugural Season. The events will take place at 5 locations in the United States, 3 locations in Mexico and 1 location in Panama. The Air Combat and Aerial Dogfighting series kicks off in late September 2022 in the Dallas, TX area and runs through mid May 2023. The aircraft being featured will be with teams of L-39 Albatross aircraft in one-on-one aerial combat.
The Series will bring a new excitement to aviation for all ages along with an E-Gaming component. It will feature numerous opportunities for a VIP Experience with high end VIP Chalets, on-site French Chefs and Cuisine, exhibitors, and much more.
Schultz Airshow was sought after for our industry leadership and expertise not only in aviation productions and operations but also for our innovation in new aviation events, keen eyes towards safety, our international experience, and our standardization protocols which improve not only the safety but efficiency of our events. Jet 1 Cup recognized that Schultz Airshows had the "Tools and the Talent" to make it happen!
More details will be posted soon on our website at www.schultzairshows.com