About Me.
Francis Barros was born in the city of Porto Alegre, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. His parents - Mario Barros, famous guitarist and composer in the region, and Anete Ferreira Pankowski - upon realizing the interest of Francis and his younger brother, Juliano Barros, provided the opportunity for both in the aeronautical initiation program (D.I.A, similar to Young Eagles program from EAA) at Aeroclube do Rio Grande do Sul (ARGS). Juliano, after being trained by the Aeroclube do Rio Grande do Sul and received aerial aerobatics instruction from his brother, became a Boeing 737 commander, instructor and air show pilot, and currently has more than 11 thousand flight hours, being qualified in advanced biplane training at the American Wingover school Aerobatics, owned by famous pilot, builder and aerobatic instructor Steve Wolf, who has over 45 years of teaching aeronautical experience.
Education
Training Francis was a student at the Colégio Militar de Porto Alegre between 1988 and 1994, reaching the rank of student lieutenant colonel, having commanded the school battalion. In his aeronautical training, he graduated and served as a glider, airplane and aerobatics instructor, being part of the squadron civilian Tchê Connection in command of the French aircraft Cap10B, together with one of the icons of Brazilian aviation, Commander Sérgio Fraga Machado.
Airline Pilot
Francis Barros has more than 15 thousand hours of flight time. Professionally he was commander, instructor and check airman of one of the legacy Brazilian air transport carriers, the extinct Avianca Brasil (Oceanair), operating Airbus A330 aircraft transporting cargo and passengers. He was responsible for preparing many internal projects and conducting of numerous historic company flights, such as the inauguration of routes Brazil/United States and Brazil/Chile. After its bankruptcy, he flew in Latam group as Commander of A320 narrow body family aircraft. With the global Covid19 crisis, Francis was invited to assist in deployment of the Airbus A330-800Neo aircraft at Uganda Airlines. He served in Uganda as an instructor and examiner accredited by the Ugandan authority - UCAA. Upon completion of the deployment, Francis flew the iconic Boeing 747, the famous “Jumbo”, as first officer for AtlasAir. Today Francis flies for one of the largest airlines in the world as pilot of the A320 narrow bodies family.
Aerial Acrobatics
In addition to working as an airline pilot, Francis Barros is an aerobatic/stunt/airshow pilot. He competes in national and international championships in unlimited category, the most complex and challenging in the sport. Francis Barros practices in different countries around the world. Its main basis in past was the Aeroclube of Rio Grande do Sul, where he performed his performances on board of the Russian Sukhoi SU31 aircraft, with a 360 hp 9-cylinder radial engine designed to reach 450 km/h and withstand loads of 20 times the force of the gravity, both positive and negative. This aircraft has a roll rate of 360° per second and is extremely precise, which made it chosen as a tool of many world championship winners. Today he trains and competes in the famous and unbeatable Extra330SC aircraft, the biggest rival of the Russian Sukhoi aircraft.
Air Show Pilot
As an air show pilot, his performances made him presented in several countries such as Argentina, United States and Uruguay. He was part of a select group of pilots who are capable of performing a rolling looping, a maneuver that consists of mixing a loop with rolls at the same time. His biggest performance was to the Brazilian public during the Rio de Janeiro stage of the Redbull Airrace, where more than half million people watched his show and lost their breath with the execution of a sequence of crossover spins (positive and negative) that impressed the crowd.
Aerial Competitions
As an aerial athlete, Francis Barros navigated in two arenas:
Redbull Airrace
At Redbull Airrace, Francis Barros competed for two seasons (2015/2016) competing in several countries and using the German Extra 330LX aircraft. Flying at almost 400 km/h just a few meters above the ground, he executed turns and reversals with loads of up to 10 times gravity (so-called G force). The Redbull Airrace was one of the fastest sports performed by man and without a doubt, one of the most challenging. His steps worked as a rally where the driver's performance on each circuit is a race against the clock. Red Bull was looking for drivers with previous experience in aerobatics and aerial demonstration, basically ex-military fighter pilots and aerial aerobatics champions. The participant needed to be recognized in these fields in order to be invited to the Red Bull assessment where the so-called Challenger Super License was obtained, which entitles you to the initial category and, over time, if selected, promoted to the training of the so-called Master Super License.
Precision Aerial Acrobatics
In precision acrobatics competitions, Francis Barros has five national titles, being champion for four consecutive years - 2013/2014/2015/2016. His fifth title came in 2018. He has numerous Achievements, as in 2015, in France, when he achieved the best performance ever recorded to this day by a Brazilian in an Unlimited class world championship (obtained 5th position in the know sequence and 17th position overall in the masculine category). In the American national championship of the Unlimited category of 2012 he received the award for "Foreign pilot with the highest number of points”, among some other titles. Francis Barros had several coaches, including Sérgio Fraga Machado, Fernando Paes de Barros, Sergei Boriak (born in Kazakhstan and member of the famous USSR aerobatics team) and Claude ‘Coco’ Bessiere, World champion in 1990 World Cup (his current coach).
Brazilian Aerial Acrobatics Committee
His involvement with aerobatics goes beyond competition. Francis Barros is one of the founders of the Brazilian Aerobatics and Aerial Competitions Committee (CBA), the largest Brazilian national aerobatics entity, in charge of the management of the national championship, to promote regional championships and to develop a flight safety culture in the activities that the committee represents. He was strongly involved in the entity and still collaborates with many partners in the national aeronautical scene, such as the National Agency of Civil Aviation - ANAC and the national aerial demonstration squadron, known worldwide as "Esquadrilha da Fumaça".
Aerial Acrobatics Enthusiast
Promoter of the sport, Francis Barros works as a trainer and coach of aerobatics and air show pilots around the world. He assists famous American champion Patty Wagstaff as instructor and coacher at her school www.pattywagstaff.com.
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