SMALL aeroplanes will hurtle at high speed towards Longleat House as a new type of racing comes to the skies of the stately home.

The Red Bull Air Race World Championship will zoom into Warminster on August 7.

The global competition pits nine of the best aerobatic pilots in the world against the clock, a tricky course and each other.

Planes reach speeds of more than 250mph, fly within metres of the ground, and withstand G-forces of up to 10 times the pilots' body weight.

Pilots whip their aircrafts between 19-metre-tall inflated gates while performing complicated flips and barrel rolls.

The competitor who completes the track in the shortest time while performing all the correct manoeuvres is the winner and gains points in a league.

The first leg of the tournament in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, attracted 200,000 spectators and 40,000 fans are expected at Longleat.

Millions will also watch around the world on television.

Longleat's owner Lord Bath said: "I look forward to welcoming the first ever Red Bull Air Race World Series to the skies above my home.

"We always strive to give our visitors something exciting and unusual, this year, Red Bull will give wings to Longleat, quite literally."

The competition has been dubbed the Formula 1 of the skies and features cutting-edge machines, exhilarating action and visually spectacular racing.

It was created by Hungarian Peter Besenyei, an Aerobatics World Champion in 2003.

Besenyei felt existing aerobatic competitions were limited by the subjective nature of the judging process.

"I was looking for a way to make aerobatics even more interesting for audiences," he said.

Crowds are expected to turn out in force to support British pilots Paul Bonhomme and Steve Jones, who have been selected to compete, along with pilots from Hungary, France, Spain, Germany, the USA and the Netherlands.