Michael Jennings Photography of Montana: Jet racing background Reno National Championship Air Races

OK worlds fastest motor sport race fans, I have covered Formula One, Biplanes, T-6, and Sport. We have two more classes to cover. So I will cover the Jets Class.

Jet races were tried in 1973 at the California Air Classic (later known as the California National Air Races) at Mojave and ran till 1975. The background of jet racing indicates the daunting challenges of real jet racing. In Cleveland it was demonstrated that it could be done but on a larger course by government operated/maintained aircraft. The risks were high. Airframes were old and very close to failure and pilots were near/at their limit. This lead to the Air Force's decision to halt jet racing in 1949. Mojave's experience reinforced the lessons learned in Cleveland. On a similar but slightly smaller and still a large course, the stresses were still an problem when the jet aircraft were pushed in competition.

Reno Air Racing Association wanted to boost their annual attendance so they thought that bringing in jets would appeal to the younger crowd. So in 2000 they set up an experimental race after the Gold Unlimited race had finished. So late on Sunday, three MiG-17s (one flown by Jimmy Leeward), an L-39 flown by Rick Vandam, and a T-33 came roaring down the same starting line as the Unlimited. The FAA gave explicit instructions to the pilots, no afterburners but you can't hold a competitive pilot like Jimmy Leeward back as he was trailing the race and hit the burners, so soon others followed suit. After the race the crowd went wild so was born the Jet Class. The requirement for Jet class are no afterburner and less than 15 degrees of wing sweep. In 2001 the races were cancelled due to 9/11 so there first official race was 2002. There are several types of jet aircraft that compete at Reno. The popular ones are L-39 Albatros, L-29 Delfin, TS-11 Iskra, and the DeHavilland Vampire. The most popular one is the L-39 Albatros. The paint jobs on these aircraft are really something to see, they are beautiful. So come on out and watch these fast and fun aircraft battle for the gold. Remember those dates are September 12-16 2012.