Reno National Championship Air Races

 Reno National Championship Air Races has a rich history of which I haven't written about.

1929 Cleveland started air racing with a lot of fan fair.  Below is a good link to an article describing the air races back then.  The racing in Cleveland came to an end in 1949.  They only made it 20 years where Reno lasted 60 years.  That in it self is quite the accomplishment.  Reno Air Racing Association has done an exceptional job from year to year to present a world renowned class air show and air races.  People come from all continents to watch them.  

https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/151

This year things are changing from day to day which is to be expected.  There is a lot going on behind the scenes .  An up date on the classes of aircraft racing has changed, the Biplanes will not be racing.

The most important thing to take into consideration is aviation racing history is being made so please come and witness it this year.

Please do not be discouraged that this is the last year the races will be held in Reno.  Focus on looking forward to a new era in air racing history.  I don't think you will be disappointed.

Here are some shots from the past of the Unlimited class.  What is incredible is these are World War II era aircraft that the fans love.

Thom Richard in Precious Metal 2014 P-51XR, we lost Precious Metal when it caught fire on the ramp coming to the races

Jim Tobul F4U-4 Corsair and Rod Lewis in a F7F Tigercat La Patrona 2014

Robert "Hoot" Gibson pilot of 232 Hawker Sea Fury in the pits 2014

F7F Tigercat La Patrona nose art in the pits 2014

Pete Law discussing Thermal Dynamics with crew of Precious Metal 2014

 Well folks it has been awhile since I wrote anything about the Reno National Championship Air Racing.  If you haven't heard this, it will be the last year the races will be held out at Stead Airport.  This will end  six decades of racing in Reno NV.  There is a rich history there with iconic races that were exciting and fun to observe.  The Association is working hard to find a new venue to move the races to.  As you can imagine this will be extremely difficult task taking into account all the logistics and infrastructure needed to host this event.  So what's really important is don't get discouraged that the races are done.  It may take some time to work through all the issues at hand but they feel they can accomplish this.  This year the ticketing will be hit hard so get your tickets now.  As before in my posts there are six classes, Formula 1, Biplanes, T-6's, Sport, Jet, and Unlimited.  All are fun to watch.  Below are some pictures I have taken over the years.  Some will ask who is showing up, that is always a surprise.  So come and enjoy the event as it will be a very integral part of aviation history.

Formula 1

Biplanes

T-6's

Sport

Jet

Unlimited

Fun time in Libby Montana

Had a great week up north in Libby Montana, went out to Ross Creek Cedars a played around for awhile..  have a couple from Coeur d'Alene also.

Ross Creek Cedars

Ross Creek Cedars

Libby Montana

Ross Creek Cedars

Coeur d "Alene

Ross creek, someone had way to much time.  There was literally thousands of rocks stacked up and down the creek bed.

Stars,stars and more stars

Wow, just got back from an awe inspiring experience up on top of Beartooth Pass just outside out of Red Lodge Montana shooting stars and the Milky Way with a sunset experience.  It is a humbling experience to see how insignificant we are in the scope of things.  Enjoy.

Beartooth Mountains sunset

Part of the Milky way with a couple satellites.

Twilight Lake in the Beartooths

Milky Way with a little color.

Well here it is the 7th of August and the Reno Championship Air Races are going to be here before we know it,  They say it will be there 55th year.  Wow thats pretty impressive considering 9/11 and the terrible crash of the Galloping Ghost which we lost several spectators.  The races are evolving each year trying to find that magic formula to both draw spectators and racers.  The big problem now it the cost to come and race these incredible planes.  I have heard that Voodoo is now residing in the Planes of Fame museum in Chino Ca.  Strega is trying to find sponsors but as of late they are not planning on attending this year.  Steve Hinton Jr has retired from racing.  So what does that mean for the unlimited racers this year?  Well it opens it up for the field and maybe bring more people to enter their planes.  The other classes are exciting as well.  If you love aerobatics you will not be disappointed because they always have the best.  They will also have the Patriots Jet team who also put on a great show.  If you haven't yet, get your hotel room because they go fast and get more expensive the longer you wait.  Here are some shots of the different classes that race.  A good web site to get up to date information is  air race.org.

Unlimited

BiPlanes

Sport

T-6's

Formula 1

Jet

National Championship Air Races 2016 Reno

Hey fans, it's getting close and all the racing teams are working long hours to get their planes ready for Reno.  Voodoo did some telemetry tests with a prop borrowed from Strega.  Strega seems to be a mystery as we don't really know if it will race this year or not.  I haven't seen any entries yet but am looking forward to a large field.  The teams are quiet as they strategize their action plans starting with qualifying.  The question is always how hard do you run.  Do you use a qual engine and run hard and change out to a race engine for the actual races?   How important is it to qual first second or third?  Old school is you want to be on the inside pole position.  You also don't want to race till Friday to save wear and tear on the plane. Some teams bring planes in on trailers, some fly in.  41 days till the races, wow has time flown.  Here are some shots of past races of all the different divisions.  Formula one, Byplanes, T-6's, Sport, Jet, and Unlimited.  So get reservations and tickets and come see the action.

Formula One

Biplane

T-6s

Sport

Jet

Unlimited

National Championship Air Races Reno 2016

Well Air racing fans, the Reno National Championship Air Races are ramping up.  They have just completed the Pylon Racing School (PRS) for 2016 June 15-18 at Stead Airport.  They had a record attendance of 79 airplanes and 130 participants in all 6 racing categories.  We will be seeing the return of John and Sue Paul’s P-51B Boise Bee and one of their P-40’s (probably “Sneak Attack”).  A lot of vying for seats of planes and back ups.

Some notable planes coming are P-51s, Seafury’s, P-40’s, F7F-Tigercats, Yaks, Bearcats, F-4U Corsairs and the field is growing.  

P-51d super modified Voodoo was doing some telemetry tests during PRS using a prop borrowed from Strega.  

With this many PRS attendees, the slots are going to be filled again which means harder and faster racing from day 1.  So be sure to get your tickets and come out and watch the best air racing in the world September 14-18.  Also remember the Air Races are also a world class air show featuring the Navy's Blue Angel Demonstration team.

National Championship Air Races 2016

Well race fans 2016 Reno Air Races is coming fast.  Time to think about plane tickets, hotels and tickets.  This year is beginning to be races you really want to see.  Also on tap is the world renowned Navy Blue Angles who always give a great demonstration.  Also the races showed a profit which I am sure will be spent to make your experience even better.  I have been told we may have more unlimited racers this year.  If we can fill the slots, wow what a year for the races. 

We won’t have Mike Mangold in the Jet class, he was killed in a plane crash in December 2015 while flying an L-39 in Apple Valley California.

 

Also we won’t be seeing a crowd favorite Precious Metal, an XR-51 which basically has the griffin motor with contra rotating props.  It experienced a fuel leak and caught fire prior to take off, the pilot Thom Richard got out safely.  It was extremely lucky it happened on the ramp rather than in the air but sadly it will take time and money to rebuild, Thom Richard will be flying in the Formula 1 class.

NBC Sports will air some footage taken during the 2015 races on March 27^th at noon, Pacific Time

All in all this year is going to be a great one so come and play in Reno.