First off I would like to give a little background on myself
and my exposure to the Reno National Championship Air Races in Reno Nevada.
My name is Michael Jennings and I live in Billings
Montana. I first heard about the Reno
Air Races while I worked at McCarran Int. Airport in Las Vegas for Hughes
Aviation Services in 1973. I was a lineman
at the time when a P-51D Miss America landed for refueling on its way to Reno
for the Air Races. I visited with the
pilot while I refueled the plane and he told me a little about the races. Since then I always wanted to go to the Air
Races but never really had the chance until I retired in 2009.
My first trip to the races in 2009 was a thrill beyond
words, there is so much to see and do that at the end of the day you were
exhausted but happy. My first attempts
to get pictures really didn't work out for me, I didn't have a clue what I was
doing so I decided to try and learn more about photography. When I returned to Billings I immediately
joined two camera clubs and started asking a lot of questions and then
following up by doing research. I also
knew I had to upgrade my photography equipment to be more successful. I
bought two lenses, 70-200mm f2.8 IS II and the 17-40 ultra wide angle f.4 by
Canon. I also learned that a group called the media
had special access to the ramp and pylons.
So I did some more research and applied for credentials through a local
newspaper to cover two brothers Mark and Dave Standish from Billings crewing
for a pilot from St Petersburg FL, Pete Zaccagnino. My credentials were approved for 2010.
2010 was my first time as media was an eye opener, there is
so much to cover and it is hard to be at the right place at the right time but
you do the best you can. I met some photographers (3) who befriended
me and mentored me and it is to their credit that I have improved each
year. This was my first time being able
to get up close to the planes, pilots and out at the pylons. There are techniques you need to learn and
master. You also have to learn the rules
as an media person that involves your safety.
One rule they preach daily is if you are on the ramp and an aircraft
starts its engine, you need to move two planes away, if more than one starts there
engine, you must get behind the no prop turn line which is a solid black line
with two yellow dash lines on each side running down the ramp. Out at the pylons there are rules you must
follow as well. I took thousands of
shots but only kept a fraction of them.
I hooked up with the Standish brothers and did an interview on a Friday
morning. Again the pace was staggering
and at the end of the day you were exhausted.
2010 was a good year.
2011 I applied again for credentials and was approved. This time I wanted to see the whole event so
I arrived on Sunday and watched the qualifying part of the event learning all
the ins and outs of this process. I was
just settling in for the long haul when on Friday September 16, 2011 a horrible
tragedy struck. Jimmy Leeward and his
highly modified P-51D Mustang the Galloping Ghost crashed into a part of the
box seat section killing 10 people on the ground and the pilot. The cause was the mechanical failure of the
elevator trim tab. When I left the field
that evening, they were still attending to the injured and I felt so
overwhelmed and it was hard to believe such a devastating accident
occurred. That evening I met with my
friends and we talked about what happened and the future of the races. We all agreed that it would probably would
not happen in 2012 and it might restart in 2013. Well we were wrong because the Reno Air Races
Association (RARA) who sponsor, coordinated and put on the races did the
impossible. They worked through the
diversity, got key support from all the local and Federal agencies as well as
monetary support from the local businesses.
2012 I applied again for credentials not knowing what to
expect. They were approved. Returning to
the field on a early morning on September 12, 2012 was very emotional. I could still see the emergency vehicles and
shocked spectators milling around when I left last year in my mind.
I had learned more
techniques and had bought a new camera for this year. Again the days were a blur and the tempo was
fast. The 49th Reno Championship Air Races and Air Show was an incredible
event. The performers did an excellent
job entertaining the spectators, the racers put on an awesome show as well.
On Thursday September
13, 2012 they again acknowledged all the first responders who were there and
came to the aid of all the injured, what
an incredible example of community service at its best. On Sunday September 16, 2012 they had a
ceremony remembering the victims followed by a missing man formation.
The races closed with
no injuries or fatalities. The amount of
dedication exhibited by the RARA staff to go forward with all the uncertainty
and to achieve their level of excellence is commendable. I can
only imagine what there 50th will be
like, awesome I am sure.
