Michael Jennings Photography of Montana

Monday, July 9, 2012

The other half of the National Championshil Air Races and Air Show

So you now know what the National Championship Air Races are about, so what about the Air Show? What else is there to see and do? Usually starting on Thursday, you will have aerobatic shows in between the races by at least two or three performers. They usually perform once in the morning then one more time in the afternoon. You also have a military demonstration team such as the F-22 Raptor or the F-18 Hornet that performs in the middle of the day.

Usually you will also have one of the premier flight demonstration teams such as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, U.S. Navy Blue Angles or the Canadian Snowbirds. They perform in the late afternoon.

Then you have static Military aircraft to walk through and ask questions.

If that isn't enough for you they also have the Heritage display of antique aircraft. This is an awesome display.

Needless to say your day will be filled with things to do and if you decide to go to the pits, you usually see the pilot or one of the pit crew members that you can talk to and ask questions. And of course the souvenirs that are available are mind boggling. It is a great time and well planned out. My first time I attended, I got a package deal from one of the casinos which included admission tickets, pit passes and shuttle from the hotel to the races and back. There are several options that you can customize to meet your needs. Hope to see you all there in September. The dates again are September 13-16, 2012... Have a great day a hope you come and enjoy a special event.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Unlimited racing class background

Last but definitely not least the Unlimited Class. This class is by far the most popular. It has been around since the beginning of the National Championship Air Races at Stead Airport north of Reno. The requirements for this class are" Empty weight of 4500 pounds or more". All I have seen since I have been attending are either vintage World War II(WWII) fighters and trainers or highly modified WWII fighter and trainer aircraft. It is an awesome experience to watch these aircraft in action. There are four divisions. Going from lowest to highest, Medallion is run only on Thursday to allow the winner to advance to Bronze. Bronze is run Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The winner advances to Silver. Silver is also run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The winner advances to the Gold and yes it also runs Friday Saturday and Sunday. Now if a plane breaks and does not finish he drops down to the next division and will have to work his way back up. So there is a lot of strategy being done on how hard you want to push your plane in the beginning and during qualifying because if you qualify for either Gold or Silver you don't race until Friday afternoon giving your crew more time to prepare. This goes for all 6 classes of planes.

Some of the aircraft you will see are:

· P-51 Mustangs

#30 "Grim Reaper" P-51D

#16 "Lou IV" P-51D

· F-8F-2 Bearcats

#77 "Rare Bear"

· F-7F Tigercats

#3 "Here Kitty Kitty"

#1 "La Patrona"

· FW-190

#145 "What Da Fockewulf"

· Yak 3

#0 "Rossiya Suka

· Hawker Seafurys

#71 "Sawbones"

#8 "Dreadnaught"

· FM-2 Wildcat

#2 "Air Biscuit"

· P-40 Curtiss Warhawks

#17 "Parrothead

#18 "Sneak Attack"

· F-4U Corsair

#24 "Corsair"

These planes fly low, fast and turn left and are very exciting to watch. So come on out and join the fun this year as they have their 49th annual National Championship Air Races in Reno this September starting the 13th on Thursday with the finale on 16th on Sunday.

Monday, June 4, 2012

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.

L-29 Delfin

L-39 Albatros

TS-11 Iskra

DeHavilland Vampire

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Sport class Reno National Championship Air Races

The Sport classification was added to the Reno National Championship Air Races in 1998. This particular classification is comprised of Experimental Homebuilt aircraft powered by a reciprocating engine of 650 cubic inches or less. There are several types that are popular at Reno. This classification seems to bring in all types of designs and is really exciting to watch.

Some of the different types just to mention a few:

Lancair Legacy (numerous variants)

Glasair (numerous variants)

Thunder Mustang

Questair Venture

F-1

RV-6

NXT

Radial Rocket (upper rt hand corner)

Monday, May 21, 2012

T-6 History at the Reno National Championship Air Races

The T-6 Class was created in 1968 at the Reno National Championship Air Races to add to the three other classes, Unlimited, Formula 1 and Biplanes.

The T-6 Texan is an two seat advanced trainer developed for the military in the 1930's by North American Aviation to train pilots for the fighters. The first flight of the T-6 Texan was April 1 , 1935. It was developed for the Army Air Force, Navy, Britain and Canada.

The T-6 Texan have several variants and over 15,000 were built. Britain designation was Harvard, Navy was SNJ , Army Air Force AT and these were just a few of the variants built. Most came with the Pratt and Whitney R-1340 - AN1-Wasp radial engines. This is the one required for the races in Reno by Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) which is the 600 HP version. For more information visit http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=408

Navy SNJ variant #54 "Midlife Madness"

Air Force AT-6 variant #37 "McDonald Racer"

Canada Harvard variant #66 "Gunslinger"

In action coming to pylon #4

Monday, May 14, 2012

The Biplanes Class at Reno National Championship Air Races

What is the requirement for the Biplane Class? Two sets of wings. Some of the different types of Biplanes that race in the National Championship Air Races are, Pitts Special with different models such as S-1, S-1C, S-1S, S-1SS Ultimate, and LR-1. Then we have the Ryer S-1, Smith Mini, and Modified Mong Sport. They fly 3.1761 miles in a closed ovoid course. They start on the runway three abreast maximum with three rows and a maximum of 8 planes. These planes can reach 220 mph and above on a regular basis and race for 6 laps.

#42 "The Other Woman" Pitts S-1C

#99 ""Ground Rush" Pitts S-1SS Ultimate

#77 "Rich's Brew" a Smith Mini

#62 "Phantom" Modified Mong Sport

The Biplanes Class have been part of the races since the beginning of the Reno National Championship Air Races in 1964.

I always wondered how long the Pitts Special have been around. The first time I saw one was while I worked for Hughes Aviation Services in Las Vegas Nevada in 1974. It was designed in 1943-44 by Curtis Pitts. It first flew in September 1944. Wow I had no idea this aircraft was that old. In 1962 Pitts setup Pitts Enterprises to market the S-1C for homebuilders. There are 16 variants of the Pitts Special. The most popular at Reno are the Pitts Specials S-1 series.

If you decide which I hope you will, to attend the National Championship Air Races during September 12-16 2012, be sure to get a pit pass and go through the hanger with the Biplanes and talk to the pilots and crew. Bye for now and I hope you have a better understanding of what the Biplane Class is.

Monday, May 7, 2012

A little history on the Formula 1 racing category at the Reno Air Races.

The Formula 1 racing organization was established in 1947 as an alternative to the Unlimited class which were large and expensive. There speeds can reach 300 MPH with the same engine that powers the Cessna 150. This class has been evolving for 75 years. They have been part of the Reno Air Races since 1964 when the races started.

The requirements for a formula 1 are:

o Continental 0-200 engine

o Wing area of 66 square feet

o Empty weight of aircraft of 500 pounds or more

o Fixed landing gear

o Fixed pitch propeller

Some of the different types of Formula 1 aircraft that race are:

David Hoover AR-6

Cassutt

Stratocaster

Slipknot

GR-7 Panther , Reberry 3M1C1R, Gilbert DG2, Wagner F1, and probably a few more that I am not aware of yet.

They start the week during the races on Monday morning for qualifying. This sets the line up for Wednesday afternoon to Sunday morning. The Formula 1 races are generally in the early morning before the winds get to bad. These planes are very susceptible to high winds due to their small size and weight.

They are towed to the runway and line-up according to their times. The pilot gets in and secured, and then the canopy is attached or closed. The ground crew is three people. The plane has either an electric starter or is started by hand. The planes are three abreast and the rows are from my guess about 50 yards apart and there are three rows. When the starter signals he is about ready to start, the crew has been assigned a spot on the plane. There is one person on each wing tip and one on the tail. The pilot runs the engine for the takeoff and when the starter drops the flag, the crew releases the plane and away they go, the crews immediately head for the side of the runway to get clear of the other aircraft coming down the runway.

Stagging the aircraft

Strapping in

The line up

Ready

And there off to race

The planes race for 6 laps on a 3 mile ovoid course. These planes are very maneuverable, quick and fun to watch. Some of the different paint jobs are fun as well.

Racing

So be sure to attend this years National Championship Air Races in Reno Nevada at Stead Airport September 12-16, 2012. Please visit their site for all the information www.airrace.org and have a great time. By for now

Mike