Day 4 at Reno-Sunday, September 14

Have I said the weather has been nice on this trip to Reno? We've had three consecutive days of absolutely perfect weather for the air races.

Today we watched the Biplane and Formula One Gold races. The little white biplane with the funny looking propellor piloted by Tom Aberle lapped almost all of the other 7 racers in the 6 lap race. I don't have the average speed for the race, but I believe it was over 250 mph. Twenty years ago the biplane class averaged about 150 mph for the same course.

The Heritage Flight showcased a P-51, a P-38 (Glacier Girl), and an F-22 Raptor (the most advanced fighter in the world) all of which flew by in formation several times.

My application for membership in the Section 3 Group of the Reno Air Races was approved today. I was glad it came through before I had to go back to Alabama. I was able to use my privileges of membership during the races today.

We watched several class races today, but the highlight of the day was the Unlimited Gold final race in the afternoon. The crowd favorites included Dago Red, September Fury, Strega and Rare Bear. Dago Red jumped out to an early lead, but on the third lap Strega piloted by Bill "Tiger" Destifani passed Dago Red for the lead. Then Rare Bear was moving up to challenge September Fury for Third Place when Rare Bear pulled up and called a "Mayday." The other planes continued to race as John Penny expertly guided the smoking Rare Bear to an emergency landing on the alternate Runway 14. No fire was seen but someone reported there was lots of oil down one side of Rare Bear. Strega rewarded Destifani with a win for his last race before his retirement as a Reno race pilot. Steve Hinton's 21-year old son will be piloting Strega next year.



After the race, Josh and I visited some of his friends he met while living in Reno several years ago. We had good visits and a good meal. We both agreed that we thoroughly enjoyed the Reno National Championship Air Races, and we want to do it again. However, right now we are tired and ready to go home.

That's all for this evening...and this thread. This was my first blog, and I'll probably start another when I have something significant to share. Thanks for tuning in.

Best wishes, Don

Day 3-Saturday, September 13

Saturday was another beautiful day in Reno. We watched several heat races in the different classes and we also wandered the pits. The variety of airplanes and all the colors and paint schemes create a collage of colors and patterns. Many of the pit crews were working on the engines and that means we can see all the intricate linkages and mechanisms underneath the cowlings. There is only one Reno, and when you see it firsthand, you will understand the feeling I'm trying to convey.

My son Josh officially became a member of "Section 3" at the Reno Air Races today. It's quite a group, and I am seriously considering it myself.



This day ended with a most enjoyable social gathering/meal at the hangar of RV-9A Builder/Pilot Dan Ross, with the help of several other RV builder/pilots in the Reno/Carson City area. I met for the first time several folks I have conversed with in Doug Reeves' VAF Forums. Other folks who pitched to provide food and beverages included Greg Arehart, Mike Barrow and Bev (I don't know her last name, but her dessert was WONDERFUL! If someone knows the last name of the lady I'm speaking of, please email me at rv7boy'at'yahoo.com and I will correct this post.)



Sunset at the Reno airport with newfound friends like Brad, Chad, Dan, Cherri, Mercedes, Dayton, Greg, Mike, Mike and Mike in addition to airplanes like the Evolution, Relentless, a P-51 doing touch and goes, plus an RV-9A in the hangar makes memories which will not soon be forgotten!

Thanks again to everyone who helped make the RenoRVRendezvous (R3) a Reality. (Is that R4?)

That's all for Saturday night.

Day 2 at Reno-Friday, September 12

The weather today brought a beautiful day for the air races. The temperature was about 88*, the winds were light, the relative humidity was about 15%, and the visibility must have been about 50 miles.

We arrived about 9:30 and bought tickets and pit passes for three days. Then we went straight to the pits. The only RV I saw was this RV-8 on static display at the Textron Lycoming tent. It's not a racer, but it's a nice plane. I can't confirm this but someone told me this RV belongs to the President of Textron Lycoming.



We spent a few hours just strolling the pits and taking photos of almost all the racers. The Unlimiteds always attract crowds because of their size, power, color and complexity. The pit area for the Unlimiteds is on the ramp and some teams have canopies or some source of shade for the crews that maintain them. I think they are called Unlimited because the funds must be "unlimited" to race one of these beasts. Some of the engines run as much as 130 inches of manifold boost and over 4000 horsepower.



We also toured the large hangars on the west end of the pits where the biplane, formula one, and sports class racers were parked. Jon Sharp's Nemesis NXT drew a considerable crowd in the Sports class hangar. He set a speed record in his class last week at 409 mph!



We also saw several races during the day as well as some good air show performers. I'll look up their names and post them later.

Oh yes, the United States Air Force Demonstration Team, also known as the Thunderbirds, put on their usual flawless routine.

And a USAF F-22 Raptor also demonstrated its high speed and low speed flight

characteristics.

The last race of the day was a heat race in the Gold Unlimited class. Strega, Dago Red, Rare Bear and September Fury fought for the lead, but in the end, September Fury won. After the race was over, Rare Bear circled the field several times at altitude trying to sort out a stuck landing gear problem, but he finally got it to extend and he made a precautionary landing on the longer runway with the emergency crews standing by.

I updated my Picasa album with some of the better photos we made today. I still need to take some time to go through the photos and sort the good ones.

Josh and I plan to link up with some other RVers Saturday evening for the RenoRVRendezvous or R3.

That's all for Friday night.

Travelling to Reno-Thursday, September 11

About six months ago, my second son, Josh, and I decided to go to the Reno Air Races. He lived in Reno from 2002 until 2004, met and married his wife in Reno, and has friends who still live in Reno. Plus my wife (his mother) and I visited him in 2003 and thoroughly enjoyed the one day we attended the air races then, so it seemed like a logical place for us to go.

Josh lives in Ohio and I live in Alabama, so we made airline reservations with Southwest so we could travel together from Chicago to Reno. My flight originated in Nashville at 7:15 CDT this morning and his flight departed Columbus at 7:30 EDT so we've both had a long day. We arrived in Reno at 12:15 PM PDT after a four hour flight from Chicago Midway.

Today was September 11, and I couldn't help but think of the tragic events on this day seven years ago. Somewhre over the middle of the country, my iPod played Toby Keith's very patriotic "Courtesy of the USA." It was quite sobering.

I made a few photos with my little Canon SD1000. As we were turning left base to final for Reno Runway 16R, I recognized Stead (rhymes with "bed") Airport in the distance.

After getting our rental car and checking into our hotel, we made a quick run to a camera store and to a drug store for some stuff. Then we ate a big meal (airlines don't feed you much anymore) at an all-you-can-eat buffet and are now ready to get a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow should be an exciting day. The Thunderbirds will be practicing for their Saturday show and there will be plenty of racing.

I posted some more photos to a Picasa album here.

That's all for Thursday night.