Reno Air Races

[Tld]

Spent some time at the Air Races this week....here's an awful lot of photos

Thunderbirds

Start of the Jet race

KC 10 (people and helicopter for scale...wow)

More thunderbird action

 

[bartman]

I have got to get there next year and experience this. It looks amazing. Thanks for posting these. Please put up more if you have them.

 

[aloft]

It IS amazing...coolest aviation event I've ever witnessed, and I've been there a few times now. Wish I was able to make it this year.

 

[Tld]

Okay...here's a few more

T6 Race

Me & my Pops...rotopilot extraordinaire

 

[mjg407]

Great pictures. Wish I could have made it. Next year for sure.

 

[TXaviator]

looks awesome!

maybe this is a dumb question but

a) how do they keep from hitting each other? i mean, its not like auto racing where a little accidental rub can be tolerated/absorbed....

b) why is this not more popular??? i mean, red bull air race is really cool, and VERY well marketed/publicized thanks to red bull.... but come on, side-by-side racing is more visually appealing and accessible to the general public than time-attack one-at-a-time style racing....

reno seems like a great blend of bridging the nascar/grassroots style of racing, with something more exotic like formula 1 or red bull air race style...

 

[bartman]

Thanks for posting more. So cool.

 

[FlyingSig]

My favorite shot out of the bunch! :rawk:

 

[frog_flyer]

Hellz yeah the P51 says "FF" on it. Gotta represent.


2 on the picture above. Simply stunning!!

Speaking of the 152d AW, the owners of the "High Rollers" tail on the C130, are always at ATK Systems at FTW getting defensive upgrades or FLIR or some classified crap I don't know about. Fun fact.

 

[DL31082]

Okay...here's a few more

Man I really have to go to this event someday. Big Red I've seen a lot out at KJFX in Alabama. The other pic is probably one of the best I've seen so far.

 

[JayAre]

Love the pics, I was there on WED and THUR but stuck at the reno convention center. Last time at the races was the first year of the L-39's. Next year Im taking an extra day off. We should plan a Reno Race JC meet and greet.

 

[coa787]

Sweet shots!

 

[aloft]

maybe this is a dumb question

a) how do they keep from hitting each other?

Sometimes they don't. There were three fatal accidents last year at Reno, I witnessed the one in the jet class.

b) why is this not more popular??? i mean, red bull air race is really cool, and VERY well marketed/publicized thanks to red bull.... but come on, side-by-side racing is more visually appealing and accessible to the general public than time-attack one-at-a-time style racing....

Quite simply: it's poorly marketed.

Watching all the racers is cool enough, but a few years back, both the F-14 and F-16 demo pilots took a lap around the course for time at the end of their respective demos, with the F-16 winning bragging rights at 627 mph. THAT was cool.

 

[LoadMasterC141]

That is a pretty swift. My friend, coworker, and fellow JC'er Ben Wilsons' father has restored two of those. I was lucky enough to get a ride with Ben in one. Gorgeous airplanes.

Also deadheaded on a KC-10 a few times.

 

[Roger, Roger]

Sometimes they don't. There were three fatal accidents last year at Reno, I witnessed the one in the jet class.

That one was deemed to be wake turbulence, right?
I worked on that L-39.

 

[aloft]

That one was deemed to be wake turbulence, right?
I worked on that L-39.

Wake turbulence accompanied by an incorrect response from the pilot (according to one old hand I used to know--who himself was killed in a CFIT incident last November), so it was probably attributed to pilot error.