Unlimited class pulling out of Reno/Roswell Air Races

[Pilot Fighter]

I love the Reno noises and such, but I really started to get interested in closed course racing with the rise of the Sportsman Class. My fave era of air racing was the pre-war Cleveland era where civilians flew designed, built, and raced the fastest land planes around and would lap the military planes (Doug Davis in the first Travel Air Mystery Ship). Sportsman was kind of lighting those entrepreneurial, do something kick ass kind of vibes for me.

There was also some great journalism that brought things alive.

 

[knot4u]

There was also some great journalism that brought things alive.

The Cleveland Air Races were the biggest national sporting event back in the '30s and '40s. 100,000 spectators per day was normal and expected. It was on par with the World Series or a heavyweight boxing match when the only media was radio and print. A modified P-51 crashed into a house killing a housewife, her son and the pilot in '49 and the National Championship Air Races ended until '64 when the circus started up again. It lasted for 50 years and eventually it also ended for many reasons including airplanes crashing into crowds and developers encroaching onto land underneath the course (at one point RARA owned all of that land and slowly started selling it off). Now they're trying to simulate Reno in Roswell and it just doesn't fit. I have nothing against Roswell, I'm sure it's a fine place to live. I don't have any good answers regarding any of this but I am happy that I was an integral member on one of the fastest air racers that ever tore up the Valley Of Speed at Stead. I'm still sad that we weren't the first to get an official 500mph lap on the course but I applaud the folks that did. Life goes on.