September 17, 2006 - Reno Air Races
Lynnette and I had long-planned to go to California to see the Navy - Stanford football game and also visit Yosemite.  Over the summer I noticed that the Reno Air Races would be going on at the same time.  The football game was Saturday, but I had Sunday open, and Sunday is the final -- and best -- day of racing.  Perfect!  I asked my Dad if he was interested in going and he said sure. 

We arrived around 10:30 AM.  An F-15 was putting on a show as we walked up. 

A couple of weeks before, I had bought online some reserve grandstand seat tickets.  They turned out to be the best seats I've ever had at an airshow -- and I've been to a few!  The ceremonial presentations and start/finish line pylon were directly in front of us.  We were fairly high up in the grandstands which turned out well because we had just the right amount of elevation from which to look down.

Some advice before you go to see the Reno Air Races.  Read the book Fly Low Fly Fast by Robert Gandt.  It's a great book about the races, planes and pilots and will make the event much more meaningful to you.

An F-15 and two P-51s taxi by -- yeah, we're talking some serious airplanes!  

The T-6 Gold race just getting started.  The weather was perfect.  Not a cloud in the sky and light winds.  Plus the great visibility you'd expect out west.
Looking to the right of where we sat. 
Kent Pietsch attempting to land his 1942 Interstate S-1 Cadet on a moving RV. 
First he touched down on the RV with his main gear.  Then he taxied (flew?) forward until his mains were in some grooves near the front.  Then he could reduce power and let his tail come down.  Finally the RV slowed down -- very gradually. 
Notice the people in the box seats going wild with a standing ovation.  Later on Kent did a neat dead-stick aerobatic routine.  I really enjoyed the low horsepower airplane routines like Kent's or the flying farmer.  I guess it's because they fly planes with less performance than the Citabria, and do things I can't even imagine trying to do myself. 
At one end of the field, they had a static display area with some incredibly nice airplanes.  Here is an immaculate Cessna 195 radial tail dragger.  The polish job on this airplane was amazing. 
My Dad has time in T-28s, but none as clean as this one.
A couple of Navy F-18F Super Hornets.  A Super Hornet did an aerobatic routine, then asked if he could fly the unlimited course.  He flew the course the way the racers did, low and tight around the pylons.  He averaged 670 mph, pulling 8.8 sustained G's to do it.  The crowd loved it. 
The four Oregon National Guard F-15s put on a nice routine, and one of the two F-4s did a heritage flight. 
This beautiful F6F Hellcat did a heritage flight with a Super Hornet and F4J Fury (Navy version of F-86 SabreJet).  I've seen Hellcats in museums, but it's so much better to see one on the flight line, ready to go flying.  Here's my Amazon Review on the book F6F Hellcat by Barret Tillman. 
The F8F Bearcat.  This plane was supposed to be in the heritage flight with the Hellcat but they couldn't get it started!  Still, it's a magnificent bird.  Parked next to the Hellcat, it's smaller and more sleek-looking, yet it has a bigger engine. 
Looking back from the static display area at the Stead Tower. 
My Dad liked this TravelAir too. 
This immaculately restored P-40N was sent to the Soviet Union via lend-lease, shot down, and recovered and restored 60+ years later. 
A Predator with Maverick missile attached.  If they see something they don't like, they take it out. 
This F7F Tigercat was the first one I had ever seen, and it flew in the Unlimited Silver race.  With two Wright 3350 radials, it just looked fast.  The "MB" on the tail stands for Mike Brown, who owns it, as well as September Fury and September Pops, winner of the Unlimited Gold and Unlimited Silver races, respectively.  Check out his September Pops Unlimited Air Racing Team's website.
 
The Unlimited category draws the most interest.  But the second category that draws the most interest is the Sports class.  Pictured on the left is the Thunder Mustang named Blue Thunder and on the right Darryl Greenamyer's Lancair Legacy.  The Lancair piloted by Rod Von Grote seemed to have won the race, but was charged with cutting a Pylon and ended up third.  Blue Thunder came in second, and the winner was Nemesis. 
We saw the T-6s, L-39 jets, Sport Gold and Unlimited Silver race.  Between races were performances by the Thunderbirds, Mike Goulian in his Cap232, Kent Pietsch, David Martin in an Extra, and Gene Soucy & Teresa Stokes in a wingwalker routine.  Plus there were an Air Force and Navy Heritage flights as well as routines by F-15s and a Navy Super Hornet.  John Travolta even made a flyby in his 707. 
 
After all that, around 4:30PM came the main even.  They started towing the Unlimited Gold racers out in a line abreast directly in front of us.  Each plane's crew team gathered in front of their aircraft.  It was neat to see.  You could feel the excitement.  The crews had been working all year for this moment -- to race in the Unlimited Gold heat. 
 
First on the left is the T-33 jet starter plane piloted by Steve Hinton.   Next to the T-33 is September Fury, a Sea Fury, in the pole position.  Third from left is Dreadnought, a Hawker Sea Fury with a massive engine.  Fifth from the left is #99 Riff Raff, a Hawker Sea Fury piloted by ex-astronaut Hoot Gibson. 
Second from the right is Strega, a Mustang piloted by six-time Gold winner and crowd favorite -- Bill "Tiger" Destefani.  First on the right is the Mustang Cloud Dancer.  Except for Strega and Cloud Dancer, all the other Gold racers were radial-engine powered. 

It was a shame that the famous Reno racers Rare Bear, Dago Red and Voodoo were not in the race. 

September Fury, owned and piloted by Mike Brown, had the pole position and was the first to taxi by. 
Hoot Gibson taxiis by in another Hawker Sea Fury.
I was very happy to see that Bill "Tiger" Desfani, winner of six unlimited gold championships -- taxi by in Strega. 
Steve Hinton in the T-33.  That's "Bad Attitude" in yet another Hawker Sea Fury behind him. 
Steve Hinton said "gentlemen, you have a race" and the Unlimiteds were off.  September Fury stayed in front, but Strega, starting on the outside, jumped right into second place.  As September Fury roared past the start/finish pylon finishing the first lap,  it was pretty obvious that it was going to be tough for anyone to catch her.  September Fury was just booming.  Strega stayed relatively close for a few laps but gradually then September Fury started pulling away.  On the sixth lap or so, Strega started climbing a little and obviously eased off on the throttle.  It wasn't enough as I saw a puff of black smoke come out of Strega, and soon after, Tiger declared a Mayday and landed.  Still, it was an exciting race and a fairly typical one.  Rarely do you get a close finish, I believe.  September Fury had a winning speed of 481 mph. 
 
September Fury has a fuel-injected 3350, as well as a sophisticated oil-cooler boil-off system.  "Inside the fuselage, the oil cooler is immersed in a "bath tub" filled with methanol. As the oil heats during a race, it flows to the cooler and the radiant heat is transferred into the liquid. The methanol then heats up and boils into steam which is transferred to an outlet on the left side of the fuselage."  The Fury's canopy is custom and similar to that of Dago Red's. 
 
Here is the official  News Story    and here is a good thread about the races:  Thread1.
 
All in all, I really enjoyed the Air Races and the airshow.  If you like airplanes and you get a chance to go, do it.  My advice would be to get the reserve grandstand seating for Sunday to see the final races.  But I'd also go on Saturday, and get the pit pass.  You can spend all day Saturday walking around looking at the racers, static displays and vendors. 
Previous
Home
Next