Well, it was that time of the year again. Month of September meant taking time off from work, hopping on a relatively short flight to Reno, Nevada and joining members of my extended family in order to attend the Annual National Championship Air Races. As the title of this post may indicate, this year was special considering that it was the 50th year for this particular event at the location. And for me personally, it was indeed quite a privilege to attend and see some balls-to-the-walls action as well as seeing some of the greatest legacies of aviation this event cultivated be honored. Aviation legends like Bob Hoover and Clay Lacy were present at the event.
Event Highlights:
- Air show headliner: Patriots Jet Team.
- Other air show features: Bob Hoover tribute in a classic Sabreliner and Clay Lacy in his Lear Jet 24, among other performers such as Yves Rossy of Switzerland as the Breitling Jetman, making his second ever public North American appearance (after EAA Oshkosh).
- Two famous and well-known P-51D Mustangs make a special appearance this year's air races: 'Ole Yeller' formerly flown by R.A. Bob Hoover and brought out all the way from Rexburg, Idaho by current owner/operator John Bagley, and 'Miss Van Nuys' of Clay Lacy Aviation, which won the Unlimited Gold Class Championship at the Reno Air Races in 1970.
- Continuation of the government sequester meant no military demonstrations or static displays.
- During the Saturday Gold Heat race for Unlimited Warbird Class, #232 'September Fury' (Hawker Sea Fury) with Robert "Hoot" Gibson at the controls declares a "Mayday" and pulls out of the race. As the plane was passing the eighth pylon, two distinct popping noises were made, caused by failure of the intake scoop on top of the engine mounted in the nose. Pieces from that section flew off, scratching the canopy, damaging the tail section of the aircraft, as well as the engine itself. With expert airmanship, Gibson landed the crippled Sea Fury safely. The aircraft was towed back to the pits and the racing season came to a premature end for team 232.
- Purple is the new red! This year's winner of the Unlimited Warbird Gold Class is returning champion Steven Hinton, this time however, flying in a race-modified P-51D Mustang #5 'Voodoo'. Hinton has previously won four championship titles for Unlimited Gold from 2009 to 2012 in another modified P-51D Mustang, #7 'Strega'.
Also for this year, I got an official "Pit Pass", which allowed me access to the main racer pits where most of the air racers were parked and I got an up-close look at the planes we got to see in the race. As a result, this year's compilation includes a sixth, new album dedicated to the photos taken inside the main racing pits. And as mentioned above, the ongoing government sequester meant no active military displays or performances, so this year's static display was pretty low-key. Nevertheless, it was still a great year for the air racing community and a once in a lifetime, special 50th. So without further delay, here are the links to the photo galleries for the 50th Annual National Championship Reno Air Races, September, 2013:
Reno 2013 - Air Racers
Reno 2013 - Air Show
Reno 2013 - Flight Ramp
Reno 2013 - Jet Pits
Reno 2013 - Main Pits
Reno 2013 - Static Display
Now, I've gotten this blog post started not too long after I got home from this trip and I went straight into watermarking my photos while in Reno. But between work and what little free time I had to do all this, it wasn't until today that I was able to finish watermarking all of my best photos. I took over 1,000 airplane photos from this trip alone!
Highlighting some of the major things that occurred at the air races as well as some of my personal favorites, here's a photo preview:
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2013 Unlimited Warbird Class Champion: #5 'Voodoo' with Steven Hinton at the controls.
North American P-51D Mustang (N551VC) |
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| #232 'September Fury' being towed back to the pits after the "Mayday" and safe emergency landing made by Robert "Hoot" Gibson. Damage on the top cowling in the nose section is evident. In the background is the Unlimited Pace Plane, a Canadair CT-133 Silver Star 3 with Steve Hinton Sr. (former air racing champion and father of this year's champion) at the controls taxiing past. |
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| #38 'Precious Metal' made a triumphant return after last year's "Mayday" as well as overcoming pre-season mishaps, this time, sporting a new livery. This aircraft is considered a uniquely modified P-51D Mustang (N6WJ), powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine, driving a six-bladed contra-rotating propeller |
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| Yves Rossy of Switzerland, with jet-powered wing strapped to his back passing the crowd after his demonstration. This was his second North American public appearance as the Breitling Jetman, the first being at EAA Oshkosh earlier this year. |
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| A unique formation fly-by for the opening ceremonies! An F7F Tigercat, an F8F Bearcat, a P-51D Mustang, and a Supermarine 379 Spitfire FR14 all together in one frame! Indeed one of my personal favorite shots from this year! |
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| I saw them at the Oregon International Air Show and I saw 'em again in Reno! With the sequester cancelling the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds' respective 2013 air show seasons, these civilian formation teams MUST be in hog heaven being the main headliner for air shows across the country! The six-ship formation of the Patriots Jet Team in their Aero L-39C Albatros fly by in the opening act of their show. |
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| Look out! It's Kent Pietsch and his Interstate S-1A-65F Cadet! Still whacky as ever, doing his "routine" Deadstick maneuver, just about to land WITH NO ENGINE POWER! |
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| North American Rockwell NA-306 Sabreliner 60 (N607CF) as part of the Bob Hoover tribute flight taxiing out. |
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| Clay Lacy taxis his Lear Jet 24 (N3137) for his demo flight. |
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| This was the first time I ever got to see a Spitfire in action and it was such a privilege. NX749DP is a MKXIV version (more specifically Supermarine 379 Spitfire FR14) owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force. |
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| With only five airworthy examples flying in the world, it's a rare sight to witness a Zero and indeed a special privilege. This Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero (NX712Z) owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force was recovered from New Guinea in 1991. |
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"Check six! Check six!"
The Commemorative Air Force Zero "chasing" the F8F Bearcat in a mock-dogfight. |
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Another unique formation fly-by.
Commemorative Air Force F8F Bearcat and P-51D Mustang fly by together, representing their respective military branches of their time. |
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The two legendary Mustangs together as the center piece for opening ceremonies.
On the left is Bob Hoover's former P-51D Mustang, 'Ole Yeller'. On the right is Clay Lacy's P-51D Mustang, 'Miss Van Nuys'. |
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| The damaged #232 'September Fury' parked in the pits with cowling removed and damage to the right horizontal stabilizer evident. |
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| #64 'Miss Van Nuys' parked in the pits. This aircraft didn't race but was present mainly for the special occasion being the 50th year of air racing. |
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| Reno-Stead Airport stores a lot of Soviet-built aircraft. Pictured here is a genuine Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI, a two-seat trainer variant of the fighter jet made famous in the Korean War. |
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It took a bit of effort to get this shot...
This Ilyushin (VEB) Il-14P has been sitting rudderless at Stead for who-knows how long... |
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There were a few unique sights in the static display area worth mentioning...
Republic RC-3 Seabee (N64PN) with landing gear retracted, showing it's capabilities as an amphibious aircraft. |
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Here's a new one I've never seen before:
Dornier Do-28D-2 Skyservant (N273PA) |
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| Grumman G-73 Mallard (N168WS). |
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| Grumman G-111 Albatross (N51ZD). |
Wow, that turned out to be a long preview. It was more like a montage!
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