Gallery Update: 52nd National Championship Air Races Recap (Saturday Edition)

It's Air Racing Season! After arriving in Reno with my uncles yesterday afternoon and after an evening of hitting the town followed by a good nights rest, it was time to drive out to Reno Stead Airport, home of the National Championship Air Races. This year marks its 52nd year; hard to believe since the monumental, yet somewhat watered-down 50th was just two years ago now.

Aside from the racing, air show highlights include the worlds largest civilian aerobatic demonstration team on their debut North American tour this year (which started at Sun 'N Fun in Lakeland, Florida), not to mention their debut at Reno, the Breitling Jet Team from France. The F-16 Viper Demo and United States Air Force Heritage Flight was also part of the line-up. In addition, the Commemorative Air Force, Gulf Coast Wings "Tora! Tora! Tora!" group performed a reenactment of the Pearl Harbor Attacks with their replica Zero fighters and replica Kate torpedo bombers (modified T-6s/SNJs that were actually used in the Japanese-American 1970 film of the same name). Following the "attack" by the Tora group, a B-25 Mitchell from Lewis Flying Legends performed a fly-by in commemoration of the Doolittle raid, the direct American response against Japan for the Pearl Harbor attack. For Reno standards, that's considered a world-class line-up. Other performances/participants included David Martin and his Breitling-sponsored CAP-232, Dassault Aviation demoing their Falcon 7X, and the United States Air Force Parachute Team in the opening ceremony utilizing a Lockheed C-130H Hercules of the 152nd Airlift Wing out Reno Air National Guard Base as their jump aircraft.

In terms of air racing highlights, I'll mention some of the most notable. From the Jet Class Gold Heat Race, everybody was stunned by who won first place for poll position; pilot Pete Zaccagnino flying in (wait for it!) a De Havilland Vampire! Being an older jet (and probably the oldest jet aircraft in overall attendance) from the end of World War II, it should not have outperformed the Aero L-39s it was racing against. By far, this was one of the most epic and most exciting Jet Races I have ever seen and this was perhaps the first time in air racing history that a De Havilland Vampire actually won a race.

The Unlimited Class was as always, the main event. Sadly, for one racing team, it's just one bad year after another. Team Precious Metal's XR-51 Mustang flown by Thom Richard suffered a fire en route to the races from Kissimme, Florida which caused extensive damage to the airframe. Thankfully, the incident happened on the ground during a fuel stop but it has topped off four rough years (from a lost landing gear door in 2012 that led to a 'Mayday', racing only with a ferry motor in 2013 after the racing motor suffered issues during testing, and the controversial disqualification after a good race just last year) for this air racing team. Thom Richard announced that he intends restore Precious Metal back into airworthy and racing condition with a new look but no doubt, this will take a few expensive years. But one silver lining would be that the fan support for him has just been incredible and growing. Thom Richard originally planned to race in two classes this year, one being with the Unlimited Class and the other being the Formula 1 Class, which he still continued to do so. While he did not win the Gold Race at Reno, as part of the larger International Formula 1 Racing league known as Air Race 1 World Cup (with previous races being held this year in Monastir, Tunisia and Lleida, Spain where Richard won in both locations), Thom Richard won first place overall for the year 2015.

Even though the Unlimited Gold Class was short one souped-up P-51 Mustang this year, there were changes to keep things fresh. For starters, the P-51D Mustang, #7 Strega had a new pilot; astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson, who for the past several years suffered setbacks in his previous plane, the Hawker Sea Fury #232 September Fury. Reigning champion Steven Hinton came back for his third year in the P-51D Mustang, #5 Voodoo with a new look and paint job. After two bad years in his previous Sea Fury, it was going to be exciting to see how "Hoot" Gibson raced in the Mustang Strega.

Other notable things will be noted in accompanying captions in the preview photos below.

Saturday Edition Links:

Reno 2015 - T-6 Class Silver Heat Race

Reno 2015 - Breitling Jet Team Photo Flight

Reno 2015 - F-16 Viper Demo Taxi Test

Reno 2015 - Sports Class Bronze Heat Race

Reno 2015 - Opening Ceremony

Reno 2015 - Formula 1 Gold Class Heat Race

Reno 2015 - Dassault Falcon 7X Demo

Reno 2015 - T-6 Class Gold Heat Race

Reno 2015 - David Martin CAP-232

Reno 2015 - P-51D Mustang "Wee Willy II" Departure

Reno 2015 - F-16 Viper Demo

Reno 2015 - USAF Heritage Flight

Reno 2015 - Sports Class Silver Heat Race

Reno 2015 - Unlimited Class Silver Heat Race

Reno 2015 - Breitling Jet Team

Reno 2015 - Jet Class Gold Heat Race

Reno 2015 - B-25J Mitchell "Russian Ta Get Ya" Departure

Reno 2015 - CAF Tora! Tora! Tora!

Reno 2015 - B-25J Mitchell "Russian Ta Get Ya" Fly-By

Reno 2015 - Sports Class Gold Heat Race

Reno 2015 - Unlimited Class Gold Heat Race

Reno 2015 - Flight Ramp

Reno 2015 - Static Display

Saturday Edition Photo Preview:

Opening Highlights

The American Flag being brought in by a member the United States Air Force Parachute Team.

United States Air Force Nevada Air National Guard Lockheed C-130H Hercules (79-0477) of the 152nd Airlift Wing "The High Rollers" taxiing back to the stand after its participation in the opening ceremonies. Gotta love that tail art on the vertical stabilizer! It just screams "Nevada!"

Thom Richard's Reberry 3M1C1R (N913FT) "Hot Stuff" getting towed back to the pits after the Formula 1 Gold Heat Race. Previously known as "September Fate" before Richard's acquisition.

Dassault Aviation Falcon 7X (N715FJ) in a high speed pass during its demo.

F-16 Viper Demo & USAF Heritage Flight

North American P-51D Mustang (NL7715C) "Wee Willy II" departing in preparation for the United States Air Force Heritage Flight. This aircraft is Steve Hinton's personal Mustang and adopted the identity of the Red Baron RB-51 racer, once the fastest piston powered aircraft in the world. Its original serial was 44-84961, but it carries 41-3334 on its tail. It set the world's piston engined speed record of 499.018 miles per hour on August 14, 1979. It crashed at the Reno Air Races that September. Steve Hinton and Fighter Rebuilders at Chino transferred the dataplate and probably a small section of the fuselage and other salvaged parts of the "Red Baron" wreck to go into "Wee Willy II."

United States Air Force Lockheed F-16CM Fighting Falcon (91-0398) from the 20th Fighter Wing, based at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina taxiing out for the Viper Demo. At the controls is the same pilot I saw two months ago at the Oregon International Air Show, Captain Craig Baker, callsign, "Rocket."

"Rocket" making an impressive climbing left turn after take-off.

High-speed pass with burners lit.

Igniting afterburner following a low-speed pass.

In formation with "Wee Willy II" for the United States Air Force Heritage Flight, the first pass.

Second Pass

Third and final pass

Note the speed brakes deployed on the F-16 just before both aircraft break formation.

The P-51 did not vacate the runway fast enough...

...so the F-16 had to do a go-around!

One of my little on-sight side-projects for this year while at Reno was getting as many photos like this, getting shots of aircraft with the Reno Home Pylon in the background.

"Wee Willy II" on the taxi back.

Unlimited Class Silver Heat Race

Time for some Unlimited Air Racing! Leading the pack in the Saturday Silver Heat race is Korey Wells in Race #924, a Hawker Sea Fury T20 (N924G), one of three Sea Furies from the Sanders Aircraft Group. Wells qualified to move onto the final Unlimited Gold race for Sunday's races.

Race #4 with Sal Rubino at the controls in a North American P-51D Mustang (NL26PW), "Grim Reaper."

Race #31 with Dan Vance at the controls in a North American P-51D Mustang (N64824), "Speedball Alice."

Race #81 with Rob Gordon at controls in a North American TF-51D Mustang (NL327DB), "Lady Jo." This P-51 is a conversion to allow dual control for flight instruction, hence the "TF" designation. Warbird pilots can qualify to become P-51 pilots with one of these TF-51s.

Race #12 with Doug Matthews at the controls in a North American P-51D Mustang (N151CF), "The Rebel." This is one of the more frequent participants of the Unlimited Silver Class.

Race #44 with Brant Seghetti at the controls in a North American P-51D Mustang (NL151D), "Sparky" sponsored by Jelly Belly. Another frequent participant of the Unlimited Silver Class. This one may not win, but with major sponsorship by Jelly Belly, it probably doesn't matter!

Rob Gordon taxiing "Lady Jo" back to the pits. Note the extended bubble canopy; this feature alone distinguishes a TF-51D Mustang.

Korey Wells taxiing Race #924 back to the pits.

Dan Vance taxiing "Speedball Alice" back to the pits.

Sal Rubino taxiing "Grim Reaper" back to the pits.

Doug Matthews taxiing "The Rebel" back to the pits.

Brant Seghetti taxiing "Sparky" back to the pits.

And of course, the Pace/Safety plane, a Canadair (CL-30) CT-133 Silver Star 3 (NX377JP) nicknamed "Pacemaker" with Steve Hinton at the controls.

The Breitling Jet Team Reno Debut 

It's time to feature the Breitling Jet Team! Breitling #1, an Aero L-39C Albatros (ES-YLN) with team leader Jacques "Speedy" Bothelin at the controls taxiing out.

Breitling #2 (ES-YLI) with Right Inside Wingman Bernard "Charbo" Charbonnel at the controls.

Breitling #3 (ES-YLX) with First Slot Christophe "Douky" Deketelaere at the controls.

Breitling #4 (ES-TLG) with Left Inside Wingman François "Ponpon" Ponsot at the controls.

Breitling #5 (ES-TLF) with Left Slot Georges-Eric "Georgio" Castaing at the controls.

Breitling #6 (ES-YLF) with Right Outside Wingman Paco Wallaert at the controls.

Breitling #7 (ES-YLP) with Left Outside Wingman Patrick "Gaston" Marchand at the controls.

Choreographed to 'Sleeping Sun' by Nightwish, the Breitling Jet team starts the show off in the Avenger Formation.

The B1 Formation

The Calysto Formation

The Chronomat Formation

The Blackbird Formation. According to the teams announcer Luc Herbinière, the Blackbird Formation is the symbol of the Breitling Jet Team. The formation also looks like America's fastest spyplane, the SR-71.

The 1/4 Clover Split

Following the 1/4 Clover Split, Jacques Bothelin leads #'s 2,3,4, and 5 in the Rocket Formation.

The Vertical Split

This is one of my favorite shots! #'s 2, 5, and 6 in opposing passes.

The Synchro Pair Percussion

#7 performing the Apache Roll around the smoke trail emitted from #'s 1,2,3, and 5.

Jacques Bothelin leading the Ocean Master Wave, one of the most difficult maneuvers for the team.

Final six-ship formation before the final salute.

Jet Class Gold Heat Race

Time for the Jet Gold Class! Race #54, an Aero L-39C Albatros (N139RM) "Robin 1" with Jeff Turney at the controls.

Race #25, an Aero L-39 Albatros (N757SF) "Czech 6" with Mike Steiger at the controls. Previously nicknamed as "Violated" and before that, "Giant Killer."

All the way from "down under" in Australia! Race #66, an Aero L-39C Albatros (VH-IJY) "True Blue" with Mark Pracy at the controls. This plane and pilot is a long way from home...

Race #139, an Aero L-139 Albatros 2000 (N1390A) "Darkstar" with Vicky Benzing at the controls. This is a rare, one-of-a-kind airframe as only one L-139 was ever built. Formerly with the Czech Republic Air Force as 5501 and as an Aero Vodochody prototype demonstrator, the L-139 Albatros 2000 is a revised version of the L-39 proposed as a post-Cold War export model with western avionics and an American-made 17.99 kN (4,045 lbf) Garrett TFE731-4-1T jet engine (original L-39s utilized the Ivchenko AI-25TL turbofan). More on the differences between the L-39 and L-139 can be found on the Darkstar Air Racing website.

Race #5, an Aero L-39 Albatros (N139BJ) "American Spirit" with Rick Vandam at the controls. Note R2-D2 in the back, which was originally designated as G.I.B. (Gadget in the back). Now the name "Lee Beheel" adorns the back seat in honor of the late-Sports Class president who was killed in last year's races.

Pete Zaccagnino in Race #24, a De Havilland DH-115 Vampire T55 (N4861K). Originally delivered to the Irish Air Corps in 1956 as 186 and then sold as surplus to a private owner in the U.S. in 1979.

Race #8, and Aero L-39 Albatros (N139AJ) "Fast Company" with Sean Cushing at the controls. Formerly known as "Ultra Hog" and was formerly painted in a two-tone jungle camouflage livery. 

Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300 (N900HT), the Jet Class' pace plane with Jay Obernolte at the controls. 

Sean Cushing in "Fast Company" taking the early lead.

Of course, we were all surprised with how well Pete Zaccagnino in the Vampire was doing relatively early on in the race.

Pretty soon, it became a rather shocking, but exciting duel for the first pole position!

No doubt, this is how air racing should be! Vicky Benzing in "Darkstar" Vs. Mark Pracy in "True Blue!"

Wait for it!

And the Vampire overtakes "Fast Company!" You had to have been there to see it, but the crowd started going nuts at this point!

Wait for it!

And Zaccagnino maintains the lead in the Vampire!

And Saturday's checkered flag goes to Pete Zaccagnino in the Vampire! Can he pull off this same performance for the final day of racing?

Jeff Turney in "Robin 1."

Mark Pracy in "True Blue" cooling down by taking advantage of the higher altitude (and colder air!) after finishing the course.

Pete Zaccagnino bringing the Vampire to a landing roll-out, passing the Reno Home Pylon in the process. To me this photo tells the story of how international the National Championship Air Races can be; in this case, the American flag in the background with a British-designed jet fighter.

The Australian flag on Mark Pracy's L-39 "True Blue" and the American flag on the Home Pylon, another photo that tells the same story on an international scale.

Commemorative Air Force "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and Lewis Flying Legends B-25

The Commemorative Air Force's "Tora! Tora! Tora!" group begins their "attack."

Aircraft AI-313, a North American AT-6D Texan (N3242G) modified with a stretched fuselage to replicate a Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber buzzing around the smoke set off from the pyrotechnics. Note the fake torpedo mounted on the belly of the aircraft.

Aircraft 虎-310, a Canada Car and Foundry CCF (a Canadian license-built version and what turns out to be the ultimate version of the Texan/Harvard series) T-6 Harvard Mk4 (N2047) replicated to look like a Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber initiating a climb following a "attack run." Note the pair of bombshells mounted on the belly of the aircraft.

Aircraft AI-115, a North American AT-6B Texan (N11171) replicated to look like a Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter emerging from the smoke. With all the smoke, it became a little difficult to photograph the aircraft clearly...

A clear view of Aircraft AI-115.

Aircraft AI-313 high above and turning left.

All "Tora" aircraft back in formation at the close of the demonstration reenactment.

Aircraft AI-118, a North American SNJ-6 Texan (N9820C) representing an A6M Zero fighter taxiing back to the ramp.

Aircraft AI-113, a CCF T-6 Harvard Mk4 (NX15799) replicating an A6M Zero fighter taxiing back to the ramp.

Aircraft AI-112, a CCF T-6 Harvard Mk4 (N9097) replicating an A6M Zero fighter taxiing back to the ramp.

Aircraft AI-111, a CCF T-6 Harvard Mk4 (N4447) replicating an A6M Zero fighter taxiing back to the ramp.

Aircraft AI-115 taxiing back to the ramp.

Aircraft AI-313 taxiing back to the ramp.

Aircraft 虎-310 taxiing back to the ramp. The Kanji character preceding 310 translates to "tiger," or "tora" in Japanese, hence the "Tora! Tora! Tora!"

Following the "attack" from the "Tora!" group, Rod Lewis' (a.k.a. the Lord of the Warbirds!) North American B-25J Mitchell (N747AF) nicknamed "Russian Ta Get Ya!" of Lewis Flying Legends made a couple passes to commemorate America's direct response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. Here's the first pass.

Second pass with bomb bay doors open.

This B-25 also depicts, commemorates, and honors the plane flying under theSoviet Russian Air Force under the Lend-Lease Program. Many B-25s were sent to Russia under the Lend-Lease Act.

Photo pass. No doubt, the blonde "Russian Ta Get Ya!" nose art is one of the sexiest around!

Final pass prior to landing.

Sports Class Gold Heat Race

Aero L-39C Albatros (NX139EN) Race #555 nicknamed "Phoenix" in Slovak Air Force demonstration team colors taxiing out. With increasing speeds of the Sports Class Gold racers, they are now using an L-39 jet as the pace plane in order to be able to keep up, much like when the Unlimited Class racers were starting to outrun Bob Hoover's P-51 "Ole Yeller" back in the day to justify utilizing a T-33 for the pace plane.

John Parker at the controls of Race #352, a Papa 51 Thunder Mustang (N352BT) known as "Blue Thunder II." What's unique about this Thunder Mustang compared to other ones I've seen is that this particular airframe utilizes a 3-blade propeller.

Lancair Legacy 2000 (N5S), Race #8 with David Sterling at the controls.

Lancair Legacy 2000 (N23LF), Race #44 "Miss Karen II" with Lynn Farnsworth at the controls.

Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair III (N295JH), Race #47 "Lucky Mojo" with Gary Mead at the controls.

STIHL, Inc.-sponsored Lancair Legacy 2000 (N115YP), Race #30 "One Moment" with Andrew Findlay at the controls.

Lancair Legacy 2000 (N41VR), Race #2 "Modo Mio" with Vince Walker at the controls.

Nemesis NXT (N42XT), Race #42 "Relentless" with Kevin Eldredge at the controls. This air racer has had quite a string of bad luck the last several years that prevented it from getting to the air races. Not this year though!

Lancair Legacy 2000 (N252JT), Race #52 "Poncho" with Colleen Keller at the controls.

Just behind Colleen Keller's Race #52 is Race #15 "Lucky Girl," a Lancair Legacy (N588S) with Vicky Benzing at the controls. Benzing was racing in both the Jet Class and the Sports Class this year!

Lancair Legacy 2000 (N386DM), Race #92 "Desert Lightning" with David Robinson at the controls. This aircraft ended up taxiing back with mechanical issues.

John Parker in "Blue Thunder II" taking the lead!

Kevin Eldredge in "Relentless" whizzing by.

Lynn Farnsworth in "Miss Karen II" whizzing by.

Gary Mead in "Lucky Mojo."

Andrew Findlay in "One Moment."

Vicky Benzing hot on the tail of Colleen Keller.

For the lady air racers, it definitely became a close race. This is how air racing should be!

It really was a close race!

Unlimited Class Gold Heat Race

Steve Hinton taking "Pacemaker" up to lead the Unlimited Gold racers!

Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat G-58 (N777L), Race #77, the legendary "Rare Bear" with Stewart Dawson at the controls.

North American P-51D Mustang (N71FT), Race #7 "Strega" with retired United States Navy Captain and former-Space Shuttle pilot Robert Lee "Hoot" Gibson at the controls. Gibson flew five shuttle missions between 1984 and 1995.

North America P-51D Mustang (N551VC), Race #5 "Voodoo" with a new look with last year's reigning Unlimited champion Steven "Steve-o" Hinton at the controls.

Hawker Sea Fury T20 (NX20SF), Race #8 "Dreadnought" with Dennis Sanders at the controls.

Hawker Sea Fury FB10 (N71GB), Race #71 "Sawbones" with Curt Brown at the controls. Formerly known as "Southern Cross" and once owned and raced by John Bagley!

Hawker Sea Fury FB11 (N19SF), Race #114 "Argonaut" with Mark Watt at the controls.

Coming down the chute! "Gentlemen, you have a race!"

Steven Hinton in "Voodoo" taking an early lead...

...with "Hoot" and Stewart Dawson in hot pursuit!

Curt Brown in "Sawbones."

Mark Watt in "Argonaut."

The top three contenders coming out of the famous Valley of Speed! Note that "Hoot" is flying high so that he could trade altitude for a little extra air speed when he needs it.

And eventually, "Hoot" Gibson in "Strega" took the lead and stayed that way until the end of the heat race!

"Steve-o" wasn't far behind and took second pole position in Voodoo for tomorrow's race.

Stewart Dawson took third pole position in "Rare Bear."

Dennis Sanders in "Dreadnought."

Static Display & Flight Ramp

Following the conclusion of the day's races, I spent some time in the static display areas and even got some ramp shots while we waited for foot traffic as well as the traffic on the roads to thin out a little bit before we headed back to downtown Reno. It was a good idea because the majority of the crowds were leaving and it was late in the day so it wasn't too hot.

The eight L-39Cs of the Breitling Jet Team all lined up.

Breitling Jet Team's Fairchild SA-227AC Metro III (F-HPAA) that's used to transport the support crew and personnel. Formerly registered as D-COLB with ROA - Roland Air (OLT - Ostfriesische Lufttransport) and then briefly as N754TR while in storage at Oakdale, CA before acquisition by Breitling.

The F-16CM Fighting Falcon that performed earlier in the day.

United States Air Force F-16CM Fighting Falcon (91-0376) kept as the back-up jet.

PZL-Mielec TS-11 Iskra (N707LC), Race #3 "Pole Dancer" tucked away by the display area. I've seen this aircraft race in past years.

Aero L-39 Albatros (N430J) in two-tone gray Slovak Air Force camouflage on display. 

Aero L-39C Albatros (N454WF) in accurate (as it it gets for an L-39 in U.S. Navy colors!) VA-36 (Attack Squadron 36, the "Road Runners") which operated with Carrier Wing 3 aboard the USS Saratoga. Obviously, the real VA-36 unit did not fly L-39s!

North American Rockwell OV-10B Bronco (N338RC) on display. Truly a timeless Cold War classic!

Bell AH-1G Cobra 209 (N102JG), another timeless classic on display!

Grumman (General Motors) TBM-3E Avenger (N3969A) on display. My grandfather would've loved to see this as he was flying in these towards the end of World War II as a radio operator, so the Avenger holds a special place in my family's heart.

North American P-51B Mustang (N515ZB) "Berlin Express" on display. This rare P-51 was restored in Idaho Falls in February earlier this year by Pacific Fighters. Note the white-wall tires for that "retro" look!!!

Other side of "Berlin Express," which includes the nose art.

Lockheed (Vega) PV-2D Harpoon L-15 (N6657D) on display. 

Windward Performance Perlan II (N901EE) glider on display. Part of the Perlan Project based in Redmond, OR, the group plans to conduct research utilizing this aircraft on polar vortex and its influence on global weather patterns and shoot for a goal to break an altitude record by beating the 85,069 ft altitude record set in 1975 by a SR-71.

Lockheed 12-A Electra Junior (NC14999) from the Everett, WA-based Historic Flight Foundation on display. Another timeless classic!

Rod Lewis' Lewis Flying Legends B-25J Mitchell "Russian Ta Get Ya!" on display.

Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II (78-0625) from the Idaho Air National Guard's 124th Fighter Wing out of Boise on display.

Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II (78-0611) also from the Idaho Air National Guard's 124th Fighter Wing out of Boise on display.

Oregon Air National Guard McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle (78-0569) from the 173rd Fighter Wing out of Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base in Klamath Falls, OR.

United States Air Force General Atomics MQ-1B Reaper (00-0432) based out of Nellis AFB on display. I don't know about you, but I don't wanna see one of these things in my rear-view mirror and end up on it's business end!!!

United States Air Force/Hawaii Air National Guard Boeing C-17A Globemaster III (05-5147) from the 154th Wing's 15th Airlift Wing based out Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham in Hawaii.

Pilatus PC-6/B2-H2 Turbo-Porter (N156PC) on display. By far one of the most funkiest paint I've seen to date, not to mention my first time seeing Pilatus PC-6! The PC-6 is most notable for it's STOL capabilities.

And with that Saturday's races and shows are in the books! Looking forward to tomorrow to finish out the air races and my overall air show season!