Last weekend, I attended the Historic Wendover Air Show. One week later, I found myself in Reno, Nevada with my sister, Dad, and uncle attending the National Championship Air Races this weekend! It was great to be back in Reno for a few days after not being able to attend last year's races. Unfortunately for me, I need to be back in Utah by Sunday night so there will be no opportunity for me to attend the final day of the races this year. Had I thought about it, I would've gone yesterday (Friday). So I ended up having one big day and attended the Saturday portion of the races and got my fix in; that meant going early when gates first opened in order to be able to watch the races and air show performances I wanted to see as well as checking out the static display and race pits. It was one long day, but I got it done! This year's highlights (at least the things I was able to see) of note consists of the following:
- Exciting races from the all the race classes I managed to observe (T-6 Class, Sport Class, Jet Class, and Unlimited Class)!
- This year, the Reno Air Races family celebrated and honored the life of Bob Hoover as we quickly approach one year since his passing; this year's air races would be the first since losing Bob Hoover. Before the opening ceremony, Unlimited Class Pace pilot Steve Hinton led a formation of warbirds in a emotionally-riveting Missing Man Formation to the sound of "Taps" in remembrance of one of the greatest pilots to have ever lived... We love you, and miss you, Robert A. "Bob" Hoover!
- The United States Air Force A-10 Heritage Flight Team, my first time seeing the A-10 Thunderbolt II perform at an air show; unfortunately, the heritage flight never took place as the P-38 Lightning that was supposed to fly with the A-10 was down for mechanical problems.
- Following the A-10 demonstration, the 152nd Airlift Wing of the Nevada Air National Guard brought one of their C-130H Hercules from the Reno Air National Guard Base for a few fly-by passes along with a tactical demonstration by air-dropping cargo out of the rear ramp!
- Honda Aircraft Company also did a short demonstration with a Honda HA-420 HondaJet, marking my first time seeing and photographing one in flight!
- The Texas Flying Legends Museum brought six of their iconic warbirds (with four of them racing in the Unlimited Class!) for a one-of-a-kind performance showcasing some of the most iconic and legendary aircraft operated by the Allies.
- The United States Marine Corps also participated this year by bringing their AV-8B Harrier II for a short demonstration; Reno was one of only four air shows this year to receive this coveted military performance!
- And as always, unique and interesting things to see both in the military Static Display area, Jet Pits, and Main Pits.
Preview: Note, that I will be including favorites and highlights and not including every event this time around; be sure to check out the links for the photos not included in the preview!
Jet Pits
While waiting for the military static display area to open, I checked out the Jet Pits and saw a couple of things to note.
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| De Havilland DH.155 Vampire (N172LA) Race #44 "Stealth." Zachary McNeill would race this fine British design in the Gold Heat Race for the Jet Class. |
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| Aero L-39 Albatros (N757SF) Race #15 "Darkstar II." Vicky Benzing would take this jet out for the Gold Race for the Jet Class. |
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| Soko G-2 Galeb (NX90SR) Race #107 "Wildest Dreams." The G-2 Galeb is a Yugoslav single engine, two-seater jet trainer and light ground-attack aircraft. This type of jet saw much action during the Yugoslav Wars and is a very rare jet warbird. There were two racing this year and I've never seen one before! Robert McCormack would race this rare Eastern European jet in the Bronze Race. |
Military Static Displays
Once the military static display area opened up, I wasted no time in checking out the aircraft there. And there were quite a few things there that I have never seen before.
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| Louisiana Air National Guard McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle (80-0035) from the 122nd Fighter Squadron, 159th Fighter Wing, Louisiana Bayou Militia out of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans. |
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| United States Air Force Air Reserve Component (ARC) Northrop T-38C Talon (66-4361) from the 340th Flying Training Group out of Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. |
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| Nevada Air National Guard Lockheed C-130H Hercules (79-0480) from the 152nd Airlift Wing "High Rollers" out of Reno Air National Guard Base. |
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| Idaho Air National Guard Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II (80-0218) of the 124th Fighter Wing from Boise, Idaho. |
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| United States Marine Corps Boeing AV-8B(R) Harrier II+ (165397) currently reinforcing Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 163 (VMM-163) "Ridge Runners" out of MCAS Miramar California. |
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| United States Marine Corps Boeing T-45C Goshawk (167084) of Training Air Wing Two (TW-2) out of NAS Kingsville. |
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| United States Navy Boeing EA-18G Growler (168932) of Electronic Attack Squadron 139 (VAQ-139) "Cougars" out NAS Whidbey Island. My first time seeing the Growler, a new variant of the Super Hornet family! |
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| Royal Canadian Air Force McDonnell Douglas CF-188B CF-18B (188925) of 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron "Cougars" out of CFB Cold Lake. This was my first time seeing a Canadian Hornet! |
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| Royal Canadian Air Force BAE Systems CT-155 Hawk (155220) of 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron out of CFB Cold Lake. |
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| Idaho Air National Guard Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II (78-0625) "Pride of Coeur d'Alene" of the 124th Fighter Wing from Boise, Idaho. |
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| Royal Canadian Air Force Raytheon CT-156 Harvard II (156116) of the NATO Flight Training in Canada (NFTC) out of CFB Moose Jaw. |
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United States Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-28 Northrop F-5N Tiger II (761578) of Fighter Squadron Composite (VFC-13) "Saints" from NAS Fallon. |
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| United States Navy Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet (166802) of Strike Fighter Squadron 22 (VFA-22) "Fighting Redcocks" out NAS Lemoore, California. |
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| Grumman (G-123) E-2C Hawkeye 2000 (164112). |
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| United States Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III (05-5153) of the 535th Airlift Squadron out of Hickam Air Force Base, Honolulu, Hawaii. |
Main Pits
As always, many unique things to see throughout the main race pits. And once again, there were quite a few notable sights that were a first for me.
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| Honda HA-420 HondaJet (N426HJ). |
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| A look at the HondJet engines and where they're positioned. |
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| Stratos 714 (N403KT) anAmerican very light jet aircraft under development by Stratos Aircraft of Redmond, Oregon. |
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| Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (N534BE) "The Duchess of Dakota." |
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| Lockheed P-38J Lightning (NX138AM) "23 Skidoo" from the Planes of Fame Air Museum out of Chino, California. |
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| Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat (N777L) Race #77 "Rare Bear." This is such a sad sight! As of last year's races, the "Rare Bear" has not been racing. It's sign that Unlimited Air Racing is a dying sport... |
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| Grumman TBM-3U Avenger (N73642). |
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| North American P-51A Mustang (N51Z) Race #6 "Shanty Irish." Truly a rare sight to see an A-model Mustang! Formerly known as "Polar Bear" before restoration occurred. |
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| Supermarine 361 Spirtfire LF.IXc (NX959RT) Race #84 "Normandy Split" from the Texas Flying Legends Museum. Another rare sight at the air races this year! |
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| Curtiss P-40E Warhawk (N2416X) Race #42 "Texas Warhawk" from the Texas Flying Legends Museum. Gotta love that shark mouth! |
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| Aero L-29 Delfin (N29AD) Race #77 "Viper" tucked away in the pit area. Rumor has it that this L-29 is currently banned from racing with the Jet Class because it is too fast. |
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| Grumman (General Motors) FM-2 Wildcat (N5833) Race #41 "Martlet" of the Commemorative Air Force. |
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| Martin-Baker MB-5 replica (N445MB) tucked away in the pits. This work has been at Reno for quite a while now... |
Flight Ramp
While viewing the static displays, I also took the time to photograph the active aircraft parked on the ramp.
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| United States Air Force Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II (81-0960) of the 355th Fighter Wing out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tuscon, Arizona. |
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| United States Air Force Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II (82-0648) of the 355th Fighter Wing out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tuscon, Arizona. This jet would later go up for an air show demonstration. |
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| United States Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II (163868) of Marine Attack Squadron 311 (VMA-311) "Tomcats" out MCAS Yuma, Arizona. |
Jet Class Bronze Heat Race
The first race I watched was the Bronze Heat for the Jet Class. This particular race had a diverse line-up of Cold War-era jets.
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| Aero L-29 Delfin (VH-XET) Race #61 "Miss Independence" with Charlie Camilleri at the controls. |
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| Aero L-29R Delfin (N50DG) Race #6 "Sluggo" with Joe Gano at the controls. |
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| Aero L-39C Albatros (N995X) Race #7 "Sarance" with Larry Labriola at the controls. |
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| Aero L-29 Delfin (N63DV) Race #27 "Starship" with James Beyer at the controls. |
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| Aero L-39C Albatros (NX39MX) Race #32 "Invictus" with Zachary McNeill at the controls. |
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| Robert McCormack taking "Wildest Dreams" with that sexy nose art with the rest of the Jet Bronze Division. |
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| Epic Aircraft AIR Epic LT (N850DV) with pace pilot Douglas King at the controls. Starting with last year's races, the slower jet class began flying with an Epic turboprop for their new pace plane. |
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| Underside profile of the G-2 Galeb. Robert McCormack won this race with "Wildest Dreams!" Top speed was 425 mph! |
Unlimited Class Bronze Heat Race
The next race I observed was the Bronze Heat Race for the Unlimited Class. Even though this was was the slowest class of World War II-era stock fighters, this was by far one of the most exciting Unlimited races I've seen in a long time! It was one that consisted of a very diverse line-up and the winner of the race happened to be a fan favorite!
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| Canadair CL-30 CT-133 Silver Star 3 (NX377JP) "Pacemaker" from the Planes of Fame Air Museum with none other than Steve Hinton at the controls leading the pack of Bronze Class Unlimited Racers! |
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| North American P-51D Mustang (NL151BP) Race #62 "Bunny" from the Palm Springs Air Museum with Mark Moodie at the controls. This crowd-favorite P-51 is named after the wife of Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Bob Friend. |
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| Michael Pfleger taking "Martlet" up for the Unlimited Bronze Race. It's been a long time since I last saw a Wildcat race! |
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| Warren Pietsch taking "Normandy Split," the Texas Flying Legends Museum's Spitfire up for the Unlimited Bronze Race. This is my first time seeing a legendary Spitfire race! |
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| "Texas Warhawk" with Bernie Vasquez at the controls getting airborne for the Unlimited Bronze Race. This is also my first time seeing a P-40 race! |
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| North American P-51D Mustang (NL51PE) Race #22 "Little Horse" from the Texas Flying Legends Museum with Alan Miller at the controls. |
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| Vought (Goodyear) FG-1D Corsair (NX209TW) Race #85 "Whistling Death" from the Texas Flying Legends Museum with Michael Schiffer at the controls. |
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| Mark Moodie maintains first place with "Bunny," and he would win this race, much to the delight of many fans! Top speed was 306 mph! |
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| Michael Pfleger making a pass in "Martlet." The race's 1nd place placer with a top speed of 282 mph. |
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| Alan Miller in "Little Horse," who would place 5th place with a top speed of 267.2 mph. |
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| Bernie Vasquez in "Texas Warhawk,"who would place a respectable 3rd place with a top speed of 267.5 mph! |
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| Warren Pietsch in "Normandy Split," who would place 4th place with a top speed of 267.5 mph. |
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| Michael Schiffer in "Whistling Death," who would place 6th with a top speed of 266.5 mph. |
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| Shots like this make air racing exciting! And it's not every day that you get shots like this! |
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| Love the sight and sound of two Merlin engines! |
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| Two Merlins and an R-2800! |
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| "Bunny" landing to cheers! |
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| "Texas Warhawk" landing. |
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| "Normandy Split" moments away from touching down. |
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| "Little Horse" rolling out. |
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| "Whistling Death" back on the ground. |
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| "Bunny" taxiing to the starting ramp. |
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| "Martlet" landing. |
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| "Texas Warhawk" taxiing to the ramp. |
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| "Normandy Split" taxiing back, engine already shut off! |
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| Steven Hinton on landing roll-out in "Pacemaker." |
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| "Little Horse" taxiing to the ramp. |
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| "Whistling Death" taxiing back to the ramp. |
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| "Martlet" taxiing back to the ramp. |
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| Steve Hinton taxiing back to the ramp in "Pacemaker." |
In Memory of Robert A. "Bob" Hoover
Following the first Unlimited Class Heat Race, it was time for a very emotional opening ceremony as the Reno Air Race family commenced the first air race year following the passing of Bob Hoover just one year ago. In tribute, three Unlimited Class racers led by Steve Hinton flew the traditional "Missing Man" Formation to the sound of "Taps." We love you, and we miss you, R.A. "Bob" Hoover! Thank you for your continuous inspiration!
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| Not long after finishing pacing the Unlimited Bronze Class, Steve Hinton gets back in the air with "Pacemaker." |
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| Hawker Sea Fury T20 (N924G) Race #924 with Mark Watt at the controls getting airborne. |
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| North American P-51D Mustang (NL7715C) Race #0 "Wee Willy II" with Robert Patterson aborting takeoff due to mechanical problems. The Missing Man Formation was supposed to have four aircraft, but obviously ended up with three. |
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| North America P-51D Mustang (N5441V) Race #14 "Spam Can" with John Maloney at the controls getting airborne. |
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| Three different warbirds, three different sounds, but they all represent a time and era where Bob Hoover worked his "pilot magic!" |
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| This was clearly the most appropriate way to remember Bob Hoover after his passing last year... |
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| Steve Hinton breaking away from the main formation in a climb. Well done, gentlemen! |
United States Air Force A-10 Demonstration
As we always in the aviation community following a somber occasion, it was time to move forward. I finished up strolling through the pits and seeing some of the early events before making my way to the grandstands to watch the remainder of the day's events. Up next was the United States Air Force A-10 demo; after seeing A-10s on static display so many times, I finally get to see and photograph one in flight! It was somewhat a condensed performance because the Air Force Heritage Flight with a P-38 Lightning was supposed to take place along with it. However, the P-38 apparently suffered mechanical issues for today and was unable to get airborne. But it was still cool to see the A-10 Thunderbolt II in action!
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| United States Air Force Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II (82-0648) getting airborne. |
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| Photo pass by the "Warthog!" Versatile with a steep bank angle! |
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| The Warthog making a pass. |
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| Sneak Pass by the Warthog! Note the false canopy painted on the fuselage. |
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| Rear profile of the Warthog. |
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| Another photo pass with the Warthog! |
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| Warthog on landing roll-out, passing the Home Pylon. |
Nevada Air National Guard C-130 Tactical Demo
Immediately following the A-10 demo in keeping with a "ground assault" theme, a C-130H Hercules of the 152nd Airlift Wing from the nearby Reno Air National Guard Base made a couple of passes and even performed a tactical airdrop out of the rear ramp, something I've never seen before!
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| Nevada Air National Guard Lockheed C-130H Hercules (93-7313) making a pass with rear cargo ramp open. Note the orange "8" on the fuselage and tail; this Herc apparently has also been pressed into aerial firefighting given the large number of wildfires we've seen this year. |
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| Cargo away! I've never seen something like this |
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| Looks like one parachute opened, but another one didn't... |
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| Making a pass before returning to downtown Reno! |
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| Climbing out. |
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| With a steep climbing bank angle, as if leaving hostile territory. I caught the white strobe light in this shot! |
Unlimited Class Silver Heat Race
Time for some more air racing! This time, it was the Silver Division of the Unlimited Class. Most of the Silver Class consisted of nothing but stock P-51 Mustangs, including a very rare and recently-restored A-model! The other wild card in this race was a Russian Yak, all the way from New Zealand! Like the Bronze, it was another exciting race, with a surprising winner!
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| Busy day for Steve Hinton, as he gets airborne yet again in "Pacemaker." |
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| "Wee Willy II" getting airborne with Robert Patterson at the controls. |
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| "Spam Can" with John Maloney at the controls getting airborne. |
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| North America P-51D Mustang (N64824) Race #31 "Speedball Alice" with Dan Vance at the controls getting airborne. |
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| Yakovlev Yak-3M (ZK-VVS) Race #35 "Full Noise" with Graeme Frew at the controls getting airborne. |
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| North America P-51D Mustang (NL151D) Race #44 "Sparky/Blondie" with Brant Seghetti at the controls getting airborne. |
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| "Shanty Irish" with John Muszala II getting airborne. I've never seen a P-51A race before! |
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| "Wee Willy II" making a pass. Robert Patterson took 2nd place in this race with a top speed of 344 mph. |
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| "Full Noise" making a pass! Much to everyone's surprise, this little Yak won the race and took 1st place! Top speed 345 mph! |
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| John Maloney took 3rd place in "Spam Can" with a top speed of 335 mph. |
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| John Muszala II took a respectable 4th place while at the controls of "Shanty Irish." |
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| Brant Seghetti took 6th place in his Jelly Belly-sponsored "Sparky/Blondie." Top speed 311 mph. |
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| "Speedball Alice" making a pass. Dan Vance took 5th place with a top speed of 315 mph. |
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| Mustang versus Mustang! As it should be quite often at the Reno Air Races! |
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| Mustang versus Yak! Who's gonna win??? |
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| "Wee Willy II" on landing roll-out. |
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| "Spam Can" on landing roll-out, passing by the Home Pylon. |
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| "Shanty Irish" on landing roll-out, taxiing by the Home Pylon. |
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| "Spam Can" (a.k.a. Dolly) taxiing back to the pits. |
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| "Sparky/Blondie" on landing roll-out. |
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| "Full Noise" on landing roll-out. Never seen a Yak win a race! |
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| "Shanty Irish" taxiing back to the pits. |
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| "Speedball Alice" taxiing back to the pits. |
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| It's "Sparky" (a.k.a. "Blondie")! Taxiing back to the ramp. |
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| After all the racers are safely back on the ground, Steve Hinton lands the "Pacemaker." |
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| "Full Noise" taxiing back to the ramp! Congrats to Graeme Frew and his crew for a good day of racing! |
HondaJet Demo
The time in between each race was filled with air show demonstrations. Up next was a brief demonstration of one of the newest business jets in the market, the Honda HA-420 HondaJet. I actually saw one in Provo before, but I didn't have my camera on me at the time so I had to make sure to catch this demonstration!
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| Honda HA-420 HondaJet (N426HJ) airborne after takeoff from 8. |
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| First pass by the HondaJet. |
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| Executing a photo pass. |
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| Dirty Pass |
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| Climbing pass in preparation for landing. |
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| On landing roll-out before pulling a 180 to taxi. |
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| Full-frontal view showing podded engine configuration/placement. |
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| Demonstrating its ability to make tight turns while taxiing before returning to the ramp. |
Jet Class Silver Heat Race
The next race I want to highlight is the Jet Class Silver Heat Race, which like the Bronze Heat Race from this morning, displayed another diverse line-up of Cold War-era jets.
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| "Miss Independence" with Charlie Camilleri at the controls going up again. |
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| "Starship" with James Beyer at the controls going up for the second time in the day. |
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| Aero L-39C Albatros (NX139UK) Race #13 "Reality Czech" with Nathan Harnagel at the controls. |
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| Aero L-39 Albatros (N139RM) Race #54 "Robin 1" with Jeff Turney at the controls. |
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| Aero L-39 Albatros (NX139TD) Race #69 "Drop Bear" with Lachie Onslow at the controls. |
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| Soko G-2A Galeb (N196SG) Race #4 "Soko O'no" with Robert McCormack at the controls; McCormack who owns both G-2s at Reno present this year raced both aircraft. |
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| Aero L-39C Albatros (N810RC) Race #10 "Riff Raff" with Pete Savrides at the controls. |
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| Douglas King pacing the Silver Heat Race in the EpicLT once again. |
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| King getting airborne with the Epic LT and leading the jet racers. |
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| "Riff Raff" maintaining the lead! Pete Stavrides would take 1st place with a top speed of 456.4 mph! |
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| "Soko O'no" trailing in 2nd place. Robert McCormack took 2nd place with a top speed of 456.3 mph! |
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| Lachi Onslow and "Drop Bear" took 3rd place this race with a recorded top speed of 411 mph. |
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| Jeff Turney and "Robin 1" was disqualified this race. |
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| Nathan Harnagel and "Reality Czech" took 4th place with a top speed of 405 mph. |
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| James Beyer and "Starship" took 5th place after a 12 second penalty for a pylon cut. Top speed was 354 mph. |
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| The Aussie took 6th place after receiving a 36 second penalty for three pylon cuts. Top speed was 334 mph. |
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| Jets duking it out! |
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| This was a close race, but Pete Stavrides in "Riff Raff" was slightly faster! |
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| A photo finish between the two Delfins! |
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| "Riff Raff" passing the Home Pylon during landing roll-out. |
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| "Soko O'no" with the Home Pylon during landing roll-out. |
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| "Starship" and the Home Pylon. |
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| "Drop Bear" with the Home Pylon. |
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| "Robin 1" in aerodynamic braking while passing the Home Pylon. |
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| "Reality Czech" and the Home Pylon. |
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| The Epic LT and the Home Pylon. |
Texas Flying Legends Museum Warbirds
One of the most-anticipated civilian warbird acts this year was the Texas Flying Legends Museum and their world class line-up of warbirds! Four of the museum's warbirds raced in the Unlimited Class Bronze Heat Race earlier in the day. Once again, they took to the air along with the museum's B-25 Mitchell and TBM Avenger bombers to give an incredible display of some of the greatest aircraft ever used by the United States and its allies during World War II!
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| North American B-25J Mitchell (N5672V) "Betty's Dream" getting airborne. |
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| Grumman (General Motors) TBM-3E Avenger (NL7226C) getting airborne. This Avenger used to part of the displays of the Legacy Flight Museum when it first opened. It is believed the George H.W. Bush flew this aircraft on a mission during World War II. One of the propeller blades has Bush's signature on it! |
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| "Little Horse" getting airborne again, this time to perform. |
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| "Normandy Split" getting airborne again to perform. It's always neat to see planes race and then perform! |
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| "Whistling Death" getting airborne. |
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| "Texas Warhawk" getting airborne. |
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| The warbirds entering the show-line in a six-ship formation. I was absolutely blown away by their entrance! Never have I seen such an incredible and diverse formation of warbirds all together in one shot! |
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| Six-ship photo pass! Another one of my favorites! |
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| A symbol of Allied air power! |
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| One of my favorite shots of the six warbirds! |
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| After breaking formation, the Spitfire made a solo pass with that sweet, sweet Merlin sound! |
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| Executing a climbing roll. |
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| The exit of the roll showed just how maneuverable the Spit was. Truly a British hero during a dark part of 20th Century history. |
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| Five American warbirds, five different sounds! |
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| "Betty's Dream" making a pass with bomb bay doors open! |
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| Another solo pass by "Betty's Dream." |
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| Mustang and Warhawk in one shot! Another favorite from this year! |
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| Corsair and Spitfire! Another favorite and talk about odd couples! |
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| The Avenger showing its belly! |
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| The Avenger making another pass with bomb bay doors open. |
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| Another pass by the Mustang/Warhawk duo! I truly live for shots like this! |
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| Solo pass by the Spitfire! |
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| Solo pass by the Corsair! |
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| Solo pass by the Avenger. |
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| Solo pass by the Warhawk! |
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| Solo pass by the Mustang "Little Horse!" |
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| Another pass by "Betty's Dream" with bomb bay doors open! |
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| Climbing pass by the Corsair. |
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| High-speed pass by the Avenger. |
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| Final high-speed pass by the P-40 |
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| High-speed pass by the Mustang! |
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| Photo pass by "Betty's Dream." |
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| Climbing pass by the Spitfire. |
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| Another banking pass by the Corsair. |
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| Photo pass by the Avenger. |
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| Photo pass by "Little Horse." |
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| Climbing pass by the Spitfire! |
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| "Betty's Dream" on landing roll-out. |
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| "Whistling Death" on landing roll-out. |
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| The Avenger on landing roll-out. |
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| "Texas Warhawk" on landing roll-out. |
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| "Little Horse" on landing roll-out. |
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| "Betty's Dream" taxiing back to the pits for display. |
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| "Whistling Death" returning to the pits. |
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| The Avenger taxiing back to the pits. |
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| "Texas Warhawk" taxiing back to the pits. |
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| "Little Horse" taxiing back to the pits. |
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| The Spitfire "Normandy Split" taxiing back to the pits. Always a privilege to see the legendary Spit take to the skies! |
United States Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier Demo
The United States Marine Corps closed out the air show portion of the day's events with the AV-8B Harrier II, and it was freakin' loud! Once again, the Marine Corps is making very limited air show appearances this year (divided between the Harrier and the V-22 Osprey) and Reno is among the lucky few to get the very loud jump-jet, which may not be around for much longer, given that they'll eventually get replaced by the F-35B Lightning II. This year's Reno Air Races is the fourth and final air show appearance of the Harrier for the 2017 season.
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| United States Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II (163868) of Marine Attack Squadron 311 (VMA-311), the "Tomcats" out of MCAS Yuma taxiing out. |
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| On takeoff. |
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| The first steep-bank pass, showing the underside profile. |
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| Making another pass! |
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| Another pass; is that nose gear open??? |
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| Hover demonstration. |
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| Loud and smoky! Just the way we like it! |
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| Spinning while hovering! |
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| Frontal view, which makes the Harrier look menacing! |
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| Throttled full-forward, the Harrier begins ascending. |
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| Accelerating and ascending to prepare for landing. |
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| Clearing the runway after landing. |
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| Taxiing back to the ramp. So glad to see the Harrier again! |
Jet Class Gold
The rest of the day's events consisted of Gold Division races from the respective classes. I'm going to skip the Sports and T-6 Gold Heat Races in this year's preview (but be sure to check out the link to the photos from those races listed above!) and go straight to the Jet Class and then Unlimited Class. This year's Jet Gold line-up consisted of many of the usual players, with some adjustments, as well as a wild card in the form of a De Havilland Vampire!
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| "Robin 1" heading out again, this time with Phill Fogg at the controls. |
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| Because Pete Stavrides won the silver race, he qualified to race in today's Gold Race in "Riff Raff." |
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| Vicky Benzing in "Dark Star II." |
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| Aero L-39C Albatros (N139LS) Race #38 "Dash Force One" with Scott Farnsworth at the controls. |
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| Aero L-39 Albatros (N554RC) Race #8 "American Patriot" with David A. Culler, Jr. at the controls. |
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| Zachary McNeill taking "Stealth" out for the race. |
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| Aero L-39 Albatros (N139BJ) Race #5 "American Spirit" with Mike Steiger at the controls. |
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| Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300 (N900HT) with Jay Obernolte at the controls as the Pace pilot for the Jet Gold racers. |
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| Jay Obernolte getting airborne in the Phenom 300. |
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| Mike Steiger getting airborne in "American Spirit." |
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| Zachary McNeill getting airborne in "Stealth." |
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| David Culler, Jr. getting airborne in "American Patriot." |
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| Scott Farnsworth getting airborne in "Dash Force One." |
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| Vicky Benzing getting airborne in "Dark Star II." |
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| Phil Fogg and "Robin 1" getting airborne. |
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| Gentlemen (and lady!)! You have a race! |
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| Mike Steiger and "American Spirit" scored 1st place with a top speed of 495 mph. |
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| Zachary McNeill scored 2nd place in "Stealth" with a top speed recorded at a respectable 473 mph! Not bad for World War II-era jet! |
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| David Culler, Jr. in "American Spirit" took 3rd place after receiving a 12 second penalty for a pylon cut. Top speed was 464 mph. |
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| Scott Farnsworth and "Dash Force One" took 4th place at a speed of 462 mph. |
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| Vicky Benzing in "Dark Star II" took 5th place with a recorded top speed of 454 mph. |
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| Pete Stavrides took 6th place in "Riff Raff" this race with a top speed of 453 mph. |
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| "Robin 1" with Phil Fogg took 7th place with a top speed of 426 mph. |
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| Jay Obernolte didn't even wait for the racers to get on the ground! |
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| "American Spirit" with the Home Pylon. |
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| "American Patriot" and the Home Pylon. |
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| "Stealth" and the Home Pylon. |
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| Aerodynamic braking by the Home Pylon with "Dash Force One." |
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| Aerodynamic braking by the Home Pylon with "Dark Star II." These guys (and gal) are pros! |
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| "Riff Raff" and the Home Pylon. |
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| "Robin 1" once again by the Home Pylon. |
Unlimited Class Gold Heat Race
And finally, it was time to cheer for the "Bad Boys of Air Racing," the Unlimited Gold Racers and their modified World War II fighters! As previously mentioned, the Bronze and Silver races for the Unlimiteds were a lot more exciting because of the diversity. It's no secret that this aviation sport has been dwindling, and it's been especially showing in the Unlimited Gold Division. This year's line-up consisted of two P-51D Mustangs (with some slight changes) and the four usual Hawker Sea Furies.
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| Steve Hinton taking "Pacemaker" up one last time for the day. |
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| North American P-51D Mustang (N71FT) Race #7 "Strega" with James Consalvi at the controls. |
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| North American P-51D Mustang (N551VC) Race #5 "Voodoo" with Steven Hinton at the controls. Honestly the only thing worth seeing for the Gold Race was "Voodoo" with the new, simple paint job. Hinton broke a record earlier this month by becoming the fastest piston aircraft in the world. He broke the speed record for an internal combustion engine-powered airplane, Class C-1e, on a 3 km closed course. Over four laps, Hinton took "Voodoo" to an average speed of 531 mph, blowing the previous standing record away. The fastest lap was nearly 555 mph. The reason for the white paint scheme was to save weight for the record-setting attempt. |
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| Hawker Sea Fury T20 (NX20SF) Race #8 "Dreadnought" with Joel Swager at the controls. |
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| Hawker Sea Fury TB10 (N71GB) Race #71 "Sawbones" with Curt Brown at the controls. |
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| Hawker Sea Fury FB11 (N19SF) Race #114 "Argonaught" with Sherman Smoot at the controls. |
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| Mark Watt in Race #924 getting airborne once again. |
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| Gentlemen, you have a race! Honestly though, this race was practically a blow-out between the two Mustangs and their pilots. The four Sea Furies didn't stand a chance! |
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| Initially, Steven Hinton maintained the lead but it was close! |
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| "Dreadnought" and Joel Swager took 3rd place with a speed of 417 mph. |
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| Sherman Smoot in "Argonaut" takes 5th place with a speed of 367 mph. |
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| "Strega" takes the lead! |
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| "Voodoo" in hot pursuit of "Strega!" |
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| Mark Watt in Race #924 took 6th place with a speed of 354 mph. |
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| "James Consalvi" takes 1st place with a speed of 479 mph! |
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| "Voodoo" takes 2nd place with a speed of 467 mph. |
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| "Argonaut" rolling by the Home Pylon. |
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| Race #925 on landing roll-out. |
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| "Argonaut" taxiing back to the pits. |
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| "Strega" with the Home Pylon. Congrats to James Consalvi for the win! |
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| "Dreadnought" with the Home Pylon. |
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| Race #924 taxiing back to the pits. |
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| "Sawbones" and the Home Pylon. |
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| "Strega" taxiing back to the pits. |
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| "Dreadnought" heading back to the pits. |
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| "Sawbones" taxiing back to the pits. |
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| Steve Hinton buzzing by after all the racers landed. |
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| "Voodoo" with the Home Pylon. Even though he broke a record, Steven Hinton wasn't able to break the speed record over a 3 km closed course set in 1989 by Lyle Shelton in "Rare Bear" due to rules and codes being changed. That old record was "retired," and deemed "untouchable." But young Hinton still put himself and "Voodoo" in the record books, a congratulations is order for him! |
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| "Voodoo" taxiing back to the pits. |
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| Father and son, an air racing legacy and lineage. |
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| Steve-o Hinton taxiing "Voodoo" back to the pits. |
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| Steve Hinton taxiing "Pacemaker" back to the pits. |
And that's a wrap! Glad I was able to make it back to Reno again after not being able to do so last year.
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