Because of the events of September 2001, the Air Races in Reno last year fell silent. Things were much different this year as the September classic roared back to Northern Nevada with renewed enthusiasm.
The mass balloon launch at the start of the race on Sunday. The cow
balloon is milking the wind for all it's worth.
The P-51 "Merlin's Magic" makes an arrival pass above the
runway at Reno. Arriving aircraft are usually allowed a pass just like
you see in the movies, traffic pattern and operational considerations
permitting
A pair of AT-6s who pass in
formation in front of Reno upon arrival
Biplane racers lined up in
the hangar
Dago Red, four-time winner of
the Unlimited Gold
Tim Bovee's crew put the
finishing touches on Formula One "Purty Pony"
An AT-6 class racer taxis into the pit
area after arrival. The workhorse World War Two trainer is likely the
loudest aircraft on the course
A Formula 1 aircraft waits
in line waiting for its slot in the qualifying round. These
lightweight aircraft can be hand pulled and moved very easily by one
person. Custom aircraft tow carts abound on the flight line for
these aircraft
Rick Shanholtzer safety
wires the camshaft after removing it on the race engine for
"Miss America." Miss America uses a stock Rolls-Royce
"Merlin" engine for regular flying and a custom race
engine. It will take them 12 to 14 hours to change out the engine on
the aircraft
Darryl Greenamyer's qualifying record Lancair
One of the L-39
Albatrosses flown in the jet races
Spirit of Texas, Riff Raff
and Dago Red after the Saturday Gold heat
A pair of Mustangs fly on
the backside of the course. A plane must always pass on the outside
and above the inner aircraft on the course. This allows the lower
aircraft to see the outside aircraft at all times
A Hawker "Sea
Fury" looks ahead for the next pylon. These fighters were built
to land on British carriers making these aircraft both tough and
fast
Reno brings many
different aircarft for both racing and the restoration competition.
This Messerschmitt ME-109G6 is at Reno this year along with a B-25
Mitchell, P-63 King Cobra, PT-17, and many other aircraft that are
on static display
The heart of the Mustang.
Stu Eberhardt's surprising Mustang
What Reno is all about
"Czech Mate"
just before his "dead stick" touchdown. "Czech
Mate" had a prop governor problem and had to dead stick the
aircraft onto the runway Monday. He got it down with no problems.
They will have to test start the engine later in the week to find
out if they can fly it
"Risky Business" does a standard Mustang two wheel
landing. The primary runway slopes up to the east. This means planes
usually take off and land uphill into the prevailing wind at Stead
airport
The highly modified
Mustang "Precious Metal" with contra-rotating props
powered by a Rolls-Royce "Griffon" engine taxis into
take-off position. No stock Mustang can win the Gold Race so many
owners have taken the basic Mustang airframe and made significant
modifications to it, the engines or both in order to win Gold
Reno's hard-luck racer
Mike Brown's Sea Fury posted the third-fasted qualifying time
Reno is heaven for aviation photographers
A P40E and a P51 stand
side-by-side in the static display area. The P-40 was the top U.S.
plane at the start of the war and the P-51 can be said to be the top
U.S. plane at the end
A radial engine out in the open with an A&P mechaninc hard at
work on it
Racing is also a lot of fun for all those involved. Here a member of
the "Lickety Split" crew puts in the standby pilot into
the cockpit
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