10 years later, How's everyone doing?

[flyingjibus]

We are approaching the 10 year anniversary of an impactful event for many of us. I have been reflecting on it quite a bit as of late, and I assume others are. How are ya'll doing?

I've struggled with some PTSD issues related to it for the last decade. Nothing major, just some weird displaced reactions and minor vertigo when near cliffs with friends and a bit of anxiety centered around expecting bad things to happen. Took me 4 years or so and several conversations with people with PTSD experience to connect all the dots, but when I did, it became easier to quiet.

The last year and a half have been difficult for everyone, I see the effects of 9/16/11 in my reactions to the every day awfulness we are facing. It's real. I think that is probably the biggest conclusion I have come to in these reflections.

That **** changed me. I didnt think it did for a long time. But it did, and understanding that makes it easier to not allow it to have a negative affect.

Anyway, not a lot of people out there we can talk to about this that truly understand everything that was lost that day. Thanks for listening.

[TWD]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

I was think about this also.
How is everyone doing?
TJ

[Race5]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

I cringe every time I see the Ghost mentioned. Especially when people still cling to the "it was the best airplane ever" view. I really thought about not coming back in 2012, even wondering myself if the races should continue. As it got closer, and my pilot had decided to continue, I made the decision to go and crew. Then we met some of the "ground zero" survivors , many of who suffered life changing injuries. They were all partying it up like nothing ever happened. That's when I knew we were doing the right thing by continuing and I have never looked back. Looking forward to getting back at it in a few days!

[Guest]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

Like many of you on here I suspect, when I pulled out of KRTS on 18Sep11, I was fairly certain I'd not be back...we'd not be back.

I wasn't as close the accident scene as some on here, being stationed at Home Pylon. But the sights and sounds of that still reverberate in my head. It's odd...on one hand it seems like yesterday while simultaneously seeming like it was a lifetime ago.

Took me quite a while to put it beside me...let alone behind me. Frankly, not sure it will ever, truly, be behind me.

But I will also say that it is a testiment to RARA leadership, both past and present, that we are still able to jump on aafo.com and chat about all things air racing these ten years hence.

Two very solemn anniversaries at Reno this year. Let's keep all those souls, both lost and wounded, in mind throughout the week.

[Pete]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

That was the one year in 20+ I wasn't there on Friday. I would have been halfway up the reserved grandstand, as always. Still shocking to think about.

Pete

[FlyKidChris]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

So much to tell, but those that were there already know the details.

We we at the top row of the reserved stands and when GG's nose started down, I was looking at the prop disk and the word "meat-grinder" popped into my head...

So I have vivid memories of the pitch up and what followed, including the impact, but I don't have much memory of the other racers landing other than Dreadnaught.

Like the other posters above, I wasn't sure if there would be racing again and wasn't sure if I'd come back.

But come back, I (we) did and next week will be year #36 for me. Mom always said I was stubborn.

[Fence Sence]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

The only think that still upsets me is that Jimmy didn?t mayday well before he lost control. That thing was all over the place. I can only imagine how it felt in the cockpit if it was obvious from the ground. He never pulled out though. It pisses me off to this day. I try to reflect on how the fans and personnel immediately got their **** in gear and got the injured out. That day has become legendary. I know emergency crews from all over the world started coming here to train for air show emergencies after that. It?s been the one thing that has made moving on much easier, the fact that hopefully other emergency crews can improve in the most dire of situations. As bad as that day went, it couldn?t have gone any better. I?m certainly thankful for everyone who has hung in there. RARA, the pilots, the crews, and the fans.

[Lon Moer]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

<....>
I try to reflect on how the fans and personnel immediately got their **** in gear and got the injured out. That day has become legendary. I know emergency crews from all over the world started coming here to train for air show emergencies after that. It?s been the one thing that has made moving on much easier, the fact that hopefully other emergency crews can improve in the most dire of situations. As bad as that day went, it couldn't have gone any better. I'm certainly thankful for everyone who has hung in there. RARA, the pilots, the crews, and the fans.

Well that is a good point.
Back when Steve Hinton crashed in the Red Baron it took the rescue helicopter 20+ minutes to pre-flight and warm-up before getting off the ground. Meanwhile there were "Road Warrior" type groups of crew vehicles racing down the ramp and off into Lemmon Valley towards the fire.
The next year they started warming the rescue helicopter before the races and running it until the race was over.

[Lockheed Bob]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

Any one remember the Helicopter on display starting up & taking people to the Hospital. I think it was a Huey in the Heritage Area?

[Guest]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

The only think that still upsets me is that Jimmy didn?t mayday well before he lost control. That thing was all over the place. I can only imagine how it felt in the cockpit if it was obvious from the ground. He never pulled out though. It pisses me off to this day. I try to reflect on how the fans and personnel immediately got their **** in gear and got the injured out. That day has become legendary. I know emergency crews from all over the world started coming here to train for air show emergencies after that. It?s been the one thing that has made moving on much easier, the fact that hopefully other emergency crews can improve in the most dire of situations. As bad as that day went, it couldn?t have gone any better. I?m certainly thankful for everyone who has hung in there. RARA, the pilots, the crews, and the fans.

Jimmy went G-LOC so quickly after the left upset then right-rolling climb it was not humanly possible. Over 11 G's in less than one second then climbing to over 17 G's. Not humanly possible...

There are several things to be upset about regarding how the GG was modified, the lack of proper documenation and flight testing, etc....but the lack of a Mayday call is not one them.

And you're absolutely correct. As bad as that day was, the aftermath went as well as can be expected. RARA is far and away the Gold Standard fo ARFF response in this industry.

[Fence Sence]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

Any one remember the Helicopter on display starting up & taking people to the Hospital. I think it was a Huey in the Heritage Area?

It was in fact Huey. That whole scene, however horrific, was incredible. Every critically injured person to the hospital in 34min.
My uncle was the captain of the first fire truck on scene. There were so many fans helping that he just opened every door on the truck so that people could get what was needed.

[airtj]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

That was the scariest event I ever witnesses, I've witnesses other crashes but they were out on the race course. We were in the box seats in the front row almost inline with the home pylon, ever race I view through my viewfinder on my camera, for some strange reason I wasn't taking pictures when it happened. Seeing the Mustang pitch up and then do a snap roll, it was scary to figure out where it was going to end up. Everyone in our box hit the floor and had pieces fly over us. A couple of the people in the box were hit by pieces. I still have dreams about the event, but we were back the next year. Defiantly a live changing event.

[cheapskater]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

I was filming the race from the rope line in front of Leewards' pit area. Jimmy passed Rare Bear and I was following Strega and Voodoo with my camcorder and panned back to catch Jimmy pitching up and rolling sharply. I turned off the camcorder and prepared to duck. Precious Metal came down on the other side of the Leeward crew trailer and we didn't see the crash from our perspective. I turned around and was confronted by the Leeward crew and family in a state of complete emotional collapse. I walked towards the pit gate and stopped to get a coke at a concession there and met a fan who had been in the box seats that told me what had happened. Some of his friends that had been with him were missing. Spent the evening out on the Fenceline with the Christies' Crew fans and had a really cold night in my truck shell. No amount of scotch could help me sleep. I went back to the races in 2012 and 2013 but the horror of that day remains with me. Many thanks to the folks from Christies' crew that saw what I had been through and talked me through it.

[shadow]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

Any one remember the Helicopter on display starting up & taking people to the Hospital. I think it was a Huey in the Heritage Area?

Indeed was a Huey. Saw pictures later that week of the Huey on one of the hospitals lawns offloading.

Still have a hard time talking about what I saw.

[cheapskater]

Re: 10 years later, How's everyone doing?

Ten years before Reno 2011, in 2001, my friend and I drove up to Reno not knowing what to expect. Everything was in place but everyone was in a state of shock from what had happened in New York. We walked around the pits and then the races were cancelled. All of the aircraft in the USA were grounded. Long drive back to the Bay Area. We usually hear a lot of airliners flying up the bay towards SFO and it was very quiet. During our Covid crisis it has almost been just like 2001 with no large aircraft flying by us for more than a year and a half. It remains to be seen whether the Reno Air Races will survive this plague.
I watched my 2011 Reno Footage from Friday of that year. I have that engine startups and all of the gold heat race including a lot of footage of The Galloping Ghost. What will remain in my mind from that year is that Jimmy and the Ghost passed Rare Bear and was in third place when things went bad for plane and pilot. I have to think that Jimmy Leeward was extremely happy for that short time before the crash. He finally had a really fast plane!