Nellis??? Anyone going???

[Victor Archer]

The schedule looks a little disapointing to me but I'll still be there.
Anyone going?
Anyone know what racing teams will show, or at least thinking of going?

10:05 - 10:20 AM International Formula One Air Racing Demo

12:10 - 12:25 PM Mixed Air Racing Demonstration

15 min. ea???

[Stevo]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

Victor, man, I wish I were going to be there. I was bugging my DO (Director of Operations) to "buy" the Nellis Air Show mission so I could get a free ride courtesy of Uncle Sam.... but he didn't And making the trip from here in Oklahoma just isn't going to happen, not with Tucson, Tunica, and Reno as other alteratives. Hope you (and everyone else that makes it) have a great time. Looking forward to seeing all the great shots you WILL get

[paintboy]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

The last word I had was the Unlimiteds are standing down since NO appearance money is being offered to any teams. Unlimiteds cost money and they suck up the fuel. I was planning on going, but I doubt it now. Besides, with Victor covering the show the rest of us can stay home and get the slide show afterwards. It's on you Vic. I hope the economy turns around (gas prices) or you are going to see more and more airshow participants staying home. That will be a shame. Good luck to those who make the pilgrimage.

Dave

[Tin Man]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

I heard from a F1 guy that as of last week 8 F1 airplanes have commited to put on a "SHOW" race.

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

I heard from a F1 guy that as of last week 8 F1 airplanes have commited to put on a "SHOW" race.

And put on a show they do at Nellis! They run closer to the crowd there than at Reno, in '03 when they ran there, the show was so impressive that Reno wanted to try moving them in closer.. Didn't work due to runway availability for emergency landings but it sure looked cool at PRS when they tried it!

I think there are 8 T-6's showing up too, including a couple of pretty historic ones..

Tom Dwelle is going to be there along with son Ken, Tom's a Vietnam Veteran and the theme of the show is "Operation Welcome Home" giving the guys their welcome home parade, finally!

Something a lot of you probably don't know but John Parker, who will also be there, is a Vietnam Veteran also....

Unlimiteds would be great but, Aviation Nation is about a lot more than that each year and this year will not be any different.. I'll miss getting to visit with Dan Martin and the others more than anything, I wish they would have committed to come!

Hopefully, next year, the financials will be more favorable..

Wayne

[Unregistered]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

Anyone going as a Veteran Ambassador?

Friends of mine signed up as VAs weeks ago, but have not heard anything back as of yet. The Op Welcome Home website says that their names will be placed on the Ambassador List & they will receive name tags and other materials. Have any instructions about where to go or what to do been given?

With a week to go before the show, one would expect that these details would be worked out already. Since Vegas is Vegas, there are plenty of other distractions to keep my friends busy, but they are wondering if coming out just for the show is going to be more hassle than it's worth.

[Randy Haskin]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

So...I guess the whole Boyd Gaming-sponsored Las Vegas Air Races aren't gonna happen, eh?

[SCEPTER]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

Not going....to busy.....

[Victor Archer]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

Well does anyone want to drop some names of who will be flying???
Not like it's some kinda top secret deal.......

T-6's: Warlock & [Miss TNT (probably)]

Sport: [Nemesis (probably)] Blue Thunder

If1's: .......

[Race5]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

Victor, add Tinker Toy and Kitchen Pass to the T-6 list.

[Tin Man]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

Nemisis ? Not
According to their website they have stood down for the rest of the year.

[RandyGoss75]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

Victor, I think the T-6's that will be participating in the show are:

Gary Miller #55
Ken Dwelle #2
Tom Dwelle #7
Al Goss #75
Dennis Buehn #4
Jason Somes #1
Bruce Mayes
Dick James

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

So...I guess the whole Boyd Gaming-sponsored Las Vegas Air Races aren't gonna happen, eh?

OK... this is the way I understand it.. The event (Las Vegas Air Racing) is still on, still funded in the same way as last year and all others.. the difference this year the organizer felt it was unfair to only pay five Unlimited pilots, which is what had been done in the past.

I don't have any "quotes" but having been in on some of the process (after the fact) it was felt that with the Formula One guys and the T-6 guys coming and the event growing, absent any further funding, the only way to make it fair was to spread the available funds out for everyone... And, the only way to do this in a meaningful way was to spend the money on more rooms, and more "services" for the racers and the teams who agreed to come...

More rooms, cars, gas, hospality, etc...

The Unlimited guys choose to stand down due to this change..

It's not my money to spend on either end, either the pilot/owner who has to foot the bill to be there or the organizer who has to pay them to be there but I think standing down is a mistake..

I could be all wet on this but in the sport of auto racing, as in NASCAR, I'm fairly sure that the prize/appearance money is a small portion of their annual payout schedule.. .

Having an additional event to sell to your sponsors is payment in itself... Pointing out strongly here my above qualifying paragraph about it not being my money to spend.. I realize that I don't have the foggiest notion on the financial burden that coming to Vegas is for a given team...

My point is though, nearly everyone I've ever talked with in Air Racing says it's hard to get sponsors on board because it's a single event deal...

OK.. Last year, Tunica had a somewhat limited showing because the prize money was not enough for certain players to go.. Now Nellis is not worth going to for the same reason..

That's looking at it too narrowly in my estimation..

What about the value of being exposed to tens of thousands of potentially new fans in the huge market of Las Vegas.. ??

The value of being a part of the HUGE advert budget that is the Nellis show?

Has anyone picked up ANY issue of just about any aviation magazine lately and NOT seen an Aviation Nation ad in it?

People are trying their best to grow the sport... dollars are being invested but the available dollars to do it are limited and will be limited until Air Racing is more in the daily view of the general public... In my opinion, if the racers want to grow it, want to see more return for their dollar, maybe even, heaven forbid, break better than even.. they too are going to have to invest... We all know they (pilots/owners) have invested a HUGE amount to have their airplanes and we, the fans and supporters of the sport owe them a great deal for doing this.

Right now, it's just a matter of investing a bit more to see if the current wave of interest can be grown into a much larger audience base...

I wish to god that the Unlimited guys could have seen their way fit to be at Nellis this year! They will be missed!

The above is my opinion and my opinion only!
Wayne

[BillRo]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

F1s scheduled for Nellis:
#4 Somes, #33 Dutreaux, #37 Keeney, #40 Roelofs, #45 Jones, #50 Entriken, #57 Temple, #69 Greer, #96 Senegal.
Eight racers and a spare.

BillRo

[Victor Archer]

Re: Nellis??? Anyone going???

Thank you, Randy & BillRo for the info.

My boy Jeff and I will be there Friday - Sunday covering the action.
Jeff has a new 400mm lens so it should be pretty neet to see what he captures.