This was a very interesting year . Here are my personal ramblings about how this year went.
Overall - Very good year! Only one loss prior to the event. Lots of other drama that all ended well. (except for some deeply damaged pocket books)
Gold Unlimited - Loved it! Four of the fastestracers on the ramp together Sunday. Its been a long time since I could remember being that excited about the Gold on Sunday. There was no telling what was going to happen but you knew for sure it was going to FAST!
I told a friend after all the set backs it would be fantastic to see Tiger back in the winners circle. Woot! That's what we got! Great seeing the Merlins are back. 2009 should be amazing!
I also thought to myself before thay launched Sunday that by some accounts the old "trouble comes in threes" could bite the Bear. Stuck throttle last year and the gear failure earlier in the week left me thinking could there be a the "third" disaster coming. Stupid superstition to be sure so I kept it to myself. Luckily if there was something to that old saying it all ended with the bear mostly intact and ready to be prepped for next year.
I do hope the Bear team gets to a point where everything seems less "last minute". It can't be a good to fly the plane for the first time since the prior year in the last 10 minutes of the final qualifying session.
Was it my imagination or did we see Pardue run his bearcat faster than ever? Amazing! Also loved to see how fast my favorite Yak went this year. With all the other drama I don't think anyone noticed Chech Mate running solid 450 laps! Amazing!
Also, not the year of the "naughts". That Argonaught fire was scary to watch, I was having "Super Corsair flashbacks" but again, in the end all came out better than anyone could expect. I am sure both planes will be back better than ever next year!
Silver Unlimited - Great! I could watch the Tiger Cat run pylons all day! What a sound! Brought me back to watching a Tiger Cat water bomber working out of Falcon Field in AZ years ago.
Bronze Unlimited - Woot! Another Hinton joins the fun! Can't wait to see him in something faster next year!
Jets - Fast, still waiting for it to be a "race" and not a parade. I have changed my mind about this class a bit. I think it could be interesting sometime in the future if we ever end up with some "racing" happening. This has to be the most "turn key" class there is. race all event, then fuel up and fly home when it is over. (Just don't think about your fuel bill! :-))
Please RARA, if you don't have enough planes for a real "Bronze/Silver/Gold" bracket in jets next year don't run the same race over and over!
Super Sport - John Sharp is the best of the best. John again proved that he and his team bring a degree of professionalism to the sport that is unmatched. I have no idea what it would take to beat him at this point.
Also the eggs are back!!! Woot! I love the Questair and it was great to see one running so fast! Now how about that egg on methanol next year? :-) Does anyone know if the horizontal stab failure that happened several years back was a quirk or has there been a change made to address that?
Sport - Enjoyed it, loved seeing the semi-fixed gear Questair do so well.
T6 - No opinion.
Biplane - There are two class for now, one with only one plane in it! Race 62 was amazing! I think he actually lapped the entire field once. Also love the crazy prop! I am really looking forward to biplane when we finally see some of the new purpose built racers arrive!
F1 - Great year (other than the tragic loss prior to the event). Endevour did great in its new owners hands. As always some of the nicest folks out having a blast and letting us watch!
Air Show - Seemed way off this year. I loved the Taylorcraft but otherwise I think this is the least interesting year I can remember. Thunderbirds were good but they can really slow down the pace of the event. They produce a lot of time sitting in the stands with nothing happening.
Does anyone know how we ended up with such a light year in this area? I realize that a lot of the acts I grew to love are gone for one reason or another. Are there any acts out there that could match Jimmy Franklin for example? Do we just have a shortage of excellent airshow acts?
Military demonstrations - I seperate this from the Thunderbirds because over the history of Reno there is a tradition of seeing a lot of different military planes demonstrated in addition to the demonstration teams. This year we had the F-22 and that was it. To be fair I expect we have everything we can spare deployed so a light year in this area is not surprising. The F-22 is amazing. I pity any pilot that finds themselves on the wrong end of that ships weapons! I wonder how you can go any farther with fighter design and still keep a pilot alive in the cockpit! Does make me excited to see an F-35 someday though!
Rocket Racing - We didn't see one fly but looking at the materials in the booth, thanks but no thanks. Overly complicated and strange if you ask me.
Summary - Very good year for Reno. I had a friend attend for the very first time. He came away amazed at the experience. Not only was he impressed by the air racing he was surprised to realize how accessable the entire event is. That this is such a grassroots community so open to anyone that chooses to be a part of it. He saw what a special thing Reno can be. He will definitely be back next year (and is looking into a Cassutt! :-) )
So, I'm glad I went and I'll be making my plans for 2009 soon!
Michele
Overall - Very good year! Only one loss prior to the event. Lots of other drama that all ended well. (except for some deeply damaged pocket books)
Gold Unlimited - Loved it! Four of the fastestracers on the ramp together Sunday. Its been a long time since I could remember being that excited about the Gold on Sunday. There was no telling what was going to happen but you knew for sure it was going to FAST!
I told a friend after all the set backs it would be fantastic to see Tiger back in the winners circle. Woot! That's what we got! Great seeing the Merlins are back. 2009 should be amazing!
I also thought to myself before thay launched Sunday that by some accounts the old "trouble comes in threes" could bite the Bear. Stuck throttle last year and the gear failure earlier in the week left me thinking could there be a the "third" disaster coming. Stupid superstition to be sure so I kept it to myself. Luckily if there was something to that old saying it all ended with the bear mostly intact and ready to be prepped for next year.
I do hope the Bear team gets to a point where everything seems less "last minute". It can't be a good to fly the plane for the first time since the prior year in the last 10 minutes of the final qualifying session.
Was it my imagination or did we see Pardue run his bearcat faster than ever? Amazing! Also loved to see how fast my favorite Yak went this year. With all the other drama I don't think anyone noticed Chech Mate running solid 450 laps! Amazing!
Also, not the year of the "naughts". That Argonaught fire was scary to watch, I was having "Super Corsair flashbacks" but again, in the end all came out better than anyone could expect. I am sure both planes will be back better than ever next year!
Silver Unlimited - Great! I could watch the Tiger Cat run pylons all day! What a sound! Brought me back to watching a Tiger Cat water bomber working out of Falcon Field in AZ years ago.
Bronze Unlimited - Woot! Another Hinton joins the fun! Can't wait to see him in something faster next year!
Jets - Fast, still waiting for it to be a "race" and not a parade. I have changed my mind about this class a bit. I think it could be interesting sometime in the future if we ever end up with some "racing" happening. This has to be the most "turn key" class there is. race all event, then fuel up and fly home when it is over. (Just don't think about your fuel bill! :-))
Please RARA, if you don't have enough planes for a real "Bronze/Silver/Gold" bracket in jets next year don't run the same race over and over!
Super Sport - John Sharp is the best of the best. John again proved that he and his team bring a degree of professionalism to the sport that is unmatched. I have no idea what it would take to beat him at this point.
Also the eggs are back!!! Woot! I love the Questair and it was great to see one running so fast! Now how about that egg on methanol next year? :-) Does anyone know if the horizontal stab failure that happened several years back was a quirk or has there been a change made to address that?
Sport - Enjoyed it, loved seeing the semi-fixed gear Questair do so well.
T6 - No opinion.
Biplane - There are two class for now, one with only one plane in it! Race 62 was amazing! I think he actually lapped the entire field once. Also love the crazy prop! I am really looking forward to biplane when we finally see some of the new purpose built racers arrive!
F1 - Great year (other than the tragic loss prior to the event). Endevour did great in its new owners hands. As always some of the nicest folks out having a blast and letting us watch!
Air Show - Seemed way off this year. I loved the Taylorcraft but otherwise I think this is the least interesting year I can remember. Thunderbirds were good but they can really slow down the pace of the event. They produce a lot of time sitting in the stands with nothing happening.
Does anyone know how we ended up with such a light year in this area? I realize that a lot of the acts I grew to love are gone for one reason or another. Are there any acts out there that could match Jimmy Franklin for example? Do we just have a shortage of excellent airshow acts?
Military demonstrations - I seperate this from the Thunderbirds because over the history of Reno there is a tradition of seeing a lot of different military planes demonstrated in addition to the demonstration teams. This year we had the F-22 and that was it. To be fair I expect we have everything we can spare deployed so a light year in this area is not surprising. The F-22 is amazing. I pity any pilot that finds themselves on the wrong end of that ships weapons! I wonder how you can go any farther with fighter design and still keep a pilot alive in the cockpit! Does make me excited to see an F-35 someday though!
Rocket Racing - We didn't see one fly but looking at the materials in the booth, thanks but no thanks. Overly complicated and strange if you ask me.
Summary - Very good year for Reno. I had a friend attend for the very first time. He came away amazed at the experience. Not only was he impressed by the air racing he was surprised to realize how accessable the entire event is. That this is such a grassroots community so open to anyone that chooses to be a part of it. He saw what a special thing Reno can be. He will definitely be back next year (and is looking into a Cassutt! :-) )
So, I'm glad I went and I'll be making my plans for 2009 soon!
Michele
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