40 years of airracing?

[claylemon]

I just saw an ad on the Discovery Wings Channel. They are going to document 40 years of airracing starting on Sept. 13th. Of course, we will have to set our recorders, because we will all be in Reno. I know they said "Reno Air Races". Has it been forty years since they resumed?


Clay

[claylemon]

What it's all about

Is everybody ready?

[Bill@Interstell]

1964 - 2003 yup 40

Wow what a shot Wayne.

[Bill@Interstell]

By the way, notice Dago's dog house door is shut.

[claylemon]

That pic was a complete stumble over. I guess I need to stumble over some more.

[AAFO_WSagar]

Originally posted by Bill@Interstell
By the way, notice Dago's dog house door is shut.

Wow.. thanks.. it's actually not one of my best... SOFT AGAIN!

Grrr.... can you tell, I'm a perfectionist? I'm really never happy unless I can read the names on the gear doors.. so I'm never really happy...

Vegas wouldn't be a good place to judge where the door is set. The were not running race fuel and far from race power settings.. again this is a "demonstration race" at Vegas, due to the Air Force regs against actual competition on an air base..

I know there are some critics of demonstration racing but... the fans, and I mean NEW fans LOVED IT!

I was in the air with the racers for all but one of the events. Sunday being the only day that I did not go up with them (practice day with Curt in Button's VoodooJet, Saturday with Erik Hildebrandt in the B-25 photo plane) But.. on Sunday, I was sitting (to not block their view) right in front of the fans, so I could hear their comments as I was shooting...

I mean, these people, for the most part, obviously had never seen anything like this before and they LOVED it.. I'm not totally sure it would have mattered if they would have had big neon signs blinking right in front of them stating "THIS IS A DEMONSTRATION!"

There was running dialogue from several groups behind me that were something to hear.. They were all just pumped as the "passes" were taking place.. "oh Oh OH.... he's gonna get him.. he's gonna get him" that sort of thing..

It all folds into a huge wonderment in my mind as to WHY this sport never finds itself going further than just one race each year..

I know World of Wings and the City of Las Vegas are trying their damndest to get another event rolling. It's going to be a fairly uphill battle, as it is anywhere.. Finding a place to hold an event until the new field can be built at Mesquite will be the challenge..

I do not have details on the progress of the paperwork that is going to be necessary before ground is even broke on that project but the momentum as far as the promotion end of things is moving like gangbusters.. A TON of money has been spent this year on advertising the Nellis Air Show and Las Vegas Air Racing... "DEMONSTRATIONS".. (for those who must pick nits )

We're as close as we've been in years to see a second event in the sport.. as long as the rivalry between Reno and Las Vegas does not get in the way and ... at risk of getting anyone in either city ticked at me.. I've lived in both cities at one time in my life and trust me.. there IS rivalry between the two.. HUGE rivalry..

It'd be too bad if that got in the way of things, because a second SUCCESSFUL venue for the races might well lead to a third and a second and third might well lead to MAJOR sponsorship and prize money that would equal the expense needed to field a world class team...

I commend Reno for getting to the one million dollar mark this year, it is wonderful but, one million or more is needed, just for the Unlimited if we're to see those guys really move ahead in the year's to come.. Imagine a Million Dollar purse to the WINNER of the Unlimited.. I think that would be some pretty solid motivation to get out there and do something wonderful!

Anyway... nuff from me.. I prolly managed to piss off more than one person with this post, even though I did not intend to..

Wayne
PS.. by edit ... again. Shoot, I just checked out that picture.. that was actually one shot from the B-25 through milky plexi.... It is REALLY soft. Only reason it got run was because it was one of only two that were even close to acceptable.. The air was very rough, (here comes the "I had a hole in my tennis racquet" story) and I had to shoot over someone sitting in front of the window... The only way I could even come close to holding steady on the flight for the shooting session was to bend my knees and attempt to be a human "steady cam" by letting the bend in my legs soak up the major portion of the bumps.. it sort of worked.. (made my legs really tired, that's for sure!) but then.. I got snookered by the plexi.. I used my autofocus.. largely because the air was just too rough to attempt to fiddle with getting focus on the extremely rare times that anyone lined up even close to a shot for us on the sides of the -25... it was just one of those times when you try to pull a rabbit out of the hat and... well.. it was not a very happy outcome.. Out of the entire session, I only got two shots that were even close to being workable and with much fiddling, managed to get something, close to acceptable...

[claylemon]

Originally posted by AAFO_WSagar




I'd be too bad if that got in the way of things, because a second SUCCESSFUL venue for the races might well lead to a third and a second and third might well lead to MAJOR sponsorship and prize money that would equal the expense needed to field a world class team...

I

Wayne, I would love to see airracing venues pop up all around the country. I think the reason it has lasted in Reno is because there is gambling nearby. Vegas is the key. If this takes off in Vegas, the world is the limit.

I hate to put it that way, but nobody looks to Reno for anything.

Someone tell me I'm wrong, please