Looking Ahead to Reno

Only 36 days until the start of the National Championship Air Races and Air Show at Reno. My favorite group of racers is the unlimited class. There are 32 entries registered in the unlimited class this year. That’s a good sized field. More important are the planes that are registered. Rare Bear, an F8F Bearcat, will be back to try for a third straight win. However, unlike last year when Rare Bear’s primary competitor was absent due to financial constraints, Dago Red will be back. Dago Red, a P-51 Mustang, won several years in a row prior to Rare Bear’s current streak. Finally, I’m happy that my favorite team will be there. Voodoo, race number 5, is also a P-51 Mustang. You can just barely see the nose of Voodoo behind me in my profile picture. Always in the hunt, Voodoo had engine problems last year that caused the team to drop out. They are now testing a new engine that hopefully will help them move up the ranks in the gold, or top, tier of the unlimited racers. The Voodoo website also mentioned they stripped the wings and smoothed out imperfections in the airfoil that might help their speed a bit.

The highlight of the air show portion of the event this year is the Air Force Thunderbirds.

If you haven’t been to Reno for an air race, you’ll have the chance next year in Hollywood style. Next year is the scheduled debut for the movie “Thunder Over Reno”. There is a nice website for the film. Looking at the cast, I doubt it will be an Academy award winner. Nevertheless, it might be a good film to see on the big screen.

Fly low, go fast, and turn left.