Reno Air Races -- Day 2

The first thing I did this morning before it got too crowded was go to the Heritage Trophy area to see the restored planes competing for the Peoples Choice award. There were a lot of beautiful planes you can see in my Flickr photos of day 2. My favorite was the restored P-40 shown here and here. They had a photo album and scrapbook describing the restoration. Considering the rusted shell they started with, they did an amazing job!

The US Air Force Thunderbirds did some fly-bys to become familiar with the area for their performances the next 3 days.

Word is that both Dago Red and Rare Bear are out of the unlimited races due to engine problems. Thought to be the top 2 competitors, this opens things up in the gold racing.

Gene Soucy and his wing walker wife Theresa Stokes gave a great performance. You can see their pictures here and here. She doesn’t just strap in and ride along. Theresa actually walks on the lower wing and climbs to the upper wing in flight. She only uses a waistband safety wire when they go upside down. Otherwise, she is just hanging on and moving around. You can see her hanging sideways here. I wonder if Dianne would do that with Tony?

Finally, in racing, I got to see my favorite bronze unlimited racer fly today. The Big Boss Man is a Grumman F7F Tigercat (more info here and here) shown here yesterday in the pit area. It is like a grandfather to my Grumman AA5B Tiger. Hearing that twin engine plane screaming past at close to 400 mph really is something. The photo above shows the Big Boss Man going past the home pylon. My best photo of the day. Mike Brown must love flying that plane around the course.