In July, talk around local airports was that the Oregon Pilots Association would be chartering their own Horizon flight to the 2007 Reno Air Races (http://www.airrace.org/indexJS.php). I wanted to be on that flight of 85 but knew it probably was not going to happen...nothing more was said. Then, in September Bruce told me to pack my bags for a surprise trip to Reno! Boy, we had a good time with friends, strangers and lots of very noisy aircraft. You could hear the roar of the speeding engines (speeds of 150 to 500 mph) before you got through the gate. The pace jet, the aircraft that would organize all the aircraft in the next race, miles behind us, would release the racers and do a loop to position himself above the race to spot for problems...what a job! The Reno Air Races started 44 years ago and Bob Hoover used to do the pacing and spotting in a twin engine plane, but now it is a jet because the racing air crafts are so much faster.
This is part of our group with identifying yellow caps.
The race course had pylons spaced in an oval course that the planes stayed to the outside of having to fly a certain amount of miles depending on what types of planes were in each race.
This is the jet race.
This is the mother load of all races, the Unlimited Gold. In the pits area these planes were static with draping over the engines so no one could see how they had been modified.
This plane fit into the Formula One class of racing, nothing but speed.
One formula one team got carried away and had the engine block airbrushed - it looked really cool.
In all, this year, there were three pilots that lost their lives doing what they loved. This Formula One plane was going to race in memory of another Formula One plane and pilot that crashed the day before.
The Canadian Snowbirds showed us their stuff.
Two close passing Snowbirds.
Bruce's dad worked at Lockheed,in L.A., during WW II making P-38s for the war. This one is "Glacier Girl" (http://p38assn.org/glacier-girl.htm). It's crew was lost in the Arctic for two weeks before being found and flown out, leaving the P-38 behind to be buried in 265 ft. of ice until the early 1990's when a group of aviation enthusiasts went back and dug her up and reassembled her...here she is...only one of four P-38's still flying.
This is what they call the "Heritage Flight", consisting of the P-38, the A-10 Warthog, the AD-1 and the F-16. All representing different eras of wartime aircraft.
What a great trip! With many memories to share with Bruce.
