Nevada!! and Planes. Did I mention planes? No, really, PLANES!

We left North Ogden and made our way across the Great Salt lake.  Dang is that thing huge.  After seeing an entire marina on land (sailboats on trailers) we did some research and found that indeed people do sail on the lake.  It is the largest lake west of the Mississippi but is only 30 or so feet deep.  The propaganda recommends that if you want to get in the lake you should be careful, wash off immediately afterward and watch out for salt flies.  We did not choose to stop and instead ran for the Nevada border, destination Wells, for a tank of diesel.  There is nothing else to really recommend Wells.  I guess there is some mining in the area and some ranches but we had no draw here so a full tank of fuel (the low fuel light had come on) and off westward to Elko.  We had decided on Elko as our destination for the night.  The Iron Horse RV (Good Sam membership) park there is easily accessible and it is an easy run into town for the sights.

We pulled Piper in the park and found very nice concrete pads with easy access.  Side to side level was dead on but fore to aft level was crazy.  The slope was such that I had almost all my blocks under the rear stabs and Pipers front storage was almost on the ground.  I could not back the truck under her nose after leveling.  They had great hookups with 20/30/50 amp plugs at the pole.

We freshened up a little and headed off to downtown Elko for dinner.  We found ourselves at Luciano’s.  This is right off the main square in Elko and the parking in their lot is very tight.  We parked across the street in the big gravel lot at the old Stockmen’s Hotel & Casino.  We walked through the Stockmen’s and off to the restaurant.  Just wow….The food was perfect, wine selection was very nice and the ambiance was pleasant.

Back to Piper after touring through town and a good nights sleep.  Up the next day and headed to Sparks.  Reservations in Sparks Nevada at the Sparks Marina RV park.  We had toured through here back in March and decided to stay here during this trip (made reservations back then).  We were very glad we had made reservations because the National Championship Air Races started this week and there were no extra spaces to be had.  This park is very near to the Sparks Marina Park which is a park on Helms lake.  The lake is replenished with a naturally occurring aquifer.  There is a large roped swimming area, fishing and boating.  The average depth of the lake is 60 feet and no petroleum based fuels are allowed for boating.  They have a website for use of the lake.

We arrived on Thursday and E told me I needed to go to the Air Races (always a dream of mine) so I checked the prices and times and decided to go.  Friday I packed my camelback pack with some snacks, wore light pants and light shirt and E dropped me off near the gate to Reno-Stead Airport.  This airport is north of Reno and is closed to all traffic but Racers and Demo birds during the week of the races.

I paid for the general admission grandstand seating and pit pass.  I had read that the pit pass is the important thing to have and boy, were they right!  When you walk through the gate there are a ton of vendors set up with everything from pins and hats to multi thousand dollar watches and original aviation artwork.  There’s even a booth where you can get pictures with modern nose art models.  The Reno Air Race Association has official souvenir tents throughout the grounds as well.

I didn’t even slow down but headed for the booth by the pits where you exchange your ticket for the wrist band that lets you have unlimited access to the pits.  Got that band and started walking through the pits….OMG!  What planes do you want to see?  Little sport class racers?  The aerobatic bipes?  The historic warbirds from the Commemorative Air Force?  The T-6’s, or the big unlimited heavy metal sleds?  They are all here for this, the National Championship of the sport.

non racing trainer

sport model

pretty sport Lancair twin turbo

some nose art

T6

Heavy Metal Mustang

the winingest T6

Hawker Sea Fury

jet class L-39

jet class vampire

One of Thursdays heat winners

rounding the pylons

There is an entire hangar full of nothing but little sport birds and bipes.  They are polished up and gleaming and I am immediately drawn to them.  Inside the hangar and standing next to them, they all appear so very small to do what they do.  Even the Mighty Pitts Special custom aerobatic bipe is a tiny creature on the ground.  The little Formula 1 birds look like the pilot pulls on a second skin with flight surfaces attached.  These birds are so stripped down that the seats are just frames with zero comfort.

Everything is about the air race motto.

FLY FAST, FLY LOW, TURN LEFT!

Even the big unlimited sleds are stripped and it’s all about light airframe and huge power plants.

The sheer power demonstrated by these big power plants is just truly amazing.  Watching these birds claw their way around the pylon course and hearing them thunder by at the famous checkered home pylon just raises goose flesh and makes my hair stand on end.  The sounds, whether of the big radials, the monster Rolls’, the whistling jets or the twin turbocharged Lancairs is truly a thing of inspiration.

I’m transported back to my youth when Dad took me to see the (then) Confederate Air Force (CAF) perform in Goodyear Arizona.  The sights, smells and sounds of those classic warbirds and the modern fighters that came in from the Air Force base.  The CAF has changed to the Commemorative Air Force now and they have some of the same birds I saw way back then.

I spoke with one of the guys running their information booth and he told me his dad had been flight certified on some of their aircraft by my childhood pilot hero “Lefty” Gardner.  Lefty was the famous P-38 pilot who would roll his red, white and blue plane around it’s left engine at minimum altitude.  I built models of P-38s for years and even now (40 years later) think it’s a thing of beauty.

No P-38 for me at this show though so I continue my walk around while intermittently rushing to the edge of the flight line to take pictures of the planes rounding the course and to witness the spectacle that is air racing.  With the exception of the one on one standing start race with the T6 class, all the planes take off and are marshaled in the air off course by a pace plane.  The announcers cut the speakers over to the race frequency and you can hear the pace pilot forming up the aircraft in the air for a fair in line start.  He calls “Gentlemen, you have a race” (even though there are female pilots, some traditions die hard) and they are off.  Most of the races start over the right shoulder of spectators waiting in the stands and the planes enter the course.  they head around the pylons at speed, jockeying for position, some just mere feet from the next airplane.

There are rules about how to pass another aircraft and there is a lot of passing going on in almost every class.  They all dive for low position to get the advantage going around the pylons and slightly climb in the straights to try to get an advantage over the plane in front of them.  They throw themselves into the next high “G” turn up on a wingtip and dive again.  These gladiators of the air amaze and astound the crowd.  There are cheering sections for certain planes just like a football game.  There is a widely varied crowd at the race.  There are the middle aged guys wearing our sunny day uniform (Shorts, collared short sleeve shirt and sun hat). There are many in the crowd wearing military veteran apparel of some sort.  There are women in all types of dress and undress.  I even saw a 20 something goth couple walking in the pits.  Kids galore, some children of parents who sponsor birds, some the grandchildren of veterans and pilots.  None of these kids are running around causing mayhem or screaming or yelling at their parents.  All are polite and respectful of the adults and every one of them stops to watch the airplanes.  One young boy and his mom and dad were standing next to me as the unlimited planes were taxiing and he was describing the planes and their pilots by name to his parents.

I finally head down to the east end pits and get to walk through the “drone zone” which is a new addition to the show and focuses on educating the public and pilots and the legality and multiple uses of the growing camera drone community.  I fly one (DJI Phantom3 Pro) for my work and so I got into some tech discussions about features and uses with some folks from the university and a photographer who makes a living doing aerial photography and another group who is doing mapping of wild lands that haven’t been mapped in the past.

Moving further down, I get into the military pits.  Here are the national guard and active duty planes I am most familiar with.  It’s funny to see the planes that were staple front line fighters in my day relegated to the national guard.  Amongst the C-130’s, F-15’s and CH-47 is a new surprise…The Air force sent out a couple of the new F-35 Lightning 2’s.

F-35

The Blue Angels were on hand to do their practice demonstrations all week and then perform their full show on the weekend.

They, of course, have been doing this since 1946 and as everyone knows, it is a spit and polish show performed by some of the most qualified pilots in the world and supported by some of the most dedicated enlisted personnel in the Navy.

So, this part of the blog has been all about the air show I guess.  if you want more pics of the planes, let me know….  I have a bunch.

Again, take the time to get out and do those extra things.  I was going to blow off the Air Races so that I was not leaving E alone during our time off together.  She convinced me to take the time and I did and will never regret the decision.  Everyone that has talked to me since has learned more than they ever wanted about the Reno Air Races.  I know that E is probably getting tired of hearing me talk about it, LOL.

Anyway, get out there and do it.  As always, leave me a comment.  I answer all questions either in person or via email if you leave one.

See ya out there,

BFD