Reno Air Races 2010


Reno Air Races 2010
	How am I supposed to pick a few pictures that tell the 2010 story of the Reno Air Races? I took about 1700 so it takes a bit of effort to whittle the list down. I hope you enjoy the result. This is what you would have seen if you were sitting next to me in the stands.
	This is what you would have seen if you were looking through my zoom lens.
	Lets start with a couple of shots of AT6 Texans, one of my favorite planes. They race in stock form so the races are close, loud, and exciting. This year saw several familiar planes and some that were new to me. T-6 races are started from a line abreast formation and then they all jocky for position going into the first turn.
	Did I mention that the racing is very close?
	Here is the lead pack coming out of the valley of speed.
	Look at the pilot, he is straining forward in his harness, anything to make it go just a little bit faster.
	The pace plane for the jet races was a Lear, now that is style. You can see the weather was getting less than ideal later in the day on Sunday.
	Still pictures really don't do justice to jet racing. The noise, the smell of burning jet fuel, the speed, it is just awesome.
	An I-39 coming out of the valley of speed, nothing but business.
	Here is a unique jet, a Vampire. Not the fastest in the field but it looked great in the air.
	Another interesting jet, the Provost Spud. Mostly it gets the nod since that is my son's nickname. Hi Spud!
	A couple of F-16s performed a fly by during the opening ceremony.
	How cool is that?
	We were treated to a FA-18 Hornet as part of the flight demos. Here the pilot is performing a dirty high alpha flight pass. I love it when they clean up the airframe and pour on the coals leaving stage center vertically and accelerating hard...
	On Saturday they made it look easy. Just land a light plane on top of a camper.
	Piece of cake. On Sunday in the gusty crosswinds it was another thing entirely. No joy in Mudville then.
	Thunder and light show. Hmm, put a jet engine, complete with afterburner, in a dragster. Proving once again that way too much horsepower is almost enough!
	The jet car does a standing start 1/4 mile race against an airplane during the lunchtime demos. The airplane won for a change.
	The Canadian Snowbirds were back with their graceful aerial ballet. They put on a great show, set to music, and really put the arid scenery to good use as a backdrop for the show. Hmm, after looking at the pictures I selected, maybe that should read the azure sky as a backdrop?
	They fly much slower than the Thunderbirds or the Blue Angles but extremely tight formations with nine jets.
	They have several formations that have several feet of overlap on the wings.
	This years there were two P-38 Lightnings and two F7F Tigercats. What a treat. You get lots of pictures because I love seeing them fly. Saturday night they were supposed to all get together for some four up formation flying. I got some decent pictures but they never formed up near the airport. I hung out with a group of photographers until the daylight had faded away waiting for them to come back. Sadly, no formation shots.
	162 Skidoo taking off into the sunset. Poetry in motion. Loud poetry!
	Nothing like being less than a football field away.
	This one just gives me chills. Note the nose guns.
	Glacier Gal has a great story. Google will get you lots of details.
	What a classy airplane.
	The renamed Big Boss Man, now El Hefe climbing out.
	El Hefe wasn't just window dressing, he raced!
	So did Here Kitty Kitty. I think they need a class that is based on sound not speed. The Tigercats would be in a class by themselves.
	One for the Merlin fans, Lou IV headed out onto the course.
	Another P-51, Lady Jo. There is something about polished aluminum that I just love.
	How about one more P-51? The Jelly Belly, the hands down winner of the most colorful P-51 ever.
	The final two shots are of my favorite plane, Rare Bear.
	The Unlimited Gold race was canceled on Sunday due to concerns for recovery after a mayday. Even though the pilots are some of the best in the world, I agree with the officials, there really wasn't any viable options for a safe dead stick landing given the weather. I'll be impatiently waiting for next year... Go Bear!