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The Pylon Place: Reno Air Races 2015 Recap – Part 1
By Marilyn Dash
The sun coming up on Strega. This was her year. (Anthony Taylor)What a great time! What a crowd! What amazing racing! This was the best year in a long time!
The week started out with great weather but lots of smoke from the many fires in California. When the wind blew in, the smoke blew out – but the winds brought a new set of issues. The wind was so bad on Sunday, several classes had to stand down from their allotted course time because the winds were above their limits – as addressed in the Rules of Competition.
But by Monday, everyone was back on the course and qualifying began in earnest. The Unlimiteds had two sessions for qualifying each day. By the end of Monday, Stevo Hinton had put up a time of 464.246. Not the fastest he’s ever gone, but the fastest of the day. Each class has their own rule, so in the Unlimiteds you can requalify if you want to better your time. Hinton probably thought this would hold, and if not, he could easily go back up by Wednesday to put a better number up.
The Pylon Place: What’s New at the Reno Air Races?
By Marilyn Dash
Last year’s winner, Voodoo and Stevo HintonThe big news everyone is talking about is the hiring of Mike Crowell as the president and chief executive officer of the National Championship Air Races. After a few visits with Mike, I can say that I am very happy to see someone of his caliber taking the reins.
“We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Mike’s caliber step in to take the helm at the Reno Air Races,” said John Agather, chairman of the RARA board of directors. “We are looking to Mike to bring his leadership, experience, and expertise in running efficient organizations to the Reno Air Races so that we can ensure this important northern Nevada event is successful for many years to come.”
The Pylon Place: February 2015
Introducing the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team World Aerobatic Championships 2015
By Marilyn Dash
The Team
First, I want to congratulate the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team! The USA will be represented by a group of pilots who are long time aerobatic competitors. Everyone on the team has participated in at least one previous World Aerobatic Championship (WAC) in the past. This is very valuable experience!
The U.S. team is comprised of Goody Thomas (Team Captain), Rob Holland, Jeff Boerboon, Nikolay Timofeev, Brett Hunter, Melissa Pemberton, Benjamin Freelove, Mark Nowosielski, and Tim Just.
This team will compete at the 28th FAI World Aerobatic Championships in Châteauroux-Déols (France) Aug. 19-29, 2015. Who wants to go with me? I was lucky enough to help out in 2013 when the WAC was held at North Texas Regional Airport in Denison, Tex. I’d be thrilled to go again and support our team.
Aerobatic Performance Zone – The Box
Competition Aerobatics takes place on a playing field just like most other sports. The only difference is our field is a “Box” in the sky.
Just like all sports there are penalties for leaving the “Box”. “Outs” or “Boundary Infringements” as they are referred to in Competition Aerobatics are verified by “Boundary Judges” that sit on the ground and use a sighting device to determine these penalties.
If you’ve ever seen clear panels on an Aerobatic Plane–this is why. We need to be able to see the ground positioning to stay in the box.
The Pylon Place: January 2015
2014 Year in Review
By Marilyn Dash
Team Ruby – Getting Ready for the Big Race (Anthony Taylor /Warbirdfotos.com)Another year is in the books with some great highs and some devastating lows. I wanted to take the time to look back and celebrate the good and memorialize the losses.
Red Bull Air Racing was Back!
If you read this column regularly, you know that I love Air Racing of any kind–especially the Closed Pylon racing like we do at the National Championship Air Races in Reno. But I also have a great affection for the Red Bull Air Racing Series.
After a three-year hiatus, the series came back stronger than ever, finishing the season at their Home-Drome with the Championship being decided on the last flight. Amazing year–congrats to all, especially Nigel Lamb, the 2014 Series Champion!
The Pylon Place: December 2014
Red Bull Air Race 2014: Worth the Wait
After a three-year hiatus, the Red Bull Air Race World Championship came back in 2014 with dramatic action.
By Marilyn Dash
Final Preparation for his Championship Winning Flight . ( Photos used by Permission from Red Bull Air Races)It all started when 12 of the world’s best pilots reunited in February for the season opener in Abu Dhabi. The new rules, which mandated standardization of engines and propellers, were created to level the playing field and to make the action tighter–and they did.
Fans were able to see the action at eight locations on three continents. Venues like England’s Ascot Racecourse and the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria completely sold out, and at the race in Gdynia, Poland–the officials had to close access to the beach viewing when they reached the mandated civic limit of 130,000. Now, that’s a crowd!
The Pylon Place - May 2014
It’s Airshow Season AGAIN!
By Marilyn Dash
Sea Fury Noses (Anthony Taylor/Warbird Fotos)Finally, the winter dreary is over and the sunscreen and cameras are coming out of the closet. It’s time to start making the trek each weekend to your local Airports to see the show.
One thing we’ve noticed is fly-ins making a comeback with several new events cropping up. I believe this is great for airport community relations and if joined with a visit from one of the bombers like the B17 from Liberty Foundation (http://www.libertyfoundation.org), or the fleet from Collings Foundation (http://www.collingsfoundation.org) – this makes it all the better.
The Pylon Place - April 2014
Saving the Reno Air Races
By Marilyn Dash
T6s battling it out on the racecourse. (Bruce Croft/20 West)What can be done to save the Reno Air Races? This is the question posed to me by so many air-racing fans. We know changes are being made – but – are they enough? Are these changes coming too late? What are the signs we should be looking for to see if the changes are working?
RARA has made several announcements lately – including the dismissal of Michael Houghton, the President and the paring down of the paid staff to six individuals. Recent news adds a reduction in the Board of Directors from more than 20 members to a total of seven.
The Pylon Place - March 2014
Red Bull Air Races are BACK!
By Marilyn Dash
Kirby Chambliss flying over Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Garth Milan Red Bull Content Pool)After a three-year hiatus to revamp and rework, the Red Bull Air Races are BACK! As someone who has seen four races in person and all of them via video, I could not be more thrilled.
Many things have changed, but some things have remained the same. The most important aspect that has not changed is the pilots. All 12 of the pilots are returning racers.
The UK’s Paul Bonhomme, the Red Bull Air Race World Champion for 2009 and 2010 is the early favorite to repeat. But Austrian, Hannes Arch who won in 2008 is also looking to return to the top. Both of these men are very competitive and have kept their skills up flying airshows and competition. American, Kirby Chambliss won in 2004 and 2006 and is always striving for perfection. Michael Goulian, another American returning pilot is ready to take it all.
The Pylon Place - February 2014
Bringing Elsa Home
By Marilyn Dash
First photo in the new airplane, Marilyn Dash and Elsa. (Courtesy of Marilyn Dash)I thought it would be fun to do a column this month about a personal experience. After racing in the Biplane Class for eleven years, I decided to look at purchasing a potential Sport Class Racer. I’ve always said the perfect two airplane family would be an “upside down” airplane and a “go places” airplane. So, Ruby may now be just for “upside down” flying – and we would need something faster, with some luggage space – to “go places”.
I started in the usual way, perusing ads on Barnstormers and Trade-a-Plane, etc. I found a few older Glasairs and RVs, etc. And then through mutual friends, I heard about an RV-6 which I immediately knew was going to be mine.
The Pylon Place - January 2014
The Future of the Reno Air Races…
By Marilyn Dash
(Bruce Croft)Since the Galloping Ghost crash of 2011, the Air Races have been plagued with financial concerns and rumors about closing the doors.
In the last few months, Michael Houghton, RARA President, has been talking about this year’s event being in jeopardy if $500,000 was not raised by Dec. 15. Just in the nick of time, we were told the event is back on. This leaves many people wondering about the long-term viability – and if this will continue to be a year-to-year endeavor.
The Pylon Place - December 2013
World Aerobatic Championships
By Marilyn Dash
The World Aerobatic Championships come to the USA once every 10 years or so. This year, they were held at North Texas Regional Airport in Grayson County, Texas. The good news was everyone had a great time. The bad news was the weather did not cooperate.
Aerobatics
Beautiful aerobatic machines. (Courtesy of Marilyn Dash)Before racing in the biplane class at Reno, I was involved in local IAC competition. The challenge of flying competitive aerobatics was something I very much enjoyed and something I may plan to return to now that things are rocky at RARA. I found that I couldn’t do both at the same time – the airplane I was using needed to be changed for each sport and I didn’t have the time or resources to do it each year. But, if the Reno Air Races are over (more on this next month), it is likely I will throw my time and energy back into aerobatics.
The Pylon Place - September 2013
50th Anniversary of the National Championship Air Races
By Marilyn Dash
It’s that time again. The crews are making the final touches on the race planes and the pilots are testing and growing more focused every day. The drama that is Air Racing is ready to play out in front of our incredibly loyal fans. Let’s take a look at who will be there and what to expect.
Unlimited
At this point, we have 16 aircraft on the roster. While not the largest number of entries, the fans should be pleased with the caliber of racers. Let’s take a look at what to expect…
Voodoo is back. Yes, after a year off, Bob Button decided to come back in a big way. He decided to put together his dream team and go for that elusive win. Stevo Hinton will be flying Voodoo this year. And Kerch is back as the team adviser, in what we are affectionately calling, “Yoda and the Kid.” They are having fun, they are focused on winning and they are the team to beat right now.
Button’s Voodoo is Back – with Yoda and the Kid (Anthony Taylor/Warbird Photos.com)
Rare Bear has made the trip to Texas and back for a tweaking by Nelson Ezell and his crew of warbird whisperers. A wave of their magic wand and maybe the Rare Bear will be back to her winning form? With Stewart Dawson in the seat and a hungry owner in Rod Lewis, is this their year?
The Pylon Place - August 2013
Innovations in Air Racing
By Marilyn Dash
With all the drama surrounding the transition from the old unlimited class to the new, the fans are forgetting about the other five classes of racing. I’ve decided to focus this month’s column on the other classes, the innovators and racers who we don’t hear about on the forums. Who they are and what to look for this year – but let’s start with why the fans aren’t as enamored with these classes, and why maybe they should be.
Air racing through the years was always about technical advancements – especially for civil aviation. Among the first races in the 1910s, the draw was for inventers to show their wares and develop a name for themselves through their innovation. Thousands would flock to these events to watch the historic races and see how far aviation had changed since 1903 at Kitty Hawk.
The Pylon Place - June 2013
Another Great Planes of Fame Airshow and PRS Preview
By Marilyn Dash
Five P-38 Lightnings in Formation – Amazing. (Rob “Phred” Miller)Ignoring the naysayers, Planes of Fame goes right ahead and puts on an amazing airshow – again. Nearly 40,000 people were in attendance to witness history and a terrific show.
This year, the airshow celebrated the history of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. There are only seven airworthy P-38s in the world today, and five of them were in the skies over the Chino Airport. Another P-38 on display, a photo-recon variant, made up the sixth P-38 at the show that weekend.
The formation of five was breathtaking. I don’t think we’ll ever see something like that again, sadly.
The Pylon Place - May 2013
Sequester and Airshows
By Marilyn Dash
(Photos Courtesy of Bruce Croft)We recently learned that the Blue Angels, the USAF Thunderbirds, the Golden Knights and all the military demo teams have cancelled their entire Airshow season due to the Sequester. The military will not take part in airshows in any way – not static displays, not flying, nothing. This information has sent the airshow industry back to their drawing boards to see how they can move on from here.
The military demonstration teams are an enormous draw for these events. Military teams can increase attendance by up to 30 percent while bringing many attendees from long distances which increase tourism for their cities. The draw for the communities is estimated to be a minimum of $2M in tourism, hotels, restaurants, etc.
The Pylon Place - March 2013
New Rides and Awards
By Marilyn Dash
Super Legacy Race 33 in the early morning sun. (Tim Adams)The big news in air racing this month is the re-emergence of Daryl Greenamyer’s and Andy Chiavetta’s sport class racer the Super Legacy, Race 33. This racer has known her share of troubles, but has also won it all with Daryl at the controls.
This year, Will Whiteside will be the pilot – coming off several successful years racing in the unlimited division in both Voodoo and Steadfast. Will actually started racing in the sport class many years ago in CJ Stephens’ Glasair.
What this brings to us is a pretty exciting three-way duel between 2012 winner, Jeff Lavelle; 2011 winner, John Parker; and Will Whiteside in Race 33. We know all three have a competitive spirit. This should be very exciting for Sport Class fans.
The Pylon Place - February 2013
Off Season - History
By Marilyn Dash
Looking forward to seeing the Lewis Air Force flying again soon (Tim Adams)As many of you know, I’m fascinated by aviation, history, science and the direction and sequence of how things came to be. Because of that, I have been doing a “This Day In History” or “This Day In Science” bit every day. I believe we take for granted so many things around us with little thought of how these items came to be. So, while things are slow in the aviation off-season, I thought it would be fun to share some of the “Things we’ve learned from NASA.”
The Pylon Place - January 2013
Aviation Events in 2013
By Marilyn Dash
Big things are happening this year in aviation. Before we get too far into the new year, I wanted to help you plan your vacation time. So, get out your Ruby Aviation calendar (www.cafepress.com/aviation_calendar) and a pen and let’s get started.
Reno Air Races
Reno Air Races action, where else can you see racing Mustangs. (Anthony D. Taylor/warbirdsfotos.com)Priority number one to air race fans will be the 50th Annual National Championship Air Races, which will be held Sept. 11-15, 2013. If you only make one event this year, I am pretty sure this is the one to make.
The planning has started to have many old-time racers in attendance. I will continue to include updates as plans become more solid throughout the year. But, circle this one, and consider coming for the entire week. Qualifying starts on Monday, Sept. 9, 2013.
With all the rumors floating around for the last few years about this being the final Reno, if your bucket list contains “Race at Reno,” you need to go to the Pylon Racing Seminar (PRS), aka Rookie School. This will likely be held the week of June 10. You need to attend PRS if you want to race, so in order to check off that box on your bucket list you will need to be here in June to be there in September.
I should also mention that I don’t believe the rumors; I didn’t believe the rumor about the Mayans either – and they were wrong too.
The Pylon Place - October 2012
The Return to the Races
By Marilyn Dash
We expected it to feel different, and it did. We expected it to be more difficult, and it was. But we never expected it to be so cathartic. At least I didn’t.
The week started out earlier than usual. Racers were to be on the field by noon on the Saturday before the races. This is by far the earliest we were told to be there. But we were there and we were together.
It was good to see some of the new aircraft, new paint jobs, new owners, etc. And, of course, it was good to see all the new rookies and our old friends. Lots of hugs were exchanged and stories were shared about the off-season and how most of us were absolutely certain we wouldn’t be standing there – but we were.
Before I review the races, I wanted to share a quote from Tim Cone, rookie Sport Class racer, “What do they call the pilot who places LAST in the Bronze heat of a Reno Air Race? An Air Racer!” – And he’s right! Congrats to all the racers and especially the rookies.
The Pylon Place - September 2012
Reno Air Racing Prep - 2012
By Marilyn Dash
Keeping up with the news surrounding the Reno Air Races this year has been exhausting. Racers and fans alike have so many questions, i.e., are we racing, what changes will we see, who will be there, who won’t, will the fans notice any changes? These are all good questions. I hope that I have, through this column, helped everyone understand what the process has been following the horrific event of September 16, 2011. I have tried to listen to the questions the fans have been asking and answer them here.