9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

[Reno_Steve]

Thought it would be a good idea to start a thread as the week/weekend starts to heat up! Im not able to be at the races this year. I love all the updates and insights that you all provide! Keep it up!

[wadeh]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

I just got back to the motorhome.

The crowds were bigger today. It "feels" to me, like there are more people there than the last few years. This was true Wednesday and Thursday as well.

There were lots of changes to the schedule. The original schedule had the end of day being Unlimited, Sport and then a Thunderbirds practice show. That seemed pretty strange to me, since I expect the A group of Unlimiteds to be the last thing of the day. As it turned out, it ended up that way. They ran the Sport A group well ahead of the original schedule. Then they had the Thunderbirds fly, with the Unlimiteds to close it out. It was also a long day. We got there at 7:45 am and they recovered the Unlimiteds just before 6pm.

We spent a fair amount of the day in the pits. It was the first time that I got a look at the prop on One Moment, and it is pretty cool. If you've seen the picture of the prop with the engine running that was posted here a while ago, you can see that the spinner is noticeably larger than the front of the cowl. In the pits, they had some kind of wrap black wrap around the front of the cowl that made it line up with the spinner. The thing is, it didn't look like it could stay there in flight. A friend of mine (retired maintenance for Continental and United) speculated that they might have something under it, but that's just a guess.

In terms of racing, we saw the early races, and the late races, but were out and about through mid day. We were in the pits when Jet race 2B ran. I noticed that when they were recovering the jets that the pace plane was following Race 83 on approach and landing. I never found out if there was a problem or not. The pace plane wasn't so close that it looked like a serious situation. He just followed him down.

In the STOL drags, things got a bit silly (in my opinion). I think that most of the competitive racing is done. Towards the end of their second session, a couple of the planes were showing how slow they could fly, instead of actually racing. Race 3 got a bit too slow and got squirrely. My instinct was to drop the nose and gain some airspeed, but he kept it up and slowly got the airplane flying again - but was way off course in the process. He ended up flying back west and taxied into the pits by himself.

We were all anticipating a repeat of yesterday's awesome sport A group, but were disappointed when Race 39 taxied back instead of taking off with the group. We stopped by their pits on the way out this evening to see what was up. Of all things, it turned out to be that the mic on his radio failed. They took care of the problem, but missed that heat. Maybe tomorrow...

I was chatting with someone next to me in the stands, and he relayed a funny story that he heard from yesterday's Sport 1A race. Near the end of the race, the 3 fast planes were lapping traffic. As they passed Vicky Benzing, each of them, in turn, said "Hi Vicky!" on the radio as they passed. I was paying attention today, and either Andrew Findlay or Jim Rust (I don't know which) said it again, and there was some friendly chatter after. I always like to listen to the scanner through the day so that I can hear stuff like that.

As to the result, Jim led the first half of in Race 24. Andrew made a pretty definitive pass in Race 30 about half way through and led the rest of the way. According to the announcers, the average speed was around 390. These guys are FAST.

We watched Unlimited heat 2B from the pits and Jeff LaVelle put in a nice showing. He started near the back and ended up taking second.

Unlimited heat 2A has a bit of controversy. Miss America started as a trailer, but had passed everyone but Dreadnaught after about a lap and a half. We were surprised when the announcers read the results and did not have Miss America in 2nd. On our way out, we went through the pits and stopped at the Miss America pit. They were not happy campers, and said that they didn't know what they did wrong. They are currently showing Miss America as DQ.

We also stopped at the scoring area and spoke to some folks there. One person said that he personally witnessed them cutting a pylon. The thing is, they were far enough ahead of 3rd place, that it shouldn't have affected the finish order. They also made some vague reference to him flying high, but said it would take an hour or so to sort it out.

Personally, I'm a bit annoyed by the whole thing for a couple of reasons. First off, yes, Miss America was flying high most of the race. But from my vantage, right behind the announcers, he was no higher than Andrew Findlay in his heat, or Dave Morss in his heat - and they were not called for high flying. The second reason is that, as a fan, I *hate* it when they can't make an immediate decision on stuff like this. They are really good at calling pylon cuts, but very slow at calling certain other things. If the result of the race is in question for longer than a minute or two after the last plane crosses the finish line, it takes some of the fun out of it. They really need to have a better way to handle things like this.

On the way out, we saw lots more exhibition aircraft arrive. The V22 got there. An FA18 got there. A flight of 4 F15's did a number of fly-by's before landing. The excitement is building towards the weekend. It's going to be a fun Saturday and Sunday.

One thing that I have not mentioned yet, is that there has been a fair amount of smoke in the air. The sky was light brown for much of the day. Visibility is still fine for racing, but it's not been the deep blue "airshow skies". Temperatures have been warm, but not brutally hot.

[Matt58]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

Great recap of the day, thank you! The late winds blew the smoke out; hopefully the winds won?t wreck tomorrow?s racing. There were some A-10s that arrived later as well; direct from Gowen Field in Boise, ID. One of them is painted in WW2 invasion colors?

[CubersWrist]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

We keep the flux capacitor underneath the fairing behind the spinner.

[shadow]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

Just saw that too Matt58. Forecast 20+ mph winds starting at 11am tomorrow and lasting for several hours. Usually winds pick up through the day so only the last race or two are cancelled. Will be interesting to see how the winds change things for tomorrow's racing.

[GRNDP51]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

Just saw that too Matt58. Forecast 20+ mph winds starting at 11am tomorrow and lasting for several hours. Usually winds pick up through the day so only the last race or two are cancelled. Will be interesting to see how the winds change things for tomorrow's racing.

I went back and looked at the rules again and it says max wind for Sport and Unlimited is 35 kts, crosswind for sport is max 20 kts. Wind looks like it’s supposed to be mostly to the east slightly north so I’m hoping a lineup on 26 won’t be a crosswind. The sport gold is going to be an amazing race today with Jeff in 7th and Kevin in 4th. Would be awesome to have that race today so everything lines up as it should for Sunday with them 1-4 slots. Unlimited should be fine with the wind, just sad it’s going to be a repeat of yesterday with Doc’s DQ

[wadeh]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

We keep the flux capacitor underneath the fairing behind the spinner.

Well, whatever you are doing, keep doing it. It's working!

[wadeh]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

Just saw that too Matt58. Forecast 20+ mph winds starting at 11am tomorrow and lasting for several hours. Usually winds pick up through the day so only the last race or two are cancelled. Will be interesting to see how the winds change things for tomorrow's racing.

It was pretty windy most of the night, so I'm a bit concerned about the morning activities, although it seems pretty calm right now.

[Matt58]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

Slept with the windows of the trailer open last night and the winds died down around 0300. It?s calm right now. The 0630 jet takeoff was a pretty sweet alarm clock!

[Air Boss]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

Just a couple quick notes before it's time for me to start hearding Alpha Male Cats again:

The schedule swaps and changes are inevitable...always have been. This is a very complex event with thousands of moving parts. And what seems to be a relatively minor change can have unintended consequences downstream.

I requested that the Tbirds be last or next to last in the event on at least one or two days. Reason being, they are the premier non-racing event and should close the show...not to mention having them last or next to last means more beer and swag sales for RARA and our vendors. While it's not as pronounced here as other shows I work, there is an exodus after a jet team concludes their performance. Just is...

Regarding cuts, timing and scoring. I agree the pylons do a very nice job of getting their cuts called into scoring. The delay, at least to some degree, pertains to Contest Committee polling and discussing high/low flying and showline busts. I can take a few minutes to resolve. Is there a better way...perhaps. And I know Contest is working on doing just that.

Let's not forget...you know how they say you can fit the Taj Mahal, White House, Rose Bowl, Kentucky Derby and several other event sites inside the Indy 500 race track. Guess is, you can fit that many Indy 500 race tracks inside the Reno Outer Course...and then some. That alone presents some operational and logistical nightmares.

Regarding timing, age old attage. Only so many hours in the day. If we're going to pull of 15-17 races a day and put up 6-8 performers (a few of whom represent a significant boost to the gate), it's going to be a long day. Believe me, folks in RARA are very aware of the impact it has on both fans and staff.

If you're here...hope you enjoy the weekend! If you weren't able to make it, hope the folks who contribute here keep you up to speed. Know the live streaming is up as well.

Here We Go....

[shadow]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

Thanks GRNDP51 for the research and thanks AirBoss for work on the air races!

[Fence Sence]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

Jet Race 83 could not get the flaps extended. High speed landing. Heard him say on the radio he was going to need the whole runway. Not that surprised with issues popping up with all the hairball racing crap going on with those guys.

Funny to hear the sport guys say hi to Vicky as they pass.

Winds are going to suck today. Not sure how it?s going to play out but, prepare for the worst.

I have really crappy signal out there so posting updates is nearly impossible. Sorry for the lack of updates from my end. I?m relegated to quick blurbs in the morning before I head out.

[Fence Sence]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

I hate to say it but, my Instagram page has a bunch of vids from the VOS. I?m all iPhone so pics are mostly pointless. @nowayknowhow

[wadeh]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

Thanks for the post!

I?m on my phone, so can?t make a long response.

I completely understand the schedule logistics and the importance of the T Birds. I have no issues with the schedule changes. I was actually OK with the T Birds last because it would have shortened my day a bit. I do enjoy them, but have seen their show more times than I can remember. Especially on a long day, I leave my seat during their show to find some shade.

Regarding judging, I fully respect that their word needs to be final, and I don?t expect that I will agree with every call. That?s racing. My biggest complaint is that I would like them to be quicker on making the call. I would also appreciate it if the announcers could keep us more informed. Even now, there has been no announcements regarding yesterday?s finish.

Has there been any thought of including the reasons for any DQ on reports.airrace.org? For example could it say ?DQ - High Flying?, or ?DQ - Dead Line??, or ?DQ - Timing Error?, instead of just ?DQ??

That said, you guys do an AMAZING job of making this event happen. I can?t express how much I appreciate everyone?s efforts.

[Donald McMullin]

Re: 9-17-21 Day 3 Updates!

Any one know why Miss America was DQ