Last Reno... Just released this morning.

[GRNDP51]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

So, serious question: Since it will no longer be in Reno, will the governing body of "RARA- Reno Air Race Association" still exist? Is it to be re-organized with a new name? Where will it's headquaters be located? Will it stick to one race a year, or a series of races at various locations by class nationwide? Seems like this is a chance to reach a larger audience worldwide.

Perhaps a re-organization, search for angel investors/ business loans/ etc and a modern business plan/ marketing plan could move Air Racing forward into the future.

I've seen NARA (National Air Racing Association) used a few times. I would assume this would be the new entity name.

[N22252]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

I've seen NARA (National Air Racing Association) used a few times. I would assume this would be the new entity name.

I'd be for keeping the RARA name the same as Reno is pretty much the brand of pylon racing we all love. (Red Bull was a different brand of something)

Assuming there is a place somewhere to have future "Reno Style" races, I suggest we informally rename it for fun and familiarity. In keeping with the early American colonial tradition, you'd take the name of the place you came from and put "New" ahead of it. Thus wherever that event happens, it'll be "New Reno"

Now... Where is New Reno?

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

Perhaps its time to think bigger. Not National Championship Air Races, but World Air Racing Championships. There are international competitors who come from all over the world, perhaps its time to go big, that way international sponsors might be interested in a World championship rather than a National Championship held in a country far from where they are based. "World Champion" has a better ring than just "National Champion" We have people from Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand who come to race, so lets honor the fact that they do.

Now that we are faced with a full reboot, then lets reboot to a world level rather than a national level. At a world championship level, it invites people from outside the US, to both compete and promote the sport.

On a more personal level, the news of this happening really hurts on so many levels. The friendships I have formed, the experiences that I have had, and the pictures I have taken are irreplaceable. The loss of the potential for further experiences, friendships and of course the photography just cuts all the way to the core. On top of that, I've always had a dream of racing at Reno, although I don't have a pilots license yet (still trying to figure out how to make that happen, but it might not be that far out of reach.) Now that is gone, vanished into what could have been. Living vicariously through my camera lens for the past 13 years has simply fueled that desire to actually be the person at the stick. Perhaps that is why I've tried to capture Reno the way I have. Instead of simply documenting the event, I've wanted to convey the emotion, the excitement, and often, simply the beauty of that moment in time (Sunsets and sunrises especially). I think this is what I'm going to miss the most. Its something that I've only been able to really capture well at Reno. Airshows, while similar do not allow for specific photo shoots to happen on the ramp be it sunrise or sunset. Throw in the intensity of competition, where you can capture pilots looking over their shoulders to see where the other guy is, while trying not to cut a pylon; that makes for a special experience, and one I wish every fan could experience first hand. The history is also so rich, and having the privilege to take part in it, and capture it, is so very special to me. I'm so very sad that this has come to an end.

Will

[Bigger Al]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

Well put Will.

I'm still trying to figure out how I want to publicly express my feelings about this announcement.

This much is certain: Mid-September, 2024 will find me hanging out at Stead, fond memories for company, and the sounds of air racing echoing through the halls of my mind.

[V1670]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

On a more personal level, the news of this happening really hurts on so many levels. The friendships I have formed, the experiences that I have had, and the pictures I have taken are irreplaceable. The loss of the potential for further experiences, friendships and of course the photography just cuts all the way to the core. On top of that, I've always had a dream of racing at Reno, although I don't have a pilots license yet (still trying to figure out how to make that happen, but it might not be that far out of reach.) Now that is gone, vanished into what could have been. Living vicariously through my camera lens for the past 13 years has simply fueled that desire to actually be the person at the stick. Perhaps that is why I've tried to capture Reno the way I have. Instead of simply documenting the event, I've wanted to convey the emotion, the excitement, and often, simply the beauty of that moment in time (Sunsets and sunrises especially). I think this is what I'm going to miss the most. Its something that I've only been able to really capture well at Reno. Airshows, while similar do not allow for specific photo shoots to happen on the ramp be it sunrise or sunset. Throw in the intensity of competition, where you can capture pilots looking over their shoulders to see where the other guy is, while trying not to cut a pylon; that makes for a special experience, and one I wish every fan could experience first hand. The history is also so rich, and having the privilege to take part in it, and capture it, is so very special to me. I'm so very sad that this has come to an end.

Will

Well said. Been going for 50 years and it's the friendships, the associations, the ramp-rats, the "Brotherhood of the Prop Wash" that are the bonding agent. We've seen sun, rain, snow, wind, cold, heat and smoke. We've all shared in the joy of a new record, a win, a new airplane. And we've had our share of heartaches too. The quiet time, early morning or late afternoon...after the crowds have thinned..and the "Brotherhood" gathers in the pits to talk of the days activities: THOSE times, to me, are the cherished memories.

Hope the sport continues......but it was the Races at Stead that were special.

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.








A small sample of what I will miss.

Will

[N22252]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

Beautiful, Will! What year was the 23 Skidoo shot?

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

Beautiful, Will! What year was the 23 Skidoo shot?

2017, the same as the Sawbones shot.

I can't tell you how much I will miss these opportunities. Reno has just the right combination of clouds, light, background, and when it all comes together, its magical. Its something I've never been able to find elsewhere. I've shot some pretty good stuff at Oshkosh, but NONE of it compares with what I have shot at Reno. There is just something about shooting at Reno that I fear cannot be duplicated anywhere else.

These are all from 2017. What an amazing year it was to shoot Reno. 2017 was the first year I managed to get a photo shoot, and what was better was that Shany Irish was the one plane that everyone wanted to get out on the ramp, but I was the lucky person to make it happen. The following year I got the Full Noise shoot with the most amazing sunset ever. 2019 Vicky allowed us to shoot Miss Van Nuys. 2021, we had nothing until I went to say hi to Andy Findley, and he was down to pull the plane out for what turned out to be the best ramp shoot of the year. Last year I had verbal green lights for 5 different shoots. I thought it was going to be epic, however the smoke didn't want cooperate. That and several other things unrelated came up and I could only get Rushin Thunder out on the ramp, with less than ideal light. (Thanks Mike, if you read this.)









I guess I'm going to have to make PRS and the races count this year, because there won't be another chance. This realization more than anything else, makes me sad. I guess its kinda like watching someone you care deeply about walk out the door, knowing you will never see them ever again, and you can't follow them.

Will

[wingman]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

Wonderful photographs all, Will. You are really good at this -- both the seeing and the arranging.

I went through the separation trauma ten years ago, when the event grew away from me. It's hard to imagine a world without Reno, though. This has been expected since I started going in the 1970s, but that doen't make it any easier.

The longevity of the event is remarkable, though. The "Golden age of air racing" lasted a decade or so. The legendary postwar Cleveland races lasted 4 years. Reno will have lasted almost 60 years. That in this modern era of constant change in everything around us, and of Commerce ruling all, is quite a remarkable achievement.

This sure will leave a big hole in a lot of people's Septembers, though.

Neal

[John H]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

The problem is that wherever you have them, you really need local casino hotel support.

....

Yes this is only 44 min from the Reno casinos . Not bad . Wendover has a total of 9 ho/motels. Vegas has no suitable places . Nellis isn't going to shut down for a week. There's the Jean airport but it has one runway.

[ArmyMP]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

Got to go in 2010. Never will forget. Never had any skin in the game or met any of you. But all of you are wise and wonderful folks with knowledge and history.

My humble thought is this. The sport will never die. The locations will. The past few years have been wrought with incident after incident. This year, nationwide was no exception. I have seen more in the news in the recent past than I can remember. Sucks. With that, I believe the municipalities have taken a stance on self-preservation. Not only on image and fear of stigma, but for safety. We all know safety is a culture. But I know if it is designed by man, it is destined.to fail. We can check and check and mitigate and all that. Still, things and even people fail.

I have seen many organizations with this "Path to Zero" safety stance. Zero, to me means there is nothing, something is non-existent or everything is GONE. I have seen people lose a job over simple things, and it was an honest accident and NO injury or damage to equipment. See where I'm going with this?

With encroachment and steady migration into the center of the country, the masses needs and insistence on this and that will, without a doubt, shape the future for municipal leaders in regards to safety and monetary stability. I believe we are in the midst of a massive and runaway paradigm shift of epic proportions.

With national attention on rail, aviation and the like, the masses are looking at moving away from or regulating these modes into extinction. This seems to be a near term goal without no regards to the long term outcomes and implications. Thought process and input be damned, "Must happen NOW!" takes precedence over reason.

Money, self-preservation, and a safety culture of "Path to Zero", will change alot in the near future.

I hope I am wrong.

Until then, there are plenty of memories, videos and airshows (for now$).

LOCKHEED BOB. If you think about it, all the questions of you writing the Chronicles of Air Racing, was not in hunor, it has been preordained and your destiny.

[supercub]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

What about Minden Airport. It's close enough to Reno, that it could still be called the Reno Air Races. RARA could keep it's name too. Minden appears to have the need runways and ramp area..........plus lots of open areas for the race courses. Just looking at Google Earth, looks like auto parking might tight, but I'm sure something could be worked out there. Just a thought.

[tmcmonigal]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

What about Kingman AZ?

Laughlin hotels and casinos not too far away.

[John H]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

What about Minden Airport. It's close enough to Reno, that it could still be called the Reno Air Races. RARA could keep it's name too. Minden appears to have the need runways and ramp area..........plus lots of open areas for the race courses. Just looking at Google Earth, looks like auto parking might tight, but I'm sure something could be worked out there. Just a thought.

That’s what I’m saying. Looks like plenty of dirt fields to park cars. I?m not seeing anything else possible on the west coast that isn?t in middle of nowhere or seems good but not enough hotels -Wendover. From here it will have to go somewhere else. Sherman is still empty on the race course and they would have to shut down highway 289.

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Last Reno... Just released this morning.

That?s what I?m saying. Looks like plenty of dirt fields to park cars. I?m not seeing anything else possible on the west coast that isn?t in middle of nowhere or seems good but not enough hotels -Wendover. From here it will have to go somewhere else. Sherman is still empty on the race course and they would have to shut down highway 289.

The issue with Minden is, you can't build an unlimited or Sport Gold course there. There isn't room. Slow sports, T6, Bipes, and IF1? You bet. Things that actually go fast need more real estate. Is it better than nothing? Yeah I guess, but its the Unlimiteds and Sport Gold that brings people in.

Will