After having experienced the Reno Air Races once in 2003, I was thrilled to return to the show this year. The weather forecast for the races looked good and the lineup of race airplanes was as exciting as ever. I took off IFR into a 1,200-foot ceiling on Thursday morning in a 172RG that I rented from the local flight school at Santa Monica Airport. It was great getting some actual time, but the clouds were not thick and I continued my flight into smooth clear skies, enjoying the views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I managed to fly right over Yosemite, and from my initial perspective of the park, Half Dome reminded me of the back of a bald man’s head. I had never seen the famous feature from that perspective, and it made me giggle to myself. I continued over the southeast edge of Lake Tahoe and arrived in Reno a little after noon. Nothing could have prepared me for what happened the next day.
Friday, Sept. 16, 2011, started out great. Clear skies and light winds made for perfect race weather. I had an opportunity to sit in September Fury – a Hawker Sea Fury piloted by Hoot Gibson, and Gibson thoroughly explained several of the modifications that make this Unlimited race airplane go at speeds as high as 500 mph. Unfortunately Gibson had blown his engine the day before and was out of the race, but thankfully he landed the Sea Fury without incident.
