A new documentary will give viewers an up-close, 3D look at the Reno Air Races, taking audiences both into the depths of the event’s 48-year history as well as into the cockpit as some of today’s top pilots vie to be the world’s fastest.
The film, titled Air Races 3D and narrated by Fast and Furious star Paul Walker, follows rookie pilot Steve Hinton Jr., son of renowned air racer Steve Hinton Sr., as he pushes his highly modified P-51 Strega to speeds greater than 500 mph at altitudes of less than 100 feet.
The film was shot during the Reno Air Races in 2009, the year then 22-year-old Hinton became the youngest winner of the unlimited class, as well as during the Reno races of 2010. According to 3D Entertainment, the company behind the film, the documentary was put together with aerial photography filmed entirely in 3D and obtained through unprecedented access to the Reno racing course. The documentary is slated to hit theaters in April.
As for the real Reno Air Races, a date for a 2012 event has been scheduled and tickets are set to go on sale online March 1. Whether or not the event will undergo significant changes this year due to the deadly P-51 crash at Reno last September, is still unknown. At a recent hearing on air racing and air show safety held by the NTSB, however, officials suggested they would not make sweeping changes to current safety regulations in the wake of the recent tragedy.
View the trailer for the new Air Races 3D film below.
