Sunday, September 14, 2008

Reno: Saturday, Sept 13, 2008

My apologies for not getting this out last night. I went out for dinner with family and when we got back, I was DONE! The weather here has been ideal for racing; however, I made the mistake of getting myself a bit dehydrated Friday, and I spent yesterday in slow motion recovering. I drank LOTS of water yesterday. I didn't want to make the same mistake twice. I also wore long pants. I had to save the backs of my legs! They got burned Friday. Shame on me. (Note to self - that list of "things to bring" you posted for the Indianapolis Air Show applies here too!)

The racing action yesterday was fantastic. My writing about it can't do it justice. You can find the results on the Reno Air Racing website, and there is a good summary posted out on AAFO, here. If you haven't ever been to the races and seen them in person, you are truly missing a great experience. There is an energy at Stead field that you can draw from. I believe the announcer said it well. "You gotta be here!"
I had to privilege to sit in the pit area of American Beauty and talk to Fred Cabanas (pilot) and John O'Connor (owner) about their team, their plans for the future, and their work with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. I'll be posting that interview in a separate post. Fred and John shared a lot of good information with me, and I want to do it all some justice. Also, I'd like to offer a "hat tip" to Ed, part of the crew, who took a few minutes to give a quick lesson on how to use the camera Roger loaned me to a better degree. I really appreciated the tips.

Visiting the pit areas is always enlightening. This year it was a bit sobering, too. Amidst all the activity in the Formula One pits was a memorial area for Erica Simpson.

Nemesis NXT - Jon Sharp has that plane dialed in. It sounds great and flies FAST! I was standing next to someone watching the race Friday, and I mentioned Jon's plane. He told me I'd be blown away when I saw it race. He was right!




Today, I'll be back at the National Aviation Heritage Invitational area, where they will announce the winners for this year. Below is a picture of my personal favorites from the area this year, taken Friday. I have to admit, picking a favorite is difficult there. All of those planes have had some remarkable work and TLC done to them.

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