Jets Over Reno 2007
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by Erooster
On the east end of the ramp, away from the hustle of the pits, sit the fastest competitors of the Air Racing community. A hot section of blacktop stained with the red of flame retardant. An unlikely spot to find race planes, sandwiched between the high desert and the static aircraft.
Depending upon whom you talk to at the races, there are differing opinions as to why this is the case. According to one source, the Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) believed that the Jet Class would not be racing in 2007, so they sold the pits space to sponsors instead. But according to pilots within the class, there is another story.
According to Joe Gano of Race #77, the L-29 Viper, the reason for being at the far end of the ramp was due to the fact that there wasn’t enough space planned for the number of aircraft.
"We would have had to split the group. Half would have been in the pits and the rest up here. We would rather be together."
The Jet Class had eleven L-39 Albatros aircraft entered into the races last year. This year, the field was expanded to 17 aircraft with a larger variety of aircraft included. With the basic rules being that planes have no more than 15 degree wing sweep and no afterburners. A total of 21 aircraft can now be flown in the class, five seen this year. These aircraft included the L-39 Albatros, the L-29 Delfin, the T-2 Buckeye, the T-33 Shooting Star, and the CM-130 Magister. However, the CM-130 was not able to participate this year, as it was not race ready for time trials.
Race #51, the T-33 Specline Special, set the pace in qualifying with a speed of 525.083 mph. This qualifying speed was one of the fastest seen in the races. The class posted three others above the magical 500 mph mark. Following the T-33 were Race #77 Viper at 517.071 mph, Race #00 Buckeye at 507.182 mph, and Race #4 Dino Juice at 504.108 mph.
Early on it the racing week, the Jet Class saw some of the best racing among all of the classes. That was the case until Thursday Sept. 13, the day that the racing community lost Brad Morehouse and Race #4 to one of the worst racing accidents that has been seen in Reno. Morehouse was a former AMA Motorcycle racer and late model NASCAR driver. Brad’s background was in general aviation with no military experience. He became the 17 th death in the races 44-year history.
From then on, all pilots and race crew wore black ribbons to remember Brad. And the "nose to tail" racing seemed to diminish.
Speculation over the incident was sparse, but some claimed that a contributing factor to the crash was due to the section of vertical stabilizer that was removed from the aircraft. While most of the racers modified the wing tips to reduce drag, Dino Juice was the only aircraft to modify something other than the wing tips.
After the closing of racing on Friday, due to another crash involving the International Formula One Class, and the racing on Saturday, the final silver and gold races were set up for Sunday.
Renoairboss, Rick Vandam in Race #10 Scarletta Ramera, took first in the Silver Race of the Jet Class. He led the pack with a speed of 470.535 mph, in the 6-lap race of 50.2908 miles. The field followed with Race #25 Violated posting second at 444.505 mph, Race #104 at 441.003 mph, Race #24 at 407.480 mph, Race #9 Eddie Bird at 402.795 mph, Race #3 Beach Ball at 402.094 mph, with Race #20 Gringo Bandito and Race #68 Stress Relief posting no times.
The Gold Race at Reno was a bit more exciting. But in the end, Dr. Rich Sugden took his Race #00 Buckeye to the gold win with a final race speed of 489.454 mph. Following the “Doc” were Race #4 Pip Squeak at 486.261 mph, Race #51 Specline Special at 477.453 mph, Race #8 at 470.691, Race #77 Viper, and Race #5 American Spirit rounding out the field.
All people in the class and across the racing community feel that the Jet Class is the future of racing in Reno, especially with the aging T-6s and Unlimiteds becoming harder and harder to fix and to find parts. Plus, the Jet Class is relatively cheaper to purchase and maintain in relation to their older cousins.
Joe Gano believes that the Jet Class will become more like that of NASCAR, in that there will be team owners, "hired gun" pilots and named sponsors. Pilots like that of Race #20, Trevor "Twiggs" Schaefer, David "Cujo" Macaluso in Race #9, and Pete "Witch-Doctor" Zaccognino in Race #24.
Corporate sponsorship will be a key component in the future. Teams this year posted a $20,000 entrance fee, with no prizes awarded by RARA. Gringo Bandito Hot Sauce and other key sponsors made up most of the prize money for the event.
