Over 50 years ago, the first plane went up in the Nevada desert to kick off what would become the STIHL National Championship Air Races and a legacy was born. In the time since, it has imbued a true legacy of aviation history, heritage and preservation, an incredible annual display of daring, imagination and wonder, leaving breathless fans a wealth of memories made, traditions formed and legends created one amazing race at a time. Engines roaring. Crowds cheering. Hearts pounding. Eight planes racing wing-tip to wing-tip, 50 feet above the ground at speeds up to more than 500 mph. This is the fastest motorsport on Earth - a one-of-a-kind thrill you have to see, hear and feel to believe. This is classic, cool and contemporary all rolled into one. This is life at 500 miles per hour. This is the National Championship Air Races. The 2023 National Championship Air Races were held September 13-17, 2023.
If there was some of old RAF de- Havilland honests still around they would give them a run for their money. The things were fast i can just imagine if they were given modern day modifications.
This is the most relatable segment of airplane racing to me. Interesting timing that I just read the Kitplanes feature about Justin Meaders, then see him win this one. Also always good to see an Arnold design being competitive, as in the hands of Mr Senegal here.
Make no mistake: these aren't really attainable for most at this level. If you saw the list of 20~100 names on each airplane... Along with a dozen sponsors... The O-200 is said to only survive 2-20 hours of this abuse. Often spinning bearings, smoking $4,500 crankshafts, blowing holes thru $5000 cases, not to mention wearing out $2,000 worth of jugs regularly. They claim to be limited in mods, but the rules show you must use custom forged pistons and all sorts of tricks like specific bore-over and offset-grinds to attain maximum benefit. Its not a stock engine, literally everything can be modified if you read the rules. An engine probably costs $15,000-$30,000 to do right, and lasts maybe 1-10% of its normal TBO. You are blowing $2k-15k PER HOUR of operation plus travel and lodging for 4-6 person crew. This year was a good time until the last day. Other than many famous airplanes were not at Reno unfortunately. What IF1 needs going forward, to make it truly "International" and also an "Everymans" air race, is to use bone stock Rotax 912iS/iS Sport engines as-supplied from the factory. No tunes. Stock muffler. Rpm limiter, 130mm prop extension limits, etc. This would almost eliminate blown engines, and make the competition about the aircraft, aerodynamics, design, and piloting instead of old-school ford flathead 1932 hot rodding and blowing engines left and right in airplanes that stall/spin around 65-70kts... they also need red bull pylons instead of (get this) TELEPHONE POLES with STEEL BARRELS around the tops... Like WTF? Who would buzz a line of telephone poles at 250mph and attempt to get as close as possible in a 70-degree banked turn at 50' above the ground? With other planes under/beside in your blind spot so the only way out is thru a 1-ton pole or terra firma? That's dangerous and stupid, imo.
Wish I could get excited for this event. Just a bunch of rich dudes who will probably wreck those planes. It’s like watching a a group of trust fund kids play keep away with a Rolex Daytona.
Well, you don't expect poor people to be flying race planes, do you? General aviation is not a poor man's undertaking, let alone building and fielding old warplanes!
