November 2014-
The Reno Air Races,
“The World’s Fastest Motorsport,”
just completed its 51st year of racing.
The National Championship Air Races and Air Show Presented by Breitling, better known as The Reno Air Races, took place in the high desert at Reno Stead Airport (KRTS) on Sept. 10–14, 2014.
Over 200,000 spectators witnessed “the world’s fastest motorsport” with aircraft making left turns only several hundred feet above the ground. The sound is like deafening thunder and the imagery is spectacular.
But Reno had been struggling as of late. After the 2011 tragedy when Jimmy Leeward’s P-51 crashed into the grandstand, killing Leeward and 10 spectators, a Flying magazine article titled “Do the Reno Air Races Have a Future?” exposed several ongoing issues with the event. Among the difficulties plaguing Reno were skyrocketing insurance costs, a reduced number of Unlimited race participants and spotty attendance.
To meet these challenges, the Reno Air Racing Association revamped its organizational structure, revised its bylaws in order to operate more effectively and efficiently, adopted procedural and race course layout changes and secured the required insurance at a significantly lower cost than previous years. Today, the races seem to be thriving.
Racing classes
For the uninitiated, the races include six classes of aircraft: the Biplane Class, Formula One Class, Sport Class, T-6 Class, Jet Class and the “bad boys of air racing” in the Unlimited Class. The latter features scratch-built aircraft and World War II fighters reaching speeds close to 500 mph and competing for a share of $1 million in prize money.
Last September’s event was the first time the FAA also allowed a Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) competition to be held. The challenge featured an obstacle course, time trial and a dead lift, and it tested competitors and their vehicles’ speed, agility and strength.
Airshow
Several performers showed off their skills overhead. Teams included the USAF F-22 Demo Team and the Heritage Flight demonstration team. The world’s largest civilian-owned aerobatic jet performance team, the Patriots Jet Team, brought its six L-39s to Reno, too. What all of these pilots can do with an airplane is mesmerizing.
Other airshow entertainment included top female aerobat Melissa Pemberton in her Edge 540 with her flying wingsuit husband, Rex Pemberton; Breitling stunt pilot and World Aerobatic Champion David Martin; and U.S. National Aerobatic Champion Jeff Boerboon in his Jet Waco biplane Screamin’ Sasquatch. All captivated the crowds.
Several hundred vendors hawked their wares. The smorgasbord included everything from food and drink to aviation-related souvenirs, memorabilia, equipment and avionics. Someone even tried to sell me a restored 1952 Yakovlev Yak!
NAHI
Camped on the east end of the airport was The National Aviation Heritage Invitational (NAHI). For 16 years, aircraft owners have brought their expertly restored and historically accurate aircraft to Reno to compete in four categories including the Grand Champion Rolls-Royce Neil A. Armstrong Aviation Heritage Trophy.
This year’s winner, NS14137, was lovingly brought back to life by Dave and Jeanne Allen. The Allens’ 1934 Waco YKC was originally delivered to the State of Ohio Bureau of Aeronautics; its exterior is painted a gorgeous teal while the interior is full of shimmering wood.
The big race: Unlimited gold
One of this year’s race highlights was the anticipation of defending champion, Voodoo (tail number five), repeating as the winner of the Unlimited category. The tricked-out P-51 Mustang is named for the Jimi Hendrix song “Voodoo Chile,” owned by Bob Button and piloted by Steve Hinton, Jr.
In 2013, Hinton flew the bright purple P-51D-25NA Mustang just over 482 mph to beat his former team and 11-time champion Strega (“witch” in Italian) by seven seconds.
This year, the “kid” Hinton again challenged Strega (tail number seven), and its pilot/owner, seven-time racing champion and legend Bill “Tiger” Destefani, along with Rare Bear (tail number 77), a Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat piloted by Stewart Dawson.
The Unlimited gold races delivered all the promised excitement. Saturday’s position race was a photo finish with Hinton edging out Destefani by the length of a prop blade. Unfortunately, Destefani and Strega had double trouble: Tiger burned out Strega’s race engine and was disqualified for not maintaining course altitude trying to catch Voodoo.
The master’s tricks weren’t enough to show up the apprentice. In Sunday’s championship race—without number seven—Voodoo started at the pole position and never lost the lead.
Sherman Smoot in Czech Mate, a Yakovlev Yak-11 (tail number 86), tried to be a giant killer, but once again Hinton took the gold and blew away the field at an average 462.926 mph. Take that, NASCAR!
Dining options
Grand Sierra Resort
After snacking with the vendors on-site during the day, head into town when evening hunger strikes. One of the more popular spots is the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino (formerly the Reno Hilton) which includes a number of fine dining and casual eating establishments along with several bars and nightclubs.
The original Reno Hilton housed the Pylon Bar, an infamous gathering place for racers and spectators alike. Sadly, in 2007, the full-sized racing planes that were suspended from the ceiling and all of the air racing memorabilia that were on loan to the bar were returned to their original owners and it closed.
Now, celebrity chef Charlie Palmer has a steak house and a modern Italian restaurant at the resort. Both are dripping with haute cuisine, but like many other resort casino restaurants, quantity can win out over quality and value.
Atlantis Steakhouse and Bistro Napa
The other major entertainment complex in town is Atlantis Casino, Resort and Spa featuring the AAA Four Diamond Atlantis Steakhouse and Bistro Napa. Both the steak house and bistro feature regular menus priced for those with a four-diamond-level budget.
I suggest you stop by the bistro any day between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. instead to graze on half-off small plates, wood-fired flatbreads, wines and specialty cocktails. The Social Hour menu includes several winners, like wood-fired baby artichokes with Meyer lemon aioli and wild boar spring rolls with a Thai chili and Dijon mustard-orange marmalade.
A selection of oysters on the half shell was pristine and the perfect foil for a split of Domaine Chardon, Brut Napa Valley sparkling wine or a chilled martini (gin, please) with blue cheese-stuffed olives.
4th St. Bistro
Down the block, Chef Natalie Sellers and general manager/partner Carol Wilson have refurbished a quaint little house into a restaurant with a very California Mediterranean and feminine feel. Their 4th St. Bistro has a sustainable and local mindset, and inside French poster art, flowers and fire are everywhere.
Once you get past the name of every ranch and farm listed on almost every item on the menu, you’ll find a base of solid cooking technique and general flavor balance.
Pork belly confit, an arugula, nectarine and almond salad and the roast breast of duck with braised kale, fingerling potatoes and port-poached cherries were good examples of Chef Sellers’ skills—enticing, composed and tasty.
Ms. Wilson’s hand can been seen in the well-rounded and excellent wine list and a wonderful house-made limoncello. Be aware that the food can be a bit heavy, even if cooked with love.
Old Granite Street Eatery
For a more modest experience, hang at the worn-wood bar at the Old Granite Street Eatery. Thanks to Ryan Gold and his partners, the former Heart of Reno Wedding Chapel now offers cozy dining and reasonably priced comfort food—with a capital “C.”
The snacks section of the menu, containing farm-fresh deviled eggs, sweet bacon chips and house-made pickled vegetables, begs for a pint of any one of the craft beers on tap. The combination is consoling and refreshing.
The Andouille and smoked bratwurst plate with braised cabbage, apple and mustards; the linguine Alfredo with rapini, sun-dried tomato and spinach; along with the wood grilled ranch steak with root vegetable hash and onion jam are refined and without pretension.
I was able to convince the kitchen to serve up their house-made corned beef with Swiss cheese on rye with crispy shoestring potatoes from the lunch menu. (This sandwich is too good to not serve all day long.)
I agree with food journalist John Mariani when he said in an Aug. 19, 2012 Virtual Gourmet article on Reno, “If I lived there, I’d be a regular.”
Races will continue
So were the 51st Reno Air Races a success? Yes, especially if you ask Robert Lewis and his orange-shirted friends in Section Three. (Robert “Bob” Lewis is the unofficial leader—and a founder—of Section Three of the grandstands. The group has grown from just 13 back in the mid-1980s to now include hundreds of zealous fans who wear orange shirts and don’t take themselves too seriously. —Ed.)
But there were incidents. On Monday, former Sport Class champion and longtime air race pilot Lee Behel, flying Sweet Dreams, an experimental Osprey GP-5, was involved in a fatal accident during a qualifying heat. Mark Allen of Live Airshow TV said of Lee, “We mourn his loss, we salute his vision, we honor his legacy and we race in his memory.”
Despite everything, altitude was traded for airspeed, density altitude was respected and kids and veterans alike were enthralled. “Fly low, fly fast, turn left” is the mantra. As Marilyn Dash of Ruby Red Racing wrote about the race in her blog “The Pylon Place,” the Reno Air Races are “the best-kept secret in motorsports—which is not a compliment. It’s a travesty.”
Chef Stuart Stein is a graduate of the University of Illinois Business School and the culinary arts program at Chicago’s Kendall College. He has worked in France and the all over the United States as a cook, executive chef, culinary instructor and restaurateur. Stein is the author of the book “The Sustainable Kitchen: Passionate Cooking Inspired by Farms, Forests, and Oceans” (New Society Publishers) and has written for countless culinary and aviation publications. Stein is also an instrument rated private pilot. Send questions or comments to editor@www.piperflyer.com.
Resources
Airport information
Reno Stead Airport (KRTS)
Elevation: 5,050 feet
Sectional chart: San Francisco
ARTCC: Oakland Center
FSS: Reno Flight Service Station
Pattern altitude: 5,850 feet MSL
Runway: 14/32 – 9,000 x 150 feet
8/26 – 7,608 x 150 feet
CTAF / UNICOM: 122.7
WX ASOS-A: 135.175
Phone 775-677-0589
renoairport.com/reno-stead
Racing schedules, results
and video highlights
National Championship Air Races
airrace.org
National Aviation Heritage Invitational
heritagetrophy.com
51st Reno National
Championship Air Races
LiveAirShowTV.com
Dining
Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
grandsierraresort.com
Atlantis Casino, Resort and Spa
atlantiscasino.com
4th St. Bistro
4thstbistro.com
Old Granite Street Eatery
oldgranitestreeteatery.com
Accommodations and attractions
Reno-Sparks Convention
and Visitors Authority
visitrenotahoe.com
