The dates for the 2015 Pylon Racing Seminar(PRS) will be June 17-20, 2015.
The entry application has been posted! Please make sure you contact the class you plan to attend PRS in.
For more information, please look at the Rookie School Page.
Reno, Nev. – The Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) has tapped former Coca-Cola executive, Micheal (Mike) Crowell, as president and chief executive officer of the STIHL National Championship Air Races.
Throughout his established career at Coca-Cola, Crowell managed bottling facilities in the United States, Middle East and Asia. Crowell has a strong reputation as a leader in sales and marketing as well as his highly effective management of operational cost controls.
“We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Mike’s caliber step in to take the helm at the Reno Air Races,” said John Agather, chairman of the RARA board of directors. “We are looking to Mike to bring his leadership, experience and expertise in running efficient organizations to the Reno Air Races so that we can ensure this important northern Nevada event is successful for many years to come.”
Crowell has spent the last 11 years in Reno since retiring from Coca-Cola, and was previously in Reno from 1982-1987 as executive vice-president/general manager of Shoeshone Coca-Cola Bottling Co., and as vice president/branch manager of Home Federal Savings Bank of Nevada. Prior to retiring he served as president/director of Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia where he was responsible for ten bottling plants with 26 bottling lines and 142 sales centers. While there he was credited with numerous key accomplishments including 45% growth in volume.
“I spent my entire career ensuring that the organizations I worked for saw results – results in sales, results in efficient operations, results in the bottom line,” said Crowell. “I’m looking forward to putting those skills to work for an event that not only makes a huge economic impact on our community, but one that air racing fans from literally all over the world come to enjoy each year. I’m fortunate to have the help of our dedicated staff, a supportive board of directors, our sponsors and amazing volunteers in that effort.”
The 52nd Annual National Championship Air Races will be held September 16-20, 2015 at Reno Stead Airport. For more information go to: https://airrace.org
Renewal forms have gone out in the mail, to renew the seats you held in 2014. If you did not receive your form, please contact the RARA office at 775-972-6663. Tickets will go on sale to the public on March 3, 2015. You can purchase them from the Air Race website at www.airrace.org , you print them out and they are scanned at the gate, or call the RARA office at the number above. We look forward to seeing you in September!
Sept. 29, 2014 – The passion of our air race fans is truly unmatched and is reflected in the conversations that have gone on since the end of the 2014 National Championship Air Races. It’s unfortunate that the quality of racing during this year’s event has been overshadowed, for some, by the controversy surrounding the disqualification of Precious Metal in the Breitling Unlimited Gold Race. We have reviewed this issue thoroughly and fully support the decision of our contest committee, who followed the Reno Air Racing Association and FAA rules in every way. We will, however, work with our pilots and race classes to identify ways to further enforce the integrity of our event. This could include measures like adding more judges at critical points on the race course and/or looking at something like a transponder plot as a potential solution to minimizing controversy.
We at RARA are charged with strictly enforcing the race course boundaries that have been established by the FAA in order to ensure the safety of our spectators and surrounding residents. Any violation of any of those boundaries is an immediate disqualification, without grounds for appeal. This is different than a pylon cut, which is appealable. Each show line boundary is monitored by experienced members of our contest Committee positioned at carefully determined, strategic points along the line allowing them to monitor any violations. The pylons are set and monitored as the minimum standard for a competitive and fair race and they are monitored by experienced pylon judges positioned at the base of the pylon. As the pylons are primarily established for competitive balance, pylon violations can be protested. Again, since the show line is designed solely for safety, any violation of it cannot be protested.
We have seen Precious Metal’s cockpit video and it does give the appearance of a clean race. However, you cannot see the east show line in the video because it is somewhere under the center of the aircraft. The east show line is a specific line defined on the ground by a fence on the east boundary of the race course, which is also the east end of the Stead Airport boundary. RARA rules, which are in compliance with FAA guidance for air racing, state that any show line violation will result in a disqualification, which is not protestable (different than a pylon cut, which does not cause immediate danger to spectators). Undoubtedly, Precious Metal flew a good line and a good race on Sunday but, as it shows in the cockpit video, the beginning of lap two was wider than the rest of its passes. This is where the non-protestable violation was observed and the disqualification penalty was assessed.
We understand that controversy is an inherent part of sports and the STIHL National Championship Air Races is no different. The best pilots in the world travel here every year to celebrate their love for aviation and compete against each other to determine the national championship. We will continue to work with our pilots and race classes to do everything in our power to ensure fair, safe, competitive racing.
Reno, Nev. – Sunday, Sept. 14 concluded what was one of the most competitive National Championship Air Races in recent histories. Throughout the week, nearly 120 pilots, across six classes of airplanes, thrilled fans with racing that was intense and extremely close. Unfortunately, the results of Sunday’s thrilling Breitling Unlimited Gold Race have been called into question by some fans and pilots. Five-time reigning champion, Steve Hinton, won his sixth National Championship flying the P-51 Mustang “Voodoo.” Sherman Smoot and his Yak-11, “Czech Mate,” finished in second place. Unofficial race results had Thom Richard finishing in third place in the P-51 racer, “Precious Metal.” On Richard’s second lap, the Contest Committee Judge responsible for judging the East Showline ruled that Richard had crossed the showline. This is a violation of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules and regulations and, according to official race rules, results in disqualification. This led to Dennis Sanders and “Dreadnought” finishing in third place.
According to the official race rules the ruling on a showline cut is not open to appeal. The Contest Committee Judges are positioned on the showline and have a clear view of the aircraft position and flight path relative to the showline. Due to the lack of calibration and standardization in the placement of cockpit cameras, cockpit video is not normally reviewed by the Contest Committee. In this case, the Contest Committee did review the aerial cockpit video from Precious Metal and determined that it clearly shows the flight path on lap 2 to be east of all the other laps flown. RARA works very closely with all six race classes, as well as the FAA, to ensure a safe and competitive event. And, as a National Championship event and the only one of its kind in the world, RARA is committed to working with all of its race officials and the class organizations to maintain the integrity of each race result. RARA has integrated new and advanced technologies into the timing and recording of the event and is committed to work with the FAA and the appropriate race classes to evolve race rules to maintain the highest degree of objectivity and accuracy in each and every race. We very much appreciate the support and engagement from all of our loyal and dedicated race fans. It is with their help that “the world’s fastest motorsport” will continue far into the future. # # #