UAV/UAS Certification FREE for military, first responders, high school students and educators
Global Robot and Drone Deployment (GRADD), the Nevada Business Aviation Association (NVBAA) and Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) have been partners for the successful GRADD-NVBAA STEM Discovery Zone at the STIHL National Championship Air Races since 2015. In addition to their work in STEM education, did you know that NVBAA offers FAA Part 107 Pilot Training? In fact, the training if FREE if you fall into one of these categories:
Military veterans and their families,
Public safety officers, and
High school educators / high school students
The world of UAV/UAS is expanding exponentially every day, and there is a tremendous need for qualified operators. There is no better time to get your FAA Part 107 certification and join this amazing world! NVBAA’s summer LIVE 9-week instructor-led webinar training series begins July 2nd. Fun and informative, this is a series that will fully prepare you for your Part 107 written exam. A 31 question interactive quiz is even included at the conclusion of each Saturday’s training calls to review the content of the day. Attend NVBAA’s weekly training calls, complete their online course and you’re guaranteed to pass the FAA Part 107 Exam! Here is what you’ll learn during the series:
Schedule of Events
July 2 – FAA 14 CFR Part 107 Rules & Regulations
July 9 – National Airspace System (NAS) & Aeronautical Charts
July 9 – Workshop – Demystifying Aeronautical Charts (starts immediately after the regular Part 107 training session)
July 16 – Aviation Weather Sources
July 23 – Loading and Performance
July 30 – Crew Resource Management
August 6 – Airport and Field Operations
August 13 – Radio Communication and Emergency Procedures
August 20 – Pre-flight, FAA Authorizations and Waiver Requests
August 20 – Workshop – How to Make Money, Get Gigs & Full-time Jobs as a Part 107 Pilot (starts immediately after the regular Part 107 training session)
August 27 – FAA New Rules -Final Kahoot Competition / May-June Kahoot Winner Announcement
Don’t wait – click the links below to sign up for one of the best FAA Part 107 training programs in the business:
Reno Air Racing Association Launches $100k Fundraiser for Scholarships
The Reno Air Racing Association’s (RARA) 2022 Flight Training Scholarship recipients are all in training, and the program is going fantastic! We’re pleased to report that all ten students have begin their training and several even expect to be complete by the time the STIHL National Championship Air Races come around on September 14th, 2022. So, it’s time to start getting the program fueled up for the next round! This year, RARA is pleased to announce that we will be once again offering flight training scholarships, and that we will also be adding Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic scholarships!
Our vision is to Establish the National Championship Air Races as a pinnacle of inspiration, education, and exhilaration for people of all ages. To further this vision we are taking on the mission to raise $100,000 for our scholarship program, and we need your help to get there! Please consider a donation today – any amount will help, and you will help us in our Racing for the Future campaign to get as many young people engaged as possible, using the excitement of the Reno Air Races as the inspiration to explore the many valuable careers in aviation.
Contributions are tax-deductible, and you can help us make dreams come true!
2021 was the year the STIHL National Championship Air Races returned after we all weathered some of the most challenging circumstances on record. Generous donations from our dedicated fans and supporters are a vital element of the Reno Air Racing Association’s success, and we want to give our most sincere thanks to everyone who made a gift to help us emerge from the Covid shutdown in 2020 and back into air racing in 2021! Your donations not only helped make the past year possible, but also gave us the resources and energy to begin an exciting journey as we launch our 2022 STIHL National Championship Air Races and our new “Racing for the Future” campaign.
Our vision is to establish the Reno Air Racing Association as the pinnacle of inspiration, education, and exhilaration for people of all ages. Our success with our STEM education programming has now led to our first flight training scholarships and we have even more programs coming to life in the near future. We hope you will join us as we accelerate into this new chapter in our evolution.
Air racing is our passion, and we are using the excitement, history, and pageantry of our beloved sport to inspire the next generation of aviators, fans, and stakeholders. Your contributions are an important factor in making this possible, and we’d like to extend our deepest heartfelt gratitude to those who gave this past year.
$200,000
Fred and Barbara Clark-Telling
$50,000 & Up
Anonymous William Freeman Mercer-Fraser Company The Ray Foundation Seymour Robin
$20,000 – $35,000
Fay Gregory Joan And Herb Kelleher Charitable Foundation
$5,000 – $10,000
Ronald Bath Dennis And Tami Buehn Clay Lacy Finnegan Aviation Services, LLC Donald Jensen Shahin Mehrabanzad Nevada Tri Partners, LLC Joel Stinnett
$1,000 – $2500
Lisa Aguirre Simcoe Thomas Bradley Enterprise Holding Foundation Curtis Johnson John Krawczyk Larry Labriola Foundation Tony & Deanna Logoteta James Macdougall Frank & Carroll Marguire Jerry Mowbray Gil Shoham Kent Snider Roberta Thompson Chuck Trousdale Richard Wenzel Abel Wilson
$101 – $500
Benevity Community Impact Fund Aeroadvisors Inc. Anonymous x 5 Roberta Bell Charles Bowyer Dennis P. Bryan Kerry Chapman Chevron Employee Match Leon Corley Lud Corrao Stanley Crosswhite Sid Dodd Galen Gault Jack Harrington James Harris Mike Henniger Conrad Huffstutler Cynthia Mcdonald Dana Munkelt Mr. & Mrs. Newlin Don Permoda Gregory Powell Mike Qutermous Betty Sherman James A. Thornton
$51 – $100
Anonymous x 16 Antelope Valley 99’S John Babbidge Evan Bender Eric Bocanegra Jonathan Chan James Dunn Charles Flint Dave Franks Michael Frederick Graeme Frew Rande Gallant Brian Garrett Ron Gerber Craig Gill Marc Grundfor Tanya Ice John Jacks Jim Jensen Jerome Jessop Chris Leeper Roger Lemmel Mark A. Magin Walter Manning Scott Mccue Patricia Mcgovern Todd Mcmaster Maralyn Mencarini James Messinger Kyle Peirson B Pratt Richard Reinhardt Edward Rij Randolph Royce C A Rumple William Ryan Bob Ryker John Sewell Lynn Shawback Gregg Springer David Tansley Lauriston Taylor The Mary P Hicks Trust John Vargas Paul Wells Martin Wermes Brian White
Up to $50
Applied Materials Foundation & Employees Douglas Archdeacon Joshua Awosoga Todd Becker Luke Bednarek Nathan Biasotti Chase Birks Chris Bosco Carl Bovee John Bratcher John Briscoe Joseph Burkhart Max Carley Jeffrey Cohn Jarathan Cook Chris Cosfol Anthony Cox Jacob Crisler Michael Darko Austin Dyer Ryan Eckstein Steven Edmundson Michael Evanger Andrew Fearn Allan Fisher Mason Forkey Trisha Gereaux Jonathan & Stephanie Gilstrom Josh Goulart Brian Grant Stu Greene Cameron Gross Alex Hair Noah Hanifen Kathy Harnack Steven Hartness Kenneth Herndon Andreas Heyen Anthony Hitchings Oran Hollingsworth Roger Howard Marisa Irwin Ronald Jermstad Jr Stuart Katzen Keaton Keene Vernon Keener Brian Kohl Ron Kopa Joseph Langlois Matthew Lawless Nancy Leases Satn Luke Richard May Stu Mayerson Peter Mccombs Jeremiah Melin Chris Menno David Minnis Matthew Molsen Robert Montgomery Kirby Moughon Dana Nolan Per Nordstram Zak Nyberg Sam Osman Philip Perez Jay Pitts Tim Porter Jayce Poshek Ray Rasmussen Clayton Relf Roslynn Ricard Shawn Robbins Bryan Rohr Michael Ryan Dean Severns Trish Sherman Steven Shivers Tyler Snyder Anthony Sprayberry Jonathan Stackhouse Chris Stieber Kent Stokes Sara Stout Gretchen Straatsma Dan Stratton Corey Sullivan Masashi Tahara Travis Thompson Kevin Thompson Eric Titus Emanuele Tosoni Jeffrey Tunison Rachel Twine John Weaver David Wright Jonathan Zaritz
For someone who took his first flying lesson just 11 years ago, Eric Zine has come far in the aviation world in a short time. The “Yellow Fever” biplane pilot and Southern California resident is fresh off another year of racing at the STIHL National Championship Air Races where he took fifth place in Friday’s Heat 3A before Sunday’s Gold race was canceled due to high winds.
One Six Right
Still, the future is looking bright for Zine, who literally discovered flying by Googling “learn to fly.” After a quick Internet search, lo and behold, his local airport turned out to be none other than the world-famous Van Nuys Airport in Southern California. Known as the setting for the final scene of the 1942 Humphrey Bogart classic “Casablanca,” Van Nuys is perhaps best known as the subject of the 2005 aviation documentary “One Six Right,” which explores the storied history and busy present of the San Fernando-based airport and its most famous runway.
In fact, if you’ve seen the movie and its poster, you’ll instantly recognize the yellow 1945 Piper J3C-65 fixed wing Cub as being prominently featured throughout the film. It just so happens that Zine flies that Cub regularly, with owner Seymour “Si” Robin serving as a major supporter of Zine and the Condor Squadron air association of which he’s a part.
But back to how it all began for Zine. Just out of grad school in Beijing, he returned to Los Angeles and took a flying lesson “on a whim.” From there, he says he quickly caught the bug and could think of nothing but flying.
“I’m very glad it worked out as it did, because it was precisely the VNY connection that got me involved in air racing,” Zine says. “There’s a great history of air racing here, with names like Clay Lacy, Lyle Shelton, Skip Holmes, Pete Regina, Matt Jackson.”
Zine says he met his aviation partner, Rich Chadwick, through the Van Nuys Flight Center while he was serving as a full-time Certified Flight Instructor. In 2010, the two acquired their first race plane, “Sunny Side Up,” a biplane that he raced from 2010 to 2016 before acquiring “Yellow Fever,” a Pitts Special. During those formative racing years, Zine had a hangar next to another former racer, Jason Somes, who he calls a “great source of inspiration, mentorship and knowledge to work with.”
Starting in 2017, Zine raced “Yellow Fever” which racing fans may recognize as the former “Devil in Da Skies” helmed by Jeff Watkins, who was also a former Biplane Class President.
“We’ve done quite a bit of modification since then, but we know Jeff is happy to see his old bird still racing,” Zine says.
He got into biplanes because, he says, “we were trying to find an accessible way to enter into the mix. We were contemplating an IF1 racer that was for sale, but thought a biplane would be much better as we could fly our Pitts year round.”
There are several misconceptions about biplanes, Zine says, but none bigger than the myth that they’re difficult to fly.
“They are very honest airplanes, so they do require some instruction, technique, and practice. But countless pilots have done it, and so can you.”
Reno memories
With nearly a decade of racing at Stead under his belt, Zine says there are too many wonderful things about participating in NCAR to count.
“The camaraderie with the men and women in our class, the interactions with the fans, and the friendships with the volunteers who come back every year are all great,” he says.
He’s recently moved into a teaching role as a Pylon Racing Seminar instructor, something he’s found very rewarding. But, it’s the on-course action that gets his blood pumping the hardest.
“Certainly, my favorite part is going around the pylons,” Zine says. “It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in an airplane and being on the course low and fast with planes all around you is almost meditative, as it really does drown out the rest of the world as you focus on the task at hand.”
As with most pilots, his least favorite part is the early-morning wake-ups required of all racers.
Next year promises to bring even more excitement as Zine plans to race both a biplane and a T6. It’s sure to be double the work — and the fun — for this young Southern California pilot. Here at the Reno Air Racing Association, we’re counting down the days until September 16, 2020 when once again high flying action will rule the day and young pilots will realize they, like Zine, can race at Reno, too.
Grant Korgan is a world-class adventurer, nano-mechanics professional, and husband. On March 5, 2010, while filming a snowmobiling segment in the Sierra Nevada backcountry, the Lake Tahoe native burst-fractured his L1 vertebrae, and suddenly added the world of spinal cord injury recovery to his list of pursuits.
Doctors told him he wouldn’t walk again. But he and his wife of four months, Shawna, didn’t accept that. That had hope and they made a plan. Within five months his injury, he was standing with the help of leg braces.
On June 12, 2019, Grant achieved a lifelong dream and became a licensed pilot. He continues to live an unlimited life traveling around the globe spreading a message of positivity and hope.
Korgan was nominated for the Thunderbirds Hometown Hero Flight during the 56th annual STIHL National Championship Air Races. On September 13, 2019, Korgan lived out his childhood dream of flying with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.
Donate now to help inspire future pilots like Grant Korgan.
Kevin Quinn is a very busy man these days. Part bush pilot, part heli-ski guide, part flight instructor and part event organizer, this Truckee, Calif.-based aviation nut is wrapping up one of his busiest — and most successful — years ever. Despite all this, he still has time to extol the virtues of general aviation to aspiring pilots everywhere. And that’s thanks in part to his participation in the 2019 STIHL National Championship Air Races.
His message to young pilots is simple.
“Anyone can come out and fly with us and learn in the off-airport environment,” Quinn says of his Truckee-based High Sierra Flight Instruction business which specializes in backcountry flight training. “The neat thing about it is that we’re inspiring people to just go out and fly. For a long time, they said aviation was dying on the vine, but I believe backcountry flying is saving general aviation.”
Born and raised in Alaska, Quinn, who just turned 50, knows a thing or two about the backcountry. He grew up riding in his father’s plane from the time he was six months old. By the time he was 18, he soloed and obtained his pilot’s license. For the past 32 years, Quinn has spent more than 9,000 hours in the air and he’s never shied away from adventure.
Over the decades, Quinn has taught up-and-coming pilots how to fly all while running Points North Heli-Adventures, Inc. a heli-skiing operation out of Cordova, Alaska, where he spends part of the year personally guiding clients through some of the toughest, most pristine ski country in North America. In that time, he’s made numerous appearances in Warren Miller ski films, has been certified as a skydiver and swift water rescuer, flown choppers, lead whitewater tours and even played professional hockey for a couple of years in the early 1990s. It all sounds exhausting to the everyday human being, but there’s nothing ordinary about Quinn, whose passion for life is evident in the way he engages you when he speaks. Being so busy doesn’t bother him a bit, either, but keeping track of it all can be a challenge, he says.
“Depending on who I’m talking to, I might hand them one of several different business cards,” Quinn says, chuckling.
STOL takes off
Oh yeah, and if that’s not enough, Quinn is also the guy who invented STOL (Short Take-off and Landing) drag racing, a sport that has quickly entered the conscience of aviation fans everywhere. This is thanks to his affiliation with the Flying Cowboys, a loose collective of pilots who enjoy low-flying adventures in the backcountry, where two bush planes race each other up and down a dirt strip. Born at the annual High Sierra Fly-In north of Reno in the Black Rock Desert, STOL drag racing saw a banner year in 2019 as it was invited to perform demo races at the Reno Air Races. The event was so successful that RARA invited STOL Drag back for 2020 as an official class, the first new addition in more than two decades.
According to Quinn, the FAA particularly likes the safety aspects of STOL racing.
“With this type of flying, we’re challenging pilots to become better by teaching them about power and energy management and control. Ultimately, that makes you a safer pilot,” he says.
For Quinn, the appeal of STOL flying is the sheer affordability of the sport. It’s great to watch warbirds soar through the sky over Stead, he says, but often the financial barrier to entry for this type of racing is prohibitively high.
“With STOL, anyone can go buy a street plane and mod it and come out to race,” he says.
As for his ride, Quinn flies a Carbon Cub that he helped design at the Cub Crafters factory in Yakima, Washington. It features 35-inch bush wheels and weighs in at 1,000 pounds. When he’s not flying it, he can be found in his classic 1953 Cessna 180.
Looking ahead
Dividing his time between Alaska, Hawaii and California, Quinn considers the heli-skiing gig his “main hustle.” But STOL drag racing’s success in 2019 is broadening his horizons even further. These days, his goal is to keep backcountry flying affordable and accessible. As the sport grows, he’s interested in helping raise money to support up-and-coming STOL pilots.
“We’re now the poster children for backcountry aviation,” he says of the Flying Cowboys. “On social media, we have more than 20 million followers and we’re inspiring people that there’s much more to flying than just going from one airport to the next.
In fact, Quinn has recently accepted invitations to the 2020 Sun ‘n Fun airshow in Lakeland, Fla. and Arizona’s CopperState Fly-In in February. Additionally, Quinn will be returning to Oshkosh next year along with a much-anticipated first “official” year at Reno. All that travel isn’t cheap, Quinn says, so he’s hoping to leverage this newly-found spotlight to sponsor young pilots.
For the time being, Quinn is just happy to see his sport hit the big time.
“Everything is coming full circle,” he says. “Sometimes I think, ‘are you kidding me?’ Pinch me. This is so incredible.”
