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.”
From the heart-pounding excitement of head-to-head racing to the world-renowned U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds to the amazing on-the-ground demonstrations, the 2019 STIHL National Championship Air Races proved to be another successful year for the world’s fastest motorsport.
One of the highlights of the world-class event was the debut of the STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) drag racing demonstrations. The new event was well-received by the crowds in the grandstands as they watched the two planes battle it out in each heat. Based on the positive response, STOL will be officially added as a new class at the 2020 STIHL National Championship Air Races, making it the first new race class to in approximately 20 years.
For those who couldn’t experience the STOL Drag Racing first-hand, here is a short history. STOL planes came to be because of a necessity to take off from shortened runways that included hard conditions like ice or hail. These piston-engined aircraft generally hold one – maybe two – passengers and feature low max gross weights. Used to bring medical services and supplies to remote areas, STOL planes have become common in places like the Australian outback, Africa and other hard-to-reach places. With the ability to take off quickly and maneuver beyond obstacles like hills, mountains and trees, these planes have become highly sought after by enthusiasts around the world.
Now, thanks to STOL Drag Racing founder and STOL Class President, Kevin Quinn, these aircraft are being used in an exciting new sport. The rules are simple. The two aircraft fly side-by-side as fast as they can down a 2,000-foot straightaway, land on or after marker and must come to acomplete stop on heading before turning around. They turn around fly back down the track and must land on or after the marker and come to a complete stop on heading at the start/finish line. The first pilot that comes to a complete stop wins the heat. Racers who don’t come to a complete stop with the tail down before they make the 180-degree turn, while staying within 10° of heading are disqualified. Further, race pilots who touchdown or land before the marker on either the turnaround or finish are disqualified.
Needless to say, it’s not about altitude or even graceful maneuvers. It all comes down to pure speed. The race pilot must be an expert at both gaining speed and dropping speed as quickly as possible. Since the sport is new, the Reno Air Racing Association has limited next year’s competitors to highly experienced invitees only. STOL pilots interested in racing in the 2020 STIHL National Championship Air Races are required to compete at the High Sierra Fly-In in October. For more information, visit www.highsierraflyin.com.
If it feels like a while since the United
States Air Force Thunderbirds have soared high above Reno, it’s not just your
imagination. After an absence of almost a decade, this famed precision drill
team is slated to return for a pair of shows during the 56th annual STIHL
National Championship Air Races to the delight of fans of all ages.
Featuring eight pilots and a staggering 130
support personnel, the Las Vegas-based Thunderbirds will take to their F-16
Fighting Falcons to perform impressive formation flying, daring solo routines
and a display of capabilities that push the limits of both plane and pilot at
every turn. Fans hoping to get a glimpse of the Thunderbirds’ signature move,
the four-jet diamond formation, won’t be disappointed. They’ll also be treated
to 40 other crowd-pleasing maneuvers that have made this team a household name.
History of the Thunderbirds
First formed in 1953 as part of the then-nascent United States Air Force, the first Thunderbirds team was originally based at Arizona’s Luke AFB. The team’s inception coincided with the rise of air shows in the States, most notably the National Air Races in Cleveland. By then, post-war America had developed a real taste for high-flying action and patriotic displays, especially as the Korean War was winding down.
In the beginning,
the team flew Republic F-84G Thunderjets, Cold War-era turbojets with in-flight
refueling capabilities and room for a nuclear payload. Although striking to
look at, these aircraft topped out at 600 mph, and therefore fell just shy of
being able to break the sound barrier. The Thunderbirds then traded up to F-84F
Thunderstreaks in 1955. While the naming convention is similar to that of the
F-84G, the Thunderstreak featured swept wings and spoilers for enhanced
performance. It wasn’t long, however, that the team moved to the supersonic
North American F-100C Super Sabre jet, allowing its pilots to rattle the nerves
of glass factory owners everywhere. This upgrade in 1956 also coincided with
the team’s move to Nellis AFB, just northwest of Las Vegas. By 1962, the team settled
into the General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon with the striking red, white
and blue paint scheme for which it’s known today.
By 1997, the team
celebrated its 50th anniversary having performed countless demonstrations for
millions of air show attendees over the years. The striking image of the team’s
diamond formation against a crystal blue sky graced a U.S. postal stamp that
same year. From 2007 to 2009 the Thunderbirds performed air shows in multiple
countries and states during their many tours including Bulgaria, Ireland,
Japan, France, Italy, Thailand, Hawaii, Romania, Poland, Australia and Puerto
Rico. Its most recent performance at Reno was in 2008.
Needless to say, air racing fans and
organizers are excited about the return of an American icon to Reno Stead
Airport.
“They put on a spectacular show, displaying
incredible flying skills and showcasing some of the most advanced fighters of
our time,” said Tony Logoteta, Reno Air Racing Association chief operating
officer. “It’s a thrill to see them in action and a privilege to be able to
recognize the airmen and women who serve our country.”
The
Pilots
This year’s Thunderbirds team represents a
variety of diverse backgrounds including a figure skater, a college baseball
player and a Medford, Oregon, native who is only the second solo female pilot
in the team’s history.
As the commander and leader, Lt. Colonel John
Caldwell oversees the crew while commanding the entire 130-person operation.
Major Will Graeff and Captain Michael Brewer serve as the left and right-wing
pilots. Major Whit Collins, who was the former president of his high school’s
aviation program, serves in the slot pilot position. Going into his second and
her first season with the team, Major Matt Kimmel and Captain Michelle Curran
are lead solo pilot and opposing solo pilot, respectively. All the way from
Saginaw, Michigan, Lt. Colonel Eric Gorney acts as the Operations Officer for
the team, overseeing logistics. Arizona State University graduate Major Jason
Markzon holds the position of Advance Pilot and narrator.
Performances are set for 2:50 p.m. Saturday
and 2:35 p.m. Sunday, with a practice run on Friday afternoon. As always,
schedules are subject to change based on weather and other factors.
These days, it’s getting harder and harder to find events that truly appeal to each member of the family. Events seem to operate at the extremes, appealing either to young children or parents, but rarely meeting in the middle.
Good news: the 2019 STIHL National Championship Air Races ticks all the boxes for family fun.
From the STEM Education Discovery Zone to the thrill of the Thunderbirds to STOL air racing and static, hands-on displays, this event literally has something for everyone. In the end, each member of the family will leave the STIHL National Championship Air Races begging to come back next year.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s on tap for families.
STEM Zone
The Air Races is proud to be home to one of the largest STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Education Discovery Zones in the country. Last year alone, more than 6,000 school-aged children were introduced to the wonder of aviation through this unique, interactive display.
An outdoor netted Drone Zone for drone demonstrations and workshops
Eight drones of different sizes on display and for flight demonstrations
Sixteen flight simulators
Twenty ground robots of different sizes in the Robot tent
3D printing display area
Table-top aviation museum
Robotic arms to demonstrate hydraulics
Aviation and rocket picture booth
Reno Air Races table-top mural
Three PACMAN games in vintage Samsonite briefcases
Five mini Tesla coils to showcase wireless transfer of electricity
Five electronic programmed guitars
These projects are created to inspire children to engage with each of the STEM categories while encouraging them to pursue careers in the aviation industry. Plus, children who participate in the STEM Discovery Zone will earn free access to the races for the remainder of the week.
Air Racing Action
When you’re visiting the air races for the first time, sometimes it’s hard to know whether to look up at the action in the sky or down at the extraordinarily cool displays on the ground. Well, when the pilots take to the sky, your choice becomes easy: look up!
That’s right. The elite Air Force flyers better known as the Thunderbirds are returning to Reno. Founded in 1953 as part of the brand new United States Air Force (which was known as the Army Air Corps until the 1940s), the Thunderbirds are currently based at Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada.
This world-class performance team’s reputation precedes it, with the Thunderbirds enjoying fame around the globe as one of the fastest, most precision-based performance teams. Needless to say, a Thunderbirds show is not to be missed. Catch the practice show on Friday or the full shows on Saturday and Sunday.
STOL Drag Racing Demonstrations
New to the Air Races in 2019 is the addition of the STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) Drag Racing demonstrations, a spectacle that has to be seen to be believed. Using modified bush planes, a group of pilots, some of which call themselves the Flying Cowboys, fly low and fast on a designated track, landing once at each end, turning around and racing back to the finish. It’s a little bit like Top Fuel drag racing but, of course, the planes go airborne. The STOL drag racing demonstrations promise to be extremely exciting for all ages.
Military Static Display
A longtime favorite of racing fans of all ages, this event showcases America’s military might and airpower superiority by allowing race fans to walk around a display of dozens of active military aircraft. From F/16s to Black Hawk and Chinook choppers to the always-impressive Nevada Air National Guard C-130, young fans can chat with pilots and (in most cases) explore the inner workings of the military craft. This display is featured every day of the races, but keep in mind that as many of these planes are working military aircraft, the lineup is subject to change at all times.
Get in the Pits!
If you really want to treat the family this year, buy pit passes, which offer full access to the racing pits, pilots and crew members. Kids can get up-close-and-personal with their favorite pilots, even snagging the occasional autograph or selfie with Reno’s top racers. This option offers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the staging areas of the races while bringing young fans closer to the planes than they could imagine possible.
And seriously, just trust us on this one: you definitely want pit passes. (Note: pit passes do not grant admission. They must be purchased along with general admission or reserved seating tickets).
Tickets are now on sale for the 2019 STIHL National Championship Air Races. New this year, reserved seats are the same price as general admission. For information, call (775) 972-6663.
