2010 Reno Air Races - Picstream #3 Sunday 9.19.10 (14 Pix)

2010 Reno Air Races Unlimited champion Steven Hinton and team Strega

(14 pix)

 The big finale Gold Unlimited race for Sunday was cancelled at the 2010 Reno Air Races for safety reasons due to high winds and accordingly, winners were announced based on race statistics from thru the week. The championship for the second year in a row goes to Steven Hinton and team Strega. Second place went to Rare Bear and third to the P-51 Miss America.

Steven Hinton and team Strega proved thru the week that they were fast and reliable on the race course. Tho I'm sure they would rather have won the 2010 Reno Championship with a race on Sunday, there's no doubt that they earned the right to hold the big trophy. 

These three airplanes; Galloping Ghost at the top, Rare bear in the middle, and Voodoo directly above were all chomping at the bit to try to beat Strega, and had the weather conditions been better and the race had been run, it would have likely been very exciting. We'll just have to wait til next year to see how it all shakes out!

All the Unlimited racers were lined up and waiting, and the grandstand was full of fans eager to see the race go on, but very wisely, the pilots and event organizers determined that the risks were not worth taking. As someone who was there, I believe they made the absolute correct decision. 

The dramatic event that took place in the Super Sport Gold race just prior to the Unlimited race surely had an impact on the decision to cancel the last race. The Thunder Mustang 'Rapid travel' had an engine related mayday part way thru the race, and while pilot George Giboney was able to pull up and gain lots of altitude, the combination of his position on the race course, the racers still coming around the track, and the high winds and turbulent air caused him to land short of, and diagonally across the runway. Amazingly, after losing control immediately after touchdown, a couple of rather gentle cartwheels dissipated the energy, and tho the engine broke off in the process, the airplane stopped right side up. My understanding is that they cut away the fuselage in the cockpit area to get George out, but the good news is that his injuries are minor considering the damage to the aircraft. I'm sure George is very thankful that the airplane gave its life to save his.

 There was much better news for Mike Dacey and his 'Bad Intentions' Questair Venture, the really fast little egg-looking airplane. With the Relentless NXT out early in the week from the dramatic engine failure/prop loss, and the fact that Bad Intentions ran strong all week (tho he was beaten by George Giboney in Rapid Travel on Friday), it was Mike's turn to come out on top in the Super Sport class. Mike was ahead in the Gold race when George had the mayday, so it looked like Bad Intentions was on the way to win regardless.

In all, it was a great if not quirky air race at Reno this year. Lots of great stories of people passionately driven to fly fast, and the thousands and thousands of people that like to come watch them do it. It wasn't without accidents, yet there were no serious injuries that I'm aware of. And the bottom line here; racing carries risk. But facing the challenge of pushing yourself to the limit is part of the human spirit... and there was a lot of spirit at Reno 2010. I can't wait for next year!

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