Air Racing
The sport of racing aircraft
Tucker’s Teardown
The final act of the airshow season, in time-lapse.
January 07, 2013 |
By Tony Reichhardt
The Resilience of Air Race Fans
The real stars at Reno this year were in the stands.
September 19, 2012 |
By Linda Shiner
Back in the Race at Reno
Not all the new safety measures are welcome, but the teams are upbeat, and happy to be racing again.
September 15, 2012 |
By Linda Shiner
Flutter: Fast and Fatal
Aerodynamic flutter can be deadly, but it wasn't until recently that it was even understood.
August 28, 2012 |
By Pat Trenner
A New Time-to-Climb Record
A Yak 3U gets to 10,000 feet in 125 seconds.
July 2012 |
By George C. Larson
Howard Hughes’ Robot
On his record-setting flight in 1938, the billionaire had two navigators, only one of which was human.
April 23, 2012 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Changes at the Reno Race Track?
The National Safety Board’s recommendations may be only the beginning.
April 13, 2012 |
By Linda Shiner
Need for Speed
Vincent Bendix wanted his trophy to spur better and faster airplanes, and he got his wish.
March 23, 2012 |
By George Larson
416 MPH
Not all speed records look fast on video, but this one does.
February 06, 2012 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Do Something
Washington struggles for a response to last year’s Reno Air Races crash.
January 10, 2012 |
By Linda Shiner
Green Light for Fuel-Efficiency Races in California
Teams gathered their experimental planes in Santa Rosa, California last week for a competition of their environmental industriousness.
October 03, 2011 |
By Heather Goss
Going Once….The 1920 Pulitzer Race Trophy
From the Chicago Daily Tribune, November 28, 1920: "At last the pride of the Army air service, the Verville-Packard chasse biplane, has established its worth by romping ahead of thirty-four starters in the first Pulitzer...
September 02, 2011 |
By Rebecca Maksel
A & S Interview: Andy Chiavetta
The Reno Kid, raceplane builder par excellence.
September 2011 |
By Linda Shiner
One of the "Intrepid Birdwomen"
"Here is a group of feminine flyers who don't just fool around with flying," reported the Los Angeles Times in January 1934. "They hardly ever powder their noses. They don't even carry mirrors. They'd rather poke their not unhandsome little noses into a balky carburetor than riffle up a pack of bri...
March 11, 2011 |
By Rebecca Maksel
"Totally Way Illegal Anywhere Else"
Where do old astronauts go? Some of them simply can't shake that need for speed, so they strap on exotic aircraft and sign up for the Reno National Championship Air Races. Of the three astronauts who have taken up air racing -- Hoot Gibson, Bill Anders, and Curt Brown -- Brown, a two-time Reno cham...
September 16, 2010 |
By Pat Trenner
Stand up, sit down, fall off
It's not new material, but if you haven't seen this, you owe it to yourself to take a couple minutes to watch. Austrian skydiver Paul Steiner did some ambitious wing walking earlier this year in this Red Bull video, with a pair of Blanix gliders flown by Ewald Roithner and Kurt Tippi high above the...
August 30, 2010 |
By Mike Klesius
"Do these long wings make me look fat?"
At an "Ask An Expert" lecture by John Anderson, National Air and Space Museum curator of aeronautics, I learned that although Howard Hughes' H-1 racer is displayed wearing its cross-country "long" wings, the high-speed-dash wings, which are shorter, are in storage at the Museum's Garber facility in...
May 19, 2010 |
By Pat Trenner
