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Hello fellow Air Race Addicts. Yes, I have returned.
I will be going backwards towards 2005 to get caught up. Reno
Edition 08 was one of the best I have been to in the 28 years I have attended.
The Unlimited Gold Race on Sunday had plenty of suspense for everyone and plenty
of excitement. The 4 top contenders were healthy as of Sunday morning and were
all former champions. And the finish was in doubt until the very end. Rare Bear,
Dago Red, Strega, and September Fury provided great racing and a lot more
entertainment than we have seen in some time. I am not going to try to do a
complete replay for everyone, but as I put up the photos, I'll put in some
commentary.
Bill Destefani and Strega were the winners this year, much to mine and many
others delight. That pair of racers have not won in many years and have had
their trials and tribulations since their last win in 97. Broken engines being
the demise of their aspirations, seemed to have been solved this year for
several of the in-line Mustang teams, Dago Red coming in a relatively close
second with veteran and fan favorite Dan Martin at the helm. Steve Hinton Jr.
made his racing debut in Sparky, (Jelly Belly Mustang), had his first flight in
an FM-2 Wildcat, all while crewing for Team Strega. While at the Warlock Party
in the pits on Wednesday night, we were treated to a sight that won't be
repeated for a long time, IF ever again. We saw a flight of three Grumman F7F
Tigercats do a flyby as a flight of 3, a sight and sound I am sure nobody will
ever forget. The F-22 Raptor put on a show not to soon be forgotten,
Thunderbirds did their regular show, records fell, broken engines, balky landing
gear, and a wonderful hour and a half with Bob Odegaard and his sons Thursday
evening while Fedex Bob and I were standing at their pit discussing the Super
Corsair. We got a personal history lesson about the airplane and found out that
they are bringing a second F2G next year if it is complete and ready by then.
This was an excellent year for Bob and myself. (Well, every year is excellent in
it's own respect, however, this was exceptional).
Another new addition for me this year was the acquisition of my new Canon G9
with a 2x teleconverter. Since I'm not a pro, it is hard to justify the expense
of a really nice DSLR. This camera is very powerful in it's own right and I
highly recommend it to anyone with a passion for photography but with a
pocketbook like mine (;-) (Yes, this will be an advertisement for Canon. I heard
they just came out with the G10. It is about the same price with higher
resolution. The G9 is 12mp and takes very high quality photos).
If you have interest in a certain picture you see here, and would like a higher
resolution version, you can find me on the board at warbirdaeropress.com.
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