The National Championship Air Races Are An Extreme Sport That Is Now Reaching Out To Entertain The Crowd

It seems fitting that the National Championship Air Races, commonly referred to simply as the Reno Air Races, are doing more to bring in people who want to see an airshow combined with the sport of air racing. If that’s your cup of tea, it’s fitting that the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) will show up with its “Tora, Tora, Tora” reenactment.

After World War II, unlimited air racing relied heavily on surplus World War II aircraft, and it still does. It seems fitting that the “Tora, Tora, Tora” reenactment is there to represent the beginning of U.S. active involvement in the fighting that lead our aviation industry to produce some of the best aircraft in the world.

John Agather, chairman of the Reno Air Racing Association Board of Directors, is quoted in the Reno Gazette Journal as saying, “It's probably the most entertaining air show act in the country. I was at the very first performance of this show in 1972 and it's always been a favorite of mine. It’s about a historic experience. In many ways, everything we have in terms of aviation right now started as a response to that attack."

There’ll be other performances there as well. The Breitling Jet Team, which is the largest professional civilian flight team on the airshow circuit, will be there to entertain the race fans. It’s also reported that an area referred to as the, Drone Zone has been expanded for this year’s event. The Drone Zone is a place featuring small drones that was a popular youth activity last year.

"We realize that one of the greatest strengths we have as an event is we can appeal to a new generation of race fans that are in the millennial class that are hooked on extreme sports," Agather said. "We're the most extreme sport out there and we have to do a better job of getting our message out."

"We're trying to create an overall experience," CEO Mike Crowell said. "We're going to bring in 2,500 to 5,000 children on field trips during the first part of the week and be able to allow them to do some educational things."

The 2015 Air Races are scheduled for September 16-20.

(Image from the airace.org website)

FMI: www.airrace.org