The Annual Event Is Moving From Reno, But It’s Only Taking This Year Off

The National Championship Air Races held in Reno, NV have simply become known to all of us as the Reno Air Races.  And, while the word ‘racing’ is part of the title, there has always been a lot more to it than high-speed motorsports. A popular non-racing event that’s been held for the last 17 years is going to skip this year’s event.

According to airspacemag.com, the National Aviation Heritage Invitational won’t be at Reno this year, but according to the report, the Invitational will be back. The event has been linked to the Reno Air Races for 17 years and it’s reported that nearly 400 completely restored historic and re-created historic aircraft have been on display at Reno.

Their absence this year is a classic good news/bad news story for Reno attendees. The good news is that the National Championship Air Races are going strong and expect a large turnout for 2016 to be held September 14 through the 18th. However, the good news for the Reno Air Races means that less ramp space is available and there simply isn’t enough room to hold the National Aviation Heritage Invitational.

While the Heritage Invitational is a competition event, it’s also a chance for people to see the living and flying heritage of aviation and meet with the individuals that have restored and/or fly these great airplanes. Rather than being static displays in a museum, people have been able to gain information about these classic aircraft that they could only have obtained from those who are closely associated with them. Another unique feature of the Heritage Invitational is that trophy winners are decided by the people.

One of the founders of the Heritage Invitational event is the National Aviation Hall of Fame. The National Aviation Hall of Fame was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, OH, the home of the Wright Brothers and the birthplace of aviation. The National Aviation Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring individuals who have uniquely contributed to America’s rich legacy of aviation achievement—achievement generated by American ingenuity and individual acts of great vision, persistence, skill and courage.

We at ANN look forward to hearing more about when and where the next National Aviation Heritage Invitational will be held.

FMI: www.airrace.org   www.www.nationalaviation.org/