Reno AIr Races - last ever 2023

Reno AIr Races - last ever 2023

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Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,785 posts

264 months

Friday 10th March 2023
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It was announced in the last day or so that the 2023 Reno AIr Races will be the last.

The races themselves may continue if a new venue can be found.

aeropilot

34,302 posts

226 months

Friday 10th March 2023
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I suspect the chances of finding a new venue will be slim......outside of the military letting them use Edwards etc., and I doubt that will happen.

Next year was going to be the 60th Anniversary Reno Championship.....shame they didn't allow them end on that milestone instead.

It was also one of those bucket list, things to see one day, but.....hey ho, not to be.


ShortBeardy

111 posts

143 months

Tuesday 14th March 2023
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I was there some years back and I was really struck by the noise.

I grew up near Duxford so seeing a Spitfire up was not unusual and going to air shows was a thing of my youth. A Merlin or Centaurus is a glorious thing

What really struck me about Reno was that
a, parts of the circuit appear lower than the stands, so as the aircraft came round they were quite low.

b, the noise. One kind of forgets that airshows are really parades of very expensive and historically notable planes that cost a lot to run in many cases the owners are museums and resources are scarce and so they are somewhat babied. At Reno they race to win and the unlimited class really put the hammer down. They are fast and the noise is like nothing else.

BEV air races? It's heretical.

Jake899

519 posts

43 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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There are some bucket list motorsport events around the world, and not just the high profile choices such as Monaco, Indianapolis or Le Mans.
If you are captivated by the inventive obsession of speed and risk, there are some rather more niche events, such as Bonneville Speed Week, or the Isle of Man TT.

But for me, the pinnacle of motorsport has always been the Reno Air Races.
A twisted blend of history and future, it features hot rodded World War 2 fighter planes racing wing to wing around pylons stuck in the desert.
There are various classes including jet aircraft. It really is like a bizarre Starwars scene come to life.

Of course as it sounds, the fastest motorsport on the planet (speeds of over 500mph) was dangerous. So much so that the close knit scene lost a family member most years. It carried a genuine feeling of danger and risk, and therefore carried a subconscious acceptance that it couldn't last forever.

The world has changed since old fighters were available ex-military surplus for the price of a normal car. Now of course each racer, be it Mustang, Sea Fury, Bearcat, etc is worth many millions, which makes banging wings at 20 meters off the deck perhaps a little harder to justify.

Costs inevitably rise, availability of spares and event insurance have combined to finally call time on this most exciting and wonderful event.
It's a sad day for all those with a little petrol in their veins.

I was fortunate enough to visit in 2014, and it was like a trip to Mecca for me. Sadly i hadn't bought a decent camera on the trip, so I always intended to visit again, but I will never get that chance now, so the sound and sight and smell will have to live in my memories.

I will post the few photos I do have, and encourage anyone else to add theirs to this thread.

For all the hard work from the organisers over the years, for the bravery of the pilots, and for the enthusiasm of the fans, I thank you. Bravo.
The world will be a less colourful place.




nordboy

1,439 posts

49 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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Hasn't it finished due to them being evicted from the airport? Rather than the spares issue etc? Last I saw they were possibly moving it elsewhere?

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,785 posts

264 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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HJG

461 posts

106 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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Eric Mc said:
Why the attitude?
This place sometimes....

ecsrobin

17,025 posts

164 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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HJG said:
Eric Mc said:
Why the attitude?
This place sometimes....
Nothing wrong with Eric’s post. If you think that’s attitude…….

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,785 posts

264 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
quotequote all
Because it got so few replies I asumed nobody was interested in the news.

It was announced a few weeks ago and is entirely down to changes at Reno Airport and nothing to do with shortage of spares.

However, crowds have been declining at the event over the past few years so the economic sense was fading. I think they will have difficulty finding an alternative venue.

Simpo Two

85,150 posts

264 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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Eric Mc said:
Because it got so few replies I asumed nobody was interested in the news.

It was announced a few weeks ago and is entirely down to changes at Reno Airport and nothing to do with shortage of spares.

However, crowds have been declining at the event over the past few years so the economic sense was fading. I think they will have difficulty finding an alternative venue.
America is huge; there must be somewhere.

Bonneville?

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,785 posts

264 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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Mojave has been mentioned. I think the appetite for such events is declining. The Galloping Ghost crash in 2011 didn't help - and they had a fatal crash there last year too.

Tony1963

4,699 posts

161 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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A lot of these types of events are appealing to fewer and fewer people. Air shows in general around the world are getting quite lame and boring. Motor racing is viewed from behind catch fencing and sometimes from fifty metres away. Once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it really.
When most people were lucky to have a car at all, and even then it wouldn’t do more than 70 or 80mph, a plane doing 500mph was special. Now? Meh.

It’s a shame. I still love race cars and aircraft. They’ve been a part of my life since the 60s. But I find myself struggling to find reasons to prepay for a ticket to go and watch why might be extremely mundane.
Is this happening in the USA? Are tickets expensive over there? Are people there also being hit by rapidly rising prices and stagnant pay? Are more aircraft being put into long term storage because of their value and insurance costs?

The world is changing quite quickly. Us lot (me?) will be the mad old buggers in care homes, nattering on by ourselves about how great things used to be, while the kids watch the data feed of another Formula E race. Not the racing, just the data.

So so sad


https://youtu.be/C6DWBkF7NUI


Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,785 posts

264 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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Tony - I think you make a very good point. The generations of (mostly) men and boys who were infatuated by aeroplanes is fast fading away. I don't think that there is a mass interest in aviation amongst the under 50s to be honest.

aeropilot

34,302 posts

226 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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Simpo Two said:
Eric Mc said:
Because it got so few replies I asumed nobody was interested in the news.

It was announced a few weeks ago and is entirely down to changes at Reno Airport and nothing to do with shortage of spares.

However, crowds have been declining at the event over the past few years so the economic sense was fading. I think they will have difficulty finding an alternative venue.
America is huge; there must be somewhere.
There are plenty of places to hold it, but not many of those remote places have the support infrastructure close by that Reno has.
Reno is mini Las Vegas, with lots of hotels and things to do for people that don't want to spend all day, everyday at the Air Races, which is a big factor. As said, numbers have been reducing as it is, and the event will be a non-event without enough fringe people. I've seen posts from US warbird community on other forums, that think its not really going to be viable long term anywhere else.
As said Mojave is a possible, but Lancaster and Palmdale are still not on the doorstep for the hotels etc., and either don't have the 'things to do' that Reno has.
I'm sure they try and run it somewhere else, but I think it won't last long elsewhere. It probably only had less than a decade to run as it was even if they hadn't lost Reno as a location.


LukeBrown66

4,479 posts

45 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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Some good points made, doesnt really explain the popularity of modern F1 though no doubt one of the dullest forms of motorsport currently, yet massively popular, I don't get it.

I would imagien seeing and hearing a Reno top end race is one of the click moments, not something I would do too damn hot. But a very American event and rather sad it is gone.


Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,785 posts

264 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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LukeBrown66 said:
Some good points made, doesnt really explain the popularity of modern F1 though no doubt one of the dullest forms of motorsport currently, yet massively popular, I don't get it.
Media and slick marketing. It's all about promotion and the relevant budgets to keep the profile high.

Reno is an extremely niche corner of a pretty niche activity i.e. air racing.

Simpo Two

85,150 posts

264 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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Eric Mc said:
LukeBrown66 said:
Some good points made, doesnt really explain the popularity of modern F1 though no doubt one of the dullest forms of motorsport currently, yet massively popular, I don't get it.
Media and slick marketing. It's all about promotion and the relevant budgets to keep the profile high.

Reno is an extremely niche corner of a pretty niche activity i.e. air racing.
F1 also travels the world with about 20 races a year.

zsdom

760 posts

119 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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Eric Mc said:
I don't think that there is a mass interest in aviation amongst the under 50s to be honest.
This is fundamentally wrong, airshows are still one of the most attended events across the UK, Cosford for a one day show sold out at over 50k, RIAT also regularly sees well over 200k people attend. That can’t all be with the majority of them being over 50
Go to a base like Lakenheath or Connigsby & you’ll find the majority are well under your age bracket

RizzoTheRat

25,085 posts

191 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
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zsdom said:
Eric Mc said:
I don't think that there is a mass interest in aviation amongst the under 50s to be honest.
This is fundamentally wrong, airshows are still one of the most attended events across the UK, Cosford for a one day show sold out at over 50k, RIAT also regularly sees well over 200k people attend. That can’t all be with the majority of them being over 50
Go to a base like Lakenheath or Connigsby & you’ll find the majority are well under your age bracket
They're pretty crap these days compared to the airshows of the 90's when the Russians were bringing ever more outlandish stuff and mental routines, and everyone else was showing of the latest fighters they were trying to sell, with the crowds close enough to feel the vibration.
Sadly Shoreham killed off the last of the decent displays.

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,785 posts

264 months

Thursday 30th March 2023
quotequote all
zsdom said:
Eric Mc said:
I don't think that there is a mass interest in aviation amongst the under 50s to be honest.
This is fundamentally wrong, airshows are still one of the most attended events across the UK, Cosford for a one day show sold out at over 50k, RIAT also regularly sees well over 200k people attend. That can’t all be with the majority of them being over 50
Go to a base like Lakenheath or Connigsby & you’ll find the majority are well under your age bracket
Not sure I am wrong. There is probably about 1/10 of the airshows around these days compared to 30 plus years ago. With a reduced number of events, you might expect that the few that are left will get a decent crowd.

Have a look at the airshow calendar for 1983 compared to 2023.