Reno Air Races

[Flying Pig]

Has anyone been to the Reno Air Races?  I am going to try and go this year.  Any advice? tips? Experiences?  Is CAP involved at all?

[Airrace]

The cheapest way to attend the event is camp at the church which is several feet from the entrance of the Reno Air Races main gate. This way you avoid the parking and traffic mess. Even if you fly into the Tahoe / Reno airport it's still cheaper  to go to Wal-Mart and get some camping supplies. The church usually has pot luck  daily and you get to meet so really cool people. They have showers and toilets as well.

Another option is to bring or rent a motor home that you can park near the event. You can sit on the roof of the motor home and get a great view of the races without going inside. Several organizations offer parking of a trailer, tent or motor home for a fee.

You can purchase a week long pass from either the Reno Air Race Association (RARA) or you can join the National Air Racing Group (NAG) and purchase the pass from them. This is by far the cheapest ticket that allows you entrance into the gate and the pits every day. Individual tickets  can be purchased daily. See the RARA site for more information
http://www.airrace.org/indexJS.php

If you want to stay in hotel I would suggest to get your reservation now as the rooms book up early and are sold out for the event. Most major hotels offer some sort of shuttle service or you can take the bus directly to the races.

The event starts on Sunday, September 13, 2009 and ends on Sunday, September 20,2009.  They qualify all of the airplanes Sunday thru Wednesday and start racing on Thursday. The actual Airshow and racing are from Thursday thru Sunday. The final event or championship air races take place on Sunday, September 20, 2009. The Blue Angels are schedule to appear this year on Thursday thru Sunday.

I prefer to attend the event on Monday and Tuesday as the crowds are slim and their usually is no gate fee. The only issue is you only get to see the planes qualify and miss out on the racing portion of the event.


More information can be obtained at the following websites:
http://www.airrace.org/indexJS.php
http://www.aafo.com/racing/
http://www.voodooairracing.com/index.cfm
http://www.teamsteadfast.com/

[Thrashed]

I used to go a lot, but now I'm on the East coast.  I stayed in the casinos in town.  Circus Circus is always cheap.  Saturday and Sunday are the best days.  Best racing and best airshow performers.  Go early and get a good seat.  It the best aviation display in the country.

[flyerthom]

CAP does go. if you go to ]http://www.nvwg.cap.gov/units/rcs.htm] and click on the hard to see little blue mark after the commanders name you can shoot an email to the squadron commander.

[Gunner C]

Please give us an AAR when you get back.  You're going to have a blast!