Jets clip wings at Reno

The showcase Unlimited Gold race was won by Joel Swager of Ione, California, flying Mk 20 Sea Fury Dreadnought. Swager posted an average speed in the race of 417.735 mph. Second place went to Brent Hisey of Ardmore, Oklahoma, flying P–51D Mustang Miss America, averaging 410.927 mph; Curt Brown of Hudson, Wisconsin, captured third flying Sea Fury Sawbones at an average 401.721 mph. There were eight aircraft in the Unlimited Gold field.

The audience experienced some excitement when two Aero L–39 Albatros jet trainers clipped wing tips during Jet Heat 2B on Friday morning. Nathan Harnagel of Friendswood, Texas, flying Reality Czech, appeared to be overtaking Alexandre Eckmann of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who was piloting Race 37, when their wing tips collided. Although the collision reportedly took place out of view from the grandstands, the crowd had ringside seats for the jets’ recoveries. Both aircraft sustained damage, although Eckmann’s jet—which lost a portion of its right wing, and also had visible damage to its vertical stabilizer—appeared more heavily damaged. The pilots immediately climbed above the race course, and both aircraft landed safely. There were no injuries.

The Reno Air Racing Association’s video team captured dramatic video of the collision, and documented the safety procedures undertaken as both damaged aircraft recovered. 

Mike Steiger of Cypress, Texas, won the Jet Gold race flying L–39 Albatros American Spirit. He averaged 486.208 mph in the championship race. Pete Zaccagnino of Park City, Utah, took second in the L–29 Delfin, Just Lucky, averaging 477.900 mph; Pete Stavrides of North Haven, Connecticut, captured third in the six-jet field flying L–39 American Patriot at an average 474.612 mph.

Andrew Findlay of McCall, Idaho, surprised many when he won the Sport Gold race flying Lancair Super Legacy One Moment at a remarkable 402.716 mph. Second and third in the race went to Super Glasair IIIs flown by Jeff LaVelle of Kenmore, Washington (second place) and Bob Mills of Reno (third).

Winners in the other classes of the fifty-fifth National Championship Air Races were:

Formula One, Justin Meaders of Ft. Worth, Texas, flying Snoshoo SR–1 Limitless, 239.521 mph.

Biplane, Andrew Buehler of Olalla, Washington, flying modified Mong Sport Phantom, 221.721 mph.

T–6 Class, John Lohmar of Dallas flying SNJ–5 Radial Velocity, 228.612 mph.

Complete 2018 race results are available online. Next year’s National Championship Air Races will take place Sept. 11 through 15. For more information, see the Reno Air Racing Association website.