Nuuumannn's quick trip to Reno!

Great stuff Grant. I'd suggest that a "environmentally conscious" CEO wouldn't be flying around in private jets, period.

There is actually a good environmental case for bizjets in some circumstances. If you are going from point A to point B via point C the carbon footprint of a modern bizjet can be less than taking airlines.

Business wise there is a massively strong case for bizjets as the PAX can work while in the air which you cannot do on airliners and sleep properly which again is almost impossible on jetliners. On top of that the mandatory time sitting around the airport before flight and between sectors when you are paying the executive or team thousands of dollars a day (or hour) is a cost that the business can never recover. If you calculate the lost production of a person in dollars per hour the cost of a bizjet in dollars is way less than the lost production as the people can work securely on the aircraft both in flight and on the ground.

MiTasol said:

Nice to see all the good stuff under cover instead of out in the rain at Meola Rd.

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Yes indeed, although the extension to the main hangar has been in place for many years now. MoTaT, like so many aviation museums, has been hampered by too many objects and not enough space to house them all. Unfortunately, the old buildings out the back, some of them wartime airfield hangars relocated are not in the best state, but there is plenty of room for expansion of existing display space, however, so there is that.

Crimea_River said:

Great stuff Grant. I'd suggest that a "environmentally conscious" CEO wouldn't be flying around in private jets, period.

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Yes and no, there is such a thing as Corporate Social Responsibility, which is essentially a CEO's way of appearing to be considering what the rest of society thinks. CEOs who require business jets will still use them regardless of their environmental impact. I mentioned this to Carlos Brana when I spoke to him about the Falcon, he mentioned that it is a necessity that business jet manufacturers investigate such things because of the pressure the industry is under. The Falcon 10 X, for example will be capable of using both current fuels and SAFs, which will be a first. Dassault's approach is pragmatic, making the jets as slippery and fuel-efficient as possible, and supporting the use of SAFs.

This is the last set from my first day at Reno. Each day is different, I assure you, with more focus on air operations coming up. This is mainly because Friday was the first big public day, even though the gates were open to the public beforehand. Also, not all the airshow acts were performing on Thursday, no F-15, no A-10 or Super Hornet displays, for example. We'll see those in the Friday sets. So, on to some Unlimited action.

This is the T-33 pace aircraft "Ace Maker" from Planes of Fame and flown by Steve Hinton Sr.

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Thunderbird taxying in after its display. It usually opened the flying sequences with a quick throw around.

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Man 'O War getting airborne. I was on the crowd line for these pics, so they are taken at some distance with my big lens, so they're not the sharpest. This also meant that not all of the images I took were clear enough for public consumption.

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Lady Jo climbing out.

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Bunny departing.

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"Gentlemen, we have a race!"

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I didn't bother chasing the Unlimiteds around the circuit, the results would have been rubbish. Never fear though, I got some decent shots of them out at the pylons. Pretty Polly returning.

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Man O' War...

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Pretty Polly at rest.

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Thunderbird about to get a tow.

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Lady Jo about to be towed away. The ubiquitous Ford Ranger proving useful, other than being a menace on the roads to other motorists, that is...

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The P-51H looking good from any angle.

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I don't think I've featured this aircraft yet, this is Race 31 "Speedball Alice" flown by Don Vance.

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The garish Plum Crazy surely does stand out.

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These were the last photos I took on Thursday. Not the sharpest, I think having spent the entire day on my feet got to me.

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So, that was, in short, my first day at the Reno Air Races. I was buggered. Over the next few days I paced myself, taking regular sit-down breaks at the media area and keeping hydrated. I also rationalised what I carried around with me to relieve the load. Lesson learned...

See y'all bright and early tomorrow for a special dawn photoshoot.

Lovely shots Grant!

Great photos. The T-33 is always a treat. When I was in my early single digits, I thought it wasn't a real airplane 'cause jets have swept wings. I have since matured, somewhat.

Your "not the sharpest' photos make me realize how shite even my best ones are.

Crimea_River said:

Your "not the sharpest' photos make me realize how shite even my best ones are.

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Thank you, Andy, believe me, these were the best of a lot of blurry images!

Mornin' folks! A special dawn photoshoot featuring P-51D Swamp Fox, followed by an interloper who happened to mosey on in while we were on the ramp photographing...

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Bardahl crew turning up in their PC-12.

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One aircraft and pilot I have yet to mention is Nick Macy and Six Cat. Frankly, I forgot I had taken this picture. Nick and Six Cat were involved in that terrible collision on the last day of the races. On Thursday I spent a bit of time sheltering under the Six Cat crew marquee and the guys there got talking with me as I casually took photos. Great time chatting and shooting...

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A few arty shots from around the traps, including that terrific P-51H catching the morning light.

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Argonaut.

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Sparky

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Beautiful PC-12 in the static.

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Rolls-Royce power.

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Blue SNJ.

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Dazzle camo on Man O'War.

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Next, some airshow action.

Very good pictures . I will have some for my pc back ground.

Now, some airshow action. After the hard slog of Thursday, I took my time and had regular breaks at the media enclosure resting and consuming fluids, which was handy as it was near the media photography trailer, which was in front of hangars at the pits end of the site. This was available to media personnel all day, except during certain times, like while the Unlimiteds were racing or when the military displays were on. Before these times we were moved away by RARA personnel who usually gave us grace to take photos before asking us to leave. I was not the only one to query this, but it turned out that the trailer was within the aerobatic box on the flight line! I asked what the difference was between being there and being out at the pylons while a race was being conducted and the answer was that out at the pylons, the aircraft are not flying directly over us. I can state with a considerable degree of certainty that that statement was most certainly not true! Anyway, I positioned myself on the trailer for most of the morning, which I benefitted from by being parked near the shade of a convenient hangar and by its proximity to the media enclosure for refreshments.

First up, the Bonanza display. This fully aerobatic F-33C Bonanza was being flown by Jim Peitz, who was a regular performer at the air races. An impressive display of energy management.

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Some images of Unlimited operations before a heat, during which we were told to leave the area. Thunderbird taxying out. The aircraft sat out at the end of the runway for ages before shutting down, no doubt to prevent the engine overheating before the Unlimiteds arrived and took off.

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Man O' War.

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Ace Maker chase.

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Select images of the Unlimiteds taking off.

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Next, the first military display of the day. Although we were told we would have to leave during the military displays, they allowed us this one time owing to the brevity of the display, essentially a high-altitude flyby... U-2 of an unknown reconnaissance squadron of the 9th Operations Group based at Beale AFB, California.

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Next up, more Unlimiteds taxying...

Excellent shots Grant!

For today, aircraft y'all should all be familiar with by now...

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The lovely Swamp Fox. So, I spoke with an old hand at photographing at Reno about low shutter speeds and blur, which, he told me resulted in aircraft vibrating even when static. Parts of aircraft vibrate at different amounts to other parts of aircraft and this is often noticed when aircraft are sitting with their engines running. I had noticed this before but just thought it was something in the lens/user interface, but it makes perfect sense. It explains why some of my photos are slightly blurred and some are not. This one is a nice clear shot but it is ever so slightly blurred...

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Unlimiteds taking off. A good clear view of the runway from this spot.

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Next up, work! We highlight a nifty addition to the show...

Great stuff Grant. The P-40 is looking rather faded since its days at Duxford.

Airframes said:

Great stuff Grant. The P-40 is looking rather faded since its days at Duxford.

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You should'a seen what I looked like after four days in the Reno sun!...