Alrighty then....The day broke overcast and cool. Buck, Steve, Dave, and I got up and had a quick breakfast, stowed the camping stuff, (didn't want anything to blow away with the afternoon dust devils), and got everything together for our day in Section 3 and the pits. Buck, Steve, and Dave piled in the "Bucktruck", and I jumped on the "Mighty KLR" for an exciting and brisk ride into the races. It certainly woke me up and got the senses ready for the day ahead.
It was kinda chilly and overcast. At the time, we weren't aware of the significance of the gloom in the air. All I was thinking was, "At last we get to see the "new" and improved Voodoo up close and a look at the changes on Miss Ashley II." We found our parking spot and proceeded to walk towards the main gate. We had to turn down all the offers for pancake breakfasts from the Boy Scouts as we made our way down the street. The next thing we knew, we were peering through the chain-link fence at the rather forlorn and oil soaked Voodoo, sitting in the wash stand. Not a very impressive "First Impression", if you know what I mean. My background as an A&P, and much of that around prop driven aircraft, (albeit turbine powered), led me to the diagnosis of a failed prop seal, judging from the oil starting at the spinner and running off the fuselage all the way back to the tail feathers. We got a few pictures and continued on our way to the main entrance.
After finding a seat in Section 3,
having found my friends and long time Reno attendees, Tony and Chris, we settled in and had our obligatory MGD to toast our arrival and the promise of an exciting day ahead. We watched the opening ceremonies and were able to witness the special presentation of the Section 3 banner from the rear cargo door of the Alaska Air
Force Reserve C-130. It was really quite a kick. The people that make up this group in Section 3 are among the most loyal and longest standing visitors to the Air Races. The group as a whole is very fun to be around and contribute quite a bit of color to the races. The performers all recognize the group in 
various ways. It's always interesting to see what the next performer will do. After a while, we made our way to the pit entrance. One of the things that I really enjoy about Reno is that an enthusiast, (or Air Race Addict such as I am), can get up close and personal with the planes, pilots and crews, and if they aren't too busy, have time to answer questions from the public about their aircraft. These people are fiercly proud of their aircraft and have every right to be. They are participants in the worlds' fastest form of motorsport, and work damn hard to be there. It isn't for the money to be sure. Although, that could change if there were a better education system in place. I know with the Internet taking off, and a trickle of new quality websites devoted to the sport of Air Racing appearing, maybe this will help. There are attempts by the Reno Air Race Association to provide incentives for the young people to come, (which is important for sure), but they need to work on the people with the resources to improve the program a little harder to provide a decent purse. These aircraft are expensive to build and run. The RARA is aware of this and it looks like maybe they are headed in the right direction. Okay I am done with my annual rant. (Last year, it was about the lack of a certain P-38 from the Air Races, which happens to still be a beef.)
The pits are always a very special place to be. I personally love it, because it provides me the opportunity to get some pretty nice pictures of the aircraft. I also refresh my supply of stickers for my tool box, (I am a working A&P, ya know). The supply hasn't been too great over the last few years, unfortunately. I have always tried to get that "One Great Shot", but I am still searching for it. At least with this website I can show some of my pictures and tell a story. One interesting aspect of the pits and being inside the gates at least one day out of the four, is that there are often examples of rare aircraft dispersed among the racers and in the static display areas. The military is always roundly represented, (except the lack of a P-3 Orion every year. I only recall seeing one since I've been going. You would think that someone would be able to talk someone into bringing one. It's a great PR spiel for the Navy, plus the crew should have a great time.) The first pit area I visit, (mostly because they happen to be my personal favorite), is the Strega "dome". There is usually something interesting going on there, and I get to refresh my supply of Strega paraphenalia. The Strega Store has some really good stuff and the people are really 
friendly. Moving on we, stop by the Rogers/Levitz pit and took a close look at the tail of Miss Ashley II. I had heard over the summer that some changes had taken place in that area. (Scary thought considering what was to befall this great team this afternoon). The tour wound around by the Rare Bear pit, (another favorite). Team Rare Bear continued to be plagued with problems, although they were able to complete the Gold heat that afternoon. Next on the photo parade was the Voodoo pit, then Critical Mass, Dago Red, Dreadnought, and the other teams in attendance. After awhile, (and after a couple of brief rain showers), it was time for the racing to begin. The aircraft for Heat 3C were towed out of their pits and out to the ramp for fueling. The unfortunate thing here is that the only pictures I got were the moving kind. (Soon, finally getting the hardware). It was a good race between the first five racers, with Bill Rheinschild leading the pack in Bad Attitude, Seafury #74 with a 385. Also, to add a little more to the mix, Thomas Camp in Maniyak, Race #2, made his first appearance since Thursday. Another stranger from Thursday was John Bagley in Ole Yeller, Race #47. It is really kind of strange to see Bob Hoover's old mount actually racing. Skip Holm apparently had a problem with the Museum of Flying's Bearcat, Race #204. The plane and pilot recovered without incident without finishing the first lap. The Museum of Flying in Santa Monica, and David Price bring some of their planes to race each year and provide some good racing to boot! Everyone returned safely and we strolled around some more, waiting for the next race to begin and getting some more of those great pit photos.
Furies in this heat. Time would tell the story. The aircraft all took off and went around behind Pevine Peak to set up for the start. Shortly the radio crackled over the P.A. system with the most familiar of sayings around these parts, "Gentlemen, you have a race!" It certainly appeared that a good race was in the making, (once again between the Sea Furies). They came down the chute with Bill Rheinschild in Risky Business in the lead. Thankfully, he made no mistakes during this heat and cruised to a first place finish, (I use cruised a little loosely, 406 mph must be a white knuckle experience for anyone). The next three aircraft were not far behind. John Brown in Sea Fury 911, Howard Pardue in #66, and brent Hisey in Miss America were nose to tail for most of the race, finishing second, third, and fourth within 1.1 mph of each other, (that's 1.1 seconds apart!!!). Follow that up with the dueling Sea Furies of Dennis Sanders in Argonaut and Hoot Gibson in Riff Raff split by less than half a second, and you've got some outstanding racing in this class. Jimmy Leeward completed the field in his P-51, Cloud Dancer, at a paltry 353. Bob Hannah, as previously mentioned, did not start due to an oil leak problem. All racers were recovered safely and our attention was drawn to the aircraft of Heat 3A.
section, then the aircraft somersaulted and disintegrated before our eyes. As pieces fell from the sky, I kept hoping, (praying), for a parachute, as unlikely as that would have been considering how quick it happened. (Stranger things have happened). Unfortunately, that would not be the case. It was later announced that Gary Levitz was gone. The pall of smoke rising from "Hoover Gulch" told the story. It is in the interest of reporting what I saw that I tell about this unfortunate event, as well as that it was a significant part of the Reno 99 story.The race continued, albeit with the fans' attention focused to the East. Tiger Destefani was leading in Strega at a blistering pace, with Bruce Lockwood following closely in Dago Red. Dreadnought and Critical Mass were next in line with everyone else pretty well spread out. I found it interesting that the pilot's continued to race, (and that the officials didn't stop the race), despite knowing something dreadful had happened to Miss Ashley II and Gary Levitz. I assume the officials determined that the race posed no threat to the effort going on in Lemon Valley, and vice-versa. Strega posted a good showing and win with a 464, with Dago following up 4 seconds behind with a 459. Dreadnought followed with a 433. Tom Dwelle had cut Pylon 8 and suffered a 12 second penalty. He was a ways behind Brian Sanders with a 399. Daniel Martin in #20 was next with a 389. Rare Bear with Matt Jackson aboard and Stewart Dawson in Spirit of Texas were lapped by the rest of the field. With relief that there were no more problems, the racers landed and taxied in, before a somewhat subdued crowd. After all the racers were recovered, and the rescue helicopters had shut down, there was a bit of stunned silence in the crowd. I don't recall much after that, I suppose due to the shock of what I had seen minutes before. I remember the public address system making some announcements and the four of us finally getting up to go
look at the aircraft in the static display area. We looked around at the beautifully restored Super Corsair, last raced at the Cleveland Air Races in 1949 I believe. It should also be noted that the aircraft was the winner of the first annual Rolls Royce Heritage Trophy for restored aircraft. I guess this will be another aspect of the Air Races to gain more interest in the event. There were two other really interesting aircraft in the same area. A Lockheed "Electra" and a Spartan Aircraft "Executive". They were both brightly polished aluminum and looked like they had just rolled off the factory floor. The bright aluminum provided quite a contrast to the darkened skies, and the gloom that had settled over the whole area. It was really eerie. There was a quietness that I had never seen before at Reno. We took a few pictures and made our way back to the Mighty Pursuit for a late dinner and alot of discussion over what everyone had seen and how everyone felt about it. We drank a toast to Gary Levitz and let ourselves down gently for a final night's sleep in the desert at Stead.
