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The Air Force has always been a high visibility faction at the Reno Air Races. This is the only place that, myself included, most fans have been able to get a glimpse of some of the most secretive aircraft in the United States arsenal. This is one BIG reason that I love to go to Reno in September. There have been many flybys and aerial demonstrations by the Air Force and I am going to address them here. From the slow flyby of a C-5A Galaxy to the high speed pass of an F-16, (which a couple of years ago resulted in a sonic boom quite by accident) the Air Force provides a good show.
To start, let's take a look at the Bombers. It's natural for me to start here because my Dad flew them for his whole career in the Air Force. One thing I really miss after I moved to Washington State is the drive to Reno in September. If you hit this one stretch of highway 95, just South of McDermitt, Nevada, just right, you can see B-52's making low level bomb runs on the East side of the highway. The Navy is on the West side, and every once in a while, I got to see A-6 Intruders making low level runs to the South. I don't drive that way anymore, and I wonder if they are still doing the same thing? Anyways, the B-52's have made a few appearances. I think it's great. The B-52 force has been cut down quite a bit, I think to less than 100 now. I hope they can come back before they are all retired to the boneyard. The B-1B "Lancer" has made a few low passes for the crowds in the last ten years. They aren't too unique to the Air Force with their variable geometry wings, (swing wings for the layperson), as the F-111 has been around since the days of Viet Nam.They are pretty darn cool
in my opinion. Reno was where I got my first glimpse of this remarkable beast. Jimmy Carter, in his infinite lack of wisdom, elected to stop production of this eventual replacement for the B-52, but after President Ronald Reagan went to Washington D.C. on the promise to strengthen the Armed Forces, the Rockwell assembly lines were geared back up and the aircraft was produced in limited quantity, 100 I think. Originally intended to be part of the nuclear deterent force of the US, they have since been adapted for conventional weapon delivery due to the stand-down from continuous alert during the "Cold War". And, once again, there in Reno, was I to witness for the first time, a couple of passes by the B-2 Stealth Bomber. The Reno Air Race Association, (with the cooperation of the Air Force), came through. That was back in 1995 as I recall. There has been a long standing joke with the announcers at Reno, to tell the crowd that they had just "missed" the flyby of the Stealth Bomber or F-117 Stealth Fighter, also known as the "Night Hawk", as they were so stealthy, one could not see or hear them. But, they have made their appearances after the joke sort of became worn. 
The F-117 gained alot of noteriety and exposure during the Gulf War, and proved it's value. They were very effective as penetrating bombers, (which is their real function as opposed to being a true fighter), bombing some of the most heavily defended real estate in the world without an operational loss. Pretty amazing in light of all the bullets that were coming up to shoot them down. Now, alot of this would not have been possible without the flying gas stations, the KC-135, (shown here), and KC-10's. These guys have a very quiet role in all of the operations, regardless of service. They accompany our aviation forces across the globe, providing fuel and probably some comfort to the crews, as they deploy to their destinations. They don't get much recognition from the media, theirs not a glorious task, but, without them, the United States wouldn't be the force in the world that we are today. I include them with the bombers because they have performed such a vital service for over 35 years, and as a kid, they were always at the bases my Dad was stationed at, so I naturally associate them with the bombers.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-15 Eagle are certainly two of the most desired fighters in the world today. The Falcon serves in a variety of roles, most notably as a fighter-bomber, but is a very capable Fighter as well. It's bigger brother, the F-15 Eagle, started out as an air superiority fighter, but has been developed, with the addition of a weapons officer in the back, into the Strike Eagle. It maintains it's advantage as THE premier fighter, yet has the added ability to drop bombs if necessary. They have both been appearing at Reno for a number of years, and the F-16 serves with the Air Force Demonstration Squadron we all know as the Thunderbirds. (More about them on the Teams page). Another aircraft that was commonly seen at Reno for many years, but is no longer in active military service with the US, (except in a limited role in test squadrons), is the F-4 Phantom. 
This amazingly long-lived fighter was the front line air superiority fighter for the Navy and the Air Force for almost 30 years, and still serves with a number of other Air Forces around the world. It made a great reconnaissance aircraft as well, and the Nevada Air National Guard, equipped with this version, would fly by in formation during opening ceremonies. They also served with the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds for several years. One year, 1988 I believe, in a demonstration of the climbing ability of a Sikorsky Skycrane, Phantom came screaming in and started to climb about the same area as the Skycrane began his climb. The Skycrane won as I recall, in a climb to an altitude I DON'T recall. (Might have been 8000 feet, not sure). That wasn't a bad reflection on the F-4, as much as a demonstration of the Skycrane capability. Anyhow, that is the extent of the fighters as represented at Reno. I already talked about the F-117, and we have yet to see the latest fighter to soon be in production. That would be the F-22 and I am sure we will see one in Reno in the next couple of years. I'd be willing to bet on it! Finally, there have been several visits from the A-10 Thunderbolt squadrons. Talk about an awesome aircraft!
The A-10 has been around for a long time. The whole aircraft was designed around the gun in the nose. It was designed as a tank buster to take on the massed tanks of the former Soviet Union and Communist Europe. The aircraft never had to prove itself in Europe thankfully, but it did get to show its' stuff in the Gulf War, (just ask the Republican Guard, HAH!) This aircraft is unique in several ways. The engines are located in a position that only enhances ease of maintenance, but also to reduce the infrared signature from heat seeking missiles. The engines are externally cool and smokeless as well. The wings and vertical stabilizers assist in masking the IR signature as well. Additionally, all vital items, (flight control surfaces, main landing gear, etc.), are interchangeable, left and right.There have been several incarnations of T-38 Talons over the years, but I can't find any pictures of US models. I will have one in the Canadian group though.
Okay, so now we will talk about the SR-71 Blackbird, U-2, and TR-1, (which is a fancy U-2). Everyone with a general interest in Military aviation is probably aware of the SR-71, and anyone who is familiar with US History of the last 40 years or so should be familiar with the U-2, (keywords: Gary Powers, CIA, Kruschev, John F.Kennedy, Cuban Missle Crisis, Castro, etc.). The SR-71 finally made an appearance at Reno in the mid 1990's, the U-2 and the updated brother, the TR-1 have made a show or two as well. The SR-71 was briefly retired from military service, but then reactivated in limited numbers due to the missing link in real-time and High Altitude reconnaissance when the Gulf War popped up. The aircraft is still one of the most advanced in the world, which is pretty good considering it has been in service since 1966. It still holds many records for altitude, (the U.S. only claimed what it needed to for the record. It's real capabilities and alot of it's accomplishments are still classified to this day!), and speed, (coast to coast in a 
couple of hours!). An amazing aircraft that I am glad belongs to the United States. The U-2 has a history of it's own, starting with the shooting down over Russia of Gary Powers waaayyy back in 1960. The U-2 was responsible for finding the missle sites on Cuba which started the embargo of Cuba and provided a dangerous period of time for the world with the Missle Crisis in 1962. They provided reconnaissance over the former Soviet Union, China, and Viet Nam for a long time. The latest version of the U-2 is the TR-1 which has a number of improvements in sensors over the U-2. It is easily recognized by the pods mounted in the wings. All three of the aircraft discussed here were designed and built by the Lockheed "Skunkworks", (and the same people who are helping Jon Sharp build his new racer replacement for Nemisis). Reno is basically where my first exposure to these three amazing aircraft took place. The recurring theme here? If you want to see rare aircraft, go to Reno in September and they will come, eventually.
One of the things that really used to crack me up was when the announcers would say, "would the driver of such and such vehicle please move it as it is parked in a no parking zone". Okay, no big deal because you knew it wasn't yours. Then, a little while later, they would announce it again, this time with a little more urgency. Finally, they would say, "okay, this is what we do with cars that are illegally parked around here!" The next thing you would see is a Skycrane from the local Army Reserve outfit flying by with a car suspended 
below. Then, the crowd would cheer for them to drop it in the desert. They would climb about a thousand feet and drop it on the desert floor. It was way cool! Once, they did it with three cars, and a couple of times, they dropped a school bus. It was a sad day when they quit doing that routine. It was a real crowd pleaser. The Army has brought some really cool stuff to show off at Reno. They are occasionally called upon to help the Forest Service in the fire suppression role, (from the ground and the air). They showed how the Chinook is employed with a great big water bucket a couple of times. I think the bucket holds 500 gallons of water, which is quite a bit of weight. They have brought in an Apache, (which made a name for itself in the Gulf, too), and put it through its' paces. It is amazing how fast the thing can fly backwards and sideways. They got it into some pretty serious attitudes that seem strange for a helicopter.With the chain gun and Hellfire wire guided missiles and a crew of two, this helicopter provides some pretty serious firepower for the ground troops. Another helicopter that the Army still uses is the Huey. It was seen in alot of TV news programs from the 60's and 70's during the Viet Nam conflict. It could be used as an attack helicopter or as most recognized I think, was as an ambulance. They are seen regularly in civilian applications today. The Army has a test and evaluation unit at White Sands in New Mexico where they do all kinds of cool stuff. one of those is the development of flare dispensers for anti-infrared seeking missile protection of the helicopters. They brought a Huey back in 92 that had some great effects when the would fire off a 
bunch of flares in consecutive order out both sides of the chopper. Very Cool! So, the Army has been well represented over the years, and the bulk of their aerial demonstrations have been with helicopters since that is the bulk of their aviation arm. The Golden Knights have made several appearances over the years. That is their parachute demonstration team. They use a Fokker F-27 airliner for their jump platform. I thought I had some pictures of these guys, but I think it is all on video. So, this would be the point where I will wrap up the Army part of the page and proceed to the Miscellaneous section where I will take a short look at the transports and retired military aircraft involved in other roles than for what they were originally intended. 
Over the years, there have been a few different miscellaneous demonstrations of Military aircraft, active and retired, that serve as fire suppression delivery vehicles. There was once a demonstration with a KC-97, which originally served as the mainstay of the United States aerial refueling fleet. Powered by 4 Pratt and Whitney 4360 engines, (thats 28 cylinders, 56 sparkplugs per engine), the KC-97 was still in active Reserve squadrons in the mid 1980's. The aircraft was based on the Boeing Model 367, which was based on the B-29! The model eventually eventually adapted as the Model 377 Airliner, also known as the Strato Cruiser. It was very successful, until the model was replaced with the KC-135, turbojet powered aircraft, which was based on the Boeing 707. It became obsolete, mostly because of the high altitude that later aircraft were capable of flying at, and because the KC-97 was required to fly in a shallow dive to maintain the speed required to keep the B-47 Bomber out of it's stall envelope. Another aircraft that has been employed as a borate bomber is the C-130 Hercules. The C-130 is known 
for it's cargo carrying capacity and durability. Several examples can be seen in civilian applications as retardent bombers and as cargo haulers. In fact, UPS used one to fly Keiko, the killer whale, home to Iceland, (you know, "Free Willy"). Another cargo aircraft that has been seen several times at Reno is the huge C-5A Galaxy. It is the largest aircraft in the United States military. It has, in my opinion as an Aircraft Mechanic, too many wheels, 28 to be exact, (4 nose and 24 main). Capable of carrying any piece of Army equipment, including tanks, self propelled howitzers, or three Chinook helicopters, the aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of close to 1 million pounds! Incredible! They are hearty aircraft though and will be in service for a long time. There have been several models of primary jet trainers that have been at Reno. Currently, the T-33 is used as the pace plane for the Unlimiteds. They have been used around the world by many Air Forces. A very capable aircraft, the T-33 can be seen in many airshows. They might even have a class of their own in Reno someday. 
Finally, there is the T-38 Talon, seen here in the single seat fighter version known as an F-5 Freedom Fighter. This particular model is seen in a Canadian paint scheme, (and quite attractive I might add). The T-38 has trained alot of the current pilots in the Air Force, as the primary advanced fighter trainer. Capable of transonic flight, the F-5 has been used by the Navy and Air Force as an adversary aircraft at the Top Gun school for the Navy ans as an agressor squadron component in the Air Force's Red Flag execises. It is slowly appearing in civilian hands and will be around for some time itself in active duty. The last picture here is of one of the ambassadors from one of the cassino's in town who help to sponsor teams and the military personnel who appear at Reno. As usual, the women flock to the guys in flight suits, as seen here. I just thought the Casino's deserved an honorable mention here. So, that's about it for the Military Page. Thanks for visiting, and we'll see you in the Teams Page, hopefully soon.
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