It’s been discussed in the past, but I think perhaps we’ve reached an inflection point. The Reno Unlimited purse no longer seems to attract anything but stockers. It’s a far cry from what it was only a few years ago, let alone 10, 20 years +. Witness today’s outcome, with places 1-3 taken by the Sanders’ stock(ish) Sea Furies.
I like the Sanders family and everything they’ve done to keep warbirds alive, so I’m not complaining about them. But DQing what is arguably the only race plane—Miss America—for high flying (which was no higher than past years) is about the last nail in the coffin. I don’t see Miss A coming back, Voodoo’s retired, Sherm no longer wants to tempt fate flying Czech Mate, Tsunami languishes in reconstruction, Rare Bear seems forgotten by its owner, and Tiger can’t seem to be bothered to field Strega again.
On a brighter note, IF1 seems as strong as ever, and Sport Class is perhaps as fast as ever with great performances from Jeff Lavelle, Andy Findlay, Jim Rust, and sprited competition from Kevin Eldridge. Time will tell whether these other classes can carry the event. I hope we will soon see Sport Class eclipse the 450+ mph performance of the Super Mustangs of yesteryear—maybe there is another golden age around the corner.
Is this sport doomed to die, or is this just the point where it’s no longer viable to modify warbirds relative to the purse?
I like the Sanders family and everything they’ve done to keep warbirds alive, so I’m not complaining about them. But DQing what is arguably the only race plane—Miss America—for high flying (which was no higher than past years) is about the last nail in the coffin. I don’t see Miss A coming back, Voodoo’s retired, Sherm no longer wants to tempt fate flying Czech Mate, Tsunami languishes in reconstruction, Rare Bear seems forgotten by its owner, and Tiger can’t seem to be bothered to field Strega again.
On a brighter note, IF1 seems as strong as ever, and Sport Class is perhaps as fast as ever with great performances from Jeff Lavelle, Andy Findlay, Jim Rust, and sprited competition from Kevin Eldridge. Time will tell whether these other classes can carry the event. I hope we will soon see Sport Class eclipse the 450+ mph performance of the Super Mustangs of yesteryear—maybe there is another golden age around the corner.
Is this sport doomed to die, or is this just the point where it’s no longer viable to modify warbirds relative to the purse?