WIX Archives
Re: Clearly fraught with danger...
Posted by bdk on Tue Dec 04, 2001 05:17:52 PM
In reply top Point seen Steve, follow the link inside.. posted by Tony on Tue Dec 04, 2001 03:24:22 PM
: If the safety standards could be in place, then it's not i
: mpossible. Think about it, it would include Europeans as w
: ell, and as Jim says, it's possible the Americans might wa
: nt to get involved as well
Safety measures are clearly warranted....
Actually, the Reno unlimited races have been quite safe. All the past unlimited fatalities have been solo incidents- a structural failure during a race, a landing crash during qualifying by a pilot with limited experience, and an off airport qualifying crash after an engine failure are the last three I recall (since 1980). There was a T-6 midair a few years back, and a T-6 hit a pylon in the 70's, but that's all I recall for that group as well. While no fatalities are acceptable, I think that air racing has far more serious consequences to a crash than auto racing.
The problem as I see it is the requirement for an airfield large enough and with multiple runways to accomodate multiple simultaneous emergency landings. A few thousand acres of more or less uninhabited desert is a help too.
The other problem is finding competitive aircraft. You could have a gaggle of Spitfires flying the pylons at cruise power, but how many owners would be willing to clip their wingtips and truly flog their engines to within an inch (of mercury) of destruction? It isn't a race unless you are pushing the limits.
Reno certainly isn't a cost effective proposition, you have to be willing to throw tens of thousands away a year to be remotely competitive. Even if you win big, you may only make enough to write off a couple of years of racing expense. The once a year aspect also limits sponsorship effectiveness as well. In professional racing, the sponsors pay all the bills. The purse you win is just a sugar coating.
The UK also doesn't have the long history of air racing that Reno has.
Just my observations,
Brandon
