STIHL National Championship Air Races return to Reno this weekend

The racing lineup for the 55th STIHL National Championship Air Races, scheduled for today through Sunday at the Reno-Stead Airport is set.

The event will feature six racing classes including Unlimited, Jet, Sport, T6, Formula One and Biplane, with speeds reaching over 500 miles per hour. Defending Gold champions returning this year include Rick Vandam flying American Spirit in the Jet Class, Jeff Lavelle flying Race 39 in the Sport Class, John Lohmar flying Radial Velocity in the T6 Class, Lowell Slatter flying Fraed Naught in the Formula One Class and Andrew Buehler flying Phantom in the Biplane Class.

Returning to Reno this year following long absences in the Unlimited Class are Brent Hisey flying Miss America, Mike Brown flying Goldfinger (formerly Risky Business) and Lady B, previously known as Bardahl Miss, will be flown by Michael Pfleger. Graeme Frew, flying Full Noise is returning to Reno for the second year in a row from New Zealand, and for the first time in decades a P63 Kingcobra will round the pylons at Reno.

“This is an exciting lineup of talented pilots flying beautiful planes, and we expect to see some close and competitive racing in all of the classes,” said Tony Logoteta, RARA COO. “We are really looking forward to welcoming back some teams that haven’t been to Reno in years and also seeing all of the members of this passionate racing community that follow our one-of-kind event.”

For more information, https://airrace.org/