Stand on the spectator line at the Reno Air Races and the sense of "calm before the storm" permeates the atmosphere. A few minutes before, we spectators watched the Sport-class aircraft line up, start engines, taxi way down to the east end and then take off to the west, making beautiful airplane noise and flying low to gain airspeed. A few minutes later, if you know where to look, you can see the gaggle of eight airplanes -- nine counting the safety ship (a Lancair IV-P owned by the kit company's boss Joe Bartels) -- swoop down the chute toward the first pylon. The sense of speed is palpable even from this vantage point a couple of miles away. The sleek specks sort themselves out and seek the racing altitude that, on the instrument, must just say, "On the deck."So far, so ho-hum. But then as they round the last pylon before the show-line straight, the sensation of velocity has just an eyeblink to settle in before the noise arrives. It's a combination of deep, gutteral warbling -- one that definitely comes from the same family as your average Bonanza but with much more authority -- and a brutal whine of the prop tips slashing the air. The next airplane in line might be the V-12-powered Thunder Mustang, which sounds like a hyperactive NASCAR stocker. The airplanes round the last pylon banked at 70 degrees or so and shoot off into the distance.Those of us with an ounce of sympathy for things mechanical may actually wince at what those engines are doing.But it's racing, where second place is really only the first loser.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/ownership/motor-head-9-does-racing-really-improve-the-breed