Last month, David headed to the Biggest Little City in the World, sunny Reno, Nevada, for the 47th Annual National Championship Air Races & Air Show. At the event, pilots race in a range of aircraft classes, from biplanes, like the Pitts Special and the Mong, to souped up WWII-era fighter jets, like NAA P-51 Mustangs and Grumman F-8F Bearcats, which can reach speeds of more than 800 km/h.
Above: Aviation legend Doug Mathews, who invited David to join him in the pits, stands tall and proud in his sparkling Vought F4U Corsair, a revered WWII and Korean War plane.
Reno, Nevada: Where the city’s small, but the dreams are huge.
The view from the pit: RVs, airplanes and the Sierra Nevada.
What are the Air Racing pit teams reading these days? The Red Canoe 2010 catalogue, of course. (You can, too. Click here to download the PDF.)
Sweet racing planes are everywhere at this event. Above, the very slick looking Galloping Ghost.
Canada represents with the Gunslinger.
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, an iconic WWII-era warplane that’s been used, at various times, by 28 different nations.
Canada’s ambassadors in the sky: The Snowbirds do what they do best.
David (photographed by David), wearing the brand new North American Aviation Flying Jacket.