From a recent article about the Reno Air Races in The Atlantic magazine:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/01/the-need-for-speed/8842/
I did not attend last year's Reno Air Races but I was there a year previous. This is one of the most exciting race events held anywhere. Engines roar and the air vibrates with glorious doppler shift in the high desert sky. Piston-driven airplanes and newer jets scream across the ground at altitudes meant for kite flying. Cascading adrenaline surges from pilot to race-fan, and we watch, mouths agape, falling deeper in love with flight and awed by the boundaries pushed by the men who build and fly these machines.
What happened to Galloping Ghost and the victims of the mishap was an unspeakable tragedy. Bad luck on a diabolical scale, I've heard it described. Negligence too, maybe, but judges and juries will decide that, I suppose.
A hundred plus years ago, people went to arenas to attend gun shows. That is, guns firing real bullets by entertainers like Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill. Over time, accidents happened and now it's all different. We can watch trick shooting from the safety and comfort of our computers through videos that appear effortlessly before us. Is this the fate of air racing? I hope not, but I don't think the organizers of these events will be able to assure the absolute safety of spectators when being close is the whole point of being there.
I rode a motorcycle 800 miles to Reno a year and a half ago to watch air racing. I knew the odds of being injured were much worse riding on the public roads than sitting in the bleachers at Stead field. Still, as someone who has always tried to resolve chance of disaster vs. outcome of exhilaration, I couldn't help but look at the planes rounding turn four and recognize the potential for a catastrophe.The machines are beautiful, thrilling, and dangerous. They will always attract spectators, in person or otherwise.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/01/the-need-for-speed/8842/
I did not attend last year's Reno Air Races but I was there a year previous. This is one of the most exciting race events held anywhere. Engines roar and the air vibrates with glorious doppler shift in the high desert sky. Piston-driven airplanes and newer jets scream across the ground at altitudes meant for kite flying. Cascading adrenaline surges from pilot to race-fan, and we watch, mouths agape, falling deeper in love with flight and awed by the boundaries pushed by the men who build and fly these machines.
What happened to Galloping Ghost and the victims of the mishap was an unspeakable tragedy. Bad luck on a diabolical scale, I've heard it described. Negligence too, maybe, but judges and juries will decide that, I suppose.
A hundred plus years ago, people went to arenas to attend gun shows. That is, guns firing real bullets by entertainers like Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill. Over time, accidents happened and now it's all different. We can watch trick shooting from the safety and comfort of our computers through videos that appear effortlessly before us. Is this the fate of air racing? I hope not, but I don't think the organizers of these events will be able to assure the absolute safety of spectators when being close is the whole point of being there.
I rode a motorcycle 800 miles to Reno a year and a half ago to watch air racing. I knew the odds of being injured were much worse riding on the public roads than sitting in the bleachers at Stead field. Still, as someone who has always tried to resolve chance of disaster vs. outcome of exhilaration, I couldn't help but look at the planes rounding turn four and recognize the potential for a catastrophe.The machines are beautiful, thrilling, and dangerous. They will always attract spectators, in person or otherwise.
