A cake of potatoes

Last weekend I attended Reno Air races 2017 with Atoll lab editor Cerebral error and site story author Unknownjester. Since learning about the existence of the races 3 years ago, Ive made the nearly 4 hour drive to the desert every year without fail. This year was slightly more special because I was armed with the kind of cash I had always dreamed of having: Blowing 4-600$ on the weekend alone. The big draw this year was going to be the Texas flying legends demo, an A-10 thunderbolt II with  P-38 heritage flight, A Harrier flight, And the possibility of the B2 spirit or the B1-b doing a fly over Stead airport. Armed with this knowledge I had fantasies of how it was going to go down. Id drag one of my compatriots under his fav jet, and we’d experience what it was like to be lost under the magnitude of such a magnificent craft (the mechanics view). I had been waiting Months for this, and checked the airshow website for updates bi-weekly. The trouble with the Air races is that the static military display attendees are almost never static. you can count on the High rollers division to be there with their c-130’s, and the Hawaiian air national guard to be there with their c-17, but everyone else is random as to whether they will show up. I promised Jester he’d have a plethora of f-16’s to lay under as I had done so the previous year. Only to find they brought one and only one witch was cordoned off in thunderbirds livery.  They had plenty of Eagles, Hornets, super hornets, A-10’s, and small interceptor jets. Tons of L-39’s covered in racing sponsorship, and 2 Harriers to boot. Our major pitfall was having a tight schedule I had to adhere to to get cerebral back to the SFO airport in time. So we weren’t sure if wed buy a 2nd ticket for sunday to fuck around and see the main shows again for the final time. It was decided for us: The schedule was all fucked up this year, and we needed to attend both days to get the full experience. The P-38 only flew on Sunday because they needed to get a prop regulator for one of the engines. The B2 only did its flyby on Sunday because it coincided with a football game going on in another state. If you only went on Sunday, You’d be ripped off to know that the Harriers bailed on their own demo Sunday leaving the Texas flying legends to pick up the slack. Otherwise, I sprang for Pitt tickets, and it was fucking worth it.. all the good WWII shit was back there, including the good bathrooms.  The other major Highlights of my trip was getting to purchase a discarded 30mm A-10 shell from one of the pilots. I also me Brian Schul who was signing his books and shaking hands. If you don’t know who Brian Schul is, hes the Author of Sled Driver, one of the quintessential reads for any fan of aviation related to the Sr-71 black bird. You can read it in a PDF here since the old version is out of print: https://titanatelier.com//wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Sled-Driver.pdf

^ Filthy plane kissers

The guy in white/green is Cerebral, This is just a small highlight sample of the pics I snapped. This year alone Ive posted a billion pics already So I thought it best to just pick out a few highlights and leave the rest to the movies I will upload later from here and from Whiteman. We didn’t get that awesome prime Rib I was hoping for either, all the steakhouses were overbooked till 9pm. But I did get a hold of this amazing birthday cake sized plate of curly fries that the average fatty could never forget. I’m taking my Ingoplane to Reno next year with a pitt pass and I hope its at least as glorious if not more so then it has been so overall.

*If you are thinking of going to The Reno Air races then I have a couple of tips for you. 1. use sunblock even if you think it is snowing outside (I didn’t get sunburned this year, but the lack of humidity sapped all the moisture from my lips enough to cracks them. Use lip balm if you can). 2. 10-20$ in parking puts you very close to the race entrance where drinks are more affordable. Don’t get caught walking a mile in temps that can give you heat stroke some years just to get to the good shit. 3. Touch, sit under, and enjoy the planes.. These suckers aren’t cordoned off usually. Now is your time to get all the selfies you can handle. 4. Check the schedule board often.

^ If anyone out there knows anyone with an etsy that makes custom clothes, Id like to have a raptor hoodie made for my beau. I’m serious. Just like the ones these girls have. Please let me know. Money is no object.

**** STAY TUNED I WILL HAVE MOVIES SOON**

https://youtu.be/fvKK4Jf-6m0

^ mashup discovery courtesy of cerebral. This is how I felt about planes on that 4 hour trip home.