The Aviation Magazine No 48 January - February 2017 | Page 52
National Championship Air Races 2016
For the 53rd time, the National Championship Air Races thrilled the crowd at Reno with plenty of
awe‐inspiring aircraft both in the air and on the ground. The major highlight of this year’s event
was the United States Navy Blue Angels, coming to the races for the first time since 2009.
The static ramp featured a wide variety of very special military aircraft including the unique F‐15C
Eagle of the Oregon Air National Guard painted up in honor of the division’s 75th Anniversary.
Along with that rare bird were two soon to be retired QF‐4E Phantom IIs, F‐16N and F‐15N Aggres‐
sors and EA‐18G Growler from NAS Fallon, F/A‐18F Super Hornets of VFA‐41, Hawaii Air National
Guard C‐17 Globemaster III, Thunderbirds F‐16 Fighting Falcon Mock‐Up, the new F‐35A Lightning
II, and much more!
Highlights of the air show performances this year were aerobatics by Mike Wiskus in his Lucas Oil
sponsored Pitts Special and Jim Peitz flying his Beechcraft F33C Bonanza. Other acts included the
United States Air Force Academy’s Wings of Blue Parachute Team, Bill Braack in his Smoke ’n’
Thunder Jet Car, and a rare Dassault Falcon 7X flight demonstration. On Friday, the crowd was
treated with some very exciting flybys of the F‐35A Lightning II and QF‐4E Phantom II formations as
the jets came to land for static display.
The stars of the air show acts were the Blue Angels. Under the command of Cdr. Ryan Bernacchi,
the Blue Angels took to the skies of Reno for the first time in seven years with the precise maneu‐
vers they famously showcase across America. Following the tragic loss of former Solo pilot Jeff Kuss
earlier this year, the team modified their takeoff routine by having the solo pilots depart sepa‐
rately.