Richard Glenn Rutan was an American military aviator and officer. He was also a record-breaking test pilot who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight with co-pilot Jeana Yeager. Rutan was born and raised in Loma Linda, California, where he gained an interest in flying at a young age. He was the older brother of famed aerospace designer Burt Rutan, whose many earlier original designs Dick piloted on class record-breaking flights, including Voyager.
The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in Mojave, California, United States, at an elevation of 2,801 feet (854 m). It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a spaceport by the Federal Aviation Administration on June 17, 2004. The facility covers 2,998 acres and has three runways.
Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a previously estimated time.
The Reno Air Races, officially known as the National Championship Air Races, are a multi-day event tailored to the aviation community that took place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada, with the last races held in 2023. The Reno Air Racing Association plans to resume racing at a new venue in 2025. Air racing is billed as "the world's fastest motor sport" and Reno was one of the few remaining venues. The event includes races in six classes and demonstrations by airshow pilots.
The Scaled Composites Pond Racer was a twin-engine twin-boom aircraft developed for Bob Pond by Burt Rutan and his company Scaled Composites.
Darryl George Greenamyer was an American aviator. He started his flying career in the US Air Force Reserve. After leaving the Air Force, he then began to work at Lockheed where he eventually became an SR-71 test pilot at Skunk works. While working at Lockheed he met many of the engineers who would later help him make modifications to future race planes. He won his first victory in the Unlimited Class at the Reno Air Races in 1965. He is the third most successful competitor in Reno Air Race history.
The World Championship Air Race is a series of air races sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). Originally established in 2003 as the Red Bull Air Race, and created by Red Bull GmbH, the event involves competitors navigating a challenging obstacle course in the fastest time. Pilots fly individually against the clock and have to complete tight turns through a slalom course consisting of pylons, known as "air gates".
The AMSOIL Racer, also known as the Rutan Biplane Racer and the Rutan Model 68 Racer, was a race tandem wing plane which was designed by Burt Rutan's Rutan Aircraft Factory, and built and flown by Dan Mortensen. It set several speed records, but crashed at the 1983 Reno Air Races.
Rare Bear is a highly modified Grumman F8F Bearcat that saw major success at the Reno Air Races over multiple decades.
The Sharp Nemesis NXT with "NXT" standing for "Neoteric experimental Technology," is a kit-built sport-class aircraft designed specifically for air racing. It serves as a successor to the previous model, the Sharp Nemesis, and was created by Jon Sharp, the president of Nemesis Air Racing. The Nemesis NXT is a single-engine, low-wing aircraft with retractable gear and seating for two individuals. The original design of the aircraft incorporates a Lycoming TIO-540-NXT Thunderbolt six-cylinder engine for propulsion.
Lowell Richard Bayles was an American air race and stunt pilot from the "Golden Age of Air Racing." He was the winner of the 1931 Thompson Trophy flying the Gee Bee Model Z. He was killed during an attempt at the landplane speed record when the Model Z he was flying crashed at over 300 miles per hour (483 km/h) mph.
Vicki Cruse was an American aerobatic pilot and administrator. She won the U.S. national unlimited aerobatic title in 2007 out of a field of 101 participants. It was only the fourth time that a woman had become the national champion.
The GP-5Sweet Dreams was a Super Sport Class racing airplane designed by George Pereira, owner of Osprey Aircraft. It was originally built by Gary Childs, who sold it to another builder, who in turn sold it to George Backovich. Backovich enlisted the help of designer Pereira to complete it in 2007, after changes to its automotive engine conversion, and switching the propeller manufacturer.
Steve Hinton is an American aviator who held a world speed record from 1979 to 1989 and won six Unlimited-class air races, including two national championships. He won four consecutive Unlimited races in one year.
The Red Baron was a North American P-51D Mustang NX7715C, original serial number 44-84961. It raced from 1966 to 1973 under the names Miss R.J. and Roto-Finish Special, winning Unlimited Gold in 1972. In February 1974, it was purchased by Ed Browning of Red Baron Flying Service in Idaho Falls, Idaho and renamed the Red Baron.
The Galloping Ghost was a P-51D Mustang air racer that held various airspeed records and whose fatal crash in 2011 led to several NTSB recommendations to make air shows safer.
On September 16, 2011, The Galloping Ghost, a highly modified North American P-51D Mustang racing aircraft, crashed into spectators while competing at the Reno Air Races in Reno, Nevada, killing the pilot, Jimmy Leeward, and ten people on the ground. Sixty-nine more people on the ground were injured. It was the third-deadliest airshow disaster in U.S. history, following accidents in 1972 and 1951.
Voodoo is a highly modified North American P-51 Mustang that was the 2013, 2014 and 2016 Unlimited-class champion of the Reno Air Races. The pilot for these wins was Steven Hinton, Jr of Chino, California.
Drone racing is a sport where participants control drones, equipped with cameras while wearing head-mounted displays -also called FPV goggles- showing the live stream camera feed. Similar to full-size air racing, the goal is to complete a course as quickly as possible. Drone racing began in 2011 in Germany with a number of amateur drone controllers getting together for semi-organized races in Karlsruhe.
Precious Metal is a custom-built racing aircraft based on the North American P-51 Mustang.
