Jet Class Racers

These are all part of the Jet Class races. This would be the fastest pushing speeds past 500 mph, though their are a few Unlimited class racers that have gone past the 500 mph mark as well. The passenger jet in the first image is not an actual race jet but was the pace plane.

Lockheed PV-2D Harpoon

Lockheed PV-2D Harpoon

F-22 Raptor

These were taken while the Raptor was doing it's demo show. The things the pilots can do with these jets is pretty cool to watch.

These last three were processed in lightroom using a preset that desaturates the image some but also gives it a bit of drama that I like when used on the right image.

Lockheed U-2

The U-2 is a reconnaissance aircraft that got it's start back in the 1950's and is still being used today. This one was out of Beale AFB and did a single pass fly-by for the crowd then cruised back up to higher altitude and back home.

The Setting Sun

One day I was out at the Races till later in the evening and taking pictures of planes in the static display. When the sun was low in the sky I decided to take a picture of the plane canopy with the sun on the other side and silhouetting the plane plus getting a bit more color in the sky.

F/A-18E Super Hornet

 The F/A-18E Super Hornet doing a demo flight at the Reno Air Races. 

The Legacy flight.

Ryan STA

This Ryan STA is one of the planes that was in the static display at the Reno Air Races this year. It was an interesting looking 2 seater plane from around 1937. I like how the shinny chrome finish picks up interesting reflections and some blue from the sky. A lot of the images I did in the static display area are more close crop/detail shots as I was trying to find some interesting images and at the same time minimize the amount of clutter and people in the scene. Over the next few weeks I will be doing more blog posts with other photos from this years Air Races.