It's Not Just Planes Flying in Reno this Week!

We had another great day at the races! The weather was cooler in the morning with a bit of cloud, but it heated up in the afternoon--as did the racing! The boys pulled out a few more stops today to finish in good place for tomorrow's money races. The supersport class was very fast, but the unlimited class turned the first 3 laps at more than 500 mph! These are the fastest prop planes in the world!

We made it down to the other end of the runway today to see the vintage planes on display and the jets. There were some beautiful old planes there, including one of my favorites: a DC-3. Other great planes included an Albatross Flying Boat and a great Waco biplane. Maybe it is nostalgia or an understanding of the work that goes into restoring a plane, but I sure appreciate seeing the old girls in flying shape. Just because a girl is getting older doesn't mean she's not fun to fly anymore, you know!

Its not just planes flying in Reno this week; I took a flight of sorts myself. We were looking for the Hilton to find a two-for-one all-you-can-eat buffet. As fate would have it, the GPS took us to the site where the Hilton used to be. When we stopped to check the coupon, I had the wrong hotel anyway; it was Harrah's, not Hilton. (Ooops!) But our adventure landed us in a parking lot that had this great rig that lifted you 180 feet into the air and dropped you like a ball on a string. I was the ball. I couldn't talk Murray into going with me, but he did take a great video. Check it out.

This rig gets you going from 0-60 mph in 2 seconds. The best, or worst, part is that when you get to the top of the arc, you pull the release pin. If you watch the video, you can see me fumble for it a bit. I did not want to pull the wrong pin! The lines are a bit slack when you pull the pin, so you drop straight down before starting the arcing path. It was quite a rush, and I am glad I tried it. Murray, you don't know what you are missing!

'Til I write again, I will keep thinking about going fast and turning left. (It seems to be a trend here in the States right now anyway)!