45th Annual National Championship Air Races Sept. 10-14

The United States Air Force Thunderbirds will bring their distinct, red, white and blue, F-16s to the Reno-Stead Airfield for the 45th Annual National Championship Air Races, Sept. 10-14. The Thunderbirds’ synchronized aerobatics will be complimented by a rare demonstration of the ultra-high tech F-22 Raptor.

The United States Air Force Thunderbirds have been wowing audiences with their aerial acrobatics since 1953, and they have been pushing the limits of their own abilities and the aircrafts they fly, ever since. They will commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Reno Air Races with routines that combine complex maneuvers and extreme precision with high speeds and low altitudes.

“Thunderbird pilots have well earned their place among the pantheon of the greatest pilots to ever buckle a five-point harness,” said Michael Houghton, CEO and president of the Reno Air Racing Association. “The speed, timing and creativity of their demonstrations are only matched by the courage and fortitude with which they perform.”

The F-22 Raptor employs a state-of-the-art thrust system that allows the aircraft to pivot 360 degrees in all directions at practically any speed, defying the fundamental principals and forces that govern flight. When the Raptor makes bank turns or hovers sideways in mid-air, everything any high school physics teacher ever taught about thrust, lift and drag is turned on its head.

“The Raptor is the future realized, a plane so versatile, so capable and so hard to comprehend, no two descriptions are ever the same,” Houghton said. “Words will never do the F-22 justice; the only way to fully grasp what this plane can do is to see it in action.”

The Thunderbirds will arrive Thursday morning at 9:30 and perform an arrival show. They will perform around noon on Friday and Saturday; the world famous F-16s will be housed at the airfield during that time. The F-22 will arrive on Thursday afternoon and perform around 2 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The 45th Annual National Championship Air Races and Air Show in Reno is the premier air racing event in the world. The air races are Sept. 10-14, 2008 at the Reno Stead Airfield. For tickets or more information please visit www.airrace.org or call (775) 972-6663.