RECIP TECHNOLOGY
Wrenching at Reno
The challenges of air racer maintenance are unique
to most aircraft mechanics
R
By Tim Kern
Tim Kern has
attended and
reported on
all the Reno
races since the
no-race year
of 2001, and
has done some
light lifting
on a number
of teams in
several classes.
eno. Nineteenth-century boom
town. Gambling mecca. The
biggest little city in the world.
And host city for the only
pylon air racing in the world.
Every September, at Stead Field, just over a
hundred of the world's most "Type-A" pilots
and some of the best crews in motorsports
gather to go faster than anyone else. With
six classes and a week of qualifying and racing, the courses are vacated only briefly —
and in the interval, top airshow performers
keep everyone looking skyward.
Since virtually all the racers are flying
under some sort of experimental clearance,
innovation is key. Without taking anything
away from the determination and skill of
the pilots, he who innovates best has the
best chance of winning. Rules constrain
some innovation; but the rules apply to
everyone in the class, so each team tries to
tweak its airplane to the top of the chart.
The challenges of wrenching at Reno
exceed the imagination of most who haven't
been in combat support. Not only is routine
maintenance of unique machines difficult
and often unorthodox, it must be performed
with tight precision and often with no
guidelines, as it is not uncommon to fabricate and test entirely new ideas during race
week.
Although many of the T-6s and biplanes
fly regularly, many others, in Sport, Formula
One, Jet, and Unlimited classes fly only
rarely; some are in one piece, literally, only a
few weeks in the year. This doubles the load
on mechanics, some of whom may never
have seen the airplane in this year's configuration. (And sometimes, the modifications
don't fit, or don't work!)
Photo by Tim Kern
12
April 2013
Aircraft Maintenance Technology • www.AviationPros.com • www.AMTSociety.org