Day 12 (9/17/11)

Well, I am sure you all have been bombarded by the events of yesterday afternoon at the Reno Air Races. Just after I prepared my blog and thought I had posted it, I headed over to the airport which was only a block away from where I was camped. The sport class qualifyin heat was in progress while I was walking. They come overhead at about 100 feet off the ground at nearly 300 mph wing to wing and banked over to almost 90 degrees. The sound like a swarm of angry hornets at full throttle. The race ended and I continued to walk toward the viewing area when the unlimited class came in over the field. I did not get to see them take off, but apparently they go around behind the mountain and warm up their engines and then come into the race course lined up and at full tilt. This is a collection of heavily modified warbirds from WWII and some one of a kind specially built race planes. It is hard to describe the noise they other than to say they sound like Indy cars on steroids. Some of them have 16 cylinder engines with superchargers, straight exhausts and preped to scream. Well the thrill ended after about 3 laps when one the planes pulled up suddenly while making his turn over the airport. Something small appeared to come off the plane. It looked like possibly a piece of the elevator. In any event he pulled up abrubtly when inverted and then headed straight for the ground and the VIP box seat viewing area. All you could do was watch and try to judge if you were going to be in the wrong spot or not. I was abut 500 feet away from the crash site and still walking. Everyone froze and people started running in all directions. The airplane literally disintigrated on impact and there was no fire. I am not sure why, as it had to have some amount of high octane racing fuel or alcohol in its tanks. Shrapnel spread in all directions from the impact site, but fortunately the worst of it went out toward the runway. There were people all over the ground that has been hit by the flying shards of aluminum. The announcers quickly told everyone except for people with medical credentials such as doctors, nurses and EMT's to leave the grounds immediately. Amazingly everyone did exactly that. I have been to car races where people ran to the scene of a crash to oggle at the carnage. Not at this site. Everyone quietly and quickly left the premises. It is a totally different kind of crowd that comes to avaiation events I have concluded. There is no trash, no litter, and everyone did exactly as instructed. The area immediately errupted with fire trucks, ambulances, helicopters etc. I have heard conflicting reports of how many were injured, so I will leave that up to the professionals. On the way back to the church I saw a man in sneakers take off his shoes, drop them in a trash barrel and walk off in his bare feet. Another fellow walking near by asked him why and he said they were all coverd with blood as he had been near the point of impact. The mood in the campground was somber to say the least. Everyone had cell phones to their ears and mine would not work. No verizon coverage worked except text messaging for about 3 hours. Other services seemed to work, so someone offered their phone co I could call home and let Adele know I was OK. Prayers are definitely in order for those that lost their lives and were injured. Since the air races are canceled, my first order of business today was to get my oil changed. The BMW dealer in Sparks, NV could not fit me in for a quick oil change. I have been to many dealerships in my travels and have always found them to be very accomodating to people passing through. Not this dealership. I will write to the owner when I get home and let him know that his service manager does not think like an owner and does not understand how small and well connected teh BMW community really is. I used the BMW anonymous book and called another rider here in South Lake Tahoe. He recommended a small shop "The Road Rash Cafe" here in South Lake Tahoe. They did the change for me for $16.50. They did not have my filter or oil type, so I supplied them at their suggestion, but they were very willing to do the work. They are genuinely nice people. Thanks Guys. Hear that Mac Pac and BMW Owners Group folks. If you are in this area, you know who to avoid and who to support. I have been in Hermy's BMW of Port Clinton PA many times when transient riders would pass through despirately in need of a tire mounted or their oil changed and they were always helped with a smile. Some people just get good business and some don't. It is no wonder that dealerships come and go, but the ones that understand customer service always seem to thrive.
As I was packing up my tent this morning I met the two young Airforce pilots that were in the tent beside me. They are stationed in Oklahoma and are almost finished their flight training. I asked them where they were from and one was from Hatfield, PA. Imagine that. The Phillies shirt should have been a dead give away but I am slow. He was an Airforce Academy graduate and had attended LaSalle High School. His hame is Don Huber and it turns out, I had his uncle Oscar Huber (of Oscar Huber Furniture Company fame) in my 8th grade science class, my first year of teaching in Abington back in 1971. Talk about 6 degrees of separation. Don's friend was from Montana. Two very nice young men that we can all be proud of serving their country.
The short ride to Lake Tahoe was welcomed. I just can't describe the beauty of this place. I am camped at Camp Richardson which is where I spent three days last year on the way to Oregon. It just feels like home and I love camping here. Well, this post was way too wordy but I know a lot of folks knew I was going to be at the airshow and I just wanted to pass along my account. Tomorrow it is off for a 500 mile day to Death Valley and Vegas.