The Reno Air Racing Association will commemorate six decades of the National Championship Air Races with an air show this Friday through Sunday.
The non-racing event will take place at the Reno Stead Airport, longtime home of the Reno Air Races. The racing event, which began in Reno in 1964, will relocate to Roswell, New Mexico, in 2025.
Highlighting the air show will be the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels, the U.S. Air Force's F-16 Vipers and the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds aerial demonstration teams; attendees also have the chance to check out ground displays and book rides in historic aircraft.
Planning to go? Here's what you need to know.
Tickets for the Reno Air Show
The Reno Air Show takes place over three days at the Reno Stead Airport, 4895 Texas Avenue in Reno:
- Friday, Oct. 4, 5:30-8 p.m. (gates open at 4 p.m.)
- Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (gates open at 8:30 a.m.)
- Sunday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (gates open at 8:30 a.m.)
Appropriately enough, tickets to the air show feature airline pricing — at least for early buyers.
Regular-price general-admission tickets for attendees 13 and over are $50 on Friday, $60 on Saturday and $55 on Sunday, or $120 for a three-day pass. But there are discounts for those who buy early, and the discounts shrink as tickets are sold. As of Sunday afternoon, a Friday ticket costs $25, a Saturday ticket goes for $50 and a Sunday ticket goes for $40.
Also available: grandstand tickets and tickets in various VIP-only areas. Visit renoairshow.com/tickets to see ticket packages, pricing and availability.
More: Blue Angels, Oktoberfest, Off Beat Music Festival this week in Northern Nevada
Performers at the Reno Air Show
It's a stacked lineup for this year's event — three military demonstration teams, plus past Air Race competitors and more than a dozen other aerial performers (and even hot air balloons on Friday). Here's the expected lineup:
U.S. Navy Blue Angels (Saturday and Sunday): The flight demonstration team has been around since 1946, and has been a past performer at the Reno Air Races. Their Reno appearance is one of just 34 events where they're appearing in 2024.
U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demo Team (Saturday and Sunday): This Air Force demonstration team, based in Sumter, South Carolina, has 20 performances on its schedule this year. This is just one of two West Coast shows.
Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds (Friday, Saturday and Sunday): The Canadian team has performed at past Reno Air Races events. The team, first established in 1971, is based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Bill Stein Airshows (Friday, Saturday and Sunday): Stein will bring his Zivko Edge 540 and his 29 years of air show experience for all three days of the event.
Condor Squadron (Saturday): This Van Nuys-based squadron flies World War II-era AT-6 airplanes.
Dennis Sanders — Sea Fury 924 (Saturday and Sunday): Part of an air racing family, Dennis Sanders brings his British-built Sea Fury 924 to Reno this weekend.
Firewalkers International Pyro (Friday): This performance, which includes explosives and fireworks, will take place on Friday evening.
Jim Peitz Airshows (Saturday and Sunday): Peitz has been flying aircraft since the 1970s and has been performing aerobatics since 1992; he's flying in a Beechcraft F33C Bonanza.
Planes of Fame formation (Sunday): This crew is based out of the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Claremont, California; its lone appearance in Reno this weekend is on Sunday.
RenegadeAV8R (Saturday and Sunday): David Costa performs in a PZL TS-11 Iskra, a Polish-built jet trainer.
Smoke-n-Thunder JetTruck (Friday, Saturday and Sunday): It's on the ground, but it's still capable of speeds up to 350 mph — this '57 Chevy pickup is modified with twin jet engines.
Steve Hinton — F8F Bearcat (Saturday and Sunday): The longtime Reno Air Races competitor returns to Reno Stead Airport with his restored Grumman F8F Bearcat.
STOL Drag demonstration (Saturday and Sunday): The team calls STOL (short takeoff/landing) a cross between top-fuel drag racing and backcountry airplanes.
Tucker's Air Patrol (Saturday and Sunday): Eric Tucker's act features a 1941 J3 Cub — and an ambulance that serves as the J3 Cub's car-top landing vehicle.
Undaunted Airshows (Friday, Saturday and Sunday): This performance by Stephen "Christo" Christopher and Todd "Woody" Rudberg features two kit planes, both from Oregon-baed Van's Aircraft.
Vertigo Airshows (Friday, Saturday and Sunday): Bob Carlton and his FoxJet Sailplane will perform all three days, though his "night pyro show" featuring plane-mounted pyrotechnics is set for Friday evening only.
Vicky Benzing — Plum Crazy (Saturday and Sunday): Benzing, another former Reno Air Races competitor, brings a restored P-51 Mustang with its signature purple racing livery to the Air Show this weekend.
Rides at the Reno Air Show
If you'd rather be a more active participant in the Reno Air Show, you have the chance to book a flight on the Palm Springs Air Museum's P-51 Mustang ($2,295 per person) or T-6 Texan ($595 per person). Flight duration is 20 minutes; visit renoairshow.org/attractions/rides/ for details and reservations.
Precision Exotics will be on hand to offer a ground-based speed experience for $299 per person. Visit renoairshow.org/attractions/rides/ for details and reservations.
This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Reno Air Show: Where and when to see Blue Angels, Canadian Snowbirds this weekend
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