Air race championship takes flight in New Mexico’s Roswell

Fans of head racing in head at screaming speeds go to an unknown sky while the first national competition begins in New Mexico for the first time in 60 years of history.

The air races of the five -day national championship take place until Sunday in a commercial aerodrome and the old Air Force base outside Roswell. It is a region of distant oil production which is also famous for the supposed observations of unidentified flying objects – called abnormal phenomena not identified by the government – and speculations on extraterrestrials.

Most competitions take place at less than 250 feet (76 meters) from the ground – but not below 50 feet (15 meters) – while the pilots challenge gravity to surround a course marked by vintage pylons surmounted by brilliantly decorated barrels.

Competitors will pilot the Formula 1 self-constructed propeller runners, brilliant painted aerobatics and even jets capable of exceeding 500 miles per hour (804 kilometers per hour).

“It is up to eight planes in the sky together at the same time run against each other, not against a clock, and there is nowhere else in the world you can see like that,” said Tony Logoteta, president of the Reno Air Racing Association which now manages Roswell races.

The competition left Nevada late while houses and businesses have gradually held up in space for the race, amplifying ground safety problems. The Reno Air Racing Association took a year of leave to launch the Air Roswell races.

The organizers hope to attract new fans from neighboring Texas and connect between 30,000 and 40,000 unique visitors this year. Tens of thousands of tickets were sold before the opening day and the Roswell hotel rooms were operated.

During its last decade in Reno, the event has attracted more than a million visitors and generated more than $ 750 million for the economy, according to the association.

New Mexico is investing millions of dollars in Roswell Air Center improvements, including the stands that will contain up to 9,500 once.

The cities of six states have submitted the races, which require open land, appropriate tracks, a ramp and a hangar space, safety facilities, equipment for spectators and more.

The organizers say that the Roswell Air Center gives the place of the event to develop and an uninterrupted view of the course and planes against a clear desert sky.

The racing finals were set for Sunday. Companion air shows had to present military and vintage planes and acrobative displays.

The only years apart from the national championship are due to the September 11 attacks, the COVVI-19 pandemic and the move to Roswell.

The races by hunting aircraft in the era of the First World War are a sustainable favorite among fans, but will not take place this year after these participants have withdrawn for unpertified reasons.

Despite this, the new house of the event is imbued with military aviation. The region has three Air Force bases, the range of white sand missiles and army facilities in Fort Bliss.

Two vintage planes have fatally collided on the last day of the 2023 national championships at Reno-Stead airport.

This accident increased the counting of pilots or artists killed in races at 24. The deadliest day was in 2011, when 10 spectators died in an accident at the limit of the gallery – the only fatal accident involving spectators.

The organizers say that the new location has safety benefits. The races, accredited by the Federal Aviation Administration, require that the pilots will undergo compulsory training and tests. Spectators sit the rights, further from the dangers of racing turns, said Logoteta.

The course is also far from all the districts of a remote commercial aviation station which extends over 80 square miles (207 square kilometers). It was the house of Walker Air Force Base before its closure in 1967.

Fire, rescue and application agencies are closely involved.

“Security is still n ° 1,” said Logoteta. “And at the same time, we also recognize that there is a risk inherent in any motor sport for participants.”

Investigators last week released their conclusion in the 2023 crash, noting that two experienced pilots were listening to their expected flight routes and never seen themselves before.

Although the list of accidents involving vintage aircraft used or designed for military purposes is long, experts from the aeronautical industry said that in the days that followed the 2023 crash that they were stunned that such experienced pilots found themselves collision.

The National Transportation Safety Board report said that the two pilots had not traveled the standard routes, a pilot taking a wide turn and the other adopting a tighter approach.