Photo By Capt. Emerson Marcus | Retired Nevada Air National Guard pilot Rick Vandam stands in front of “American...... read more read more
Rick Vandam admits his success in the National Championship Air Races — including a third Jet Class Series championship last weekend — stems from his 13 years as a Nevada Air National Guard RF-4C pilot.
“It was the best job ever,” said Vandam, who served on the then-152nd Reconnaissance Group’s four-pilot team that won the Reconnaissance Air Meet championships in 1986 and 1990. “Flying in the Guard provided one of the main experiences that helped develop my racing skills in Reno for the Air Races — high speed at low altitudes, that’s exactly what we were doing in Reno.”
Last weekend, flying “American Spirit,” an L-39 Albatross, Czechoslovakian manufactured high-performance jet trainer, Vandam took first place with average speeds exceeding 500 miles per hour, beating out a Vampire jet named “Stealth.”
Seventeen jets entered the competition last week. The field whittled down to eight for the 2017 Jet Gold Race on Sunday, which included six, eight-mile-long laps around an oval-shaped pattern. Vandam finished the race in 5 minutes, 42 seconds, more than 16 seconds ahead of the Vampire piloted by Zachary McNeil, of Corpus Christi, Texas.
“We had a pretty good idea (we were in the lead), but I can’t see behind me,” Vandam said. “I can see marginally off the right wing. In Reno, you’re always turning left, and anyone coming up has to come on right side. Depending on the time of the day, I can look down at the dirt and see shadows.”
With the mid-afternoon sun positioned slightly to the west, Vandam knew he’d get a decent glimpse of anyone trailing him between Pylon 7 and 8. But, toward the end of the race, there were no shadows visible on the dirt below. The nearest jet was too far behind. In those closing seconds, Vandam knew he had the race won.
Vandam, 66, of Reno, also won in Jet Class Series championship in 2012 and 2016.
“It’s a brutal sport,” he said. “It takes about 56 seconds to complete a lap around an 8-mile course. We’re pulling 6.5 Gs’ for 45 to 48 of the 56 seconds. They tend to beat up on you similarly to how an athlete in a football game gets beat up.”
Vandam, a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, left active duty in 1981 and moved to Reno to become a pilot for Pacific Southwest Airlines. In 1983, he joined the 152nd Reconnaissance Group, Nevada Air National Guard and retired as a major in 1996. He retired as commercial pilot last year from American Airlines.
Jeff Turney, who served 24 years in the Nevada Air National Guard as a RF-4C pilot, also competed this weekend and placed fifth in the Silver Jet pairings.
| Date Taken: | 09.22.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2017 11:09 |
| Story ID: | 249243 |
| Location: | RENO, NEVADA, US |
| Web Views: | 434 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Retired High Roller wins third National Championship Air Races title, by Capt. Emerson Marcus, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
