If you go to www.airrace.org, click on "For Pilots" then "Rookie Schools", this is what you will see:
I hear that this year's enrolment is the largest ever at 21. There are requirements for formation training and flip to inverted and recovery in addition to all that goes on in the seminar. That mystery I will get personal exposure to in a couple of weeks. In preparation I have taken some formation training with the MidsouthRVators at Pine Bluff, Arkansas and my friend Charlie Heathco who also has a RV-6A. Gerald Loyd (former Army helicopter pilot in Viet Nam with a DFC) has me set up to fly again with the MidsouthRVators Saturday and Sunday (6-1 & 6-2).
In the interest of preparing for the flip-flop, as Bob Mills calls it, I completed an upset training program with Don Witt at Sumit Aviation in Springdale, Arkansas. In a few days I went from no aerobatics to doing aileron rolls, loops, Hammerheads, Humptybumps, split-S's and more. Don is a former USAF F-4 pilot in Viet Nam. He signed my certificate Thursday.
Bob Mills has asked me to come to Reno on Wednesday the 5th of June which is the week before the actual FAST formation training and the Pylon Racing Seminar for more training.
I may very well fail at any point in this process but I intend to share the experience as well as I can as long as I am still a part of the experience in this thread.
Bob Axsom
For over a decade, the Reno Air Racing Association has sponsored the Pylon Racing Seminar (PRS) as a unique and productive opportunity for race pilots to prepare, practice and become certified to race in the National Championship Air Races each September.
The 16th Pylon Racing Seminar [PRS] will be held June 12-15, 2013 at Reno Stead Field. Deadline to enter is May 3rd, 2013.
It is the objective of the Reno Air Racing Association Board of Directors to assemble the most experienced, skilled, trained and race-certified pilots to compete at the Reno National Championship Air Races. To accomplish this objective, RARA along with the individual racing class organizations provide PRS to all pilots — offering race practice time, education, training and certification to all pilots and allowing them to race with maximum competitiveness and safety at the Reno National Championship Air Races.
Who is certified to race?
Pilots and alternate pilots certified to race in the Reno National Championship Air Races must have competed in the same racing class in Reno within the past three races, or received Race Class Pilot Certification during the Reno Pylon Racing Seminar, including:
Ground School
Formation Flying
Reno Pylon Race Simulation Flying
Passing the check ride by the FAA Certified Race Class Check Pilot
Who must attend the Pylon Racing Seminar?
You must attend PRS if you fall into any one of the following categories:
Never raced at the Reno National Championship Air Races
Raced in a different race class at the Reno National Championship Air Races
Not raced in the same race class in Reno within the past three years
PRS is a pilot certification program, not an aircraft qualification period. Although it is recommended, a pilot need not fly the plane he or she will race. However, any aircraft used must be of the same class for which the certification is being sought.
All phases of the certification must be completed during the Pylon Racing Seminar for any pilot who has never raced in Reno. There are no exceptions.
RARA makes no guarantees that there will be time available in September for a pilot to become certified in a new class or re-certified in a class in which he/she has previously raced at Reno. If time is available in September, pilots who complete in the Ground School portion of PRS will be given priority to become certified.
With an increase in the number of aircraft entered to compete in all classes, the time available for pilot certification during qualifying periods in September may be reduced or even eliminated. If the race class fields are filled by certified pilots who need to practice and qualify their aircraft, they will be given priority over pilots who need to complete the certification process.
MEDICAL REQUIREMENT: RARA requires each contestant, regardless of class, to have a current Type I or II Medical Certificate issued within six (6) months of any NCAR. A current Type I or II Medical Certificate is also required for PRS. Additionally, RARA highly recommends that all race pilots complete an EKG and a stress test and document same in the NCAR Race Entry Package.
The 2013 Pylon Racing Seminar Application
The 16th Pylon Racing Seminar [PRS] will be held June 12-15, 2013 at Reno Stead Field. Deadline to enter is May 3rd, 2013.
It is the objective of the Reno Air Racing Association Board of Directors to assemble the most experienced, skilled, trained and race-certified pilots to compete at the Reno National Championship Air Races. To accomplish this objective, RARA along with the individual racing class organizations provide PRS to all pilots — offering race practice time, education, training and certification to all pilots and allowing them to race with maximum competitiveness and safety at the Reno National Championship Air Races.
Who is certified to race?
Pilots and alternate pilots certified to race in the Reno National Championship Air Races must have competed in the same racing class in Reno within the past three races, or received Race Class Pilot Certification during the Reno Pylon Racing Seminar, including:
Ground School
Formation Flying
Reno Pylon Race Simulation Flying
Passing the check ride by the FAA Certified Race Class Check Pilot
Who must attend the Pylon Racing Seminar?
You must attend PRS if you fall into any one of the following categories:
Never raced at the Reno National Championship Air Races
Raced in a different race class at the Reno National Championship Air Races
Not raced in the same race class in Reno within the past three years
PRS is a pilot certification program, not an aircraft qualification period. Although it is recommended, a pilot need not fly the plane he or she will race. However, any aircraft used must be of the same class for which the certification is being sought.
All phases of the certification must be completed during the Pylon Racing Seminar for any pilot who has never raced in Reno. There are no exceptions.
RARA makes no guarantees that there will be time available in September for a pilot to become certified in a new class or re-certified in a class in which he/she has previously raced at Reno. If time is available in September, pilots who complete in the Ground School portion of PRS will be given priority to become certified.
With an increase in the number of aircraft entered to compete in all classes, the time available for pilot certification during qualifying periods in September may be reduced or even eliminated. If the race class fields are filled by certified pilots who need to practice and qualify their aircraft, they will be given priority over pilots who need to complete the certification process.
MEDICAL REQUIREMENT: RARA requires each contestant, regardless of class, to have a current Type I or II Medical Certificate issued within six (6) months of any NCAR. A current Type I or II Medical Certificate is also required for PRS. Additionally, RARA highly recommends that all race pilots complete an EKG and a stress test and document same in the NCAR Race Entry Package.
The 2013 Pylon Racing Seminar Application
I hear that this year's enrolment is the largest ever at 21. There are requirements for formation training and flip to inverted and recovery in addition to all that goes on in the seminar. That mystery I will get personal exposure to in a couple of weeks. In preparation I have taken some formation training with the MidsouthRVators at Pine Bluff, Arkansas and my friend Charlie Heathco who also has a RV-6A. Gerald Loyd (former Army helicopter pilot in Viet Nam with a DFC) has me set up to fly again with the MidsouthRVators Saturday and Sunday (6-1 & 6-2).
In the interest of preparing for the flip-flop, as Bob Mills calls it, I completed an upset training program with Don Witt at Sumit Aviation in Springdale, Arkansas. In a few days I went from no aerobatics to doing aileron rolls, loops, Hammerheads, Humptybumps, split-S's and more. Don is a former USAF F-4 pilot in Viet Nam. He signed my certificate Thursday.
Bob Mills has asked me to come to Reno on Wednesday the 5th of June which is the week before the actual FAST formation training and the Pylon Racing Seminar for more training.
I may very well fail at any point in this process but I intend to share the experience as well as I can as long as I am still a part of the experience in this thread.
Bob Axsom
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