Photos & Story by Lance Phillips
2023 saw the final National Cham-pionship Air Races held in Reno, Nevada. I had the opportunity to attend the last Reno Air Races and took my Leica M10 digital rangefinder along with a vintage Leica 135mm f4 Elmar lens circa 1970. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this lens, but I was pleasantly surprised, as you will see in these images.
The Leica M10 came out in 2017 and was the spiritual successor to the brand’s M line of analog rangefinders, which started production way back in 1954. The visible design has mostly stayed the same, but the technology going into these small, manually controlled cameras is awe-inspiring.
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| 01 | National Championship Air Racing brings all ages to the sport. Radial Velocity #88 is a multi-race winner, here worked on by John Lohmar’s team.
| 02 | Fascination of flight starts early. One of the outcomes of National Championship Air Racing is that it draws young people into aviation. Hiring well-qualified pilots and technicians in the airlines and business aviation is a huge challenge. Building that awe early and establishing a desire to work in our industry is paramount. Air racing does a great job of bringing youth to aviation.
| 03 | Technicians work on a P-51 Mustang racer early in the morning. In the background, we see Dassault Falcon’s latest intercontinental business jet, the Falcon 8X. Almost nowhere can you find the newest technology flying with some of the oldest, like in Reno.
| 04 | Inspiring young ones to fly and work on airplanes is a high priority for everyone in the industry. Air racing gets the job done right.
| 05 | Vicky Benzing flies “Lucky Girl” Lancair Legacy #15 above an F-18. Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (VFA-122), also known as the “Flying Eagles,” is a United States Navy F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Fresno
County, California.
| 06 | Once again, the Super Hornet shows its incredible performance. The vintage Leica 135mm Elmar lens captures the F-18 at full afterburner.
| 07 | The Super Hornet accomplishes a low-level, high-speed pass above the runway.
