National Champion Air Races Landing in Roswell, NM

That's pretty fricken close to me; gonna finally see it!
Not ideal for those airlining in however.
 
Downside of Pueblo - it's heavily used by the USAF both for IPT (initial pilot training for those with commissions) and the USAF Academy (for the student zoomies). I think there's a very few commercial flights PUB-DEN.
 
Albuquerque is about a 3 hour drive away and Ruidoso, a nice town in the pines (with wild horses and elk grazing in people’s yards) is about 1:15 away and has lots of cute VRBO cabins.
 
The National Championship Air Races have announced the dates for the 2025 Reno Air Races, to be held in Roswell, NM:

September 10-14, 2025
 
Ooooo. Second archery elk season in New Mexico starts September 15....
 
The letter was nice, but offering refunds for tickets due to the withdrawal of the Sport and Unlimited classes combined with a likely decrease in day-of-race ticket sales for the same reason could spell financial disaster for the race organizers. The lack of sufficient accommodations in Roswell is a major downside for me. I like returning to a nice hotel room with a good shower and lots of nearby restaurants to choose from when I go to an event like the air races. Roswell just doesn't have the infrastructure for hosting large crowds. The races may survive, but the character of the event and the mix of attendees will change considerably. I think I'm done with this event. It was fun while it lasted, but the Reno experience is impossible to replicate elsewhere.
 
Flyhound said:
...The lack of sufficient accommodations in Roswell is a major downside for me. I like returning to a nice hotel room with a good shower and lots of nearby restaurants to choose from when I go to an event like the air races. Roswell just doesn't have the infrastructure for hosting large crowds. ...
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I hear ya. Roswell is in an accommodations desert.

National Championship Air Races | Welcome to The World's Fastest Motorsport!

The National Championship Air Racing Association has been organizing the National Championship Air Races for over 60 years, promoting its storied traditions and pageantry.
airrace.org airrace.org

Plan Your Trip | National Championship Air Races

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Here are the courses (not to scale):
https://airrace.org/air-racing/courses-pits/

The after-event briefing will be interesting and may speak more to whether the races will continue at Roswell.
 
Any of the lurker in-groupers care to spill the tea as to the reason unlimited class decided to boycott the thing?
ETA: nvm, redditors to the rescue. This place is slippin'... :stirpot:

1756667787213.png

So, looks like money, dislike for the venue location/logistics for the sponsor attracting teams... and money. IOW, Tuesday in 2025 currency-debasement rekt'd USA.
wE bE thRivIn'!TM 1756668407137.png


On a tangent, this one was my personal fav comment. Glad I'm not the only one who notices. iykyk.
1756668154373.png
 
Flyhound said:
The lack of sufficient accommodations in Roswell is a major downside for me. I like returning to a nice hotel room with a good shower and lots of nearby restaurants to choose from when I go to an event like the air races. Roswell just doesn't have the infrastructure for hosting large crowds.
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Domenick said:
I hear ya. Roswell is in an accommodations desert.
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Personally I think Sebring would have been a much better choice, held in the winter. The place is quite accustomed to hosting large race crowds with food and accomodations, plus there are many other attractions not far away, everything from world-class fishing to golf courses, not to mention theme parks, beaches, etc., etc.
 
Would Sebring be willing to host machines traveling many hundreds of MPH without safety walls and chain link fencing to keep all the metals out of the surrounding real estate?

Much more public hazard there than Reno.
 
geezer said:
Would Sebring be willing to host machines traveling many hundreds of MPH without safety walls and chain link fencing to keep all the metals out of the surrounding real estate?

Much more public hazard there than Reno.
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Have you seen where the Sebring airport is located?
 
Half Fast said:
Personally I think Sebring would have been a much better choice, held in the winter. The place is quite accustomed to hosting large race crowds with food and accomodations, plus there are many other attractions not far away, everything from world-class fishing to golf courses, not to mention theme parks, beaches, etc., etc.
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The airspace and land footprint favors it too. The area north and east is flat and uninhabited, suitable for emergency landings. Avon Park Range is not very busy and I'm sure the Air Force would be willing to make the Restricted Area available.
 
There are a lot of nice ranch homes off to the east a short distance.

It has not developed as much as I expected since I was around there years ago.

Portable stands would be needed, same as anywhere.
 
geezer said:
There are a lot of nice ranch homes off to the east a short distance.

It has not developed as much as I expected since I was around there years ago.

Portable stands would be needed, same as anywhere.
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I flew over the area yesterday morning. Lots of open space.
 
They held air races at the Grayson County Airport in Tx one year. I happened to live in the old base housing there. I thought that would be a good venue. They even had the US aerobatic championships there a couple times.
 
I have seen some positive initial reviews from Roswell competitors. Any PoA folks there?
 
We sent a -38 to static display this year, given the location is so close to us out here on Mars ( I totally get how the aliens mistook KROW for the fourth planet). I wanted to volunteer, alas child rearing isn't compatible with aviation lol. *checks six......*

If and when I get back to airplane ownership, that would be the one flying event I wouldn't mind flying-in to. It'd be a quick/easy trip for me. I watched some of it on the uboob; I am heartened to see they are trying to continue youth educational outreach and the local state colleges made an appearance. East NM has poor educational outcomes. If we can lift some of those folks up with events like this, it's an effort worth pursuing. On the usaf side I hope we continue to sponsor statics to them, I'd like to partake before I retire. I sincerely wish them success even with the location challenges.
 
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