Reno Air Racing Association - T-6 Class aircraft

T-6 class

T-6 aircraft

The T-6 Class features match racing between "stock" aircraft including the original T-6 "Texan", the Canadian-built "Harvard", and the US Navy "SNJ" version.

All of the T-6 variants are powered by the Pratt & Whitney Wasp R-1340-AN-1 air-cooled radial engine, which develops about 600 horsepower, and all have essentially the same airframe.

Originally built by North American Aviation, the 15,495 aircraft that were manufactured over the life of the model served primarily as advanced trainers, helping pilots bridge between basic trainers and front-line tactical aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang.

The fastest T-6 aircraft generally post race speeds into the 220-230 mph range on the ovoid 5.06-mile course [click on small diagram at right below for a larger version] at Reno. Because the aircraft are all of the same type, the T-6 class provides some of the most exciting racing at Reno, with an emphasis on strategy and pilot skill rather than raw horsepower.

T-6 class racing

Aircraft participating in a particular race generally take off about ten to fifteen minutes before the race start, and follow the pace aircraft, which flies northward away from the airfield. The aircraft form up and make a sweeping turn back south remaining well west of the field. Making their final turn eastward, they assemble in a line-abreast formation to the right of the pace aircraft, and the formation begins to descend as the pace plane pilot advises the racers to adjust their positions to maintain a straight line abreast.

T-6 Class Race Course diagram: click on the image above to open a larger version in a new window.

As the formation descends over the approach end of Runway 26 [West end of the field], and once the pace aircraft pilot is comfortable that the formation is in a good position to start, he makes the call, "Gentlemen, you have a race!" and pulls the pace aircarft into a climbing left turn, separating from the formation. For the remainder of the race, the pace aircraft generally circles well above the racers unless needed to assist if trouble arises.

The racing aircraft continue eastbound, remaining just north of the runway, and make their first left turn after passing the Home Pylon. They continue to fly the course in a counter-clockwise direction, always making left turns around the pylons, keeping to the outside lest they be penalized for a pylon cut, and remaining above the height of the pylons lest they be penalized for low flying.

Having made the number of laps required to complete the race, at the finish line which runs from the Home Pylon due south towards the grandstands, the aircraft generally zoom climb, trading off airspeed for altitude and putting them into a comfortable position to cool down and set up for landing.

A typical T-6 Class race typically takes from seven to nine minutes depending on the number of laps in the race and the speed of the aircraft.

You can visit the official Web site of the T-6 Racing Class at http://www.racingt-6.org/.