Jet aircraft are well known for their role in air warfare, appearances on the silver screenAn OCA mission where fighters operate in conjunction with a strike package some coordinated time / distance behind., and wowing audiences at airshows worldwide, but did you know a small group of brave, mostly former military, pilots meet in the desert north of Reno, Nevada each September to race them?

On this episode, former Nevada ANG Major Rick Vandam and retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Peter “Tool” Stavrides discuss the who / what / when / where / why / and—particularly—how former military jet aircraft compete in the Reno Air Races jet class, the fastest competitive motorsport on (…ok, just slightly above) earth.

Listener questions addressed on this episode include how ordnanceMilitary weaponry, including bombs, rockets, missiles, cannons, and guns., fuel tanks, and other stores attach to fighter aircraft, the AN/APX-111 antenna blades on the front of some F-16’s and F/A-18’s, and why pilots’ heads bump forward slightly at the end of an aircraft catapult stroke.

Episode artwork by Janek Krause. Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Clint Bell.