My father lost a good friend at the Reno Air Races, in 2002.
Air racers come from all walks of life, there are farmers, doctors, lawyers, test pilots, business owners, astronauts, airline crew members, auto mechanics, Hollywood film makers, retired military, firefighters, police officers, real estate sales people, and even accountants, but despite their diverse backgrounds, they all share a common love of aviation and air racing.
Air racing, Reno style, is very fast and very exciting, but it is also extraordinarily dangerous and quite unforgiving as well. Each of the participants understand the dangers involved and each racer knows that the next lap could very well be their last.
On Friday, September 13th, (2002)Tommy Rose, a small business owner from Hickory, Mississippi lost his life while competing in the Sports Plane heat race with his Questair Venture 20, 'Ramblin Rose'. Tommy had been competing in the Sports Plane class for the last 4 years and was considered an excellent pilot that was well known and respected by other racers and fans alike. On lap 4 of his heat race, Tommy's plane had an apparent structural failure in the tail area (the exact cause may never be known) and his plane (from an altitude of 60 feet) nosed in to the Nevada desert at over 320 mph.
All of us at AVSIM offer our deepest condolences to Tommy's family and friends and his little 'Ramblin Rose' will always be remembered and missed.
— The AVSIM Staff