A breathtaking exploration of the fastest race in the world, the documentary film "Air Racers" provides unique insight into the legendary Reno National Championship Air Races.
Narrated by Paul Walker of the "Fast and the Furious" franchise, the film takes moviegoers into Northern Nevada’s Valley of Speed to experience, from inside the cockpit, the intensity and high-speed thrills of a sports event like no other, captured for the very first time for the giant screen.
Air racing dates back to 1909, just six years after the Wright Brothers’ inaugural flight. An intrepid young American named Glenn Curtiss won the very first air race in Reims (France) when he completed two laps in 15 minutes with a top speed of 46 mph (75 km/h).
In the Thirties, the sport evolved into multi-pylon air races that were held in Cleveland (Ohio) and Los Angeles (California) before being resurrected in Reno in 1964 by WWII flying ace Bill Stead. The concept remains much the same to this day: pilots fly as low as 50 feet (15 m) above the ground at up to 500 mph (800 km/h) and turn left around an 8.5-mile (13.6 km) oval course marked off by ten giant pylons.
A century later, audiences meet 23-year-old Steve Hinton, a rookie pilot from California whose goal is to perpetuate his two-time National Air Race champion father’s legacy by winning in the most highly anticipated and unpredictable race class, the "Unlimited".
At twice the speed of a Nascar® race, elite pilots fight for position, wingtip-to-wingtip and head-to-head, with Steve Hinton’s WWII-era P-51 Mustang fighter plane in the world’s fastest motorsport.
An action-packed, entertaining and visually stunning film presented in 3D and 2D at IMAX theatres and digital cinemas, "Air Racers" is also a unique invitation to discover, from the pits to Reno’s roaring sky, an exceptional world filled with passion, competition and excitement combined with top-notch air show performers, including the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds.