Richard “Smokey” Young (Air Racing and Safety)

Smokey is one of the most knowledgeable and active pillars of the air racing industry. With over 25 years of flying and 7,700 flight hours under his belt, Smokey began his career in the U.S. Air Force flying the F-111 tactical strike bomber on operational tours and as a flight instructor and examiner. After the military, Smokey became a pilot for a major U.S. airline, commanding Boeing 727s and 757s, then turned his attention to air racing full time in 2003, when he won the “Rookie of the Year” award.

Smokey is the President of the International Formula 1 Air Racing association (www.if1airracing.com), which has been the leading governing body in the sport of air racing for over 60 years. In this role, Smokey and his staff are responsible for international coordination of racing policies, procedures, rules, technical standards, pilot training and qualifications, as well as liasing directly with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on regulatory and safety matters. Smokey also manages and pilots a top team, Sly Dog, at the Reno Air Races National Championships in the F1 class, where he raced in the Gold Race last year.

In addition to air racing, Smokey spent several years as an air combat instructor at America’s leading civilian air combat training and experience centre, flying Extra 300s and Marchetti SF-260s in a broad range of tactical dog fighting maneuvers and aerobatics. His additional instruction experience continues – not only as a flight instructor – but in the classroom, at Mt. San Antonio College in California, where he teaches university level courses covering aerodynamics, regulations, air transport and aircraft systems. He is also a graduate of Norwich University.

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