Last week a certain person that we have all grown to love posted some rather negative things about my team, pilot, and crew. From said blog some really nasty rumors have been created that not only reflect negative on me as the crew chief but the crew that I manage. Due to the open nature of my team I'm going to clear the air on these rumors. They not only reflect negative on the sport and it's safety, but the job that I do.
Rumor #1:We missed the deadline for the aircraft being at Stead. This is where people need to learn to read a rule book! the rules read that all aircraft must be at Stead by Saturday at noon. In the same rule IN RED PRINT it says you can petition to arrive by Sunday @1700 hrs due to mechanical issues or weather (we had both). We petitioned the class president and RARA and they gladly accepted. 20 minutes to spare or not a deadline is a deadline and we made it.
Rumor #2:We failed tech inspection-We had a few minor squawks such as some chafe's of a coolant line on a sensor, along with a main gear tire rubbing a rubber coupling in the gear well. Then there is the stupid oil leak that pops up at some of the most random times (more on that later), but the main thing tech wanted to look at was landing gear rigging. With only a few minor things to address the head tech inspector offered to pull the aircraft into a hangar and rig the gear himself. The fact that he rigs the gear for other teams like Voodoo and Strega who were we to deny that privilege. The gear was rigged and all other minor issues addressed we passed tech inspection on Monday.
Rumor #3: That pain in the ass oil leak. Boy I don't even know where to start with this one. We fix it, it goes away for awhile, its come back. We fix it again, it goes away for awhile, it comes back. Like I said total pain in the ass! Brant Seghetti was the first to suggest that the engine wasn't breathing right in 2012. Thom redesigned the air/oil separator and the oil tank and it worked like a charm, and then on the ferry flight out it starts puking oil right out the same seal it always does. After some discussions with Nixon and a few other folks we determined that the exit point might be the issue. in short we made a new exit and boom... No more oil pissing out of the bottom of the cowl! For someone to say that we never addressed the issue is just flat out speculation and rumor.
Rumor #4 We did photo flights on the way out when we were already late. That was last year not this year and we were at Stead on time last year. As for the flight that I think the person in question saw on Facebook. It was the first test flight on the 48 hour miracle engine and Thom had two chase planes on that flight. Both had passengers in them with video and still cameras taking video and photos. Not what I would call doing "photo flights". That was a test flight that just so happened to be recorded; huge difference!
Rumor #5 The O2 bottle was covered in oil and that could result in the airplane exploding. This is true except for one fact. The O2 bottle didn't have any O2 in it on it's arrival and the whole area and system was cleaned before it was serviced with O2. Thanks Rich for spending almost a whole day in the hell hole doing that. Not a fun job!
Now to say that the crew is unprepared and unprofessional is just way out of line. You can spend 1000's of hours prepping one of these beasts and as other teams find out the unexpected can happen at any time and in places you never think a very ugly situation can rear it's ugly head. Canopies can fail, intakes can depart and so on.
Our crew is a mixed bunch of folks with various backgrounds. As a crew chief it's my job to find their strengths and weaknesses and delegate where they can do the best job, and a fantastic job they did. Yeah it was a bit of a thrash to make Saturdays race when we found the cam shaft was not happy. If you all would have been there at that moment I think you may have been impressed. Within minutes of finding the bad cam I had an airplane and pilot standing by to fly me to Livermore to pick up a spare cam I had sitting next to my desk at work. Before I left I picked the best guys I had to get the bad cam rack out and ready to install a new cam. When I returned at 1 o'clock they (Don Pataky, Scott Skurzewski, Mike Shaver, Rich Gorton, and Robert Mercado) had it out and disassembled and ready to rebuild a new cam rack. The rack got installed and the engine was retimed. At that moment as my already exhausted ass watched them work together I realized that this crew works together very well and they are something I am very proud of. They have come a long way in a very short time.
This was my sixth year on Precious Metal and rumor has it I got sold with the airplane. Funny but I never saw a dime of that money, but someone did come forth with a pack of smokes. Geez it's like prison! From what I started with back in 2005 to what it is now it's not even the same airplane now. I think Thom has done a wonderful job of putting a good program together with such a shoestring budget. Will I "walk away" from it because people suggest that it's in my best interest... Not a chance! Did I learn a thing or two this year... Sure did! As a crew chief will it take it in stride and make the program even better next year... You bet your ass! Next year it will be a 20-45 minute flight to Stead just like most of the other unlimited's have.
Rumor #1:We missed the deadline for the aircraft being at Stead. This is where people need to learn to read a rule book! the rules read that all aircraft must be at Stead by Saturday at noon. In the same rule IN RED PRINT it says you can petition to arrive by Sunday @1700 hrs due to mechanical issues or weather (we had both). We petitioned the class president and RARA and they gladly accepted. 20 minutes to spare or not a deadline is a deadline and we made it.
Rumor #2:We failed tech inspection-We had a few minor squawks such as some chafe's of a coolant line on a sensor, along with a main gear tire rubbing a rubber coupling in the gear well. Then there is the stupid oil leak that pops up at some of the most random times (more on that later), but the main thing tech wanted to look at was landing gear rigging. With only a few minor things to address the head tech inspector offered to pull the aircraft into a hangar and rig the gear himself. The fact that he rigs the gear for other teams like Voodoo and Strega who were we to deny that privilege. The gear was rigged and all other minor issues addressed we passed tech inspection on Monday.
Rumor #3: That pain in the ass oil leak. Boy I don't even know where to start with this one. We fix it, it goes away for awhile, its come back. We fix it again, it goes away for awhile, it comes back. Like I said total pain in the ass! Brant Seghetti was the first to suggest that the engine wasn't breathing right in 2012. Thom redesigned the air/oil separator and the oil tank and it worked like a charm, and then on the ferry flight out it starts puking oil right out the same seal it always does. After some discussions with Nixon and a few other folks we determined that the exit point might be the issue. in short we made a new exit and boom... No more oil pissing out of the bottom of the cowl! For someone to say that we never addressed the issue is just flat out speculation and rumor.
Rumor #4 We did photo flights on the way out when we were already late. That was last year not this year and we were at Stead on time last year. As for the flight that I think the person in question saw on Facebook. It was the first test flight on the 48 hour miracle engine and Thom had two chase planes on that flight. Both had passengers in them with video and still cameras taking video and photos. Not what I would call doing "photo flights". That was a test flight that just so happened to be recorded; huge difference!
Rumor #5 The O2 bottle was covered in oil and that could result in the airplane exploding. This is true except for one fact. The O2 bottle didn't have any O2 in it on it's arrival and the whole area and system was cleaned before it was serviced with O2. Thanks Rich for spending almost a whole day in the hell hole doing that. Not a fun job!
Now to say that the crew is unprepared and unprofessional is just way out of line. You can spend 1000's of hours prepping one of these beasts and as other teams find out the unexpected can happen at any time and in places you never think a very ugly situation can rear it's ugly head. Canopies can fail, intakes can depart and so on.
Our crew is a mixed bunch of folks with various backgrounds. As a crew chief it's my job to find their strengths and weaknesses and delegate where they can do the best job, and a fantastic job they did. Yeah it was a bit of a thrash to make Saturdays race when we found the cam shaft was not happy. If you all would have been there at that moment I think you may have been impressed. Within minutes of finding the bad cam I had an airplane and pilot standing by to fly me to Livermore to pick up a spare cam I had sitting next to my desk at work. Before I left I picked the best guys I had to get the bad cam rack out and ready to install a new cam. When I returned at 1 o'clock they (Don Pataky, Scott Skurzewski, Mike Shaver, Rich Gorton, and Robert Mercado) had it out and disassembled and ready to rebuild a new cam rack. The rack got installed and the engine was retimed. At that moment as my already exhausted ass watched them work together I realized that this crew works together very well and they are something I am very proud of. They have come a long way in a very short time.
This was my sixth year on Precious Metal and rumor has it I got sold with the airplane. Funny but I never saw a dime of that money, but someone did come forth with a pack of smokes. Geez it's like prison! From what I started with back in 2005 to what it is now it's not even the same airplane now. I think Thom has done a wonderful job of putting a good program together with such a shoestring budget. Will I "walk away" from it because people suggest that it's in my best interest... Not a chance! Did I learn a thing or two this year... Sure did! As a crew chief will it take it in stride and make the program even better next year... You bet your ass! Next year it will be a 20-45 minute flight to Stead just like most of the other unlimited's have.
) but I always thought everyone was basically there for the fun of it..obviously money isn't the reason. History has proven that everyone pulls together when someone is down on their luck..at least for the most part, so why did this particular individual, who even races in another class, come gunning for you guys?
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