Don Sanford

[wingman]

Birgitta and I have just heard that another very important figure in air racing history has passed away. Don Sanford, the co-builder of the remarkable engine that powered Jon Sharp's Aero Magic and the mighty Nemesis. died Tuesday, March 25th, of a massive stroke. Don was the owner of a magneto rebuilding shop called Aero Mag. When crewing for the great Ray Cote in the 1970s, Don got to thinking that he could build a better race motor than any of the then current engine builders. Ray wasn't interested, so Don looked around for a promising Racer to approach with his ideas. He settled on a young Silver racer named Jon Sharp, and the rest is history, Don and his boat racing friend Jack Wells built a most remarkable motor -- it won two Golds in the 80s in Cassutt #43 (named Aero Magic for Don's company), and the same engine, redone a few times, won every race for nearly a decade in Nemesis.

Our best wishes go out to Don's widow, Linda, and to his children and grandchildren.

Neal and Birgitta

[Unregistered]

Brother

I am Don's sister, Joanne, and I just attended the remarkable service for Don in Irvine, CA. There were some outstanding photos of Don & Nemesis and Aero Magic and another plane (before Aero Magic). I have a few pictures of Nemesis (taken in Arizona, where I live), but none with Don and Nemesis together. Someone there suggested that I go to this web site & the "message" section to see if I could get a copy--on-line or ?? My name is Joanne (Sanford) Harris and my e-mail address is: organ4jh@earthlink.net. Yes, Don & I shared a love of music, nature & many other things. He visited Phoenix twice last year and we had great talks, one-on-one. I miss him very much--as do all of his friends & family. Thanks for any help you can give. And thank you for your nice article--to which I am replying.
Sincerely, Joanne

[Unregistered]

here is one

http://www.nemesisnxt.com/team/dsanford2.htm