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  • #31
    Re: Strega and Voodoo??

    Originally posted by Matt Jackson View Post
    So here is the actual history of Stiletto and the real facts. The plane was the brainstorm of Dennis Shoenfelder and Dave Zeuschel. It came about after Wiley Sanders sold Jennie aka Miss Candice/ Galloping Ghost to Jimmie in 1983. Stiletto was conceived and built in 51/2 months. Bob Carr built the fuselage, Phill Greenberg built the wing which was completed by Art & Dave Teeters in Salinas CA. The plane was assembled by Pete Regina, Matt Jackson, Rick Shanholtzer, Les Crowder. It was literally assembled outside under a tent in San Fernando at Dave Zeuschel's shop, my idea by the way.. Pete and I along with Dennis Schoenfelder worked around the clock to get the plane to Reno. It arrived at Reno with the same wing clip as the Ghost had, because Bob Carr had at the request of Skip Holm's chopped the wing on Jennie. This by the way angered Wiley Sander's who then made the decision to sell plane to Jimmy as we never asked Wiley to chop the wing. Stiletto was designed with wing radiators. Dennis Schoenfelder along with his Dad Bud took two stock radiators apart using the large section of each and placed these larger core sections into each wing. We had a H model heat exchanger in the
    tail, I mounted that there myself under the direction of Bob Carr. The plane came out of the box number 1 and left Reno with a trophy and the race record. The next year was filled with issues, basically over money. The engine blew at Bakersfield while leading Strega. Reno 85 had us with a gear issue on take-off where Skip could not get the gear up. It was a contaminated hyd system screwing up the sequence valve. {Plane showed up 1986 ready to rock and was leading the race when a rocker arm broke putting Skip out once again. Preston then made a deal with the Sherman's and the plane was raced the following year by them with no luck. I am not sure if the Sherman's actually owned Stiletto or not, maybe they can chime in on that fact. The Museum crew under the direction of Bruce Lockwood, John Swancarra and Freddie Wright decided to design a boil off system. Robby Grove put the wings back to the standard clip with composite tip and aileron. They took the wing radiators out and placed them in a tank located forward of the pilot. Great installation by the way Bruce. The pilot actually sat near what would be the rear jump seat. The problem came when under the money restraints and time they abandoned the project in favor of developing Dago another recent purchase. I leased and picked the plane up in April of 1992 and towed it via Sepulveda BLVD. to my Van Nuys Shop. With the help of Pete Law I revamped the troubled boiler system with the installation of a two float system that my friend Jim Feick designed. We also removed the heat exchanger in the tail and placed a stock oil cooler behind the pilot in a boil tank. The heads and banks had been burned up in testing by the museum on the malfunctioning boil system. So Mike Nixon replaced the heads an banks and I was off to Reno 1992. I flew the aircraft 45 days after towing the plane to Van Nuys. David Price and Alan Preston flew on both wings during the first test flight. David Price later told me that he was throughly impressed with our progress. I left for Reno 1992 and stopped in Bishop CA. to check fluid levels as we were still trying to determining boil rates. On take-off the ADI-pump failed at gear retraction and the engine blew its guts out. I managed to perform a left 270 and land back across the runway with no damage. Mike Nixon picked the engine up and returned it two days later. I appeared at Reno and finished 4th with an airplane that could have easily won that year. I averaged 424 mph on 80 inches. I lost the adi system on the start and ran the entire race with no ADI. David Price said to me at the dinner Sunday night that he had backed the wrong plane meaning Dago and that he would provide full sponsorship the next year for me. My dream of having the fastest Unlimited to race was now a reality. Unfortunately the plan never materialized because of jealously by certain people I will not name and the plane sat the next year out in Mojave where I had stored the plane. Alan Preston had a deal to sell the plane to Bill Rhineschild and race it the next year, in fact Bill entered the plane and it can be seen in the program as being raced by Bill Rhineschild, but that deal also fell apart. The plane was alter taken apart and built by Pete Regina into what is now Diamondback a two place. The boiler cores along with wing fairings and other parts went to Jimmie Leeward on a secret deal and there you have the history of Stiletto. Had the plane been sponsored properly it would have easily been the fastest on the course today, but as the old saying goes, if my aunt had balls she would be my uncle. We obviously will never know.

    MJ
    This is the reason i LOVE this place and Reno, Thank you Matt for the history lesson, i was a big fan of Stiletto without knowing a heck of a lot about her, she was a bit of an enigma to me as she got referenced in several books i have read, but to find out more history... once again Matt, thank you for taking time out of your day to talk to us fans!
    race fan, photographer with more cameras than a camera store

    Comment


    • #32
      Re: Strega and Voodoo??

      Originally posted by kiwiracefan View Post
      This is the reason i LOVE this place and Reno, Thank you Matt for the history lesson, i was a big fan of Stiletto without knowing a heck of a lot about her, she was a bit of an enigma to me as she got referenced in several books i have read, but to find out more history... once again Matt, thank you for taking time out of your day to talk to us fans!
      Absolutely - a great post by Matt and thank you, Matt, for that. I devour the history and have wondered how fast Stiletto would be with a current top level engine.

      Comment


      • #33
        Re: Strega and Voodoo??

        Oh wow sorry Kiwi you were right my apologies, and Matt thank you very much for the history lesson, I was not aware that all that work was done to Stiletto by you guys, the most I have ever seen on the net is that you raced Stiletto in 92 and thats about it, well until now that you completed the rest of the story, I didn't go to RAR from 90 to 95, so I was just going off the last time I saw Stiletto during the 80s, never realized that the boil off work was done, I honestly thought that it always just had the coolers in the wings, thats what get for thinking and not asking, my bad.

        Comment


        • #34
          Re: Strega and Voodoo??

          Always thought Stilletto was one of the greatest racers that through it's life and circumstances never got to show it's true potential. Sounds like it was getting on the right track when all was ended. Sigh.
          Back to Strega-Voodoo. I am torn by all of this.
          On one hand I would like to see Matt finally get the win he has worked so hard for over the years.
          On the other, the same for Button and Voodoo. He hung in there for so long against just about every adversity.
          And somewhere in between I would wish for PM to be there, finally.
          Gonna be happy and sad no matter what!
          Leo Smiley - Graphics and Fine Arts
          airplanenutleo@gmail.com
          thetreasuredpeacock.etsy.com

          Comment


          • #35
            Re: Strega and Voodoo??

            I heard Stiletto fly over the other day... Couldn't help but wish it wasn't a butter-knife today!

            Linked a photo from warbirddeopt.com
            http://www.warbirddepot.com/dbimages/188/188-a-1280.jpg

            - Joseph
            Last edited by AAFO_WSagar; 07-02-2013, 12:20 PM. Reason: removed embedded photo link, changed to copyright legal link

            Comment


            • #36
              Re: Strega and Voodoo??

              Weight is everything in racing. It's why im dieting to lose a few pounds so I'm under the 200 pd limit or at it when I race karts this weekend. In Formula 1 car racing they just go allout to save a few pounds.

              Comment


              • #37
                Re: Strega and Voodoo??

                Originally posted by Idaho_cowpony View Post
                I heard Stiletto fly over the other day... Couldn't help but wish it wasn't a butter-knife today!

                Linked a photo from warbirddeopt.com
                http://www.warbirddepot.com/dbimages/188/188-a-1280.jpg

                - Joseph
                The good news is that I can guarentee you it wasn't "Stilletto", "Diamondback" or Mark....... still waiting for the new banks. It's been out of service for a little while and net yet ready to fly.

                JC

                Comment


                • #38
                  Re: Strega and Voodoo??

                  Originally posted by JCP View Post
                  The good news is that I can guarentee you it wasn't "Stilletto", "Diamondback" or Mark....... still waiting for the new banks. It's been out of service for a little while and net yet ready to fly.

                  JC
                  I stand corrected! Wasn't even Mark?

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Re: Strega and Voodoo??

                    Originally posted by AAFO_WSagar View Post
                    I'm already voting for Christie in.. what to hell will it be .. 2016??
                    It'll have to be a write-in, Wayne, as he's dead in the water at the national level thanks to stuff like this:

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: Strega and Voodoo??

                      In Sept 92 We had a lot of drama with Matt. Ha Ha
                      We spent most of sat trying to find an engine to get him to reno from Bishop with no luck. I had Matt drive the engine out of the A/C to Tehachapi as soon as they got it out. It showed up Sunday morning at 4:30. His guys and I got the banks off and once I determined the rods were still there I sent his guy to the Motel to sleep. At 8AM Jose and a few others showed up and finished the parting out of the engine. By noon the engine was going back together and at 6:30PM it was on its way back to Matts loving arms. The A/C was on the ramp by 1:00 Monday afternoon.
                      As far as speeds were concerned, Matt, Pete Law and I did some secret testing that showed lap speeds of 505+ at a power setting that was 480 in Dago.
                      Last, and this still burns, the vapor vent for the fuel tank somehow became a suction vent between sat race and sunday race. I guess dumping a bunch of fuel would lighten the plane and make it go faster.
                      Tune in next month for the next exciting chapter of "as the prop turns".
                      MN

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Re: Strega and Voodoo??

                        Originally posted by Matt Jackson View Post
                        So here is the actual history of Stiletto and the real facts. The plane was the brainstorm of Dennis Shoenfelder and Dave Zeuschel. It came about after Wiley Sanders sold Jennie aka Miss Candice/ Galloping Ghost to Jimmie in 1983. Stiletto was conceived and built in 51/2 months. Bob Carr built the fuselage, Phill Greenberg built the wing which was completed by Art & Dave Teeters in Salinas CA. The plane was assembled by Pete Regina, Matt Jackson, Rick Shanholtzer, Les Crowder. It was literally assembled outside under a tent in San Fernando at Dave Zeuschel's shop, my idea by the way.. Pete and I along with Dennis Schoenfelder worked around the clock to get the plane to Reno. It arrived at Reno with the same wing clip as the Ghost had, because Bob Carr had at the request of Skip Holm's chopped the wing on Jennie. This by the way angered Wiley Sander's who then made the decision to sell plane to Jimmy as we never asked Wiley to chop the wing. Stiletto was designed with wing radiators. Dennis Schoenfelder along with his Dad Bud took two stock radiators apart using the large section of each and placed these larger core sections into each wing. We had a H model heat exchanger in the
                        tail, I mounted that there myself under the direction of Bob Carr. The plane came out of the box number 1 and left Reno with a trophy and the race record. The next year was filled with issues, basically over money. The engine blew at Bakersfield while leading Strega. Reno 85 had us with a gear issue on take-off where Skip could not get the gear up. It was a contaminated hyd system screwing up the sequence valve. {Plane showed up 1986 ready to rock and was leading the race when a rocker arm broke putting Skip out once again. Preston then made a deal with the Sherman's and the plane was raced the following year by them with no luck. I am not sure if the Sherman's actually owned Stiletto or not, maybe they can chime in on that fact. The Museum crew under the direction of Bruce Lockwood, John Swancarra and Freddie Wright decided to design a boil off system. Robby Grove put the wings back to the standard clip with composite tip and aileron. They took the wing radiators out and placed them in a tank located forward of the pilot. Great installation by the way Bruce. The pilot actually sat near what would be the rear jump seat. The problem came when under the money restraints and time they abandoned the project in favor of developing Dago another recent purchase. I leased and picked the plane up in April of 1992 and towed it via Sepulveda BLVD. to my Van Nuys Shop. With the help of Pete Law I revamped the troubled boiler system with the installation of a two float system that my friend Jim Feick designed. We also removed the heat exchanger in the tail and placed a stock oil cooler behind the pilot in a boil tank. The heads and banks had been burned up in testing by the museum on the malfunctioning boil system. So Mike Nixon replaced the heads an banks and I was off to Reno 1992. I flew the aircraft 45 days after towing the plane to Van Nuys. David Price and Alan Preston flew on both wings during the first test flight. David Price later told me that he was throughly impressed with our progress. I left for Reno 1992 and stopped in Bishop CA. to check fluid levels as we were still trying to determining boil rates. On take-off the ADI-pump failed at gear retraction and the engine blew its guts out. I managed to perform a left 270 and land back across the runway with no damage. Mike Nixon picked the engine up and returned it two days later. I appeared at Reno and finished 4th with an airplane that could have easily won that year. I averaged 424 mph on 80 inches. I lost the adi system on the start and ran the entire race with no ADI. David Price said to me at the dinner Sunday night that he had backed the wrong plane meaning Dago and that he would provide full sponsorship the next year for me. My dream of having the fastest Unlimited to race was now a reality. Unfortunately the plan never materialized because of jealously by certain people I will not name and the plane sat the next year out in Mojave where I had stored the plane. Alan Preston had a deal to sell the plane to Bill Rhineschild and race it the next year, in fact Bill entered the plane and it can be seen in the program as being raced by Bill Rhineschild, but that deal also fell apart. The plane was alter taken apart and built by Pete Regina into what is now Diamondback a two place. The boiler cores along with wing fairings and other parts went to Jimmie Leeward on a secret deal and there you have the history of Stiletto. Had the plane been sponsored properly it would have easily been the fastest on the course today, but as the old saying goes, if my aunt had balls she would be my uncle. We obviously will never know.

                        MJ
                        Thanks Matt for your great facts and all of you have done for air racing!

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Re: Strega and Voodoo??

                          http://www.indytransponder.blogspot....air-races.html


                          "Jackson says he’ll start working on the plane shortly and will begin test flying Strega with a stock engine to become familiar with the cockpit layout and general characteristics of the plane. The plane’s race engine was dropped off Thursday at Mike Nixon’s Vintage V-12 for overhaul and race prep."
                          Random Air Blog

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Re: Strega and Voodoo??

                            The history lesson was great. Maybe my all time favorite racer - especially in bare aluminum. Sinister, fast looking machine.

                            What strikes me though is that it was conceived and built in 5 1/2 months? And I thought I heard the fuselage was largely built from scratch? Maybe I'm wrong about that but still unbelievable to achieve that level of fabrication in that short time frame. Those were some seriously talented people.

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Re: Strega and Voodoo??

                              I think some of the people are going to get confused by posting about "Stiletto" intermingled with the "Strega/Voodoo" post.Is it time for a cold one?
                              Lockheed Bob

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Re: Strega and Voodoo??

                                Originally posted by Lockheed Bob View Post
                                I think some of the people are going to get confused by posting about "Stiletto" intermingled with the "Strega/Voodoo" post.Is it time for a cold one?

                                sometimes photo's help those people.

                                Comment

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