Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'
"Magnificent 'MIXMASTER' Mustang!"
#09-"World Jet" / #38-"Precious Metal"
Air racing has always been a real gearhead's paradise. 'The World's-Fastest Motorsport' showcases an amazing bounty of aviation design history & machine engineering accomplishment- all created to make high-performance aircraft go as fast as possible during closed-course competition. State-of-the-art technology is often enhanced thru innovation, adaptation & sometimes plain simple gizmo creativity too. And just when you think you've seen it all-something new & crazy-wild pops up.
Such was the case w/the appearance of one of the nifty'est exotic mods ever to appear in the modern-era Unlimited Class- the Rolls-Royce Griffon-engine w/contra-rotating propeller setup f/the North American P-51D Mustang, as first adapted f/air racing in '75 on Ed Browning's legendary #5 Red Baron (N7715C). The RB-51 won two NCAR UNL Gold Championships ('77 & '78) & for a time held the World's Absolute Speed Record for piston-engined propeller-driven aircraft ('79-'89)
Watching the wicked-looking visual spectacle of this mechanical marvel of WW2-era propellor technology doin' it's mezmerizing 'monkey motion'- two opposite-rotating props on a single shaft, is truly a joy to behold (-made even more exciting by the Griffon engine's distinctive growl while running @ power). Just the sight of a static mixmaster sitting posed on the ramp or in its' pit stall, stops people right in their tracks- "TWO propellers-you've got to be kidding!"
After the RB-51's loss @ Reno '79, I figured we race fans would never see another Griffon 'Mixmaster' Mustang. Then to everyone's surprise, along came Don Whittington's beautifully-crafted, polished bare metal #09-"World Jet"- a new mixmaster P-51 racer project, created in just 9 months, in time to make it's Reno '88 debut. Whittington qualified #09 5th-fastest @ an impressive 453.078-mph, but WJ was plagued by engine gremlins for that entire meet, culminating w/a forced belly-landing onto Lemon Valley's dry lake bed at the start Sunday's Gold final.
A 6-year rebuild returned WJ to racing competition in fine form for the '95 Phoenix 500 Air Races. The mixmaster was re-registered N6WJ, and raced henceforth as- Race #38-"Precious Metal" (adopting the name of Don Whittington's original D-model racer-a different airplane altogether) & Don won Sunday's PHX '95 UNL Silver & then opted to bump-up into the Gold f/a 4th-place finish.
That September, the Whittington team came back to Reno w/their Precious Metal mixmaster sporting neon green wings & the World Jet sponsor name & Old Glory U.S. flag banner still adorning the fuselage. Whittington qualified #38 in 9th-place @ 380.951-mph. Cooling problems & motor issues kept the PM mixmaster fm showing its' capabilites, but Don again repeated his prev. Sunday Silver win & bump into Gold f/a 4th-place finish at Reno '95.
During N6WJ's hiatus following Reno '95, another Griffon Mixmaster Mustang entered the Unlimited scene at Reno '97- the stunningly-beautiful Levitz-Rogers' custom-built Lear-winged Race #38-"Miss Ashley II". Gary Levitz piloted this incredible racer the three consecutive years it raced, until his tragic untimely end at Reno '99, when MAII suffered structural failure of its' horizontal tail during Sat's HT-3A. This mixmaster showed real potential during its' brief tenure & always as a 400+mph Gold contender.
Six years later, Ron Buccarelli bought N6WJ fm Whittington & was on hand to race at the 9/11-cancelled Reno '01. Buccarelli did race #38 @ '02'-'03-'04,'06 & '07 before retiring fm air racing & his mixmaster has been hangared in Florida ever since. Ron's Fastest-Q was 410.755 @ Reno '07 (12th-fastest) & his fastest race was Reno '04's Silver 4th-place finish @ 407.937-av/mph but he never made it into the Gold-bracket racing ranks w/the racer.
Here's a photo gallery (no captions-just photos) of mostly circa-Reno '88, PHX500 & Reno '95 shots (w/a few Buccarelli-era pics spliced-in) celebrating Don Whittington's magnificent mixmaster Mustang racer. A '79 Miami/Homestead pic of the RB-51 & one of Miss Ashley II cap-off the presentation f/good measure.
I'm hoping sometime in the future we'll see N6WJ return to Reno. Another Griffon mixmaster flying today is James Smith's exquisite Supermarine MK47 Seafire N47SF based in Kalispell, MT. that was expertly-restored back to airworthy by Ezell Aviation some years back. Now wouldn't that be sweet if she'd take to the pylons one day? (-How 'bout a 2-plane- 'Mixmaster Air Racing Team' in company w/N6WJ...?!
)
DBD
"Magnificent 'MIXMASTER' Mustang!"
#09-"World Jet" / #38-"Precious Metal"
Air racing has always been a real gearhead's paradise. 'The World's-Fastest Motorsport' showcases an amazing bounty of aviation design history & machine engineering accomplishment- all created to make high-performance aircraft go as fast as possible during closed-course competition. State-of-the-art technology is often enhanced thru innovation, adaptation & sometimes plain simple gizmo creativity too. And just when you think you've seen it all-something new & crazy-wild pops up.
Such was the case w/the appearance of one of the nifty'est exotic mods ever to appear in the modern-era Unlimited Class- the Rolls-Royce Griffon-engine w/contra-rotating propeller setup f/the North American P-51D Mustang, as first adapted f/air racing in '75 on Ed Browning's legendary #5 Red Baron (N7715C). The RB-51 won two NCAR UNL Gold Championships ('77 & '78) & for a time held the World's Absolute Speed Record for piston-engined propeller-driven aircraft ('79-'89)
Watching the wicked-looking visual spectacle of this mechanical marvel of WW2-era propellor technology doin' it's mezmerizing 'monkey motion'- two opposite-rotating props on a single shaft, is truly a joy to behold (-made even more exciting by the Griffon engine's distinctive growl while running @ power). Just the sight of a static mixmaster sitting posed on the ramp or in its' pit stall, stops people right in their tracks- "TWO propellers-you've got to be kidding!"
After the RB-51's loss @ Reno '79, I figured we race fans would never see another Griffon 'Mixmaster' Mustang. Then to everyone's surprise, along came Don Whittington's beautifully-crafted, polished bare metal #09-"World Jet"- a new mixmaster P-51 racer project, created in just 9 months, in time to make it's Reno '88 debut. Whittington qualified #09 5th-fastest @ an impressive 453.078-mph, but WJ was plagued by engine gremlins for that entire meet, culminating w/a forced belly-landing onto Lemon Valley's dry lake bed at the start Sunday's Gold final.
A 6-year rebuild returned WJ to racing competition in fine form for the '95 Phoenix 500 Air Races. The mixmaster was re-registered N6WJ, and raced henceforth as- Race #38-"Precious Metal" (adopting the name of Don Whittington's original D-model racer-a different airplane altogether) & Don won Sunday's PHX '95 UNL Silver & then opted to bump-up into the Gold f/a 4th-place finish.
That September, the Whittington team came back to Reno w/their Precious Metal mixmaster sporting neon green wings & the World Jet sponsor name & Old Glory U.S. flag banner still adorning the fuselage. Whittington qualified #38 in 9th-place @ 380.951-mph. Cooling problems & motor issues kept the PM mixmaster fm showing its' capabilites, but Don again repeated his prev. Sunday Silver win & bump into Gold f/a 4th-place finish at Reno '95.
During N6WJ's hiatus following Reno '95, another Griffon Mixmaster Mustang entered the Unlimited scene at Reno '97- the stunningly-beautiful Levitz-Rogers' custom-built Lear-winged Race #38-"Miss Ashley II". Gary Levitz piloted this incredible racer the three consecutive years it raced, until his tragic untimely end at Reno '99, when MAII suffered structural failure of its' horizontal tail during Sat's HT-3A. This mixmaster showed real potential during its' brief tenure & always as a 400+mph Gold contender.
Six years later, Ron Buccarelli bought N6WJ fm Whittington & was on hand to race at the 9/11-cancelled Reno '01. Buccarelli did race #38 @ '02'-'03-'04,'06 & '07 before retiring fm air racing & his mixmaster has been hangared in Florida ever since. Ron's Fastest-Q was 410.755 @ Reno '07 (12th-fastest) & his fastest race was Reno '04's Silver 4th-place finish @ 407.937-av/mph but he never made it into the Gold-bracket racing ranks w/the racer.
Here's a photo gallery (no captions-just photos) of mostly circa-Reno '88, PHX500 & Reno '95 shots (w/a few Buccarelli-era pics spliced-in) celebrating Don Whittington's magnificent mixmaster Mustang racer. A '79 Miami/Homestead pic of the RB-51 & one of Miss Ashley II cap-off the presentation f/good measure.
I'm hoping sometime in the future we'll see N6WJ return to Reno. Another Griffon mixmaster flying today is James Smith's exquisite Supermarine MK47 Seafire N47SF based in Kalispell, MT. that was expertly-restored back to airworthy by Ezell Aviation some years back. Now wouldn't that be sweet if she'd take to the pylons one day? (-How 'bout a 2-plane- 'Mixmaster Air Racing Team' in company w/N6WJ...?!
) DBD
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