'BUCK SHOTS'

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"HOT-2-TROT!"...

Thur. 9/15/83-Reno NCAR- Frank Taylor's hot P-51D Mustang #4-Dago Red is chompin' at the bit & obviously rarin'-to-go-racin' during her sophmore year of competition, as she anxiously-waits in her pit stall on Reno '83 race week's first day of heats. But Dago will have to wait until Friday, when the top 5 'locked-in' Gold UNL qualifiers get to test their mettle for the first time.

DBD

(And yep-That's Lloyd Hamilton's new corncob Super SF- #15-Furias parked behind Dago Red. She'll have to wait a whole nother year to race, after blowing her motor during quals)

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"The Great Blade".......!!!

'All exotic race mods cast-aside' (-huge engines driving over-sized & contra-rotating props, clipped-wings & tails, fuselage strakes & fairings, enlarged v-stabs, tiny bubble canopies fronting turtle-decks, removed belly-scoops, boil-off system conversions, nitrous oxide injection systems, inlets added & removed, etc.,).......

In my humble opinion, (-while recognizing it didn't pan-out to be the perfect or most-efficient ultimate speed-increase solution in the long-run), - Lyle Shelton's Race #77-Rare Bear's monster 3-blade prop reigns-supreme as the- "Most BAD-ASS", most-awesome innovative mod ever to appear on an Unlimited air racer!!!

Only Lyle's Rare Bear Team of talented individuals could come-up w/such an amazing idea for an aircraft so totally-suitable for such a massive airscrew. I sure do miss seein' & hearin' N777L sportin' that mighty super-prop (-and the fun of havin' it untie my shoelaces while takin' my breath away whenever The Bear'd roar-by overhead ). Know we'll likely-never ever see it used again, but gotta-say I sure feel lucky to have been there for that incredible air racing experience!

Here's a toast to the late & great air racing champion-Lyle Shelton and pal- Carl Friend who conceived implementing Rare Bear's radical- 'GREAT BLADE' Prop! "Blue Skies & Tailwinds Forever, Gentlemen!-FLY FAST!"

DBD

[Apteryx]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

The best was to sit up in the empty metal stands, when the Bear was running around....the vibrations were absolutely visceral.

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Mixin' It Up!"

Race: Sat. 9/14/02-Reno NCAR- A classic Mustang vs. Sea Fury battle going on during Lap-1 of Unlimited Heat-3B, w/Brian Sanders in Hawker SF #114-Argonaught holding-down the inside track against Ron Buccarelli's P-51D Mixmaster Mustang #38-Precious Metal & Joe Thibodeau's SF #21-Sea Hawk.

Argonaut came in 3rd @ 390.669-av/mph in this 6-lapper, w/Precious Metal- 5th @ 375.807 & Sea Hawk- 6th @ 370.983 behind heat winner- Tiger Destefani flyin' his P-51D #7-Strega (413.938) & 2nd-place finisher- Art Vance driving the Rogers-Stolzer Super Sea Fury #15-Furias (402.338).

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Awesome A-2 Aero-Art"....

A-2 leather flight jackets as wearable-art canvases, are genuine pieces of aviation history- dating back even before WW2, as pilots & aircrew hand-decorated their issued examples w/busty babes, cartoon characters & demons, along w/the balsy bold names & noseart of the planes that took them off to the fight & hopefully- back again to home base.

These two exquisite examples produced by 'Real McCoys' are veritable masterpieces on horsehide, and were both on-display @ Reno '99 NCAR in Team Dago Red's race apparel store in their pit (when team pilot-Bruce Lockwood wasn't proudly-wearing his A-2, of course )

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Once Upon A Time- In A Land Not-So-Far-Away..."

Race: Sun. 9/15/85-Reno NCAR UNL Championship Gold -

One of the things I love most about 'The World's-Fastest Motorsport', is how it's so darn unpredictable as to the final outcome of an air race- "Just when you think you know- You NEVER Know!"

A classic example was the Reno '85 NCAR big Sunday Unlimited Gold Trophy showdown in the sky, featuring a formidable lineup of 9 heavy-metal thoroughbred contenders ready to go at it for 8-laps out on Stead Field's 9.222-mile racecourse in the Nevada desert.

The six fastest big-iron race birds survived the prelim heat contests to make it to the Gold start: Top-qualifier Neil Anderson in Frank Sanders' big & fast Hawker Super Sea Fury #8-Dreadnought, was ready to make it a clean sweep year for his team against some stiff competition from the likes of P-51D Mustang rivals- Skip Holm/#84-Stiletto, Rick Brickert/#4-Dago Red, John Crocker/#6-Sumthin' Else & Ron Hevle/#7-Strega. Steve Hinton in the Planes of Fame #1-Super Corsair had proved to be Anderson's biggest-threat by finishing second-place in both Friday & Saturday's Gold heats- much to everyone's surprise. Out of contention were John Penney in Lyle Shelton's #77-Rare Bear & Jimmy Leeward's P-51D #9-Leeward Air Ranch Special, leaving Bud Granley in P-51D #11-Miss America, Lloyd Hamilton in Super Sea Fury #15-Furias & Lefty Gardner's P-51D #25-Thunderbird to fill the remaining slots to make a fully-fielded finale.

After pace/safety pilot- Bob Hoover's yellow Mustang pulled-up to launch the Gold, both Stilletto & Strega aborted the start & Sumthin' Else maydayed-out on Lap-6. It looked fairly-certain that Anderson in Dreadnought was sure to cinch the win at a new race record speed, w/Hinton & the Super Corsair close on his heels on every lap. Thunderbird & Miss A were mistakenly-given the checkered flag on Lap-7 & pulled out also.

Then 'IT' happened -as it often does when least-expected: Neil Anderson cut Outer 8 Pylon making his last turn of the race w/Dreadnought, while heading down onto the main straightaway towards Home Pylon & w/victory in his sights- thereby giving the win to his pursuer-Steve Hinton in #1-Super Corsair! Hinton's thick-winged homebrew corncob racer finished w/a new Gold record speed of 438.186-av/mph! He & his team, along w/the majority of race fans present, were totally-delirious w/joy over their winning outcome & stoked themselves for a big celebration. Over in Dreadnought's pit, things were a bit more serious & subdued, w/team pilot Anderson having to give account to disappointed owner Frank Sanders f/his performance. Oh well... Hey now-That's just- 'Air Racin' f/ya!

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Formula-One Fun!"

Race: Fri. 9/16/11-Reno NCAR-Formula-1 HT3A- A running-duel between Cassutt racers f/4th-place ensues going around the pylons in this photo, w/Jay Jones & #45-Quadnickel holding a slight lead over James Jordan & #54-Miss Minn riding close on his tail feathers.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Twilight T-L-C" ~ Tsunami ~

Race aircraft demand plenty of full-time maintenance attention fm their crews, in order to keep these maximum-performance flying machines sufficiently-reliable to handle the immense stesses endured during the heat of competition. Often that means working long 'overtime' hours well into the night before the next day's qualification run or racing events.

Here's a couple vintage 'Buck Shots' of John Sandberg's Bruce Boland-designed custom Unlimited- #18-Tsunami (NX39JR), receiving maintenance service fm team members during Reno NCAR race week, while day turns into night...

Photos (L-R):

1. Thur. 9/14/89- Working under a full moonrise, crew members (L-R)- Bill Moja, pilot-Steve Hinton (up on lt. wing), owner-John Sandberg (standing @ rt. wing root) & engine man-Sam Torvik alongside him, finishing-up Race #18's pre-flight checklist f/Hinton's twilight test flight at the end of the day.

2. Tue. 9/18/90- High-angle photo-capture fm atop the crane hoist of Team Tsunami toiling under work lamps in their pit stall, as twilight fades to night at Stead Field. Crewman Jim Dale chats w/Sandberg standing below at right, w/Bill Moja opposite & Sam Torvik at the nose. (No IDs f/the other guys standing at left). Skip Holm succeeded Hinton that year as designated race pilot. Just after qualifying 3rd-fastest @ 465.187-mph, Tsunami's Merlin engine broke 2 connecting rods-requiring extra effort fm the crew to get their bird back to race-ready form f/the remainer of race week.

DBD

[Chad Veich]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

If only things had gone a bit differently for Tsunami... Man, what a beautiful airplane and with so much potential. I never got to see it race but count myself fortunate to have at least seen it fly at Chino.

[RAD2LTR]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

If only things had gone a bit differently for Tsunami... Man, what a beautiful airplane and with so much potential. I never got to see it race but count myself fortunate to have at least seen it fly at Chino.

You may yet get to see it race, assuming the races aren't canceled forever. They are rebuilding it.

Will

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Nose Shot"...

Nose shots are always prominent popular favorite subjects in aviation photography portfolios. Here's the business end of Max Chapman's TF-51D "Mad Max" (N51MX/45-11559a), w/it's big Hamilton Standard propellor & red spinner standing-out strikingly, against a deep blue azure sky @ Stead Field/Reno NCAR-Friday 9/12/97.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Night Witch"-

Wed. 9/13/89-Reno NCAR- Bill 'Tiger' Destefani's Unlimited Gold champion P-51D Mustang racer- #7-Strega, gets an evening engine test-run fm late & great Merlin wizard-Dwight Thorn up in the cockpit, w/crew monitors watching-closely alongside on Stead Field's pitch-black ramp. The shadowy figure standing in the foreground is vet UNL crew chief-Bill Kerchenfaut, w/crew members-Mike Wilton next to the fire ext. bottle & Pam Silvis in the red jacket by the wing.

DBD

[xmh53wrench]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Amazing photos Bucky, did ya ever sleep? thanks

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"This Space Available"...

Besides attaining maximum airspeed (w/some degree of 'reliability') to win gold & set records,-securing adequate sponsorship has always been one of the biggest challenges for competing air race teams, during the entire history of- The World's-Fastest Motorsport.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"SPARKY!"-

'Everbody loves Sparky'- Even though the Seghetti Family's stocker P-51D is far fm bein' the fastest Mustang competing in the Unlimited Class, she's been a fan-favorite @ the air races & W. Coast airshows. Folks always love seeing this happy-lookin' warbird fighter in the air & on display.

Photos (L-R):

1. Fri. 9/13/08-Reno NCAR-UNL HT-3C: Young Unlimited Class rookie race pilot- Steven Hinton, Jr. rounds the pylons w/#44-'Sparky', getting essential racecourse stick time to step-up as new protege driver f/veteran UNL race champion owner/pilot-Tiger Destefani in #7-'Strega' @ Reno '09 (-when Stevo succeeded his dad-Steve Sr. as youngest-ever rookie UNL Gold champion).

2. Tue. 9/13/11-Reno NCAR-UNL Qualifying & Practice: Brant Seghetti banks Sparky around the pylons last September, flying some practice laps. Brant Q'd #44 the day before @ 367.491-mph as 17th-fastest, in the field of 28 competing a/c in the Unlimiteds & finished 2nd in Thursday's HT1B. Dan Martin got to race Sparky on Friday in HT2C,-finishing in 3rd-place.

DBD