'BUCK SHOTS'

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"100% Scale"...

Mon. 9/9/91-Reno NCAR-Day One-Qualifying & Practice- Race Number/Name vinyl decals are essential aircraft 'parts' checklist items of competing race teams, f/conveniently-converting a warbird or sport plane over to a racer (-especially if you want to save precious crew maintenance time or don't want to ruin an expensive custom paint job by painting-on your race numbers f/a once-a-year event ) It's part of the rules of racing- your race numbers must be on & visible to be allowed to qualify or compete in race events.

Here's owner/race pilot-Dean 'Cutter' Cutshall's crew giving an expert demonstration on how it's done, -as they install the race number decals onto Dean's beautiful P-51D Mustang- #91-'Cutter's Capers' (N51KD).

It's probably safe to assume that like many of us,-these guys have had lots of previous-experience applying those smaller-size water-soluable decals on countless scale-models as kids, ya think?

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"The Wright Stuff"...

Sun. 9/10/00-Reno NCAR- Steve Bolander starts-up the big Wright R-3350 radial engine on his famous modified Hawker Sea Fury- #87-Miss Merced (N878M/co-owned w/partner- Jim Michaels), in prep f/a test flight. Parked alongside, are two other R-3350-engined SF's- Howard Pardue's #66-Fury & Mike Keenum's #99-Riff Raff.

There were a total of 12 Sea Furies on hand @ Reno 2000 & all but two of them were Wright re-engined examples (-the exceptions being the big bodacious R-4360 corncob-motored SF duo- the Sanders' #8-Dreadnought & Lloyd Hamilton's #15-Furias,-fielded by new owners- Bill Rogers & Dale Stolzer). Until recently, refitting the Sea Fury over to Wright R-3350 powerplants seemed quite a big trend.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"They Got Your Number!"...

Sun. 9/14/08-Reno NCAR- Air racing pylon judges deservedly-rank high amongst the true unsung heroes of- 'The World's-Fastest Motorsport'.

These dedicated volunteers must spend almost their entire race week out in the remote desert glued to working their assigned racecourse pylon 'stick', while braving the elements & they take their job duties very seriously: Pylon Judges watch f/and report any pylon cuts made by close-flying race planes being pushed-hard in competition, or other rules infractions made,-like low or dangerous-flying by race pilots, as their part to help w/the combined effort by organizers & participants to maintain the fairness & safety of the event. They also work closely w/race security by reporting any incursions onto the racecourse proper.

Most of these fine folks are seasoned-veterans like Outer 4 Captain- Wolfgang Friedmann & his crew, -captured here in this posed 'Buck Shot' portrait. They're also quite a tight-knit, great fun-loving group, who value each other as life-long friends. Included here as well, is a vintage '95 RARA Pylon Judges' class photo of them posing w/their all-time favorite race plane & pilot- Lefty Gardner & his legendary P-38 #13-White Lightnin' (N25Y).

BIG THANKS of appreciation goes-out to all the air racing pylon judges, past & present, for a job well-done!!!

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Bombin'-around The Sticks". . .

For Reno '84 NCAR, warbird afficionado/race team owner & pilot- Wiley Sanders brought along his big North American B-25J Mitchell medium bomber (N5262V) to race just f/fun in the Unlimited Class, along w/his stocker T-28F Trojan #96 (N14112), flown by fellow team race pilot-John Putnam.

Having sold his hot 2-time UNL Gold Champion Mustang racer #69-Jeannie (NX79111) to fellow racer- Jimmy Leeward following Reno '82, Wiley conveniently-used Jeannie's race number f/his 'Mitchell racer'.

But alas, both his racers were too-slow to make the 28-plane UNL race field- w/the B-25 coming in 31st @ 242.543-mph & Putnam's 265.22-mph speed placing 30th-fastest. Wiley still had a great time flying the racecourse w/his B-25 & both his T-28 & Bill Harrison's Trojan #33-Slo-Moshun (-which Q'd 29th @ 274.512) were allowed to race in Sunday's 6-lap Bronze final.

Here's a trio of vintage 'Buck Shots' fm the archives of Wiley Sanders' Sat. 9/8/84 arrival @ Stead Field w/his Race #69 B-25, and two of Wiley's qualifying run in his Mitchell going around Outer 6 Pylon.

Today, most bombers like the B-25 & A-26 (& even 4-eng. big-iron types) that've competed in past closed-course pylon events, are now excluded fm NCAR pylon racing, as they exceed the current class a/c weight restrictions now in-place. So... the closest-thing to seeing 'bomber-style' pylon racing akin- 'the days of yore', are watching those big & beautiful (& relatively-fast) Grumman F7F Tigercats seen racing in recent years (-and THAT, as we've come to know, is something truly-amazing to behold 4-sure! )

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Rat-Race Rehearsal"...

Photos (L-R):

1. "And There I Was"- Sat. 5/19/07- Chino, CA. Planes of Fame Airshow. P-38 'pilot's briefing' - (L-R) Jeff Harris & Kevin Eldridge listen, as flight leader- Steve Hinton goes through formation flying sequencing while the pilots grab some shade under Glacier Girl's wings prior to takeoff by their trio of Lightnings.

2. "Eye on The Sky"- Veteran warbird/race pilot-Steve Hinton scans the airspace overhead fm the wing of Rod Lewis' famous WW2 P-38F Lightning- 'Glacier Girl' @ the annual Planes of Fame Airshow-Chino, CA.-Sat. 5/19/07.

3. "P-38 Rat-Race"- A pair of ultra-rare WW2-era Lockheed P-38 Lightning pursuit fighters simulate a friendly-dogfight during the Sacramento 2010 Capital City Airshow-Fri. 9/10/10.

DBD

[Big_Jim]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

[Today, most bombers like the B-25 & A-26 (& even 4-eng. big-iron types) that've competed in past closed-course pylon events, are now excluded fm NCAR pylon racing, as they exceed the current class a/c weight restrictions now in-place. So... the closest-thing to seeing 'bomber-style' pylon racing akin- 'the days of yore', are watching those big & beautiful (& relatively-fast) Grumman F7F Tigercats seen racing in recent years (-and THAT, as we've come to know, is something truly-amazing to behold 4-sure! )

Great shots, Bucky! Carl Scholl's "Pacific Princess" and Bill Arnot's "Silver Lady" also tried unsuccessfully to get into the show between 1985 and 1988, but it still was fun to watch them try.

If I recall correctly, Howard Pardue was co-pilot when Wiley took his B-25 around the sticks.

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

" VIP Space People" -

50 years ago, John Glenn became the first US astronaut to orbit the earth aboard Friendship 7 on 2/20/62. NASA's space program made many great historic achievements over the following decades, including the amazing Apollo lunar space expeditions & Space Shuttle missions. The NASA agency & its' astronauts have been fittingly-honored by the Reno NCAR & several astronauts have even been air race pilot participants: Bill Anders (Apollo 8) & the late Deke Slayton (Apollo-Soyuz), and former Shuttle Commanders- Robert ‘Hoot’ Gibson & Curt Brown are still active racers.

Here’s an archive portrait pic capturing several veteran astronaut VIPs paying a visit to Outer 4 Pylon-Sat. 9/18/99 (L-R): B/G David Moody-Nellis AFB commander, in company w/Joe Engle (X-15/STS), Gene Cernan (Gemini 9A & Apollo 10/17), Jim Lovell (Gemini 7/12 & Apollo 8/13), Rhea Seddon (STS) & Richard Gordon (Gemini 11 & Apollo 12).

A Big- 'Salute of Thanks & Appreciation' goes-out to all of USA's great NASA 'Space People', past & present, for courageously expanding our earthly boundaries into outer space & making dreams reality. You are true American heroes!

DBD

[Big_Jim]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

I remember that! Here was me and Dick Gordon (Apollo 12 Command Module Pilot) at Pylon 8 that same afternoon.

That was a lot of fun having all those astronauts all together in one place.

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"September Fury!"

Race: Fri. 9/12/08-Reno NCAR-UNL Heat-2A- Michael Brown & his super-hot Unlimited Gold racer- #232-"September Fury" (N232MB) hold-down first place going around the pylon course to win Friday's first Gold heat of Reno '08 @ 469.754-av/mph. (This would be Brown's last race win w/#232- the fastest Hawker Sea Fury racer to date).

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Wampus Cat!"

Mon. 9/13/99-Reno NCAR: Warbird maintenance expert- Mark Calderwood test-runs the powerful P&W R-2800 radial engine on owner/pilot- Bill Anders' Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat UNL racer #106-"Wampus Cat" on the Stead Field ramp, just before sundown.

Mark was one of the original famous- 'Chino Kids' gang & William Anders, of course, is world-renowned as one of USA's Apollo 8 astronauts (w/Frank Borman & Jim Lovell), who were the first humans to orbit the moon. Their mission subsequently paved the way f/Apollo 11's crew to set monumental historic precedent by setting foot on the lunar surface & return back home to earth.

Bearcat #106-"Wampus Cat" has some great history as well, competing in previous years in the Unlimited Class as both Race #10 & #8.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Dago & The Bear !"....

Race: Sun. 9/14/03-Reno NCAR UNL Gold- Skip Holm in P-51D #4-"Dago Red" & John Penney in F8F-2 #77-"Rare Bear" engage in a hotly-contested duel around the pylons for all the marbles in the Unlimited Gold Championship final of Reno '03.

Sunday's UNL Gold culminated a week-long contest between these arch-rivals that began w/Penney & Rare Bear's 495.039-mph top qualifying speed vs. Skip's 492.722-mph 2nd-fastest Q-Run w/Dago. When the UNL Gold 'big dogs' first got let out of the gate in Friday's Heat-2A, it was Holm & Dago Red setting a 500-mph+ record-breaking pace f/that 6-lap barn-burner, by coming-in at 507.105-av/mph to JP & Bear's 492.936!!!

Saturday's Heat-3A matchup was a bit more 'subdued' - w/another win by Dago @ 480.415 over Bear's 459.007 6-lap average speed. The two teams again wicked-up their racers f/the 8-lap Sunday Gold finale, which saw Team Dago prevail once again f/a full-sweep race victory @ 487.938-av/mph over Race #77's 483.942.

Truly-awesome full-throttle Unlimited Gold Trophy Class air racing, it was indeed-OH YEAH!!!

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"How- 'Time- Flys' -When You're Havin'- FUN!"

Most-definately- 'Time Marches-On', -to the enthusiastic drumbeat of- Youth! Watching our kids grow-up so quickly, helps us keep proper perspective on making the most out of Life,-while we still can.

Seems like t'was just the other day- A whole bunch of us all watched grinning, as a jubilant Skip Holm celebrated his Reno '84 UNL Gold victory w/#84-Stiletto & enthusiastically-lifted his year & a half old toddler son- Jeffrey Sky Holm way-up-high above his head,-so's young Sky could grab-hold of the prop blade & look-back down upon their big crowd of well-wishers grouped before them.

The thought never dawned on most of us standing there then, that we'd ever be present to see that son return the favor & be giving his dad a 'victory lift' up on his own shoulders. Kinda funny how that happened to work-out, huh?...

Photos/Reno NCAR (L-R):

1. Sun. 9/16/84-UNL Gold Final-Team Stiletto post-race celebration: "Up ya go, there, boy!"

2. Mon. 9/15/86-Post-races: Wearing a tad-too-big race pilot's flight helmet, young Sky Holm gets posed amidst the lineup of Alan Preston Racing Team trophies, when dad-Skip Holm was still Stiletto's race pilot.

3. Sun. 9/19/94-Awards Banquet: 11-year old Sky stands off to the side laughing, as he watches his dad- Skip Holm, lift his 6-year old sister Ashley up onto announcer Sandy Sanders' back (-who's trying hard not to mess-up his awards presentation introduction).

4. Sun. 9/19/94-Awards Banquet: Ashley & brother Sky enjoy their lofty perches riding on the shoulders of their dad Skip & his pal- Team Critical Mass owner/pilot-Tom Dwelle (Rt),-holding their 5th-place UNL Gold Trophy f/Skip's job flying Dwelle's Sea Fury #10-"Critical Mass".

5. Sun. 9/17/00-Awards Banquet: At 17, a strapping Jeffrey Sky Holm siezes the opportunity on stage, to revisit his own history by hoisting his dad-Skip up onto his own shoulders (w/an assist fm Dago Red team member-Clay Liston) in celebration of Holm's first UNL Gold Race win as Team Dago Red's new pilot (Dago's 3rd-consecutive & 4th-total Gold wins / Skip's 3rd-Gold Trophy at that time).

Today, Jeffrey Sky Holm is a career officer in the U. S. Coast Guard in command of his own cutter. His sister- Ashley Brooke Holm is a recent college graduate pursuing her career in music. Dad- Skip Holm continues to be a successful professional aviator & aviation entrepreneur. (Of course, it goes w/o saying, that we all hope to see Skip back in the saddle again to resume his side-pursuit as a winning air race pilot! )

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Arch-Rivalry!"-

"Actung, Johann!-Check Your Six!-Yak Attack!"...

Race: Thur. 9/15/11-Reno NCAR-UNL Medallion HT-1C- Replicating a genuine WW2 air combat encounter fm out of Europe's Eastern Front,-race pilot-John Maloney flies Rudy Frasca's German FW-190 #14-"What Da Fockewulf" on a tight approach for the pylon, w/Jim McKinstry & Yak-3UPW #0-"Russiya Su' Ka" glued to his tail feathers in hot pursuit, during Reno 2011's first Unlimited heat.

McKinstry won this pylon dogfight 'sortie' by finishing the 6-lapper in 3rd-place @ 294.159-av/mph ahead of Maloney, who came in 4th @ 285.443.

Now,That's- 'GREAT RACING'!!!

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Aleutian Flyer!"-

The late & great Aleutian pilot-Tom Madsen & his Twin Beech E-18S "Aleutian Spirit" (N676Q), during annual maintenance inside the old WW2 Navy hangar @ Unalaska/Dutch Harbor Airport-7/23/90.

Madsen & his family moved down to Juneau, Alaska in 1999, after logging 18-years of rugged commercial flying operations in the Aleutian Islands operating his company-Aleutian Air. Charles “Tom” Madsen, Sr. & his Beech were lost 4/10/02 in a takeoff crash fm the Juneau Airport.

Later that year, Unalaska’s Airport was re-named- “Tom Madsen Airport” to honor the aviator f/providing many years of essential air service to that remote Alaskan community, which included conducting numerous mercy flights during extreme adverse weather conditions, both day & night. Tom Madsen was a great & courageous man, born pilot & friend to many. He was only 52 when he made his final flight up to The Great Airport in The Sky.

Here's a few portrait photos of Tom Madsen, including one w/daughter Melinda, and his beautiful Twin Beech workhorse. Also an aerial shot of Dutch Harbor/Unalaska on a good day (-at upper left of the photo, you can see the Unalaska airport runway stretching-horizontally along the foot of Mt. Ballyhoo),-along w/a more typical topside view of Unalaska Island f/comparison.

DBD

BTW- My friend Tom was also a true-blue hard-core Reno Air Races fan (-checkout his t-shirt! )

[f1-69]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

tom was one of my dear friends and I miss him I got to fly that ole girl alot