Rushin' Thunder

[Plane Nuts]

What happened to Rushin' Thunder? Stats show he qualified 5th, DNF heat 2A.

[RAD2LTR]

The gear didn't come all the way up after takeoff. Couldn't keep pace with the pace, entered the course well behind. I believe he pulled off the course, cycled the gear and asked to rejoin the race after the gear came up. He was told something along the lines of "Its not advisable" but wasn't specifically told no he couldn't rejoin. I guess he got an earful from Stevo, so he pulled up again and I'm not sure what happened next. He got back down on the ground fine. As of that night, he was still in the race, however he was given the boot the following morning. The team was none too pleased.

Since he wasn't told a straight "no" upon his request to enter, it would seem like he did nothing wrong. This was apparently seen as being careless, and this is apparently why he was not allowed to continue. I can see arguments both ways. In hindsight, was it a bad idea to re enter the course? I'd say yes probably. Still, Once the request was made, Race Control should have said a resounding "NO" and not "Its not advisable" Apparently even Steve Sr said Scotty did nothing wrong in asking to rejoin in the debrief.

There is precedence of racers leaving the course and rejoining. Full Noise in 2017 is a prime example of that. I think where the difference may lie is where Graeme exited and where he rejoined vs where Scotty exited and attempted to rejoin. I'm not sure where he came back on course, but I was on Pylon 8 and saw him in a strange spot on the course. I was paying attention to the planes coming down the VOS and not where Scotty was going.

I really feel bad for the team. Two years running and they have been pushed out of racing. Were mistakes made? Yes, but they were made on multiple sides. It wasn't just Scotty who made the mistake of rejoining, Race Control made the mistake of saying "Not advisable" rather than "No". Are there facts that I am not aware of? Possibly. I'm not sure, so I'm just reporting what was relayed to me. People closer to the source may chime in should they choose. (Yes they read this)

Will

[Race5]

This video includes the radio transmissions from that race. Both the ear full he got from Stevo and Steve Sr. Also race control cleared him back to the course and only reversed that decision after the calls made by Steve and Stevo. The even more worrisome "incident" is shown at the very end and involves the rudder / trim tab flutter that Johnny suffered in the other Yak. I'm glad that happened when he pulled off after the race and was already slowing down. https://www.youtube.com/live/Cq9qwY6...AUeHOa&t=24554

[RAD2LTR]

Yes, Miss Trinidad's rudder trim tab could have been bad news. Apparently the bolt broke. They pulled the rudder off, checked all the hinges, linkages, and other hardware, then reassembled everything. I was in their pit for that.

Again, had race control said not to re-enter the course, we would not be having this conversation. Again, in the post race brief, Steve Sr did say Scotty did nothing wrong in asking to rejoin.

Mistakes were made by both race control, and Scotty. Nothing more to say. Could it have been bad news? Yep, but it wasn't. It is a teachable moment however. Lets leave it at that.

Will

[Race5]

One of my biggest concerns was that he did not say where is was re-entering the course. Imagine being Stevo with a 150 mph closure rate and a Yak suddenly drops down out of no where.

[RAD2LTR]

Yes, This was part of the list of mistakes being made. Communication is paramount to a safe race.

Will

[AAFO_WSagar]

Communication is paramount to a safe race.

Will

Amen!

[Plane Nuts]

Thanks for the update.