The annals of Air
Race History holds many names,
however, there are but a few that
ring in memory as having a
special meaning to those who
follow The Worlds
Fastest Motorsport. Legendary
names that by their mere
utterance evoke a sense of
that Golden Century of
challenging the sky.
Names
like Bleriot, Curtis, Doolittle,
Turner, Williams, Wedell,
Cochran, Stead, Slovak,
Greenamyer
and
one name that belongs to a man
still quite active in the sport -
undeniably the greatest Air Race
pilot to ever live:
Shelton.
Six-time
National Champion at Reno;
First
to win three Unlimited
Championship Races within the
period of a year;
Holder
of the Worlds Speed Record
For Piston-engine Aircraft Over a
3 KM Straight Course at 528.33
mph;
Holder
of the Time to Climb Record -
3000 Meters in 1 minute 31
seconds;
Pilot
of the veteran Grumman F-8F
Bearcat racer, "Rare
Bear," Race 77;
Inductee
into the Motorsports Hall of
Fame
Lyle
Shelton.
Truly,
an Air Racing legend.
Last
month, we had the unique
experience of sitting behind that
legend while he flew his Bearcat
for the first time in several
years.
What!?
You
say his airplane sits engine-less
in a hangar at the Reno-Stead
Airport
how can this be
true, then?
Many
of you probably already know
where Im heading with this:
Xtreme
Air Racing!
If
you follow this website, or
computer games, you already know
about the upcoming flight
simulation we refer to. If not,
let us explain that the new Xtreme
Air Racing is a computer game
and competition modeled after the
Reno National Championship Air
Races, held annually in
mid-September at Stead Airport,
Nevada. (see link for more
information) With this
new flight sim, gamers will not
only be able to fly the course at
Reno-Stead and compete with each
other on that same course, but
they will also be able to compete
against the racers themselves...
...including,
Lyle Shelton!
To
say that laying ones hands
on this simulation could be an
Air Race fans dream come
true, would be an understatement!
As it turns out, this new flight
simulation could well be one of
the best things that both the Air
Racing fanatic, the future Air
Racer, and those involved in Air
Racing today, can lay their hands
on
...but
I digress lets go
back to the cockpit with Lyle
Shelton.
In past
meetings with Lyle, I have heard
him describe what it is like to
fly the course at Reno, and along
with most of you reading this, we
have seen him fly the course at
Reno from our perspective on the
ground.
Over
the past four years since this
publication began, my own
personal "dream come
true" has been the
opportunity to meet with and
become friends of the many
personalities involved with Air
Racing. Now, the dream has become
even better!
During
the recent Pylon Racing Seminar,
held at Stead, Nevada, between
June 21 - 24, 2001, we were
invited to join Victory
Interactive's President, Pat
Hunt, on a visit to introduce
Lyle and other racers to Xtreme
Air Racing. Even better, we had
the opportunity to have Lyle view
and fly his own airplane, which
is modeled within the new flight
sim.
The
man who controls the mighty
"Rare Bear" is no
stranger to real airplanes of
many different types, and as our good
luck would have it, hes
no stranger to flight simulations
either!
Lyle
Shelton is an active member of a
"virtual flight simulation
squadron," flying and
competing regularly on-line at "Warbirds"
with his fellow
"squadron mates"; as a
pilot as well as a "virtual
pilot", he was personally
eager to see just what this "Xtreme
Air Racing" game was all
about.
Let
me pull a Richard Milhous Nixon
here and "make this
perfectly clear:" Im
a big lets make
that, a HUGE
Air Racing fan, and have
been for many years; and yet,
what was about to unfold before
my eyes will now and always be
one of my fondest memories of
this grand, epic motorsport.
"This
looks a lot like my panel,"
said a grinning Lyle Shelton as
the "virtual Rare
Bear" came up on the
screen. "Did you guys take a
picture of it?" he asked.
"Yes
we did," smiled a proud Pat
Hunt, as he watched an actual race
pilot about to step into the
saddle of his
"brainchild," Xtreme
Air Racing.
As
Pat Hunt loaded the simulation
onto Lyles computer, we
both watched as it
began
Lyles
transformation from a man sitting
in his living room at his
computer, to Lyle Shelton,
Pilot: Rare Bear Air Racing Team!
...something
thousands more will get to do
live vicariously through
Lyle Shelton and many of their
favorite racers come the
Reno Air Races in September!
Delighted,
I sat back and watched in awe as
Lyle took control and immediately
began calling off where he was on
the course:
"This
would be pylon four," he
said, as he leaned into the turn,
smooth as silk.
Talking
with and guiding us as he flew
around the course from pylon to
pylon, Lyle took everyone present
into the cockpit with him as he
explained to us what he was doing
and even better
"why."
Flying
his normally smooth and slightly
high line, the six time winner of
Reno Gold and Motorsports Hall of
Famer was no longer just sitting
in his living room, he had made
the transformation into the Rare
Bear again and every move
counted, just as it did the last
time he flew Race 77.
I
mentioned a few lines earlier
that Lyle was smooth on the
controls this is a major
understatement! Lyle was awesome
at the controls! Everything he
did, sitting there before us in
his living room, was something he
had done previously in the
cockpit of the Rare Bear itself,
and for that matter will
be something he does once more at
some time in the near future.
Simply
put he gave us a class in
flying his airplane.
Eager to
learn more about flying the
course, both Pat and I were
curious in regards to emergency
procedures. The two of us had
been having problems getting back
to the runway after engine
failures while flying Xtreme
Air Racing. No matter what we
did, wherever we were on the
course, we never seemed to have
enough airspeed or altitude to
first find...then land...on the
runway.
ANY
runway!
Lyle
had a very stern and serious
answer to this question:
"You
better know where the runways
are, no matter where you are on
the course" said this master
of speed sitting before us;
"and you have to be making
your turn and approach while you
are climbing or youre in
big trouble."
I
have to break into this for a
moment to qualify what I,
personally, was feeling at this
moment
and I do not mean to
slight anyone who is
religious
however, sitting
in Lyle Sheltons living
room surrounded by the spoils of
his many victories in air racing
receiving racing lessons
from him personally to
this Air Racing fan... was akin
to an audience with God himself!
It
just does not get any
better than this!
In
fact, though, it did get better.
The
main reason for this visit was to
have Lyle act as "test
pilot." This would be a shakedown
flight for the new sim, and
beyond a shadow of a doubt, Lyle
is in good company, seeing that
he's performing this test
pilot work for Victory
Simulations, a company with whom
R.A. "Bob" Hoover
himself, has been acting as
"Chief Pilot" for
several months
Both
Lyle and Bob have made the
suggestion that wake
turbulence be factored
in
Attention
to detail being a prerequisite in
his work, Pat Hunt wrote down
every word of their suggestions
and informed me only today, that
work is complete, implementing
both mens experience and
ideas.
Is
Xtreme Air Racing real air
racing?
No,
it is only a simulation. And yet,
how close to "real" is
it?
In
his living room this evening,
Lyle Shelton answered that
question for us:
"Xtreme
Air Racing gives me many of the
same sensations of speed and
relative motion that I get when
Im flying The Rare Bear
around the course at Reno,"
said the smiling aviator, as he
stepped out of the
"virtual cockpit" and
back into his living room once
again. Continuing his visit with
us that evening, Lyle added
something in the way of a
suggestion that impressed me even
further:
"You
guys need to give this to the
racing class check pilots for
training race pilots."
...and
Lyle explained why:
"When
I was getting ready to fly the
airplane (Rare Bear) in 97,
it had been a while since
Id flown it. I was flying
Warbirds (the simulation) at the
time and I found an airfield that
was similar to Reno, and used it
(the simulation) to practice
emergency procedures...and it
really did help!" According
to Lyle, "This would be even
better the terrain and
pylon locations are pretty much
what you see out there
this would be a great help to any
pilot flying Reno."
I
have personally been impressed
with Xtreme Air Racing since
I first saw
it in February of this
year, but I never really knew for
certain. Yes, it looked pretty
"real" to me at the
time. The game was a challenge to
fly well and the airplanes looked
realistic. Certainly, Xtreme
Air Racing "took me
there," but I had been
wondering from the very first
look will this feel the
same to someone who has actually
put a lot of time in on the
actual course?
Lyles
comments had answered my
question.
This
was a fantastic experience
watching Lyle fly Rare Bear once
again; even better to hear him
talk us through a few laps on the
course; and his coaching on the
engine out procedures had me
actually making the runway after
the first few tries.
However,
what about Lyle Shelton? Did he
enjoy flying Xtreme Air Racing
as much as I have been
enjoying it?
A quick
answer would be yes, but
since this Editors Editor
coached me on just how to
approach this story by
saying, "take it one moment
at a time and tell what you
saw" Ill take
the answer into the next
day
Pat
had only brought one copy of Xtreme
Air Racing, and as such, was
unable to leave one for Lyle, who
now had the frustration of having
the simulation loaded on his
machine, but was unable to fly it
without the CD installed.
Here
he was, Lyle Shelton! Grounded
yet again! Or was he?
You
do not win six Unlimited Gold
Championships and not learn
how to bypass a problem or
two!
I
received a call from Lyle the
very next day and he, along with
his friend and fellow Warbirds
squadron mate, were trying to get
Xtreme Air Racing to work
sans the CD. The two men had,
however, partially succeeded, and
Lyle was impatient to find out
when he could have a copy
of the simulation to continue his
flying.
A
quick trip to the local office
supply along with a few
minutes of CD burning and
we had a copy in his hand!
...and
you our readers
think that you're anxious
to see Xtreme Air Racing !!!
So
how good is Xtreme Air Racing?
The quick answer: DAMNED
GOOD!!!
...and
over time, its even getting
better.
I
mentioned earlier that Pat was
taking notes as Lyle spoke and
made requests, several of which
had already been in the works on
the advice of "Chief
Pilot" Bob Hoover.
Many
new things have been added since
the evening Xtreme Air Racing was
demonstrated to Lyle.
For
one, the realism factor has been
bumped-up significantly, but the
sim will still be easy for those
who are just getting started.
Selectable levels of difficulty
will be a feature of Xtreme Air
Racing, plus you can add or
subtract reality components to
suit your level of ability.
A
pilot selectable failure mode for
practicing engine out procedures,
as well as several different view
options are among the suggestions
from actual racing pilots that
have recently been added to
Xtreme Air Racing.
Xtreme
Air Racing is scheduled for
release at the 2001 Reno National
Championship Air Races, and is
currently available only via
on-line ordering at:
http://www.xtremeairracing.com
The best
way to experience Air Racing
first hand, from our pilots'
point of view, is to grab a copy
and strap in!
Once
you do, well see you on the
pylons, where you'll be able to
see your favorite racer, too
and after a while, there
you'll be! Flying the virtual
course at Reno-Stead, competing
with the best that Air Racing has
to offer...
...as
"equals!"
Support Air
Racing: Visit RareBear.Com
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