JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

[Matt58]

Just checked the list again and don't see JCP and his fleet from the Warhawk Air Museum as registered. Did I miss something or are they just not racing this year?

Thanks!

[Race5]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

Just checked the list again and don't see JCP and his fleet from the Warhawk Air Museum as registered. Did I miss something or are they just not racing this year?

Thanks!

They are not racing.

[N29131]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

I was just up at the Warhawk Air Museum a week ago and the guy at the front desk told me that JCP was not going to Reno this year.
Now, he told me it was because Reno was not allowing vintage/classic aircraft this year because they were "too dangerous". I haven't read anything about that, so again, this is only what the guy at the front desk told me.

[Tigercat24]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

I'm pretty sure that Sea Fury 924, the Tigercat, and pretty much all of the Unlimiteds fall under the category of "vintage"...modified or not. I think JCP's issue is about purse money.

[N29131]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

I completely agree Tigercat. I started to argue with the guy about all the other "vintage" aircraft that will be at Reno, but my wife gave me "the eye" and a quick kick to the shin, so I shut my mouth and moved on.

[johnnyrace]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

Safety concerns of pilots due to last years rule and course changes combined with this years prize money being directed more toward the Gold racers is what I was told why JCP and so many other of the usual suspects did not enter this year... Its not like there was a ton of prize money for Silver and Bronze racers before , but at least it would offset a bit of the expense of coming out and beating up the equipment for a week...What amounted to being more or less "show" money was eliminated...I could be wrong, but its what I was told.

Maybe one of those pilot / owners will chime in with more accurate details

[supercub]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

I don't think they were there last year either.
Brian

[taglialavore]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

Also, what happened with Will Whiteside? I don´t see his name in the list.

[Sky Critter]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

Will sold Steadfast last year to a group out of Australia. He'll be flying race #33 in the sport class.

[taglialavore]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

Will sold Steadfast last year to a group out of Australia. He'll be flying race #33 in the sport class.

Oh, I see. Thank you very much.

[JCP]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

Hi Guys,

I'm not sure who was working the front desk when N29131 came through the Museum but I'll make it a point to find out and clarify to the folks working the gift shop why we've opted to not race this year. Sorry about the mis-information you were given, not every volunteer is quite up to speed on the flight operations at our Museum but they do their best.

"Johnnyrace" basically got it correct in his post. The Unlimited Division agreed to a safety stand down (for good reason) and RARA's decision to form their own Unlimited Race Class simply opened a whole new can of worms that they are still working very hard to resolve. For us "Stockers" it costs around $15-20K out of pocket to field an airplane. I was told by Mike Major at RARA that 60% of the purse was now going to the top 3 finishers. If we were to bring our 3 Unlimiteds (sorry..Warbirds) that would leave about $250,000 on the table for the 16 other racers. Last place wouldn't even be able to pay the bar tab for the week. I agree that the top guys should get paid more, but the same goes for ALL the racers..

Robbing Peter to pay Paul has never been a successful business practice. Focusing on increasing Sponsorship dollars to add to the purse would of course been preferred. Of course leaving the pay out the same as in the past might have been wise.

Then there is of course the fact that there are no finalized Rules of Competition and as I understand it, RARA's new division is still not accredited to race by the FAA. I know that RARA is working their Butts off to get it done and I hope they do, but I can't drag my crew and our airplanes down from Idaho just to find out the racing won't happen and/or the prize money is nonexistent.

I hope it's easy to understand that our Fighters are part of the collection in our Air Museum and it's very important that I make good, informed decisions on when, where and how to operate them. Losing tens of thousands of dollars just for the privilege of wearing them out for 10 days under these circumstances just does not cut it. I'd like to be able to say that I've made a well informed decision to not be on the ramp, but the fact is that there is way to much information that is still not available to us in order to make that statement.

All that being said, it's important to remember that I race stock warbirds and am not invested in a Pure-bread Unlimited Gold Racer that is purpose built to fly 10 days out of the year! If I was campaigning Rare Bear, Voodoo, Precious Metal, etc. or if someone else was paying the bills then I'm sure I'd be racing this year as well. The Gold race looks like it has the potential to be the fastest and most exciting race in History.

I wish RARA and all the racers the best of luck for a safe and successful race.

GO VOODOO!!!!!!!!!!!

JC

[lowpasskid]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

well put JC, your team will be missed.
the Lowpasskid

[ChrisMX105]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

Thanks JC, Clear, Concise, and Definitive. Just the way I like it.

Always liked watching you run, Hopefully I will again

Chris

[MIKE NIXON]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

Well said and done.
To quote Dave Zeuschel "If you want to make $100,000.00 in air racing you need to start with $1,000,000.00 and keep your fingers crossed" during the Red Baron days.
Warren Buffet says that since the Wright bros flew to now aviation is still at a net loss.
Damm the bills, full speed ahead!
John Sandburg's daughter said that with Tsunami, after each Reno, it took longer to pay the bills and she was worried that they would run into the next season.

Anyway, I know that you respect the limits both in the air and at the bank. Continue to make good decisions and I for one stand with you. Knowing what it costs to build and own a warbird/racer I am glad that I am not making the decisions on the prize money. I guess that if you won the Bronze race for the next 7 years you could afford a Merlin at todays prices! Oh well, being an adult has its price.

All The Best to you all,
M is driving tuesday if you want to share the gas for a ride?

[Big_Jim]

Re: JCP and crew not on the list??? Did I miss something?

To quote Dave Zeuschel "If you want to make $100,000.00 in air racing you need to start with $1,000,000.00 and keep your fingers crossed"

For many years I had a notebook of various 'Ralphisms' that Ralph Payne used to say about racing.

Between you, the ghost of Scoville, Matt Jackson, Slack and anyone else that hung out with Big Z, that would be quite the encyclopedia of sarcasm from the gulch.

Maybe that's a winter project for me: "Dave Zeuschel's Big Book of Sarcasm". I can almost hear him now...."Nice. REAL nice."