Miss America's trimtab incident.

[Unregistered]

Yeah..but the Red Baron wasn't around in '85.

It actually goes back to the Miss Candace airframe. In '77, Snoopy and the flying doghouse were painted on the left fuselage of Cliff Cummins' plane. It included a Mustang empennage with candy stripes, and a thought bubble saying "Curse you, Red Baron!"

When Miss Candace became Jeannie, and was painted in the pits at Reno '79, obviously the Red Baron was still the major force...so Snoopy (minus the doghouse) was put on the wingtips. I think Bucky D was the one who painted them on.

Shortly before Sanders sold Jeannie to Jimmy Leeward in '83, Dave Zeuschel clipped the wings even more than before, and fabricated new wingtips. So the Miss Candace/Jeannie wingtips with Snoopy on them were sitting around the hangar.

Those wingtips were installed on Coyote/Georgia Mae in 1985 (and were destroyed in the crash at Reno that year).

[Unregistered]

Does anyone have any pictures of Georgia May crashing? I seem to remember seeing a sequence of pictures -maybe in Pacific Flyer newspaper.

Glad no one was killed and Sanders had the plane rebuilt.

[Peashooter]

Originally posted by wingman
Sorry Pea -- Missed again, though a couple of the connections correlate... Jeannie's "Hoerner" wingtips are even there! Who can tell us the fate of those wingtips?? (Another clue)

Next?

Neal

Better quit while I'm behind!

[stuntflyr]

Jim Larson shot the sequence I believe.
Chris...

[wingman]

Cartwheel

My old friend the late Bill LeSanche shot the best sequence of the Georgia Mae crash that I've seen. I have a set of black and white prints that I printed years ago from his negs -- but I don't have a flatbed scanner so cannot post them. I think these are probably the ones you saw in Pacific Flyer. They are impressive. Sure was a nice rebuild Wiley had done after such a horrendous accident. Wiley always did things with class. The airplane is still around -- in St. Louis I think. I'm told it is in very good hands...

Neal

[stuntflyr]

Neal,
Interesting that the Mustang went to St. Louis as his former TBM is based with the St. Louis wing of the CAF.
Chris...

[stuntflyr]

Neal,
E-mail me at pittsflyr@yahoo.com so we can talk about some prints of my Pitts. Rumour is it returns to Reno '04 with a new pilot.
Chris...

[Phantom Samurai]

Coyote, Georgia Mae, et al...

The former Sliker/Sanders racer has been returned to stock and is now known as Barbara Jean. I believe the current owner resides in the tri-states area. Still a very pretty polished aluminum scheme.

A bit more trivia for you. Anyone know how Georgia Mae contributed to Gary Levitz' Miss Ashley II? Hint - It was only for the '97 and '98 races.

TPS

[wingman]

MAII carried Georgia Mae's low profile racing scoop. Fiberglass, I believe. Was this scoop made in Tiger's shop? Also, I remember that in Phoenix when Risky first turned up with that low canopy and windshield (also from Georgia Mae??), word was that Bill also had this scoop. No more was heard of this, and the scoop eventually turned up on MAII....

Neal

[wingman]

McClain

Reno 1977 (my first Reno Press Pass!) Mac McClain runs up #17, still named Escape 1. Note the grass growing out of the ramp! By the way, this shot was on Kodachrome II -- asa 25! I guess I do go back a ways...

While we're doing trivia -- who can name two Cessna connections to this Racer?

Neal

[wingman]

Twenty and a half (!) years later, at the great Hamilton 1988 race in my beloved former home of Marin County California. A lovely bird!

Neal

[Leo]

GeorgiaMae

Sure is great seeing these!
Jim Larsens phot sequence was in the Air Classics coverage for that year.
Made me dig thru my video, 85 was the first year I took it and I caught the end of the crash. A very windy day, and when the pieces stop moving John sure gets out FAST!
Wiley Sanders also showed up with a beautiful B-25 for a few years, along with Jeannie, Georgia Mea and Jeannie Too.
Wish I could scan slides, as thats all I took back then.


Leo

[wingman]

Wiley

And a lovely B-25 it was. In 1984 Wiley brought a bunch of stuff, and he and John Putman actually took the Mitchell out on the course and I believe set a qualifying time...

Neal

[speeddemon]

Two Cessna connections to the Mustang.....well, if I recall, Jack Sliker was a Cessna dealer in Georgia. And at one point he grafted a pair of Cessna 310 tiptanks onto the plane for the cross country races.

[wingman]

Being without any Mustangs that year, Wiley came to have fun. Here Putter qualifies Wiley's shiny T-28 with big hood scoop... Notice the numbers -- 69 and 96 -- Wiley's numbers throughout the 80s.

Neal