Miss America 2023 - Let's get it done!

[Mark K]

A little good news... as you can see on the picture to the left, the primary race motor is now mounted on the test stand at Ricky Shanholtzer's shop. Brent let me know that Miss A Team member Greg Butler has traveled down to Texas to assist Ricky with the testing, and as of Wednesday afternoon the new race motor has two hours of run time, no issues. Since the team won't make the rookie school and no time pressure exists, they are taking their time getting the break-in runs completed prior to transporting the motor up north for installation & further testing and evaluations. Again, Brent will let me know when the motor arrives, so we'll be bringing you updates soon!

Thanks for the supporting words Wayne... I just knew that this was a very important year for the team and with their old crew photographer Jerry Day (a very good friend whom I see almost every time I visit the hangar) has medical issues and can't go to Reno - so in a nutshell, I'm just Jerry with legs... LOL. It'll be fun being hooked up with the team at the event, kinda like old times when I was the crew photographer for Dago. Brent did make a rather amusing comment after he let me know he'd list me on the crew roster... "That was easy... Ahhhh, just one thing - we do know what the damn airplane looks like." So I got my marching orders, concentrate on the crew, easy peesie. It's what I wanted to do anyway... no way I could hold a candle to what Will does at the pylons - I've always done my best work on the ramp.

[AAFO_WSagar]

Markers.. This all began when I mentioned to Brent that I needed motivation this year.. (prior to last year announcement) and he invited me to "embed" as a journalist with the crew... At which point it occurred to me that I can't be in OK city! And my good fried, excellent photographer air race historian and great reporter Mr. Markers was RIGHT THERE!!!! Brent welcomed Mark with open arms and it was one of the most happiest moments of my career covering the races.. HOW LUCKY CAN WE BE!!!! Mark picked up the ball and ran with it to all us race fans benefit.. we have a guy on the inside of the most interesting Unlimited story this year!

No question.. Markers... you are loved!!! Keep up the excellent work my good fried!

[Mark K]

Friday picture update

[AAFO_WSagar]

Again, major league appreciation for what you are doing with the team and sharing here! Don't think we've ever been more "Inside Air Racing" than we are this year! (own insideairracing.com btw lol) PLEASE keep up the good work!!!!!!!!!

[ZacYates]

Hear hear! Great to see some shots from the ongoing work.

[Mark K]

Brent sent us a few photos today... I'll let them do the talking

[SpinB]

Great News....the way things seem to be shaping up, Miss A is gonna' need everything that flyin' YELLOW people eater between the longerons can give! REALLY lookin' forward to it!

[Mark K]

Since Saturday afternoon when I heard that the race motor had arrived, I've been wanting to visit the hangar out at Wiley Post Airport to get some details on the testing, where Team Miss America is at now and the teams immediate plans for the near future. As of now the team has 6 hours of run time on the big motor. Also, with the motor here in OKC, it's obvious that the testing went well with no issues. The motor arrived at the shop (along with engine builder Rick Shanholtzer) Friday evening on the 16th and as of today has been installed in the aircraft with the crew hanging the prop when I arrived today. Plans call for the fluids to be added and then a series of test runs to "burp" the cooling system clear and eliminate any air pockets in the line during the next few days in preparation for this weekend's test flight(s). As we mentioned earlier the second motor is already built & ready. In between flight testing of Miss A & her big motor, Rick plans to finish-up on the stock motor so all three will be ready prior to Reno.

When I arrived this morning, the crew was busy finishing up on the engine install. In the third picture below, you'll see what the stock armor plate that goes behind the prop spinner looks like. Now compare that to the photos of the modified plate used on Miss A. What's interesting to note here is that the aero shield on Miss America is an exact copy of the one used on Jeannie (Galloping Ghost) as it was traced from that part. So yes, there are a lot of parts from other racers on Miss A... the wing tips from Vlado's Moonbeam McSwine, doghouse from RRIII, and others - and they all add to the history of what makes this plane special.



The next series of photos you see the crew hanging the cuffed prop on the bird. The lifting assembly/yoke they have for this is a really indispensable tool for this as it allows the prop to be lifted and rotated in place - an operation that took less than 5 minutes! What I learned today is that with a cuffed propellor, this is the only way you can change props. The inner cuffs are made of foam (polystyrene) wrapped in rubber and would crush if lifted with a sling. The last few are the inner working of the hub, just something not seen by the fans that often I thought was an interesting. This part has been modified slightly to allow for more pitch on the blades at full race settings (the normal alignment marks were no longer useable), so crew member Scotty Butler called Rick to ensure these parts were set-up correctly and ready for install without adjustment since Rick's modification is altered from the stock setup configuration.



Lastly, I wouldn't be doing my job as a journalist if I didn't ask about if the announcement of the Bardahl Special has affected their program and their thoughts on this. Obviously, this news was a bit surprising, but they know those southern California boys keep things tight to their vests so not hearing about this until last week isn't unusual. Although Brent was naturally a bit down about the news, he quickly rebounded remarking about how the competition would be make the event all that much better with two mustangs fighting for the win! One going at it with determination & conviction of fielding a new top-class unlimited entry and the other going at it in hopes that the reliability of a proven package (with a healthy back-up should the need arise) will win the day. So no, the announcement has made zero changes to Brent's program... and quite understandably so. He fully intends on racing his race, and if all goes as hoped, coming away the winner!

More as the situation develops - I'll be at the hangar this Saturday for the first test flight... maybe even stopping by after work this week just to see how bad the team can piss off everyone running-up that race motor on the ramp! Till then... cya soon!

[Bigger Al]

Thanks for the great pics and info. This is going to be a great way to see Reno off!

Now.....a little bit of video with stereo sound from the upcoming test flights would simply be swell.

[Mark K]

Now.....a little bit of video with stereo sound from the upcoming test flights would simply be swell.

We'll see what we can do . I have a plan - hope it's a good one

[Danno]

Mark - You should tell Brent to contact Tinker AFB and see if he could do some of his testing as a flyby during their airshow July 1 and 2.

[Mark K]

Mark - You should tell Brent to contact Tinker AFB and see if he could do some of his testing as a flyby during their airshow July 1 and 2.

Brent usually flies Miss America (with the stock motor) and/or the B25 for one of the numerous patriotic fly-bys done at parades and events on the fourth - he's usually quite busy that week. I would hazard a guess that since the race motor is already in the aircraft, the B25 will be taking center stage that week. He really enjoys doing those flybys, and for at least one weekend a year, he gets to be the hero to thousands.

Who wouldn't love that! I'll ask though

[AAFO_WSagar]

We'll see what we can do . I have a plan - hope it's a good one

I have a feeling that Mark is gonna get a LOT more than expected! FINGERS CROSSED!

[Mark K]

Engine builder Rick Shanholtzer starts-up the engine for the first time following installation of the race motor in Miss America. With the first test flight scheduled for tomorrow, there certainly going to be more news coming soon! It was a rainy afternoon here in Oklahoma City with more thunderstorms forecast for this evening, but it looks good for tomorrow's flight so we're not anticipating any delays.

Special Thanks to Brent Hisey for forwarding us the video & photos

[RAD2LTR]

Interesting that they started it with now induction trunk. I've never seen that done before.

Good stuff.

Will