Biplane pics

[RandyGoss75]

Fang

Neal, My friend Dennis Vest had an accident in "Fang" N711BS at Oroville in July of 1984-The airplane was destroyed, and Dennis was hurt pretty bad. He is back flying, in fact he shot me down in his Smith miniplane last weekend!

Norton Thomas was the owner of Fang when he was lost on a ferry flight. All the best, RG

[wingman]

Re: Biplane pics

Thanks Randy -- I suspected that I had the story mixed up -- been a long time since I even thought about Fang.

So Dennis bought the airplane after Norton Thomas was killed?

Neal

[speeddemon]

Re: Biplane pics

Paul, Welcome to the Brad Haskin/Randy Goss GEEK squad!

Does this mean we have to show Paul the 'secret handshake'?

Way to go Paul. VERY impressed!

[Apteryx]

Re: Biplane pics

Does this mean we have to show Paul the 'secret handshake'?

Way to go Paul. VERY impressed!

Thanks Speed, 1980 was the only time in the first two decades of crewing, that I got out to watch the show. Came up with 'Grasshopper' and the Mongster, but he wen't off to do his own thing. Propped a few airplanes, that was the work load for the week+, so I got to wander around a bit. The following twenty years involved epoxy fumes, and dust, and things aren't as clear, (resin fumes I think). Any way, it was a fun year with the F1's & Bipes, old & new technologies competing, and a lot better being part of the show, and not just bench-warmer. Just wish I had brought a camera...

Paul

[Dialtapper]

Re: Biplane pics

Speaking of Geeks and obscure racing biplane trivia, does anyone know what the first (and only) race plane that was fully sponsored by an airline was? The ultimate geek would even know what this race plane name was before it came back to Reno with it's airline sponsorship.

[Shawn Aro]

Re: Biplane pics

Randy i think fang got renamed by hells Angel all the best Shawn

[Apteryx]

Re: Biplane pics

Speaking of Geeks and obscure racing biplane trivia, does anyone know what the first (and only) race plane that was fully sponsored by an airline was? The ultimate geek would even know what this race plane name was before it came back to Reno with it's airline sponsorship.

Southern Air Transport, Race #21 raced by Earl Allen in 1987.
I'm guessing now, is it a redo of Earl's Pitt's & Pieces, Race #42 ?........(1/2 geek)

Paul

[Apteryx]

Re: Biplane pics

Addendum, I think it is what has been flying as Class Action, Race #21 with Tom Aberle, before he got Phantom going.....

[Dialtapper]

Re: Biplane pics

Very good Apteryx.

It wasn't Pitts & Pieces. It was a former racer called Super Chic (sp?) I forget the owners name but he was a chicken farmer from Oregon or Washington. Back in 1986 Earl and myself flew for SAT. This was pre-Iran/Contra. Southern had sponsored a sail boat and some other non-aviation stuff. I knew they would go for sponsoring a race plane because they would love to have some PR that didn't say SAT and CIA in the same sentence. I gave them a proposal explaining our racing background and the race plane we owned. (we didn't but knew where it was for sale.) They said how much and where do we send the check. So we bought it, changed the race number from 14 to 21, pulled out the 0290-G, installed an 0360 and put it in the same paint scheme as the L-382's (Herk's) They paid for everything including expenses at Reno. After racing it in 87 and 88 we sold it and it became Legal Eagle, later Class Action. We still crew it, won the Gold in 94. Tom Aberle took over some time after that.

Some obscure biplane history but you deserve #1 Geek status.

[Apteryx]

Re: Biplane pics

I think I still have one of the original SAT stickers, attached somewhere, they were on EVERYTHING, tow car, trailer, tool box, crew backs.....
Damn good looking airplane that year, suprised it wasn't new.
Was that Chuck Wentworth's, or did Tom Wrolstad still own it, and wasn't it an 0-320 that year? I didn't think they changed to the 360's until later, (then later, the angled valve).

Paul

[Dialtapper]

Re: Biplane pics

I think it at one time it was owned by Tom Wrolstad but we bought it from "Mr. Aircraft" in Camron Park. He wanted something like 8k for it. He said there where some Japanese business men interested in it. I offered him 4k for it and left him my number. He called a few days later and took my offer. When I first saw it there wheel no wheel pants but he said he had them. When we went to pick it up I asked about the wheel pants. He gave me a box of broken parts.

It might have been an 0290-D2, I know it wasn't an 0320.

Ya, we had a whole sleeve of Southern Air stickers. We plastered them on anything that wasn't moving and a few things that where. I still got a whole bunch of them left. I guess there collector items now with SAT long out of business.

As far as Fang goes, It was bought my Norton Thomas, who at the time was the Secretary/Treasurer for the Oakland Chapter of the Hell's Angles. He changed the name to Hells Angle. As it was already mentioned Norton was lost ferry flight from OAK to HNL. Dennis raced it and ultimately lost it when half a prop came off in a demo race in Oroville.

[Apteryx]

Re: Biplane pics

DT-
Was SAT and Evergreen connected?

Paul

[Dialtapper]

Re: Biplane pics

No.

I was with SAT from 86 to 94. I have been with Evergreen since Feb of 03.

SAT never had anything to do with Evergreen. Nor did Evergreen do any of the things we did at SAT, other than standard MAC trips.

[Dialtapper]

Re: Biplane pics

PS.

It's a small world. Earl just told me that Race 21 is going to the Evergreen museum. Redone and repainted when we won the Gold in 94 with him as pilot and me as crew chief.

[speeddemon]

Re: Biplane pics

So now that its no longer an 'issue', can you guys tell me what the deal was with the 'antennae farm' that was on the spine of the SAT Herks? Back when I was stationed there, SAT used to come in and out of P-cola on a daily basis...and I always felt that all those antennaes couldn't be up to any good. All that 'black magic' stuff 'n all.