Some old Reno pics

[Big_Jim]

Yes, Wiley was colorful. And yep, he was certainly a "Trojan" booster. I got to be around Wiley a bit... And Dad knew him well enough. There was a stir created as some of you might remember by a long article on Wiley that appeared in the February 1995 issue of GQ Magazine. It was titled, "Kingfish". I don't know what Wiley thought of it. But it would have been interesting to know. If anybody's interested, I see if I can dig that out.

Agreed. I recall that article. Wasn't very flattering for sure. But racing has always attracted, shall we say....'colorful personalities' with degrees of nefarious business practices.

https://jamesradford.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/kingfish-article.pdf

[wingman]

Speaking as a Texan who had not yet been able to attend an Air Race; the Sherman event was a big deal. I know that the heat of Texas in July must have been brutal to the racers and crew (thank God they did not have the event down on the Gulf Coast!); but hats-off to all of them who brought their teams and put on a great event. I was not able to regularly attend Air Races until I moved to Nevada in '92, but Sherman was a good introduction!

How do you photograph heat? We ended up with a huge Lincoln Town Car rental as our team transport (our pilot wanted a van but was late getting to Dallas and the vans were gone). That car sat the whole weekend with the engine running and air conditioner on -- it was the only way for coastal Californians to survive Texas in the summer of 1990..


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[wingman]

Pylon photography was not great at Sherman. Summer light, shooting into the sun, humidity and haze were all issues. The biggest problem, though, was the heat. Standing out there in the sun with my eyes full of sweat, dripping sweat on and into my thousand dollar camera... This shot is from Saturday. I actually ended up shooting the Gold race from the pits -- it was just too hot to be out on the race course.

Strega ran poorly all week. Tiger and Dwight argued a lot.

[Red 5]

How do you photograph heat? We ended up with a huge Lincoln Town Car rental as our team transport (our pilot wanted a van but was late getting to Dallas and the vans were gone). That car sat the whole weekend with the engine running and air conditioner on -- it was the only way for coastal Californians to survive Texas in the summer of 1990..


.

I've been enjoying this thread silently for awhile, so I just wanted to thank all that have contributed; these are great photos and stories.

The races in Sherman were my first at 14 years old and sadly, my Dad only took one roll of 24 exposure film and as Neal mentioned, the lighting was a problem for photographers.

I recall Sumthin Else being there, but we have no pictures of her. I'm wondering Neal, if you might have been standing on her wing when you took this pic? I was disappointed to never get to see her race at Reno as I've always thought she was just the most elegant looking racer. One thing I hope y'all can confirm for me as I can never quite make it out in photos; what was written under the name in parentheses?

[Jan]

Agreed. I recall that article. Wasn't very flattering for sure. But racing has always attracted, shall we say....'colorful personalities' with degrees of nefarious business practices.

https://jamesradford.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/kingfish-article.pdf

Spot on Brad. The personalities are one of the things that have made air racing fascinating - for better or worse.

[wingman]

I've been enjoying this thread silently for awhile, so I just wanted to thank all that have contributed; these are great photos and stories.
I've always thought she was just the most elegant looking racer. One thing I hope y'all can confirm for me as I can never quite make it out in photos; what was written under the name in parentheses?

Here it is. This pic from long ago, with the light blue trim.








"Miss O' was John's beloved Olivia. She is next to John in this old photo. Kerch on the wing, and Jack Sweeney to the left. Click on the image for a larger version,

[Jan]

I like the second of those two images Neal - both for the people content and those three Mustang noses. They just look cool.

[wingman]

I like the second of those two images Neal - both for the people content and those three Mustang noses. They just look cool.

Thank you Jan -- I like it too. That stormy light looks great.

After a Race is an interesting time. The pilot is pumped up on an adrenalin high, and the crew has worked for months to get to this point. The crew chief has to get the pilot settled down and out of the airplane, check all the switches and settings , and make the airplane safe.

Here is a high quality black and white taken moments before the color shot above. Different viewpoint and different (more wide angle) lens make a huge difference, but both shots are pretty dynamic.

Over on the right photographer Chuck Aro is getting a shot of Don Whittington.

[wingman]

Elegant indeed. This was Reno 1980 again.

I like white raceplanes.

[AE88]

Elegant indeed. This was Reno 1980 again.

I like white raceplanes.

I agree with you Neal- nice, simple paint scheme.

AE

[wingman]

Back in Texas we have a pit scene during qualifying, looking the other way. Tiger looks ready.

[CJAM427]

Truly fantastic images Neal! I really appreciate that you keep posting these, I check in just about every day to see what's new.

[CJAM427]

Agreed. I recall that article. Wasn't very flattering for sure. But racing has always attracted, shall we say....'colorful personalities' with degrees of nefarious business practices.

https://jamesradford.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/kingfish-article.pdf

I never knew much about his background other than the trucking company, that was an eye-opening read -thanks for sharing it!

Another article I'd love to find a copy is the one on Ken Burnstine that was published by a Ft Lauderdale magazine I believe.

[Red 5]

Back in Texas we have a pit scene during qualifying, looking the other way. Tiger looks ready.

Thanks Neal for the confirmation on the graphic and on the fact that she was at the Texas Air Races albeit in a less attractive paint scheme in my humble opinion.

I have plans to make a Sumthin Else pedal plane in the near future in the '81 scheme. Sorry to be a pest about this, but do you happen to have a pic showing the "National Champion Reno 1979" graphic? I believe there were subtle blue flags around this that are very faint in pics we typically see.

Once again, I very much appreciate seeing all your work over the years, thanks again!

[AE88]

Elegant indeed. This was Reno 1980 again.

I like white raceplanes.

I just noticed that Sumthin' Else had the single elevator trim tab mod- other than GG, were there any other mustangs which ran that modifcation?

AE