Some old Reno pics

[BellCobraIV]

You always did know how to have a good time, John.

Brad,
I was dehydrated, I passed a kidney stone the week before so Ricky was going to have to go and take care of the Zeuschel engines by himself. The day before leaving Sandy Rick's wife went into labor and now I had to go take care of the Zeuschel engines by myself. We had engines in Risky Business, Miss fit, Georgia Mae, and Jeannie two. Bill let me go back to the hotel the night we arrived and Brian Marsh and I arranged to come back out at 1:00 am with Bill's airplanes in one of the giant hangars. Brian took cowlings and rocker covers off while I changed the valve springs and re-torqued the heads. Then we swapped planes and he put the first airplane back together while I changed valve springs and retorqued the heads. The night before I was loading up on cranberry juice at the bar when Bill and the rest of the team came back to the hotel saw me in bar with Brian and not knowing that we had already been asleep, woke up and were getting me re-hydrated at that point Bill was not happy about me being there.

As a result the next morning when Bill and Erin pulled up to the hangar and Risky was sitting there looking like it was not touched except the cowling was removed Bill said you guy's are done! I responded, "No, it was a late night at the hotel but I can be done by noon." Bill turned and left angry. Erin walked over with the traditional jelly doughnut and said "why do you do that to him? Your finished right!" I said"Yes now I have to go get Wiley's airplanes done by 11:00."

BTW Erin Rheinschild got screwed at Texas, she had done more training on formation flying with Skip in the month before than any other unlimited racer that wasn't military trained ever. She had practiced dead stick landings more than anyone except my Dad. Art Vance refused to pass her on her Unlimited pilot qualification because she was a woman. I heard Art discuss that with myself and another person. Bill later asked me if I would like to crew for them at one of the Phoenix events, I told him to let me know if Erin was going to fly, then sure I would. She took the flying seriously.

Oh, yeah, then swap out springs on all four re-torque and send them all home. At least I was riding home with Bill in the Sabreliner....I don't remember Art riding home.

Saturday night my Dad dropped in and we tried to share a room...it worked until he wanted the air conditioner off and I wanted it on. Around 1:00 he changed rooms.

Sherman was in a dry county and the hotel had a bar, they charged you an additional $1.00 per night to join the "club" but then you could get a drink, cranberry juice was only available in the bar.

[wingman]

Art Vance was a jerk -- always was. I think everyone was relieved when Neil Anderson dealt with Erin's checkride later that summer.

[wingman]

Of course Erin did have her issues at Denver. She handled this massive Mayday extremely well That motor blew at a very bad place on a single runway race site and Erin nailed the recovery with almost no visibility through an oil covered windscreen.. After this nobody had any remaining doubts about her...

[BellCobraIV]

Of course Erin did have her issues at Denver. She handled this massive Mayday extremely well That motor blew at a very bad place on a single runway race site and Erin nailed the recovery with almost no visibility through an oil covered windscreen.. After this nobody had any remaining doubts about her...

Erin ALWAYS impressed me with her diligence and how hard she studied the systems. She was in my opinion more qualified than half the field. these pictures show the benefit of practicing dead stick landings the engine has given up the ghost, but that beautiful airframe was expertly put back on the ground.

[BellCobraIV]

Art Vance was a jerk -- always was. I think everyone was relieved when Neil Anderson dealt with Erin's checkride later that summer.

Art had a longtime affair with a woman who he openly introduced around the airports in So-Cal as his girlfriend. I was in his pit in Reno and mentioned her name to someone in the group and Art's wife was humiliated, I tried to apologize but I honestly had not known. Later on his wife realized I had not known and actually reached out as I was walking by to let me know that she found out I didn't know. I replied that it was unfortunately something that went on quite often, and that my Dad was also a jerk in that fashion. However Joyce Shelton would go on the offensive. The Rare Bear was getting lettered in the Van Nuys hangar once and my Mom dropped by with Pizza and KFC for the crew as we were finishing up for Reno (Always hectic) one of Lyle's girlfriends was in the hangar as Joyce walked in. Joyce didn't break a sweat, she noticed that one side of the airplane was lettered, she also noticed the girlfriend was trapped by the way things were stacked and wouldn't be able to leave the hangar without passing her. My Mom stood there for about fifteen minutes looked around and said "My side of the airplane is lettered, I hope they get Lyle's side done on time." that girlfriend never showed her face again....But that was OK Lyle had more.

[BellCobraIV]

[QUOTE=AE88;n266203]

I think the Sea Fury, like most fighters, looks best as a FB11 fighter version. This was at Bakersfield in 1985.


FB11 with the straight tail (not hook) and rudder- agreed. I don't think the slightly longer canopy to add the jumpseat hurts either...

AE

I was reflecting on my sadness with Wayne's passing and had not been posting for a while. I agree about the Sea Fury being best as a fighter airframe. My favorite however was the one my Dad raced in 1966. I have some pictures that I'm not sure who has the rights to so I can not post them However Mike Carrol's Signal Racing Team Sea Fury with White hot nosed and flames was stunning to me. Always been my favorite.

[Big_Jim]

[QUOTE=BellCobraIV;n266280]

I was reflecting on my sadness with Wayne's passing and had not been posting for a while. I agree about the Sea Fury being best as a fighter airframe. My favorite however was the one my Dad raced in 1966. I have some pictures that I'm not sure who has the rights to so I can not post them However Mike Carrol's Signal Racing Team Sea Fury with White hot nosed and flames was stunning to me. Always been my favorite.

I heard that Lyle had (to use a Skip Holm-ism) "half his time in that".

[Jan]

[QUOTE=BellCobraIV;n266280]

I was reflecting on my sadness with Wayne's passing and had not been posting for a while. I agree about the Sea Fury being best as a fighter airframe. My favorite however was the one my Dad raced in 1966. I have some pictures that I'm not sure who has the rights to so I can not post them However Mike Carrol's Signal Racing Team Sea Fury with White hot nosed and flames was stunning to me. Always been my favorite.

You rang? Zooooom! (photo by Hal Loomis)

[Jan]

You couldn't get a shot like this in recent decades. But you could in 1966.... All Mustangs bar one. Neal must be elated. (Reno Chamber of Commerce)

[Big_Jim]

You couldn't get a shot like this in recent decades. But you could in 1966.... All Mustangs bar one. Neal must be elated. (Reno Chamber of Commerce)

Tail-end Charlie is Greenamyer's Bearcat. This pic is from the start of Heat 1. Chuck Hall, Ben Hall, Wayne Adams, Fey Racy, Dick Weaver and Darryl Greenamyer.

[Jan]

Greenamyer was tail-end because for some reason they did a reverse-order start in 1966. Imagine doing that in later years...

The shot above with Weiner and Lyle would have been even more vibrant in color. Obviously, "Signal Truck Special" was colorful with its hotrod-eqsue paint scheme. But No. 49 had flashes of color too in the form of different hues on its P-51H Aero Products prop's blades.

Perhaps Slack can chime in and tell us about the paint on Carroll's Sea Fury. Was that his choice or Vern Barker's?

[Big_Jim]

Anyone remember this shot? If I recall it was from a USARA promo folder...maybe a NAG something? The only time these two planes actually raced together in the same heat was the 1976 Championship race. It always struck me as a composite shot because of the focal points of the two planes and the guys on the ground .

[wingman]

Anyone remember this shot? If I recall it was from a USARA promo folder...maybe a NAG something? The only time these two planes actually raced together in the same heat was the 1976 Championship race. It always struck me as a composite shot because of the focal points of the two planes and the guys on the ground .

Definitely a composite, thoough why somebody would think to composit the airplanes onto an out of focus shot of figures on the ground is hard to say.. The scale certainly feels all wrong. Another odd note is that the light on the airplanes matches awfully well -- look at the wing roots.

Lefty was well ahead of Darryl during that race in 1976, and they were both low and inside. (Yes Darryl is in this shot -- he's just in a very typical Darryl position on the race course).

[wingman]

Not all the big players of the time were in Sherman Texas that summer of 1990. Dago was under promising new ownership but they were still trying to figure out a direction for the program. Rare Bear was absent for all the usual reasons but Lyle was there providing color commentary. The stars of the show that WERE there started with Strega -- still trying to prove that 1987 was not a fluke.

[wingman]

Tiger waiting for the God Race...