I love this stuff so much.
I think my girlfriend would love Karen's shirt
I think my girlfriend would love Karen's shirt
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Zac in NZ -
Sounds like you have a great girlfriend!Comment
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So here's Dan, in 1978, on the course and already looking good out there. But it is very noticeable that his coolant door is wide open, and it looks like the smaller oil cooler door is open too. This is a LOT of drag and slows the airplane considerably. I was surprised to find out that the vaunted Mustang cooling system in stock form is quite unable to deal even with takeoff power for long on a warm day. The airplane overheats within a couple of laps and the automatic door opens and you slow down....
Last edited by wingman; 08-28-2024, 02:57 PM.Comment
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And this is 8 months later at Mojave 1979. The coolant door is almost closed and Dan is finishing races 40 mph faster. This difference was mainly due to the addition of a "spray bar" to augment cooling. The airplane is not faster, but it can now run hard without overheating.
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Dan had a new engine in 1979, a "race motor" as he described it. He had it at Reno for sure and maybe for Mojave.
He qualified at 393.94 mph at Mojave in 1979. In October 1978 at Mojave, his qualifying speed (the highest speed of the event for him) was 325.15 mph. So actually Dan was 68 mph faster at Mojave in June 1979.
I think that shows that he had the race engine at Mojave and that his better speed also had to do with the race motor. Here's another shot of Ridge Runner in 1979 by some guy named Nurmi.
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The Mojave races did feel different.
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And yes, Dan was very hot to go fast right from the beginning. Here's a prop experiment, at Reno 1980.
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A hero shot, also from Reno 1980. I liked Dan a lot, right from the beginning.
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P-63 prop, didn't work.Comment
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Just another sunset, at Reno 1977...
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I have to say, low light resolution has come a long way in 47 years. I can see the shot as you saw it that night, but modern technology has made capturing this without the grain, possible.Originally posted by wingman View Post
Just another sunset, at Reno 1977...
I miss having the opportunity to shoot stuff like this going forward. Reno sunsets were awesome. I won't lie, I've used many of the images posted here over the years as inspiration for the stuff I have taken over the years. I already miss those magical moments.
WillComment
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Originally posted by RAD2LTR View Post
Me too. It was often fun.
1982 was cold and very wet for a while. Not a good thing if you paint your race number with water soluble paint...
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I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the rain was the least of Dan's issues that year, sadly....Originally posted by wingman View Post
And I'll include the one single snap that I wish I'd been shooting at a higher shutter speed--stupid me for experimenting 'low'.
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What's the story on the P38??
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Dad and Eric and I really liked Dan as well. Great guy with a terrific competitive spirit.
Reno 82' was rainy and chilly, and as Brad shows, it had a tough twist for Dan. At the start of the Silver heat on Saturday, Dan was fast, going hard to bump up into the Gold. He was leaving the all-Mustang field in the dust and was way ahead by the beginning of the first lap. But RR's race motor blew pretty comprehensively as he rounded the initial pylons.
He maydayed and pulled up high over the course with some amount of fire around the engine and other problems. He wanted to put the airplane down on One-Four but was unable to make the runway and chose to try to set RR down on a dirt road. Soon after he touched down the airplane swerved and this was the result. Dan was fine fortunately. Ridge Runner was not.
This is what it looked like shortly after the race finished. (John Tegler photo)
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