Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

[kiwiracefan]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Bluffman, all i can do is echo the responses of many and say thank you for taking the time to recount the creation of this totally awesome racer, ive always been a Critical Mass fan simply because she looked fast even sitting on the ground with the wings up, so reading this thread and learning how she was 'born' its a real history lesson and a hang of a great read. Again many thanks from this downunder race fan

[Mluvara]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

BMB and Larry would make an excellent NAG banquet topic and presentation next year (hint,hint).

The info being told here by Larry is great! BMB made such an entrance but little is really known about it.

Michael

[Red]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

I agree. Fascinating to get the back story. It seems there is little really out there about this plane. I'm glued.

PLEASE keep typing!

[wingman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Moving to the top of the list again...

[Shawn Aro]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

The cover issuere of Professional Air Racing 1987 Shawn

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

I feel that I should list "my crew", so you all can get an idea of who the people were that made Blind Mans Bluff possible. I was the only one with an A&P licence, and I got that during the project.
*Sandy Burton, my late beloved wife. She contributed a lot to the project, including trying to keep my head straight.
*Brother Ron Burton, thanks for his encouragement and I think the name was due to his input. An accomplished artist, mostly auto racing related.
*Brother Dale Burton ,his hard work and sacrifices and the paint scheme and lettering. He sure paints beautiful numbers doesn't he? Ex sprint car driver, and painter. Painted and lettered many, many midgets, sprint cars, and Indy 500 cars.
*Tommy Brawner, Indy 500 mechanic, fabricator. and a welder certified to work on the Palo Verdi Nuclear Plant just west of Phoenix. Tommy was a nephew of the famous Indy mechanic Clint Brawner,who first took A.J.Foyt, and Mario Andretti to Indy, and put Mario in the Victory Circle at Indianapolis in a "Brawner-Hawk car, in 1969.
*Ian Gordon, An Aussie that I met while crewing a race car car in the Tasman Series in New Zealand and Australia. Great sheet metal man, fabricator, Formula 1 and Indy 500 crew member. In Australia they designed and , built their cars and engines from scratch, Mildren- Waggots' and had the best drivers, Kevin Bartlett and Max Stewart.
*David Gurten, An Englishman friend of Ian's, Formula 1 builder, good sheet metal man, and mechanic. Flew he and his wife over from England based on Ian's recommendation. He was a fabricator on the Tyrell Formula 1 car that had 6 wheels, 4 very small ones in the front. This was supposed to give an aerodynamic advantage, but was a nightmare to figure out how to get them all to turn properly. He was also with the Jaguar F-1 team until they dropped out of racing. I was sure glad to get him.
*Chuck Buckman, Indy 500, and sprint car mechanic, also a fabricator, and could fix about anything. Had some experience to do with DeHavilland "Beavers". A very hard worker.
Dan Kota, Indy 500 mechanic, fabricator, and could also fix about anything. A hard worker and a deep thinker, thought things out before making parts and pieces. He had a young son who was trying to learn how to play soccer, and Dan always had some funny stories to tell about that.
*Brad Miller, 19 year old that had built some fuel systems for race boats, and was working as a box boy at Price Club/ Cosco, and was recommended to me by his father who was installing a hangar door across from the Levolor hangar. Sandy and I were working on the Nord wing, and I needed some help turning it over on a table so that I could put the fabric on. I yelled across the taxi-way, and asked if I could get some help. Brad's father came over, and we got to talking and he mentioned that he had a son who was pretty good with fuel systems and telemetry. Brad stopped by and after a short conversation I hired him. It turned out that he was even better than his father had indicated. I sent him to Gary Aerospace with 3350 engines to run on their dyno, but when he arrived there they didn't have one that was servicable, so he found enough parts and pieces to make one that was functional. He had designed the alcohol system prior to going there,and after running on gas, he converted an engine over to that. It ran great on the dyno, and he ran several hundred gallons of alcohol, and alcohol/ nitro methane fuels with no problems. Unfortunately we never had a chance to test this system on the aircraft before going to Reno.
*Shane Rosanova, 17 years old and was fueling airplanes at a FBO at Scottsdale airport. He saw the Sea Fury and came into the hangar and said he would work on it for nothing. I told him that nobody worked for me for nothing, but that I would pay him $XX, I forget what it was. He had a look in his eyes that told me that this kid loves airplanes! I was sure right about that, he was a fast learner, and a hard worker. He seemed to know what I was thinking, what tool I needed or whatever. He wanted to learn how to fly real bad, so I had use of a Cessna, and I told him to find himself an instructor, and go for it. He got his licence in a very short time, and was a great help to me personally during the BMB caper. He is now an airline pilot.
*Roger O'Day, A tough hard worker. Was familiar with hydraulics and electrical wiring. He understood schematics, and was knowlegeable about electrical components. If something had to be beat apart with a big hammer, he was the one to do it.

** Ralph Payne, A very special man, if I needed any kind of aircraft parts he knew exactly who to call, and often knew their phone number by heart. Many people that he would have me call would ask how Ralph was, they hadn't seen or talked to him in years. He had an incredible memory of phone numbers. I had talked to Ralph about an engine to use, I didn't want to go with the 4360 like Sanders and Hamilton. Too many moving parts, and I had some bad experiences when in the Air Force regarding those. Three incidents of engine failure although they were on 4 engine aircraft did not inspire my confidence in them. Ralph told me about the 3350-26WD engines, and I immediately bought one and away we went.
I hope this isn't too boring, but without these special people I could have never done the BMB project.
Larry

[Ken Dwelle]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

The subject of the vertical fin on this airplane is worth an explanation as many will not know that there were three different variations. The first (and last) are, of course, the stock Sea Fury round tip fin. I think this is one of the least attractive attributes of the Sea Fury. I agree with Larry's reasoning is changing it to a taller square tip fin. This, along with the set back cockpit, was one of the most distinctive features of BMB/C-Mass. Larry has already gone into some detail as to how he arrived at the BMB vertical fin design. Let's call this the "Tall" fin. What he didn't tell you is that they removed everything above the empennage and started over. The leading edge of the tall fin was made of 4130 chromemoly steel and it was a very stury affair. When we aquired the airplane and got it back into flying condition, it became apparent fairly quickly that we needed to "fix" something in the tail. The airplane now named Critical Mass was based in Auburn, CA at a 3,200' runway. Now most Sea Fury pilots wouldn't even consider flying out of 3,200', much less with 6 feet clipped off of the wings, but Tom Dwelle is not "most" pilots.
The airplane came to us on a flat bed trailer after Bill Woods landed it gear up at Reno in 1990. We spent about two years rebuilding it and at last it was ready to fly in 1993. Now there was a carefully worded report written by an active duty test pilot that Larry had hired to fly BMB in Scottsdale and evaluate it. It listed some outrageous takeoff distances and this weighed heavilly on all concerned during the rebuild here in Auburn. We honestly didn't know what it would take to get it airborne. The day finally arrived and the FAA wouldn't let Dad fly it because he didn't have a Sea Fury letter so we called Skip and he readilly voluneered to do the deed. I was off in the Air Force when the it happened, but he got it airborne and left it, as planned, at the Lincoln airport 14 miles away which had a 5,000' runway. After getting the requisite number of hours in the airplane, Tom (Dad) was issued his letter and returned it to Auburn where he would fly it in this configuration for the next 4 years. The only problem was that he could only get "about 36 inches" of manifold pressure on T/O before running out of rudder. The stock 3350-26WD specifies 56" for T/O. And we have a 3,200' runway, are you with me?
Fast forward to Reno in about 1995 or 6 and we were at the airplane having a discussion with Bruce Boland on the subject. He took one look at the fin and said something to the effect of: "well there's your problem." He pulled out a sharpie and wrote an number on the fin. It turned out that this was the NACA number of the airfoil he wanted us to use on the fin.
Fast forward again to 1997 after the cowling came apart on the course and we decided to take the airplane down for a major upgrade. Dave Cornell came on board at this time and oversaw the installation of the "Rare Bear" motor and cowling and Jim Flanagan scaled out Bruce's airfoil and rebuilt the fin. Jim also took this opportunity to cut about 8" off of the top of the fin to which we all responded "Oh Sh$%!" The new motor was going to add about 1,200 more horsepower and we all thought we would need the additional fin.
In the end it was a non event, the first taxi test proved that Bruce Boland was right and Dad could go directly up to 46" (max for 100LL fuel) on takeoff with plenty of rudder authority. As for the high speed stability, the narrow "thin" Skyaider prop that Dave C. specified had enough reduced area over the cuffed one that despite the 1,200 extra HP and the reduced height, the aircraft was more stable at speed.
I love the way the square fin looks, and we really struggled over weather to use it in the rebuild but in the end, stock won out. Ans now you know the rest of the story...

P.S. I have also attached a photo of the BMB poster in my Son's room.

Ken

[FlyKidChris]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Larry, a huge thank you for taking the time to post your information and memories about BMB's history. This has been - and I hope it will continue to be - a remarkable thread.

Ken Dwelle, thanks for adding so much to this thread, too.

Wayne, thanks to you for providing this forum. Without it, we wouldn't have this fascinating discussion.

IMHO, this has been one of the best threads ever about an Unlimited.

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Ken, Thanks for the update on the vertical fin, I never knew that it had been changed. I heard a comment many years ago that it was not aerodynamic, but didn't really know what the comment was referring to. The 4130 steel leading edge was due to someone telling me something about bird strikes, flying debris and such things at Reno. I reckon I overreacted to that comment. It sure would have been easier to have built it another way. Have you considered a Dreadnaught style fin? I like the poster in your son's room, great! What cowling is it that you changed over to? It looked great, much better than the B- 26 that I chose, but that choice was because I wanted an air scoop on the cowl instead of ducting air up from the wing leading edge. I know that you must have noticed that your wheels look different than the other F-102s. Would you believe that I had a machinist mill those round holes into that sort of teardrop shape to lighten up the wheels? After the deed was done and paid for I reckon that it cost about $1000.00 a pound!Oh well, they looked nice. Larry P.S. Does your son have a BMB pin? If not I have one that I will send him.

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

I used to have a T shirt with basically that poster on it when I was a kid, it was by far my favorite shirt. I think that might have been the last time I was at the air races. I really can't remember though. This is a fantastic thread as both BMB and CM are/were my favorite Sea Furies.

Will

[tjyak50]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Consolidation?
Anybody a little closer to this that could consolidate all of this information into one historical reference?

I would do it myself but I know next to nothing about this historical context.

I will gladly bind it into an "Adobe Acrobat" reference with all sorts of pictures enclosed in a nice clean small file format.

This detailed information won't be around forever.

Tj

[Ken Dwelle]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Larry-

The cowling on it most recently was from a DC-7. It was chosen because it was sturdy, aerodynamic, and already used to great success on the Rare Bear. The A-26 cowling was a good choice due to the overhead air inlet, it was probably worth another 4" of MAP, but it had metal fatigue issues and finally came apart. The DC-7 cowl comes off in about 5 minutes, you would love it! I had no idea about the teardrops on the F-102 wheels, I intend to look in the morning. My son would love to have a BMB pin. Plz send to Ken Dwelle 2360 Lindbergh Street Auburn CA 95602.
Back to #88, there are plenty of rumors about the alcohol and speed. I know it was a busy week, but what was the fastest lap BMB turned at Reno? Is it true you had two polished semi's and a full time cook?

-Ken

[mayday51]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Larry,
You have brought much joy to this man by relating these stories.

I must also thank-you for crediting the wonderful people who helped
"get-er-done". It is most rare that an owner takes the time to praise and thank the "workers",let alone in print.

You,area true "stand-up man".

Thank-you.

[TWD]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Auburn's runway was 3100' and 50' wide, and downhill is the prevailing runway during the day.
When Dad made the first landing there, I was overhead in our cherokee giving him a clue as to his centerline and runway remaining. It was most impressive. He ordered me to go to the safety store and pick up some orange candlestick to "widen" the runway. I filled his el camino to the top and every landing thereafter we'd put the orange markers outside the runway lights.
Cowling- We cut the back 18" off of the old cowling (it was very long) and turned them into panels that screwed on. The remaining cowl was much easier to work with.
Tried to use the airfoil Bruce Bowland wrote on the tail, but it wouldn't fit.
I flew to Ione to visit the Sanders and brought back templantes of the stock leading edge ribs of the vertical. Seems the new spar was wider than the stock one.
Flanagan pulls out this vintage book on airfoils ("I Gotta do some homework, College Boy..." he said) and converts it to one appropriate for the width of the spar. "I Gotta do some homework, College Boy..." he said. Then he plotted the whole thing out on paper, built the templates and then the forming blocks and then the ribs for the new Leading Edge.

Gotta go to work....

TJ Dwelle

[bluffman]

Re: Critical Mass - Blind Man's Bluff = SPLIT THREAD

Ken and TJ, Ken, the BMB pin will be mailed tomorrow, I have a couple of other things to add to the package. TJ, Interesting what you said about Bowland's suggested airfoil not workable. What you said about Flanagan that he plotted out and made templates of and all that and forming blocks and ribs is what I thought we did, or something close to that. I must have missed the boat on that deal in a big way. The thing about the new spar being wider than the stock one really has me guessing. Of course it has been 20 years, and naturally some things are buried very deep into the hard drive in my brain, and my processor is a little slow. Sometimes it takes my brain a little longer to boot- up than some other days. I wonder if there is some way to have one of those new AMG Athlon chips implanted? Ha! wouldn't that be nice? Interesting what you said about putting out the orange cones so Dad could see where the runway was. Reminds me of something we did at the Bonneville Salt Flats when trying for a new record around a 10 mile oval course that they laid out. Maybe at some point I can tell you about some of that stuff, but for now it's probably best to stick to BMB/CM related things. I have received some private posts about the turbine sprint car, and my connection to auto racing, but would probably need another thread for all the fiasco's that involved.

Mayday51 Thanks for yor response about my crew and "get-er-done."
Your comment about me being a true "stand- up man" kind of gave me a chuckle. "if you only knew", maybe something about that will come out at some point.

Larry