'BUCK SHOTS'

[Lockheed Bob]

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Great Tribute "Bucky" D to a great friend & pilot,Al Goss.

[wingman]

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Philip's Racer looked good in the air -- a nice tribute to his friends...

[BuckyD]

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"SPARKY!"....

RACE: Sat. 9/18/10-UNL Silver HT-3B-

Here's Brant Seghetti & P-51D #44-"Sparky" lookin' great running in 2nd-place behind Jimmy Leeward & #177-"Galloping Ghost", during Saturday's Silver heat race. It was an all-Mustang affair, save for John-Curtiss Paul's P-40N-"Parrothead".

BIG CONGRATS to the Seghetti Family & crew for a strong showing this year, resulting in their successful snag of the Sunday Silver Trophy!* All those years of consistent hard-efforts finally paid off!!! "BRAVO!"

DBD

(* -following rival Robbie Patterson & #81-Lady Jo's bump-up into the cancelled UNL Gold.)

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Fly Like An Eagle!"

Tue. 9/14/10-Reno NCAR-Super Sport Class Qualifying & Practice-

When Kevin Eldredge & his sleek SS NXT racer- #42-"Relentless" came rocketing-by Outer 4 Pylon w/obvious extreme velocity & purpose f/setting the bar high in their class qualifications, there was a sense of history in the making. I knew I had to try my darndest to get a good shot of Relentless during the fleeting moment it sped by me standing there below at the stick. I only managed to fire-off one frame- which is the first picture you see posted here.

I had my radio monitoring the race control frequency & heard Kevin's mayday call a half-lap later & then a calmly-voiced odd comment- "Now there's something you don't see everyday"...

Then next thing I saw, was the NXT approaching fm mid-field downwind w/white smoke pouring out of it & I automatically-started shooting pictures (-even though the plane was still too far away to get a decent photo). While Eldredge was turning baseleg f/final approach to make his emergency landing, I heard no engine sound whatsoever & was totally-shocked to note through my telephoto lense- the complete absence of #42's propeller! (I kept taking pictures...)

As I panned the stricken racer's flightpath,-a pair of golden eagles I'd seen soaring all over the racecourse most of the day (-distinct fm the usual turkey buzzards & hawks),-suddenly popped into the picture background-flying parallel in the distance like a couple topcover angels. (Yes-I kept taking pictures...!)

Kevin Eldredge then executed an amazing perfect deadstick landing to save himself & his airplane (& the day!)

Needless to say,-some real history had indeed happened in quite dramatic fashion,-via that demonstration of one of the most-incredible examples of skillful-flying ever,-by one of the world's most-outstanding aviators.

During Sunday's Reno 2010 NCAR Awards Banquet, there was no question as to which Sport Class pilot would be receiving the coveted special annual- 'Tommy Rose Memorial Trophy' fm his peers & awarded to the class' Most-outstanding Race Pilot-of-the-Year'. The last photo here captures Kevin Eldredge leaving the stage while proudly-carrying The Rose Trophy.

"BRAVO!"- KEVIN ELDREDGE! Awesome Flying! & We hope to see you & #42-"RELENTLESS" back in fine form for Reno 2011!

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"TWO TEXAS T-CATS!"

RACE: Thur. 9/16/10-Reno NCAR-UNL HT-1A-

Thursday's final Unlimited heat was the first-time-ever the World's-Fastest Motorsport saw Two qualified Grumman F7F Tigercats racing together & was the first time Two Texan pilot-pals got to race 'em!

That event was pilot/owner/rookie race jockey- Rod Lewis' very first race too, flyin'- Race #1- "Big Boss Man" (a.k.a.~"El Hefe"). Rod just had to also bring along his other T-Cat #55-"Here, Kitty Kitty" - so his good buddy & team mate- Stew Dawson could share in same big fun of racing an F7F his first time too! (Hey, now there's a good friend for ya!)

AND- of course, Air Racing fans got double their share of fun watchin' both Texas Tigercats go roarin' 'round the racecourse all week long. "OH YEAH!" Thank you kindly, gentlemen!

DBD

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Bucky, indeed a very rare treat!

Totally Agree to special thanks to the Texas guys and the "Lewis Air Force" for making it happen!

[BuckyD]

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"Lightning Landings"........

Few would argue that WW2's famous- Lockheed P-38 Lightning is one of the most elegant & most distinctively-recognizable of all classic warbird designs while inflight.

What's really something, is how the tricycle-geared P-38 easily-manages to maintain its' nostalgic allure & striking beauty,-even while in a landing attitude. So much so, that the aeronautical reference for an aircraft being- "in the dirty configuration", doesn't seem appropriate for the legendary Lightning!

Here's some sundown shots of the four touring P-38s that DID make it to Sacramento's 2010 Capital City Airshow- Glacier Girl, Thoughts of Midnight, Honey Bunny & Ruff Stuff comin' in on arrival, to prove the point.

"My-O-My!" -What rare SWEET-LOOKIN' BIRDS they are indeed! (+They sure do hum a warm & mellow Twin-Allison motor tune as they come on by!)

[BuckyD]

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"BRONZE WARRIORS!"......

The slowest bracket in the Unlimited Class, -usually offers the most diverse variety of classic warbird racers & some of the best racing action too, as captured in these two photos from this year's Sat. UNL HT-3C & Sunday UNL BRONZE final.

DBD

[sierra fox]

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Great series Bucky

The Tigercats are awesome!

[Jeff E]

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Awesome bronze shots..

Thank you for posting them...

[BuckyD]

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"UNSUNG HEROES" - Keep 'Em Flyin'!

Sun. 9/10/06-Reno NCAR: After the sun's gone down behind Stead Field, Unlimited Class rookie pilot/owner- Will Whiteside & crew work under lamp lights,-getting Will's Yak-3U R-2000-powered racer- #33-"STEADFAST" ready for qualifying & racing as a rookie UNL entry that year. He Q'd 19th @ 363.589-mph & placed 7th in the Reno '06 UNL Silver @ 352.497-av/mph. (Whiteside started his air racing career @ Reno '05 in the Sport Class - racing Glasair #16 & finishing 2nd in the Sport Bronze back then @ 253.698-av/mph).

Today, race fans also know Will Whiteside as the experienced & capable race pilot for Bob Button's super-hot potent P-51D UNL Gold racer- #5 "Voodoo".

DBD

[Dialtapper]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Now there's something you don't see very often down at that end of the ramp, pilot/owner getting dirty with his grunts.

Thanks Bucky, that was a good time.

"UNSUNG HEROES" - Keep 'Em Flyin'!

Sun. 9/10/06-Reno NCAR: After the sun's gone down behind Stead Field, Unlimited Class rookie pilot/owner- Will Whiteside & crew work under lamp lights,-getting Will's Yak-3U R-2000-powered racer- #33-"STEADFAST" ready for qualifying & racing as a rookie UNL entry that year. He Q'd 19th @ 363.589-mph & placed 7th in the Reno '06 UNL Silver @ 352.497-av/mph. (Whiteside started his air racing career @ Reno '05 in the Sport Class - racing Glasair #16 & finishing 2nd in the Sport Bronze back then @ 253.698-av/mph).

Today, race fans also know Will Whiteside as the experienced & capable race pilot for Bob Button's super-hot potent P-51D UNL Gold racer- #5 "Voodoo".

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Thanks, Chris - Glad that photo brought back some good memories. I knew that was you working alongside Will on the Yak (but didn't recognize your crewmate in the red t-shirt). Yep-always cool seeing the boss in the trenches w/his troops.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"RENO INVADERS!"

There were three Douglas A-26 Invader examples that turned the Reno NCAR pylon course as Unlimited Class Bronze racers over the years:

John Lear's A-26C #76 (N3328G) @ Reno '68

Dwight Reimer's A-26B #26 "Cotton Jenny" (N8036E) @ Reno '80*

Don Davis' A-26C #85 "Puss & Boots" (N4959K) @ Reno '85 & raced by Mike Wright

Here's photos of the two of these awesome bomber racers I was lucky enough to see racing- "Cotton Jenny" & "Puss & Boots"...

DBD

* Note- Reimer returned w/Jenny at Reno '81, but qualified her too slow to make the 21-entry Unlimited Field that year.

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"The Great Escape!"- Super Corsair Bail-Out...

Being an avid air racing historian, I'd read published accounts of the wild & crazy 1947 Cleveland National Air Races- the year when thousands of startled race fans witnessed multiple pilot bail-outs, along w/several spectacular crashes (-including one w/fatal results). Two pilots were forced to take to their chutes during practice/time trials f/the Thompson Trophy & a 3rd had to hit the silk during the race itself. (Note-an addtional bail-out occured during prelims f/the Goodyear Trophy at that same Cleveland event.)

Thinking back to 1994-my 20th-consecutive year attending modern-era air racing events at Reno, Mojave & Miami,-I'd seen so many maydays & emergency deadstick landings successfully-executed by air race pilots, that I pretty-much assumed I'd never see the day anyone would have to actually bail-out of a raceplane (w/the hope I'd never have to). The option of using one's seatpack chute was there if necessary, but only as a last resort in the most extreme of situations, it seemed...(though in retrospect, I'd witnessed a few tragic incidents where it would've definately saved a life, had it been utilized).

But, my naive notions were dramatically-changed on March 19, 1994, while attending the innaugural Phoenix 500 Championship Air Races & working the event as a press photographer. Amidst bleak & blustery rain-soaked skies, 'it' happened during Saturday's Unlimited Heat-2B, at the start of Lap-4. The All-Coast-sponsored Race #1 Super Corsair piloted by Kevin Eldridge, was in 2nd-place & running hot on the heels of leader- Howard Pardue's #66 Sea Fury, and rapidly closing-in, as both racers approached Pylon 1.

At that moment, the Corsair's massive 28-cylinder P&W R-4360 Wasp Major engine suffered a master rod failure & caught fire inflight during the race action. It was Eldridge's first mayday, but he was well-practiced on emergency procedures f/handling this kind of situation. Kevin immediately pulled-up his stricken racer in a climb to 4,000-ft. altitude to pick a runway f/making his deadstick landing. Unfortunately, the pump-fed fire got out of control & left Kevin w/no other alternative but to leave his aircraft in an effort to save himself- via an extremely-difficult last-second bail-out effort, that cost him some serious injuries but allowed Eldridge to fly again another day.

My most vivid memories: (1)- How wet & windy & generally crappy the weather was. Between laps, we press photogs scurried in & out fm under the pylon judges' canopy shelter at NW Pylon Outer 8, in a vain attempt to keep some of the rain off us & our camera gear. (2)- The sheer excitement of watching this heat race's intense dogfight f/first place- suddenly-interrupted by simultaneous shouts of alarm & seeing surprisingly-bright fireglow reflections on the faces of those looking up in the sky at the Corsair in peril. (3)- Turning-about & watching the ensuing mayday & feeling shared helpless dismay at seeing both onboard fire extinguishers fail at putting-out the fire. I was also confused by the bizarre sound the dying R-4360 engine was making then- similar in pitch to a high-reving Cox .049 engine on a control line model plane flyin in slow-motion not far away, is the only way I can describe it. (4)- Hearing (& echoing) the distant grandstand crowd's collective chant f/Kevin to- "get out-get out", followed-by one loud ecstatic mass cheer erupting fm all across the airfield when his chute popped-open. (5)- Then Race #1's steep downward plunge & fiery impact inside the GM Proving Grounds property...& watching the pilot's parachute decent alongside the dark & ominous rising smoke mushroom cloud, w/the P-51 safety plane- Lady Joe, orbiting closely-alongside. (7)- Lastly,-that evening when the rain had stopped- walking down the quiet lamp-lit Unlimited pits & seeing the Super Corsair's sadly-vacant stall. It was all such a totally-surreal experience & so v. reminiscent of those classic WW2 air combat Hollywood movie scenarios (w/all the famous cliches-'shot-down during combat & bailing-out', 'empty revetment at home base', etc.).

Thankfully, after all that drama-at least that 'reality flick' included a genuine happy ending. Yes indeed- Kevin Eldridge experienced some amazing good luck that day for sure & BIG THANKS for that wonderful parachute that made his 'great escape' possible!

"Long-Live Kevin Eldridge / Remember the Super Corsair"!!!

Several excellent articles have been written & published to date which give good accounts of this air racing history episode in greater detail.
Here's a selection of 'Buck Shots' capturing some of these moments in time, to accompany my own shared-impressions...

Photos (L-R/Top row down):

1. 9/13/82-Reno NCAR- Race #1 Super Corsair turns Outer Pylon 4 during her racing debut year at the "Bud Light Special", w/Steve Hinton as pilot. Hinton & Race #1 won the Reno '85 NCAR UNL Gold Championship Trophy & the big bent-wing bird delighted race fans for over a decade.

2-3. Mon. 9/20/93-Reno NCAR- John Hinton reaches fwd to remove the upper cowling intake plug, as a crewmate grabs the wheel-chocks; John joins brother Steve on the wing to inspect the exhaust pipes while communicating w/#1's race pilot-Kevin Eldridge in the cockpit, in prep f/departure fm Stead Field, following the Super Corsair's last Reno Air Races appearance.

4-5. Thur. 3/17/94-Phoenix 500 NCAR- #1 Super Corsair rests in it's assigned pit stall w/R-4360 motor uncowled & sans-baffles. Veteran race pilots- Steve Hinton & John Penney chat in the background.

6. Fri. 3/18/94-PHX 500- John Maloney test-runs Race #1's engine, while the crew monitors the run at front.

Sat. 3/19/94-PHX 500-UNL Heat-2B photos:

7-8. Under grey skies & rainy conditions, Kevin Eldridge taxis-out #1 f/takeoff at the start of UNL HT-2B, followed-by Robbie Patterson (w/Bob Hoover riding in back) in the UNL safety plane- Daryl Bond's P-51D- Lady Jo.

9. HT-2B racers are lined-up awaiting the signal to takeoff (L-R): Stu Eberhardt-P51D #22 Merlin's Magic, Bruce Lockwood-P51D #11 Miss America, Kevin Eldridge-F2G #1 Super Corsair, Bill Speer-P51D #56 Deja Vu & Howard Pardue-Sea Fury #66. (Not pictured-Dennis Sanders-Sea Fury #924)

10. HT-2B racers seen on the backstretch of the racecourse, w/#66 leading, followed-by pursuers- #1, #56 & #11.

11. Howard Pardue's #66 Sea Fury holds-down the lead w/Kevin Eldridge & #1 Super Corsair closing the distance at the end of Lap-3 to start Lap-4.

12-16. Sequence photos capturing Race #1's mayday situation - pilot-Kevin Eldridge's bail-out & loss of the Super Corsair into the GM Proving Grounds.

17. Sat. night-3/19/94- All-Coast Air Racing Team pit (w/Lady Jo in-place & Race #1- "MIA").

DBD

For those interested, here's the link to my previously-posted #1 Super Corsair tribute thread:

http://www.aafo.com/hangartalk/showthread.php?t=6381