'BUCK SHOTS'

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"SNOOPY 'Stang"!!!

Reno/Stead Field- Fri. 9/13/83 - For the 20th-Anniversary running of the Reno NCAR, Clay Lacy's 'passionate purple' P-51D Race #64 'Snoopy' (N64CL/ex-N182X) paid a surprise visit from its' Van Nuys, CA. home. Clay won the Reno '70 UNL Gold Championship w/this Mustang as 'Miss Van Nuys" w/a winning speed of 387.34-av/mph. Though she didn't enter to race at Reno '83, #64 did fly the Unltd. racecourse for oldtime's sake, to the delight of attending race fans.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"M-O-O-N + R-O-C-K-E-T"...!!!

Came across this Reno '06 Kodachrome slide while sorting thru the photo archives, which captures champion race pilot/aircraft designer- Jon Sharp's #3X-NEMESIS NXT Super Sport Class racer rocketing-by Sport 7 Pylon & a morning moon up in the sky background.

Jon's beautiful design is truly- 'futuristic', w/its' low-frontal profile, sleek flowing contours & flared-back wingtips and 'space helmet' style tinted canopy. At the same time, #3X's classic Gee Bee-style Golden Age air racer paint scheme motif, definately gives Sharp's fast & elegant speedster an authentic- 'Buck Rogers' retro-look'. I'm reminded of one of those fun 1930s-40s pulp science fiction/fantasy magazine/book illustrations by Roy G. Krenkel, Frank Frazetta & others, of primitive-concept space ships & moon rockets in those fantastic tales by Clark Ashton Smith, Edgar Rice Burroughs & other authors.

In my book, this 400+MPH S-Sport Class Gold Racer is- "Totally-COOL"!!!

DBD

P.S. Jon & Trish & their crew are pretty cool also

[ebutner]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

The racer is way cool/sexy, but that shot is awesome. Thanks for posting that.

"M-O-O-N + R-O-C-K-E-T"...!!!

Came across this Reno '06 Kodachrome slide while sorting thru the photo archives, which captures champion race pilot/aircraft designer- Jon Sharp's #3X-NEMESIS NXT Super Sport Class racer rocketing-by Sport 7 Pylon & a morning moon up in the sky background.

Jon's beautiful design is truly- 'futuristic', w/its' low-frontal profile, sleek flowing contours & flared-back wingtips and 'space helmet' style tinted canopy. At the same time, #3X's classic Gee Bee-style Golden Age air racer paint scheme motif, definately gives Sharp's fast & elegant speedster an authentic- 'Buck Rogers' retro-look'. I'm reminded of one of those fun 1930s-40s pulp science fiction/fantasy magazine/book illustrations by Roy G. Krenkel, Frank Frazetta & others, of primitive-concept space ships & moon rockets in those fantastic tales by Clark Ashton Smith, Edgar Rice Burroughs & other authors.

In my book, this 400+MPH S-Sport Class Gold Racer is- "Totally-COOL"!!!

DBD

P.S. Jon & Trish & their crew are pretty cool also

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"UNSUNG HEROES" - Keep 'Em Flyin'!

'In The Trenches' - Race #10 Critical Mass - Reno NCAR - Sun. 9/12/99

It's a hard fact- For every hour of aviation flight time, it takes MANY times more hours of maintenance time to make it possible, w/the ratio dependant upon the complexity of the aircraft & its' mission.

As this pic illustrates- Behind all the 'Romance & Glamour' of aviation, there are tons of precise tasks, extreme hard work & plenty of dirty jobs to be done on a scheduled & unscheduled basis. Thankfully, there are dedicated A&P mechanics, technical experts & helpers who thrive on dealing w/all the challenges involved in keeping the world's aircraft airworthy & safe to fly! Their work ethic serves as an inspiration f/us all.

"BRAVO!"-To these great- 'Unsung Heroes' of Aviation!!!

DBD

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"BRAVO!"-To these great- 'Unsung Heroes' of Aviation!!!

Can't make out the guys in the background but the fellow sitting on the egg crate would be a man I'm proud to be able to call friend, Mr. Chris "Dialtapper" Farinha... who has also been crewing on the Rare Bear for a few years now... Nice work Bucky!

[Dialtapper]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Can't make out the guys in the background but the fellow sitting on the egg crate would be a man I'm proud to be able to call friend, Mr. Chris "Dialtapper" Farinha... who has also been crewing on the Rare Bear for a few years now... Nice work Bucky!

That would be Ken Dwelle and Scott Carter intently supervising, or trying not to get 60wt dripped on them.

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"CORNCOB CONTENDERS"...!!!

Even if you aren't a round-engine devotee, the unforgettable sight & sound of a 28-cylinder P&W R-4360 Wasp Major-powered Unlimited Air Racer hauling around the racecourse at-speed really gets your attention!

When warbird restorer/pilot- Bob Odegaard made his grand Reno '99 debut to enter (& win!) the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trophy Competition w/his awesome Post-WW2 Thompson Trophy veteran Goodyear F2G-1 #57 Super Corsair, the impressed & excited air race community buzzed w/hopes f/seeing Cook Cleland's venerable corncob actually racing again. Aviation historian/author- Kevin Grantham really got the juices flowing, by arranging a Stead Field ramp photo portrait op that year that posed #57 w/its' corncob cousin- the Sanders' mighty Hawker Super Sea Fury #8 DREADNOUGHT.

To prove that sometimes dreams do come true (& the-'Attractor-Factor" really works), Odegaard raced Ole' #57 @ Reno '06, '07 & '08, before selling his big bent-wing corn-cobber Corsair. (Bob's now nearing completion of the other surviving Cleland Super Corsair #74 in his shop & we all have started chanting again- "Race it! - Race it! - Race-it!...")

It definately goes w/o saying, that- pretty much everyone in air racing loves & appreciates seeing #8 DREADNOUGHT competing in the Unlimited Gold most every year, & keeping corncob racing traditions alive, to the delight of the fans. This Super Hawker was way too fast & #57 was too rare of a priceless aviation history heirloom to push hard, so these two corncobbers never mixed it up against each other in real competition (they did do some demo laps together on a few occasions).

Here's a trio of 'Buck Shots', to celebrate these two R-4360-powered allied naval fighter raceplanes demonstrating air racing history comin' full-circle from past-to-present! BIG THANKS to Robert Odegaard & The Sanders Family for making super-special things happen in air racing!

DBD

[Warbird5]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Hey Bucky,

I see that I need to try to find you in the crowd as that camera of yours snaps me and the crew all the time, but I never seem to remember my picture being taken (smile).

Willie

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Hey Bucky,

I see that I need to try to find you in the crowd as that camera of yours snaps me and the crew all the time, but I never seem to remember my picture being taken (smile).

Willie

Roger-Wilco there, Willie!

At least those 'candids' keep the picture-takin' somewhat-'painless', for the subjects. (Can't always say the same for the photogs, -slinkin' around huntin' f/unsuspecting photo portrait victims!)

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

THE HORSEMEN Flight Team - '2009 Bearcat Special Edition'!

Planes of Fame Airshow - 'Salute To Grumman' - Chino, CA. - 5/16-17/09

This amazing 3-man civilian warbird flight demonstration team formed in 1994, employing the famous WW2 North American P-51D Mustang pursuit fighter plane as its' preferred-mount. Team pilots are: Jim Beasley-Flight Leader, Dan Friedkin-RT Wingman & founder- Ed Shipley-LT Wingman. Their breathtaking dynamic routines have become world-renowned as one of aviation's top demo acts in demand today.

Once I heard they'd signed-on to perform at Chino '09 POF Airshow & were temporarily switched-over to fly Grumman F8F Bearcats, I immediately bought my plane ticket to come down from Alaska to see 'em. No-way was I gonna miss such a rare opportunity! This happening would be the closest-thing to watching the early '46-'49 USN Blue Angels team,-when they were in F8F-1s (before this oldtimer was even born!). That I made the right move, -goes without saying! To top it all off, word was there would be a total of FIVE Bearcats flying at Chino '09!!!

Watching these gentlemen fly their spectacularly-beautiful routine was totally-awesome & seemed almost unreal. Only a fellow pilot can really-appreciate how difficult this type of close-formation flying is using high-performance propellor aircraft, and just how good these guys really are! Here's a 'Buck Shot' photo gallery tribute salute to three of aviation's top formation aces...

Ladies & Gentlemen, presenting f/your airshow entertainment- THE HORSEMEN,... -Bearcat-style!

OH YEAH!!!

DBD

P.S. The Horsemen maybe movin' up to F7F Tigercats someday? Of course, not (-even pondering the idea is way too much f/the imagination!) But I just HAD to throw-in the last photo anyway...

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Sumthin' Else"......!

Reno '82 NCAR- Thursday 9/16/82- Final Qualifications Day- West Chute

W/John Crocker & his P-51D Race #6 "Sumthin' Else" (NX51VC) running-currently as this message board's 'hot-topic subject', here's a personal favorite 'Buck Shot' of Race #6 to add to this thread-

Reno '82 was staged during some extremely cold & wet weather conditions, & it severely hindered the chances f/posting really-fast qualification speeds in all the racing classes. In fact, the heavy rain got so bad during Wednesday's time trials, that the enitre Stead Field program was shut down completely by 3:00-pm. The downpour was still going on early next morning, -w/snow blanketing the higher levels of the surrounding mountains. Even more bad wx was predicted for the days ahead.

At about 8:30-am Thur. morning, the sun broke through & the final day f/Reno '82 Qualifications got underway w/full-purpose, as many planes hadn't-yet posted their times & a shared feeling of- 'now or never' fueled the day's program.

This shot captures John Crocker & Race #6 'Sumthin' Else' roaring down Stead Field's fast West Chute off the W. Guide Pylon during their qualification run, -as the first Unlimited to take the course on Thursday.

Crocker posted the top speed for the Unlimiteds @ 434.259-mph, but was quickly knocked-back into 'second-fastest' Q-slot minutes later, -when Ron Hevle immediately followed-up w/a Reno '82 top Q-speed of 440.565-mph, flying Frank Taylor & Bill Destefani's rookie P-51D entry- #4 Dago Red.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Front-Line Fighter Plane"......

Reno '96 NCAR/Stead Field, NV- Sunday 9/8/96- Arrivals

Santa Monica Museum of Flying's North American P-51D-#49 Cottonmouth (N151DP) was flown-in by pilot/owner-David Price.

I took advantage of a neat 'photo-op', w/this fun depth-of-field composition (required equipment: medium telephoto lens, tripod & shutter release cable).

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!".......

Reno '08 NCAR/Stead Field, NV- Monday 9/8/08- Race #77 RARE BEAR

I'm gonna resurrect this previously-posted Kodachrome slide, as another personal fave- 'Buck Shot'...

Crew chief- Dave Cornell's first start of #77's race-prepared Wright R-3350 radial engine lets-loose a loud backfire sneeze & impressive rising ball of flame, as BEAR gets awakened fm hibernation during team prep f/qualification & racing.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Hot Company".......!!!

Reno '00 NCAR/Stead Field, NV- #87 Miss Merced

Steve Bolander & 'Friends' strike happy poses f/the cameras at Reno 2000. Steve & partner- Jim Michaels raced this historic Hawker Sea Fury, & had a great time doing it! Michaels won Sunday's 8-Lap UNL Bronze @ 388.403-av/mph. Air race fans were in genuine ecstasy in seeing Miss Merced return to pylon racing again, wearing her flashy hot original color scheme! BIG THANKS GUYS for making air racing history come full-circle!!!

DBD

[steve D]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Achooooooooooooooo!!!!