'BUCK SHOTS'

[BEARCLAW777]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

where is the chino super corsair??

[sierra fox]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

where is the chino super corsair??

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1121288/pilot_bails_out_of_burning_plane_during_air_race_kevin_eldridge/

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"Tsunami Sunset"..................

* Reno '87 NCAR/Stead Field, NV- Fri. 9/11/87- Arrivals *

A sublime sunset portrait shot of John Sandberg's custom-built UNLTD Class air racer- #18 TSUNAMI (N39JR), awaiting the call from her Metal Masters to compete f/Gold during her team's sophomore racing year, w/Steve Hinton as pilot.

DBD

[Big_Jim]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

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

PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE LITTLE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN...I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ!!!

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Remembering Sport Class racer- TOMMY ROSE

Here's a 6-shot photo tribute salute to one of the Sport Class' early ramrodders. Though Tommy's career was cut-short, his enthusiasm & commitment to the air racing motorsport endures & continues to inspire. "BLUE SKIES FOREVER!" - TOMMY ROSE!!!

Photos (L-R):

1. Reno '99 NCAR- Sat. 9/11/99: Rookie race pilot- Tommy Rose arrives at Stead Field in his beautiful Thunder Mustang- Race #3 'Thunder Rose' (N7TR). Unfortunately, he blew his Falconer V-12 engine during qualifying/time trials & didn't race his freshman year of competition.

2-3. Reno '00- Sun. 9/17/00- Sport Gold Final- Outer 4 Pylon: Tommy Rose returned the following year fielding two racers. He's seen flying his Lancair IV #3 'Ramblin' Rose' (N158RL) & Lou Meyer took over racing duties on Tommy's Thunder Mustang, re-numbered as Race #69.

The next Sport P-4 photo is noteworthy, in that it captures all three of the Sport Class racers to be owned & raced by Tommy Rose- Thunder Mustang #69 flown by Lou Meyer, Lee Behel flying his Questair Venture #5 'Deviled Egg (purchased by Rose in '01) and Tommy trailing in his Lancair #3 'Ramblin' Rose'. These 3 racers finished the Reno '00 Sport Gold in 2nd (312.935-mph), 3rd (309.840-mph), & 4th-place (296.193-mph) respectively, in same order as pictured here. Dave Morss won the Gold in Lancair IV #99 @ 328.045-av/mph. (BTW- This was one of Tommy Rose's favorite air race photographs).

4. Reno '02- Thur. 9/12/02- Sport HT-1A- Sport 4 Pylon: Tommy Rose is pictured racing his newly-aquired, & beautifully repainted- Questair Venture- #3 'Ramblin' Rose' (N360) on a perfect line during this heat, finishing in next-to-last 7th-place @ 276.336-av/mph.

Tragically, Rose was lost the next day in a fatal crash during Lap-4 of Sport HT-2A, when his racer suffered a structural failure of its' tail, while flying down the main straightaway near the Home Pylon. That heat race was immediately black-flagged & cancelled.

Tommy Rose was a great sport aviator & one of the Magnolia State's finest citizens, & is fondly-remembered by his family, the air racing community & many good friends.

5-6. Tommy Rose #3 Memorial Trophy- This specially-created trophy is awarded each year at the Reno NCAR, in recognition of the Sport Class Air Racing- 'Outstanding Airman'. Tommy's longtime friend, neighbor & fellow Sport racer- Dr. William A. Billups, Jr. proudly-serves as designated trophy presenter.

First photo shows 2008 recipient- Mike Dacey of Pismo Beach, CA., pilot of Questair Venture #71 -'Bad Intentions', receiving his Rose Cup. Second photo features 2009 award winner- Phillip (Earl) Hibler of Alameda, CA., pilot of Glasair II STD #40 -'Baby Doll'.

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Gorgeous- "GOLDEN AGE" Air Racer Replicas...

Here's a trio of portraits, -showcasing some exquisite examples of home-built flying replicas of iconic speedsters fm air racing's 'Golden Age of Flight' era, which many lucky fans got to enjoy, -when these airplanes made special appearances & demo flights at air races & air shows, during- 'our time-period'.

Created via the ambitious aspirations, inspiring dedication & truly-gifted craftsmanship of a very-special group of individuals who shared an intense love & appreciation of aviation history, -these 're-creations' of consumate airplane design art, flew as veritable- 'Time Machines' - transporting us back to the glorious air speed record-breaking days of Howard Hughes, Jimmy Doolittle, Roscoe Turner & their peers, who raced for glory, while advancing aviation's progress. Heart-felt thanks go out to every single one of them- both past & present, for realizing their own dreams & thereby making it possible to share them w/the rest of us!

Photos (L-R):

Sun. 9/15/02- Reno NCAR-

The late Jim Wright taxis-out his beautiful replica of Howard Hughes' 1935 Hughes H-1B racer, NX258Y, -flown by HH to set a new World's Speed Record of 352.322-mph on 9/13/35 & later a new trans-continental speed record in 1937. In July '02, Wright's exacting replica made its' maiden flight & amazed countless fans during its' display at Reno '02, -where Wright also set a new class speed record of 304-mph w/his sleek shiny silver & blue bird. Tragically, on 8/4/03 on their return flight home to Cottage Grove, OR. following a successful exhibition at EAA/Oshkosh AirVenture '03, Jim Wright & his H-1 replica were both lost 8/4/03 in a forced crash landing at Yellowstone National Park due to prop failure. "Blue Skies Forever"- Jim Wright! (The original H-1 proudly-reposes on display at The Smithsonian NASM in Washington, D.C.)

Sun. 3/20/94- Phoenix 500 Air Races-

Delmar Benjamin bends a pylon w/his awesome 1932 replica Gee Bee R-2 Super Sportster Race #7, NR2101. The orig. Granville Bros. R-2 was made famous in the '32 Bendix Trophy cross-country speed dash & Cleveland Thompson Trophy pylon classic when flown by Lee Gehlbach, while competing against legendary pilot- Jimmy Doolittle flying the more-powerful Gee Bee R-1- Race #11, NR2100. (Benjamin & his R-2 were part of the Reno NCAR program for '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, '98 & '01 events, & performed at numerous airshow events before the act was retired).

Sat. 9/13/03- Reno NCAR-

Tom Wathen's magnificent replica of Roscoe Turner's 1936 Laird-Turner LTR-14 Meteor, Race #29, NX263Y, which won both the '38 Thompson Trophy (as the- 'Pesco Special') & '39 Thompson (as- 'Miss Champion'), strikes a powerful pose on the Stead Field ramp at sunset. After Bill Turner & crew completed the project at their Flabob, CA. shop, Dave Morss made two initial test hops, w/Skip Holm taking over the controls for the rest of the test flight program & exhibition flying duties. Skip did a super job of demo-flying #29 around the pylons at Reno '03. (The orig. LTR-14 also lives on today at The Smithsonian NASM)

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

'RIDGE-RUNNERS' & 'HEDGE-HOPPERS'... ("Fly Low-Fly Fast!")

"Fly Low-Fly Fast-Turn Left"- seems to have become the adopted-motto for the modern-day Air Racing motorsport (or some version of the slogan, anyway). Of course, most of us dig the- 'low & fast' part (-especially the race pilots, who actually get to- DO IT!!!).

Ya gotta watch it, though- air racing's 'Official Rules of Competition' clearly-state: "Minimum altitudes: The racing plane cockpit (or pilot's eye level) should remain above the top of the pylons. Minimum altitude at the Home Pylon shall be at the bottom of the "R" in Reno at the face of the pylon." Excessively-low or erratic flying, will most-likely get you- 'DQ'd' from a race, when called by the judges watching-closely: =

The guys who prefer to fly their course line- 'down-on-the-deck', usually fall into two distinct categories- 'Ridge-Runners' or- 'Hedge-Hoppers' (& sometimes- 'in-combo', when deemed advantageous)

Now, let's take a look at some examples out on the Unlimited Class racecourse ...

Photos (L-R):

1. Wed. 9/16/98, E. Guide Pylon- Dan Martin on his 423.951-mph Q-run w/P-51D #20- 'Ridge Runner III', as last UNL to qualify @ Reno '98: "Ridge-Runner"! (Of course! &- a 'classic signature example', no less!)

2. Thur. 9/15/83-UNL HT-1A, E. Chute- It's a real 'rat-race' heading f/old Outer 4 Pylon, as Bud Granley in P-51D #11- 'Miss America' narrowly holds-down his lead, against a hotly-pursuing- Bob Yancey in F4U-4 #101- 'Ole' Blue', Bob Love flying #2- 'Hovey Mustang', & John Maloney in POF's P-51D #0- 'Bud Light II', in a truly-exciting- "Ridge-Running Gaggle"!

3. Tue. 9/9/08, Outer Pylon 4- 21-year old rookie- Steven Hinton, Jr. on his 345.309-mph Q-run, -flying Daryl Bond's blue-noser P-51D #81- 'Lady Jo' in-tight, going around the stick: "Hedge-Hopper"!

4. Fri. 9/17/04-UNL HT-2B, Outer Pylon 4- Dan Vance drives Mike Brown's pretty blue-metallic Hawker Sea Fury #911- 'September Pops' on a great low line, just beyond the scrub, while running in 5th-place: "Hedge-Hopper"!

5. Thur. 9/12/02-UNL HT-1A, Outer Pylon 4- Hoot Gibson in Mike Keenum's #99- 'Riff Raff' & Art Vance in Bill Rogers' #15- 'Furias', engaged in a v. tight Sea Fury duel down on the deck, -vying f/2nd-place: "Ridge-Running Hedge-Hoppers"!!!

DBD

[sierra fox]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Love the shot of RRIII and the four ship gaggle

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

"BILLY'S BOMBER"- The Magnificent B-25 MITCHELL....

North American Aviation's legendary B-25 Mitchell is arguably the most famous Medium Bomber of WW2, & considered the most-versatile of all. Immortal just for its' symbolic daring role in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo- when 16 were successfully-launched from the aircraft carrier- USS Hornet on April 18, 1942, the B-25 valiantly served Allied Forces on virtually every front, and remained in service w/the USAF until 1960. Of the 9,889 Mitchells built, less than three dozen remain flyable today.

B-25- "TOP SECRET" (44-30823A/N1042B)- seen here in splendid form at Reno 2000 NCAR, is one of them & she's a real beauty w/some great history. Currently, she flies as- "Pacific Prowler", w/her registered home as Cleburne, TX. Keep 'Em Flyin'!!!

DBD

[ShermB]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Really nice guys campaigning her. Worked with them at Arlington Fly-in and Airshow in 2008 and 2009. They will not be visiting the West coast this year, however. They are priced well for hopping rides at your event.
Betty

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Hi Betty-

Thanks for your much-welcome post & personal notes of endorsement f/the current owners of B-25 N1042B - "Pacific Prowler". Good to know she's blessed w/some good caretakers these days (she looks- 'really sweet' in contemporary pics of her avail. on the www) & it's really-neat that this ship's one of those avail. f/booking a warbird ride. (I was lucky to get up in the Collings Foundation B-17 "Nine-'O-Nine" here during their first Alaska Tour & a think a Mitchell ride's in order one day in the future, I reckon.)

One of the highlights of B-25 N1042B's history, was her photo-duty as the second of three camera-nosed Mitchells converted by Tallmantz Aviation (they also converted an A-26). Here's a poor B&W snapshot from my personal photo archive collection of TA's first one- N1203, taken by an unknown photog in Nov. '63 showing the photo nose, which was similar on N1042B.

Also, here's a great link to Aero Vintage Books' super website, covering the history of Tallmantz Aviation, which includes indepth histories on TM's working warbird fleet & details on their photo ships for anyone interested. (Just click on the link & scroll-down to- "Cameraships" & their N-numbers f/some truly wonderful background highlights on these remarkable birds- especially all you fellow fans of that epic movie- "Catch-22"!)

http://www.aerovintage.com/tallmantz.htm

DBD

[Big_Jim]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Hi Betty-

Thanks for your much-welcome post & personal notes of endorsement f/the current owners of B-25 N1042B - "Pacific Prowler". Good to know she's blessed w/some good caretakers these days (she looks- 'really sweet' in contemporary pics of her avail. on the www) & it's really-neat that this ship's one of those avail. f/booking a warbird ride. (I was lucky to get up in the Collings Foundation B-17 "Nine-'O-Nine" here during their first Alaska Tour & a think a Mitchell ride's in order one day in the future, I reckon.)

One of the highlights of B-25 N1042B's history, was her photo-duty as the second of three camera-nosed Mitchells converted by Tallmantz Aviation (they also converted an A-26). Here's a poor B&W snapshot from my personal photo archive collection of TA's first one- N1203, taken by an unknown photog in Nov. '63 showing the photo nose, which was similar on N1042B.

Also, here's a great link to Aero Vintage Books' super website, covering the history of Tallmantz Aviation, which includes indepth histories on TM's working warbird fleet & details on their photo ships for anyone interested. (Just click on the link & scroll-down to- "Cameraships" & their N-numbers f/some truly wonderful background highlights on these remarkable birds- especially all you fellow fans of that epic movie- "Catch-22"!)

http://www.aerovintage.com/tallmantz.htm

DBD

I have something of a soft spot for N1024B....now the Pacific Prowler.

A few of you might actually recognize these pics...

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Hi Big Jim-

'Big Thanks' for posting these two wonderful vintage snapshots (re. B-25 N1042B)!

If I were a bettin' man (& I've been known to be), I'd wager that proud & happy boy in the cockpit & standin' tall next to aviation legend- Frank Tallman might be a young Big Jim?(-Am I right for once???)

DBD

[Big_Jim]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Hi Big Jim-

'Big Thanks' for posting these two wonderful vintage snapshots (re. B-25 N1042B)!

If I were a bettin' man (& I've been known to be), I'd wager that proud & happy boy in the cockpit & standin' tall next to aviation legend- Frank Tallman might be a young Big Jim?(-Am I right for once???)

DBD

What was it Bugs Bunny once said? "Nyyyaaaaahhhhhhh.....could be."

Pics on the set of ABC Movie of the Week "Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy" up at Bayview (Mount Vernon) Washington, April 1977. Also on site, David Tallichet's B-24, the PBJ-1/B-25 "Tite P*ssy", a couple of WAR FW-190's, PT-17's, and an L-17 that was very near and dear to my heart.

Tallman is, was, and always will be one of my heroes. Gotta love the ascott and the leather flying gloves (he had just gotten out of one of the 2/3 Scale FW-190's on a test flight). Can anyone identify the patch on Tallman's jacket? Also a tip of the hat to B-25 pilot, and Tallmantz Aviation's chief pilot, the late Frank Pine. That man was one of the smoothest aviators I've ever seen in action.

[BuckyD]

Re: 'BUCK SHOTS'

Big Jim-

THX f/those all those great background info notes on your two pics, to add to the history. Here again, are both of your snapshots, -w/some digital 'photo restoration' applied, to enhance their quality for the trip back down 'Memory Lane'...

As for Tallman's sqdn patch- that's an easy one: the ficticious WW2 unit emblem was done up for the outfit showcased in the 'Catch-22' movie, and appeared on a number of the B-25s used in filming, including- N1042B.

DBD