Air Race Shuttle-'The Autobahn Undertaker'
2009- marked my 35th-consecutive attendance at the Reno Air Races - a faithful annual pilgrimage to the 'Indy of The Air'. Guess I celebrate New Years Day in September at the end of the NCAR event, instead of Jan. 31st like most 'normal' folks. 
Now, my wife & I enjoy staying at a cush casino resort hotel & driving a new SUV rental car during our yearly visit to- 'America's Biggest Little City', which has become our 'home away from home' in Alaska. I have to admit- the older I become- it's sure-'Nice' (
) to be able to get- 'comfortable (
), after working the races hard each day out in the hot dusty Nevada desert.
But- this year, it was hard to believe it's been- "35 YEARS", fer Chrissake!!!
And, it got me reflecting back to the beginning of this ritual celebration of speed & its' annual reunion of kindred old comrades. Back when I was a 'young Buck'-fresh out of my military stint & studying illustration & design at the SF Academy, life was alot simpler then, to say the least. Going to all the great Calif. airshows & the Reno Air Races w/your buddies was a guaranteed blast for sure. Money was tight, so a sleepin' bag next to a small campfire under the stars w/your pals was more fun than stayin' at a Reno motel any day. (If it rained or got cold - a retreat was made back into the car for the nite ).
My best friend- Don, was (is) an expert auto mechanic & top notch driver, & owned a couple Volvos. One was a faded beige '64 sloped-back Volvo 544, that we used for shuttling to the air races & airshows every weekend during airshow season. On the outside, it looked a bit- 'rough on the edges', but under its' hood- was a finely-tuned B-18 motor- an engine capable of outstanding performance, when called upon by her master.
Being an die-hard aviation fanatic, I got my pals all hooked on warbird aviation too. My buddy Don liked my idea of festooning his 544 as a WW2 Ace's fighter plane, and got an extra door at the wrecker's for me to paint up, to bolt-on for airshow/air race sorties. Thus was born- "The Autobahn Undertaker"!!!
My inspiration for our Volvo's noseart moniker was Maj. Shomo's 'Flying Undertaker', of course, and the VW & BMW kill markings were a natural (as a spin-off of Me-109s & FW-190s). I especially loved the colorful history of the 8th USAAF's fighter units, and picked the T-Bolt-equipped- 61st FS unit insignia (Bulldog chewin' on a lightning bolt) to complete the motif.
We loved that old 'Undertaker', and felt like we were high-stylin' it, goin' to see our favorite warbirds showin'-off their stuff at the shows. We drove her to Reno a few times, the '76 Lincoln Bomber Races and one late nite high-speed run down to Mojave '76 comes to mind, when we 'bagged' a new canary yellow Porche 914 convertible goin' down I-5(which represented a pseudo Me-262 - but, that additional victory score was never added onto the door...). Yes, a few times we- 'had some 'splainin' to do, for the benefit of curious CHP officers, a few times when pulled-over...
Here's a few vintage shots of the ole' girl, extracted from the Dawsonian Archives for ref. In the people pic- I'm actually sittin' in the 'pilot's seat', inside the Undertaker's cockpit. My buddy- Don, the owner, is standing alongside in the orange Mojave air race shirt, and our pal- Larry (a.k.a. - 'Bear') is standing on our right. The old Undertaker ended her days up here in Alaska a few years back, but her memory lives on! Here's a toast to- The Autobahn Undertaker!!!
Anyway, hope this post brings a chuckle to some of you message board goers out there...
DBD
P.S. Today is my buddy Don's 60th Birthday, and this post is dedicated to him, and all the great times we've shared over the years. This Bud's 4-You, Donnie!!!
Now, my wife & I enjoy staying at a cush casino resort hotel & driving a new SUV rental car during our yearly visit to- 'America's Biggest Little City', which has become our 'home away from home' in Alaska. I have to admit- the older I become- it's sure-'Nice' (
) to be able to get- 'comfortable (), after working the races hard each day out in the hot dusty Nevada desert.But- this year, it was hard to believe it's been- "35 YEARS", fer Chrissake!!!
And, it got me reflecting back to the beginning of this ritual celebration of speed & its' annual reunion of kindred old comrades. Back when I was a 'young Buck'-fresh out of my military stint & studying illustration & design at the SF Academy, life was alot simpler then, to say the least. Going to all the great Calif. airshows & the Reno Air Races w/your buddies was a guaranteed blast for sure. Money was tight, so a sleepin' bag next to a small campfire under the stars w/your pals was more fun than stayin' at a Reno motel any day. (If it rained or got cold - a retreat was made back into the car for the nite ).My best friend- Don, was (is) an expert auto mechanic & top notch driver, & owned a couple Volvos. One was a faded beige '64 sloped-back Volvo 544, that we used for shuttling to the air races & airshows every weekend during airshow season. On the outside, it looked a bit- 'rough on the edges', but under its' hood- was a finely-tuned B-18 motor- an engine capable of outstanding performance, when called upon by her master.
Being an die-hard aviation fanatic, I got my pals all hooked on warbird aviation too. My buddy Don liked my idea of festooning his 544 as a WW2 Ace's fighter plane, and got an extra door at the wrecker's for me to paint up, to bolt-on for airshow/air race sorties. Thus was born- "The Autobahn Undertaker"!!!
My inspiration for our Volvo's noseart moniker was Maj. Shomo's 'Flying Undertaker', of course, and the VW & BMW kill markings were a natural (as a spin-off of Me-109s & FW-190s). I especially loved the colorful history of the 8th USAAF's fighter units, and picked the T-Bolt-equipped- 61st FS unit insignia (Bulldog chewin' on a lightning bolt) to complete the motif.
We loved that old 'Undertaker', and felt like we were high-stylin' it, goin' to see our favorite warbirds showin'-off their stuff at the shows. We drove her to Reno a few times, the '76 Lincoln Bomber Races and one late nite high-speed run down to Mojave '76 comes to mind, when we 'bagged' a new canary yellow Porche 914 convertible goin' down I-5(which represented a pseudo Me-262 - but, that additional victory score was never added onto the door...). Yes, a few times we- 'had some 'splainin' to do, for the benefit of curious CHP officers, a few times when pulled-over...
Here's a few vintage shots of the ole' girl, extracted from the Dawsonian Archives for ref. In the people pic- I'm actually sittin' in the 'pilot's seat', inside the Undertaker's cockpit. My buddy- Don, the owner, is standing alongside in the orange Mojave air race shirt, and our pal- Larry (a.k.a. - 'Bear') is standing on our right. The old Undertaker ended her days up here in Alaska a few years back, but her memory lives on! Here's a toast to- The Autobahn Undertaker!!!
Anyway, hope this post brings a chuckle to some of you message board goers out there...
DBDP.S. Today is my buddy Don's 60th Birthday, and this post is dedicated to him, and all the great times we've shared over the years. This Bud's 4-You, Donnie!!!
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