It's now 4:30 AM here in chilly Reno, Nevada and I've just returned from Stead, where I decided to see just what it's like to be with an air race team during a "thrash" to get it done.
Most of you know that Mike Brown lost his engine today, most of you probably do not know, Rare Bear also had a problem.
The team discovered a leak in the #2 cylinder (front row, master rod) exhaust valve today, after John Penny elected to NOT take the course due to "something" just not being right... The bad news is/was, they had no choice but to replace the cylinder..
The GOOD news is, due to the team's dilligence, telemetry, John Penney's built in "feel" and just some damn good luck. Not only did they not trash the engine, the cylinder that was removed, was found to be easily repairable and will be added back to the spare shelf.
We mentioned that Mike Brown was out, what we did not mention was the absolute high character of this man! Once he knew he was out of contention for the year, he offered "whatever you need" within his spares to the Rare Bear Air Racing Team so that they could repair their problem and continue in competition..
People, Mike Brown has the true spirit of air racing!
As of 4:00AM, the old cyl had been replaced and the VERY tired crew were at the details of putting the rest of the "stuff" back on the engine....
Frankly, I'm so tired that my hands can barley type, that crew are just as, if not more tired and they are going to stay with it until the job is complet, estimated to be sometime around 8:00AM.
At which time, John Penney is scheduled to arrive at Stead, do a ground run, checks will be made and then some slow time will be done on the new cyl...
Then... if all goes well... He'll take the clock in the afternoon Unlimited session...
This repair has been a group effort, typical of air racing! Dwight Thorn, from Dago Red, loaned John Slack to Rare Bear, Mike Brown has his spares at their disposal, if needed...
As I said, I stayed to "experience" the fatigue and grind of this repair from start to finish... however.. with no phone line avaliable to me, and frankly... after making the second pot of REALLY STRONG Wayne Sagar "special" really strong
coffee for the crew... I threw in the towell with the intent of bringing the news to you about the continuing effort to get the Bear into the show and finish in the Gold come Sunday...
That said.. we're going to forego the update on the page we've started for this purpose and just put up what we have so far.. I managed 3.5 hrs of sleep last night, it's headin on 5:00AM here now.. We had some camera problems today... All "technical" efforts to fix the problem met with no success.. a final "Fonz" smack or two to the body seems to have cleared up the problem... so we're back to full speed on the image gathering..
However.. due to the lateness of the hour, my coffee induced "jitters" making it impossible for me to deal with coding the page, and messing with the images.. we're going to sign off for now and bring you up to date, as much as possible, later today..
G'night!
Wayne Sagar
Most of you know that Mike Brown lost his engine today, most of you probably do not know, Rare Bear also had a problem.
The team discovered a leak in the #2 cylinder (front row, master rod) exhaust valve today, after John Penny elected to NOT take the course due to "something" just not being right... The bad news is/was, they had no choice but to replace the cylinder..
The GOOD news is, due to the team's dilligence, telemetry, John Penney's built in "feel" and just some damn good luck. Not only did they not trash the engine, the cylinder that was removed, was found to be easily repairable and will be added back to the spare shelf.
We mentioned that Mike Brown was out, what we did not mention was the absolute high character of this man! Once he knew he was out of contention for the year, he offered "whatever you need" within his spares to the Rare Bear Air Racing Team so that they could repair their problem and continue in competition..
People, Mike Brown has the true spirit of air racing!
As of 4:00AM, the old cyl had been replaced and the VERY tired crew were at the details of putting the rest of the "stuff" back on the engine....
Frankly, I'm so tired that my hands can barley type, that crew are just as, if not more tired and they are going to stay with it until the job is complet, estimated to be sometime around 8:00AM.
At which time, John Penney is scheduled to arrive at Stead, do a ground run, checks will be made and then some slow time will be done on the new cyl...
Then... if all goes well... He'll take the clock in the afternoon Unlimited session...
This repair has been a group effort, typical of air racing! Dwight Thorn, from Dago Red, loaned John Slack to Rare Bear, Mike Brown has his spares at their disposal, if needed...
As I said, I stayed to "experience" the fatigue and grind of this repair from start to finish... however.. with no phone line avaliable to me, and frankly... after making the second pot of REALLY STRONG Wayne Sagar "special" really strong
coffee for the crew... I threw in the towell with the intent of bringing the news to you about the continuing effort to get the Bear into the show and finish in the Gold come Sunday...That said.. we're going to forego the update on the page we've started for this purpose and just put up what we have so far.. I managed 3.5 hrs of sleep last night, it's headin on 5:00AM here now.. We had some camera problems today... All "technical" efforts to fix the problem met with no success.. a final "Fonz" smack or two to the body seems to have cleared up the problem... so we're back to full speed on the image gathering..
However.. due to the lateness of the hour, my coffee induced "jitters" making it impossible for me to deal with coding the page, and messing with the images.. we're going to sign off for now and bring you up to date, as much as possible, later today..
G'night!
Wayne Sagar
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