| by |
Matt Paxton |
NOTE: AVweb's coverage includes
many more photos.
Reno — to air racing fans, the name conjures up thoughts of Mustangs, Sea
Furies and Bearcats in full cry bending around the pylons on the racecourse at
Reno/Stead Airport. The P-51s, Furies and 'Cats of the Unlimited Class will be
back for Reno '99, along with the T-6s, Formula Ones, Biplanes and the Sport
Class. With the return of Strega and Rare Bear to challenge last year's winner
Dago Red, this year is shaping to be one of the more competitive in recent
memory.
Rare Bear, Lyle Shelton's highly modified
F8F Bearcat returns to Reno. In practice on Tuesday, the Bear broke a
clamp holding an exhaust stack damaging a cylinder and other engine
components. The crew was finishing up the cylinder change-out on
Wednesday afternoon. |
The theme of the 36th annual event is Heroes of Flight, and eight astronauts
will act as grand marshals this year. Shuttle astronauts Dr. Rhea Seddon,
Curtis Brown, Robert "Hoot" Gibson and Joe Engle will join Richard
Gordon, James Lovell, Eugene Cernan and William Anders. Gordon flew on Gemini 9
and Apollo 12. Lovell is well-known for Apollo 13 as well as Gemini 7 and 12.
Cernan commanded Apollo 17 and also flew on Gemini 9 and Apollo 10. Anders flew
on the historic Apollo 8 mission.
There are some changes to the successful Reno air race formula for this year,
though. The T-28 class is gone for lack of entrants, but the innovation of last
year, the Sports Class, remains. The Sports Class features speedy homebuilts
like the Glasair, Lancair and Questair Venture. The Unlimited racecourse has
been shortened slightly by about a mile — to 8.3 miles — but the changes
involve pylons farthest away from the grandstand, and probably won't be
noticeable to the fans. Those who have attended EAA's AirVenture at Oshkosh and
other major international airshows will recognize the voice of Gordon
Bowman-Jones, the colorful Australian announcer. Bowman-Jones takes over the mic
from Sandy Sanders, who has announced the races for all the 35 years that the
races have been at Reno/Stead Airport. Assisting Bowman-Jones will be Frank
Kingston Smith and Steve Stavrakakis.
With the cylinder change complete, Rare Bear
was towed out onto the ramp for a test run up. |
So far in practice and qualifying, there have been the usual mechanical
problems and minor incidents, but the pre-race period has been free of any
serious accidents. The P-51 Voodoo Chile made an emergency landing Monday after
its engine began to consume itself; Jim Miller's Formula One Pushy Cat suffered
a nosewheel collapse on rollout and Jim Nezgoda's Yak 3M was substantially
damaged when it veered off the runway on takeoff. Tuesday, Jon Sharp and Nemesis
set a new record for Formula One qualifying with a speed of just over 263 mph on
the three-mile course.
Tomorrow, September 16, racing begins in earnest. Fans will also see the USAF
Thunderbirds, Canada's Northern Lights and aerobatics by Bob Hoover, Wayne
Handley, Tim Weber and Greg Poe. With the static displays, varieties of food
offerings, the Air Race Shopping Mall and the slots and tables of Reno, race
fans will find plenty to keep them occupied.
Polishing Skills And Props
On static display was Robert Odegaard's F2G
Corsair, which raced in the 1949 National Air Races at Cleveland. The F2G
was one of only a handful — less than 20 — produced at the end of World
War II with the massive Pratt and Whitney R-4360 engine. This aircraft is
the only flying survivor. |
Speed, grace and agility, as well as raw power, were all present at the
National Championship Air Races 1999 opening day of competition on Thursday.
Race fans saw speed in the form of heat races among all the classes, the grace
of Bob Hoover's ballet in the sky in his Shrike Commander, agility displayed by
Wayne Handley and Greg Poe in their aerobatic routines, and raw power courtesy
of the USAF Thunderbirds flight demonstration team.
Coming into the day, the qualifying times and rankings indicated that 1999
should see fast speeds and increased competition in most classes. In the
Unlimiteds, Strega, Dago Red and Rare Bear qualified 1-2-3, with Strega and Dago
within four tenths of a mile per hour of each other. Strega turned in a speed of
479.620 mph. In the T-6 class, Jack Frost in Frost Bite set a qualifying record
on the 4.99-mile course of 240.032 mph. Jon Sharp and Nemesis also set a
qualifying record for Formula One at 263.188. The Sport class racers were also
heating up their course. Dave Morss set a qualifying record for the 6.39-mile
course at 335.287 in his Lancair IV.
In the Unlimited heats, Ike Enns and his Mustang, Miracle Maker, won the 1C
Medallion heat. Vlado Lenoch flew his P-51, Moonbeam McSwine, to second place.
Bill Anders in Val-Halla experienced a problem at high manifold pressures and
dropped out of the race. A member of his crew said they suspected a plug
problem.
Crew members check over Riff Raff, the Sea
Fury flown by Hoot Gibson after its victory in Heat 1B Bronze. |
The 1B Bronze heat was marked by a penalty which moved the apparent winner to
last place. Voodoo with Bob Hannah aboard turned in the fastest time of the day
at just over 400 mph, but were moved to last place for making a deadline cut.
Hoot Gibson and the Sea Fury, Riff Raff, were declared the winner. Bill Anders
in his Bearcat Wampus Cat came in second.
Gary Levitz in Miss Ashley II took the 1A Silver by four seconds over Dennis
Sanders and his Sea Fury Argonaut. Miss Ashley appeared to have put previous
problems with the cooling system and a leaking prop seal behind her. Miss
America started strong; she was in second place at the end of the first lap, but
faded later in the race. Howard Pardue pulled his Sea Fury up and out with what
he later described as a gear problem.
The T-6s ran a couple of heats on Thursday. In the 1B heat, Nick Macy in Six
Cat won, and Jerry McDonald and Big Red were second by nine seconds. In the 1C heat,
Tom Campau and Mystical Power took the flag over Alfred Goss and Warlock.
David Rose and his Rose Peregrine won the 1B Biplane heat with a speed of
207.012 mph over Chris Ferguson in a Pitts. Jeremy Chelin nosed out Cliff Magee
in the 1C heat, both in Pitts.
In the Formula Ones, Ray Cote in Alley Cat won the 1A heat. David Hoover and
Frenzy were second. Jon Sharp in Nemesis was penalized 16 seconds for cutting a
pylon and came in third. Dave Morss and Cool Runnings outpaced Robert Jones in
Aggressor for the 1B heat.
Dave Morss was also a factor in the Sport class. He won heat 1B in his
Lancair IV-P, holding off Mike Jones's Glasair III Cheeky Charlie.
Action At The Races
Friday saw clear skies and good racing conditions at Reno/Stead. The crowds
were definitely on the increase over those of Thursday, and the pit area was
actually crowded at times. These folks got their money's worth, because they saw
some great action on the racecourses.
Formula One Legend
Nemesis' Streak Ends After 44 Wins
Jon Sharp and Team Nemesis finally lost one.
Actually, Nemesis came in third in a Formula One heat at the Reno Air
Races on Thursday. According to a release from Team Nemesis, Sharp was
trying to catch Ray Cote in Alley Cat, and cut a pylon on the final lap.
The team jokingly was planning on banishing Nemesis engine guru Jack
Wells to his shop and pilot Jon Sharp to his trailer, but remembered
that Sharp had the keys to the truck.
This is the first loss for Nemesis since
winning the National Championship in 1991. Nemesis battled back Friday
to win its heat by ten seconds over David Hoover and Frenzy. |
In the Bronze Unlimited heat, Bob Hannah aboard Voodoo finally put together
all the pieces and took the checkered flag. He got some good competition from
Jimmy Leeward in his P-51 Cloud Dancer, but this race was Voodoo's. Following
Leeward was Stu Eberhardt in Merlin's Magic, Ike Enns in Miracle Maker and Skip
Holm and his Bearcat. Bill Anders in the Wampus Cat and Bill Rheinschild in his
Sea Fury Bad Attitude had to pull out of the race with mechanical problems.
The Silver Limited heat saw Bill Rheinschild back with his P-51 Risky
Business. He crossed the finish line first, but was moved to last place because
of a deadline cut. It was a Hawker race with Stewart Dawson's Sea Fury Spirit of
Texas the winner, closely followed by John Brown, Dennis Sanders and Howard
Pardue, all in Furies. Brent Hisey and Miss America was just behind this gaggle
and Hoot Gibson followed in Riff Raff.
Rare Bear suffered an engine problem in the
Unlimited Gold heat 2A and dropped out of the race. The crew identified at
least one damaged piston and were looking at another. |
The crowd had been anticipating the mid-afternoon Unlimited Gold heat, with
Rare Bear, Strega and Dago Red head-to-head. After a good start, Matt Jackson
pulled Rare Bear up and out, with what was reported to be a bird strike.
Whatever it was, he definitely had engine problems. Examination of several
cylinders after the race revealed piston damage in at least one cylinder,
consistent with detonation. The crew was planning a long night. Bill
"Tiger" Destefani in Strega and Bruce Lockwood in Dago Red gave the
fans what they were looking for and battled it out for six laps. Dago held off
Strega to win with a speed of 479.620 mph. Dreadnaught, the R-4360-powered Sea Fury,
was third at the finish, followed by Tom Dwelle in Critical Mass and Daniel
Martin in Ridge Runner. Gary Levitz has more problems with Miss Ashley
II, this
time electrical in nature, and pulled out of the race.
In the Formula One class, Nemesis came back to win its heat by 10 seconds over
David Hoover in Frenzy. Ray Cote, who beat Nemesis yesterday, wasn't able to
finish the race. Scotty Crandlemire in the Scarlet Screamer took the second
heat, with John Housley and Aero Magic second.
Jack Frost in Frost Bite leads Mary Dilda in
Two of Hearts in the T-6 class 1A heat Friday morning. |
Jack Frost continued to do well in the T-6 class, leading Mary Dilda in Two
of Hearts across the finish in the first heat. Nick Macy and Six Cat held off
Alfred Goss aboard Warlock in the second heat.
In the Biplane class, David Rose won heat 1B in Rags over Chris Ferguson in
his Pitts Let The Good Times Roll. Jim Smith in Glass Slipper took the checkered
flag in heat 1A, nosing out Tom Aberle and Class Action.
The Sport class was active. In the morning heat, Dan Wright and his SX 300
won, but Dave Ronnenberg in the Berkut was a surprising second.
Tomorrow is the last day for heat races, and promises to offer great racing,
if the predicted afternoon thunderstorms hold off.
Gary Levitz Killed Following
Mid-Air Breakup Of Unlimited Racer
Gary R. Levitz, pilot of Unlimited class racer Miss
Ashley II, was killed Saturday when the aircraft suffered apparent
structural failure and crashed during a heat race at the National Air
Races at Reno, Nev.
Levitz had just completed two laps in the Unlimited Gold
heat race when part or parts of the airframe broke away. Race officials
said that Miss Ashley II lost part of the tail assembly. The aircraft
crashed into a neighborhood east of Reno-Stead Airport. One person was
reported to have been slightly injured on the ground and at least one
home received damage. Power was knocked out to a portion of the Lemmon
Valley neighborhood for a time. The accident occurred about 3:30 p.m.
Pacific Daylight Time.
The remaining aircraft on the course completed the race. Further
events for the afternoon were cancelled, including a performance by the
USAF Thunderbirds. Reno Air Racing Association officials said that
events for Sunday would go on as scheduled.
Miss Ashley II was a custom-designed and built racer. It used Learjet
wings, and a custom-built fuselage modeled on the P-51 Mustang. Perhaps
its signature design feature was the use of the Rolls Royce Griffon
engine with counter-rotating three-bladed props.
The airplane had flown in several heats at the 1999 Reno races prior
to Saturday, and had had several problems, none related to the structure
or control system, as far as is known. It had problems with a propeller
governor and had aborted a race yesterday because of electrical
problems. |
Saturday's fatal accident at the National Air Races ended the day's
competition on a somber note, mirroring the leaden skies and drizzle that
prevailed most of the day. There was a lot of racing at Reno, though, with some
closely contested races. The T-6 class saw its leading racing team disqualified
following what were reported to be protests and counter-protests.
In the Unlimited Bronze heat, Bill Rheinschild and his Sea Fury Bad Attitude
took the checkered flag ahead of Stu Eberhardt in Merlin's Magic. Ike Enns came
in third in his Mustang Miracle Maker.
The Unlimited Silver saw Rheinschild again the winner, this time aboard his
P-51 Risky Business. Mike Brown in Sea Fury September Pops was second leading a
gaggle which battled it out for second place. Closely following Brown were
Howard Pardue in a Fury and Brent Hisey in Miss America.
Miss Ashley II was forced out of the Unlimited
Gold heat Friday. The crew were blaming the abort on electrical problems.
The Unlimited racer crashed the next day, killing pilot Gary Levitz. |
Miss Ashley II's loss during the Unlimited Gold overshadowed the outcome of
the race; however, Strega did nose out Dago Red for the win. Rare Bear wasn't a
factor, coming in last. It had just come out of the shop following replacement
of two cylinders.
The T-6 class ran one heat in the morning and the T-6 Bronze final in the
afternoon. Thomas Campau in Mysical Power edged out Jerry McDonald in Big Red
for first. Carl Penner in Big Wind took the Bronze final and Carter Clark was
second in Daring Diane.
The fastest qualifier in the class, Jack Frost and T-6 Frost Bite were
disqualified from competition by RARA. Apparently, there were protests from one
or more T-6 teams claiming Frost Bite was in violation of class technical specs.
The Frost Bite team counter-protested claiming that the period in which protests
could be made had lapsed. Saturday afternoon, the team packed their pit
equipment into their trailer and left. Frost Bite took off but had engine
trouble and had to land back at Stead.
A crew member put the final polish on Bill
Anders's Bearcat Wampus Cat. The Wampus Cat took fourth in Saturday's
Bronze heat. |
In the Sport class, the morning heat saw Charles Bangert in his SX 300 take
first, followed by Dave Ronnenberg in the Berkut. The afternoon heat took place
just before the Unlimited Gold heat in which Miss Ashley II crashed, and results
were unavailable.
Formula One class ran two heats on Saturday. Not surprisingly, Jon Sharp and
Nemesis won their heat, with David Hoover and Frenzy second. Ray Cote in Alley
Cat won the other heat; Robert B. Jones and Aggressor were second. The surprise
was that Cote's time was better than Sharp's almost two seconds.
The Biplane class ran their Bronze and Silver finals today. Jeffrey Lo in
Flying Lo took the Bronze trophy. Mike Taylor in the Redline Special was second,
and Cliff Magee was third. Jeremy Chellin aboard Sticks Adventure was the winner
of the Silver finals and Chris Ferguson in Let The Good Times Roll was second.
Guy Paquin was third.
Sunday — Fourth And Final Day
Dago Red Wins Unlimited Gold Second Year In A Row
The turnstyles were busy Sunday as the largest
crowd of the week turned out to see the finals in all classes, including
the Unlimited Gold race. |
As if in redemption for yesterday's tragedy, Sunday's skies were clear and
bright at Reno/Stead. The crowds were the heaviest of all four days of racing
and they were there for racing ... mostly Unlimited class racing and the
Unlimited Gold Final.
There was a lot of other racing before the grand finale, though. The Biplane
class Gold Final flagged off at 9:00 a.m. from a racehorse start. David Rose in
his Rose Peregrine Rags won the race ahead of Jim Smith, Jr. in a Mong Sport.
Tom Aberle took third in Class Action, a Pitts.
The Formula One Silver Final was next off, again from a standing start on the
runway. Robert B. .Jones aboard his Cassutt IIIM Aggressor took the checkered
flag. John Houseley, also in a Cassutt was second by only seven seconds, and
Carl Swenson, Jr. in Annie, also a Cassutt, placed third.
T-6 class racing competition pits virtually
stock airplanes against each other, providing true one-design racing at
Reno. The T-6 class Gold race was won by Nick Macy in Six Cat. |
In the T-6 Silver Finals, six laps around the pylons, Jim Bennett in Tinker
Toy was the trophy-winner, followed by less than a second by Gene McNeely in
Undecided. Bud Granley in Lickety Split was a distant third.
The Sport class Silver Finals saw Mike Jones in a Glasair III, Cheeky
Charlie, win. Dave Ronnenberg in the graceful Berkut was second and Arnis Luters
was third in a Glasair III.
Between the Sports class Silver race and the Formula One Gold, the Northern
Lights aerobatic team put on their usual stellar performance. After landing, one
of the team's Extra 300s got too close to the aircraft ahead on the taxi out.
The prop shredded the tail and clawed up the fuselage. Fortunately, the pilot of
the leading Extra only got a few cuts. The Extra wasn't so lucky.
The Formula One Gold was off at 11:25, and there appeared to be the
possibility that Nemesis might have some serious competition in Ray Cote and
Alley Cat. Alley Cat's time in its heat on Saturday had been faster than
Nemesis's time in its heat. At the end of the first of 10 laps, Nemesis trailed
in the pack, but it relentlessly began to eat up the distance between it and the
leaders, and was firmly established in first by the middle of the race. Nemesis
won the Gold trophy with a speed of 243.513, seven seconds ahead of Alley Cat.
Gary Hubler in Mariah was third.
After the Thunderbirds performance at 12:30, the Unlimited Bronze field took
the course. This race started yet another controversy, when Bob Hannah in Voodoo
refused to start, saying that the class had agreed that he should run in the
Silver Final. The Race Committee thought otherwise and disqualified him. Later,
they changed this ruling at the behest of the pilots in the class. Vlado Lenoch
in his P-51 Moonbeam McSwine lead from the start and never looked back. Thomas
Camp in the Yak II Maniyak was second at the finish and Skip Holm was third in a
Bearcat.
The Sport class Gold race saw some action in
the field, but was dominated by Dave Morss in his Lancair IV. |
The Sport Gold Final didn't offer any surprises as the consistent winner in
the class, Dave Morss in a Lancair IV won the Gold trophy, screaming around the
course at a speed of 319.671 mph. David W. Anders in a Venture was second and
Lee Behel in another Venture was third.
The Unlimited Silver looked to be "Buckwheat" Hannah's last shot.
Voodoo lived up to her name, appearing to be cursed all week with mechanical
problems. On Sunday, though, it all came together and the Purple, Yellow and
Black P-51 scorched the field, leading from start to finish. Miss America and
Brent Hisey were second. Dennis Sanders in his Sea Fury Argonaut was third.
The T-6 Gold saw Nick Macy in Six Cat hold his lead through the race ahead of
Thomas Campau in Mystical Power. Mary Dilda and Two of Hearts was third.
Two Sea Furies battle it out down low while a
Mustang takes the high road in Sunday's Unlimited Gold final at Reno. |
After the T-6 Gold Final and before the running of the Unlimited Gold Final,
a brace of four P-51s performed a Missing Man formation down the center of the
racecourse in memory of Gary Levitz, killed Saturday in the crash of Miss Ashley
II.
Now comes the Main Event, the signature race of the Reno Air Races, the
Unlimited Gold Final. The much-anticipated return of Rare Bear to the Unlimited
Gold was, unfortunately, not to be. Flight testing Sunday morning revealed
additional metal in the engine following replacement of two cylinders on
Saturday. The team knew the Bear wouldn't finish a race and elected to pull it
from the field.
Bruce Lockwood savors Dago Red's victory in
the Unlimited Gold race Sunday at the Reno Air Races. |
At the start, Bill "Tiger" Destefani in Strega pulled ahead of the
pack, closely followed by Bruce Lockwood in Dago Red. The two highly-modified
P-51 flew a virtual leader-wingman formation, separated by a fraction of a
second throughout seven and 1/2 laps. With a half lap to go, Strega's engine
gave up and Destefani had to mayday out of the race. Dago cruised to the finish,
and won the Gold with a speed of 472.332 mph. Brian Sanders in Dreadnaught was
second and Daniel Martin in the P-51 Ridge Runner was third. Tom Dwelle in
Critical Mass didn't finish the race, the big modified Sea Fury's engine gave
out on lap six. Voodoo was never in the race, behind several seconds at the
start and lapped by several racers.
In a fitting gesture, the F2G Super Corsair, on static display all week, and
third place winner in the 1949 Thompson Trophy race at Cleveland, Ohio, was
pulled to the flight line to stand beside the 1999 Unlimited Gold winner.
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