September 24, 2000 National Championship Air Races at Reno, 2000 |
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AVweb delivers exclusive coverage of the National Championship Air Races at Reno.
September 24, 2000
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| About the Author ... |
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AVweb
Contributor Matt Paxton
started flying gliders in 1970 at age 16 and later earned his commercial
glider certificate and CFIG. Matt instructs or tows most every Sunday for the
Springwood Soaring Association. He also holds a commercial SEL certificate and
is instrument rated. He is a partner in a 1962 Bellanca 260, and is building a
Pietenpol Air Camper.
Matt is president of The
News-Gazette Corp. in Lexington, Virginia, which publishes newspapers, a
regional travel magazine and operates a commercial printing operation. In
1997, The News-Gazette won an honorable mention in AOPA's Max Karant aviation
journalism competition for coverage of an effort to build a local GA airport.
He is a past president of the Virginia Press Association and currently serves
on the board of directors of the National Newspaper Association. Matt never
buys lottery tickets because he used up all his 'luck of the draw' by winning
a flight on the EAA's B-17 "Aluminum Overcast" in 1995. Matt and his
wife, Margaret Ann, live in Lexington, Va. with their two daughters.
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Reno 2000: What's New This Year
 The pits at Reno's Stead Airport are filling with
airplanes, trailers and equipment. The temporary signs on Rt. 395 are up
directing air race traffic. The skies north of Reno are alive with the sounds
of Merlins, Wrights and Pratts. It's air race time in Reno and the 2000
National Championship Air Races are about to start.
Actual head-to-head racing starts Thursday, but qualifying has been going
on all week. So far, thankfully, there have been no major incidents or
problems on the field.
The Reno Air Racing Association has made a few changes for this year's
races, but fans probably won't notice much difference. In response to last
year's fatal crash of Gary Levitz's Miss Ashley II, the number one and number
eight pylons of the Unlimited course have been moved in toward the center of
the race course. This will have the effect of rounding the turn in front of
the grandstands and will cut down on the G-loading on the aircraft.
There
are some new racers at Reno this year. Perhaps most colorful is the Sea Fury
Miss Merced, an airplane with an equally colorful history in air racing.
Furias, the R-4360-powered Sea Fury and another familiar name to air race fans
is back. The "Brown Racer," another Sea Fury, is also in the field
racing under the name September Fury.
Missing from the field is perennial favorite Rare Bear. The modified
Bearcat had many problems last year, and owner Lyle Shelton worked hard during
the off-season to secure the funding necessary to get the Bear back in
race-ready condition, but wasn't able to get it all together for 2000. Alan
Preston was reported to be bringing an authentic Mitsubishi Zero to race, but
it has been scratched. Bruce Lockwood, '98 and '99 Unlimited Gold Champion was
supposed to fly a Yak 3 but it also had problems and isn't in the pits.
 Still, the Formula 1 class should be interesting this year following the
retirement of Nemesis and Jon Sharp from the class. Sharp will be flying this
year, however, assisting with piloting one of the Sports class entrants.
The weather has been great so far, and is forecast to continue to be good
through race week. The stands and pits are beginning to fill with fans. It's
time to go racing at Reno.
Qualifying: The Field Shapes Up
Reno. The name conjures up images of craps tables,
quickie marriages and desert. But to air racing aficionados, Reno means the
National Championship Air Races, which begins officially tomorrow. Fans
watching the 37th edition of these air races have a lot to look forward to
this year, besides a bad case of sunburn from the bright Nevada sunshine.
 In
the Unlimiteds, fans should see some great head-to-head racing if all the
preliminary front-runners stay healthy. Three top ranked racers — all
Mustangs — should have a shot at the winner's circle. Dago Red, the winner
each of the past two years, looks as strong as ever, especially after posting
a blistering qualifying time of 489 mph on Monday. Instead of Bruce Lockwood
flying, though, Reno racing veteran Skip Holm is aboard.
Strega, always competitive with owner Bill "Tiger" Destefani
flying, should also be in the hunt. Strega and Dago were neck and neck in last
year's Unlimited Gold final before Strega's engine let go on the last lap.
Strega was absent from the pits on Tuesday with engine troubles suffered
during a qualifying run, but qualified late Wednesday.
The third contender is Voodoo, which has suffered bad luck the past two
years with mechanical problems and a frightening control system failure during
the 1998 Gold semifinals. Voodoo appears healthy and qualified with no
problems. Seven-time Unlimited Gold champion Darryl Greenamyer was supposed to
fly her, but he and Voodoo owner Bob Button couldn't agree on the financials.
Instead of Greenamyer, Matt Jackson will be flying the modified P-51.
A flurry of Sea Furies will be challenging the Mustangs. Tom Dwelle's
modified Fury, Critical Mass, and perhaps Art Vance and his R-4360-powered
Furias will bear watching. Two-time Unlimited Gold winner Dreadnaught had the
second fastest qualifying time through Tuesday's runs, but reportedly suffered
major engine problems.
In the T-6 class, the fastest airplane in qualifying through Tuesday was
Jack Frost's Frostbite. Although the airplane was disqualified last year after
a series of protests and counter-protests, apparently Frost and the RARA
committee have mended fences. Nick Macy in Six Cat, last year's winner, will
be defending his title.
The Formula 1 Class will be wide open this year, with the retirement of Jon
Sharp and Nemesis. Veteran F-1 driver Ray Cote had the fastest time through
Tuesday.
 Three
pilots in the Biplane class broke the 200 mph mark in qualifying through
Tuesday. David Rose turned in a 209-mph speed, and Tom Aberle and Stephen
Brown both qualified at 206. The Sports class will be interesting this year,
also, and is attracting greater attention every year — witness Darryl
Greenamyer's early entry but subsequent scratching of his Lancair, and Jon
Sharp's announcement earlier this year that his Nemesis NXT project will be a
Sports class racer and kit plane. This year, race fans will get a chance to
see if the much-publicized Thunder Mustang is competitive with the speedy
Lancair IVs, Questair Ventures and Glasairs.
Between races, RARA has assembled a first class group of airshow performers
to entertain the crowd. Top billing goes to the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels,
appearing at Reno for the first time in 15 years. Also on the program are Sean
Tucker flying his signature "Sky Dance" program, Jimmy Franklin with
his jet-powered Waco, Kent Pietsch flying an Interstate Cadet, and the Stoli
MiGs.
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A
Taste of Race Flying
Ever
imagine blasting around the race course at Reno in a hot airplane, scant
feet over the sagebrush, with the wind whistling and the engine roaring
full bore? What pilot hasn't? I never thought I'd get the chance to
experience something like what a real race pilot sees, feels and hears,
but Thursday I got to fly with Jim Eberhardt in his T-6 Texan after the
races were over for the day.
I was
briefed and strapped into the back seat of the Texan. Jim explained that
we would fly north over some hills beyond the race course, and he would
show me what it was like flying down near the ground on the course.
Then, we'd come back to Stead and fly the T-6 course, but at altitude.
We taxied
out to the runway, Jim S-turning to keep the taxiway ahead in sight.
Cleared for takeoff, the old trainer's P&W R-1340's rumble rose to a
growl and we accelerated down the pavement, Jim dancing a bit on the
rudder and keeping us straight in spite of a gusty crosswind. After
liftoff and clearing the runway, we turned north and I could see the
entire valley used by the various class courses.
 The
Unlimited course is the longest at over 8.2 miles, stretching back to
the hills north of Stead. The Sports class course is closer in, but
still over 6 miles long. The T-6 and Biplane-Formula One courses are
shorter still. One result of these four overlapping courses is a large
number of pylons scattered out through the sage and sand. To the
uninitiated, it is hard to figure which pylons belong to which course.
We flew
through a pass between some hills and on the other side began to descend
and pick up speed into a deserted valley. As we got down to race
altitude, about 150 feet, Jim explained that this was a lot like a race
start, coming down what is called the chute onto the course. He said
that the racers line up abreast of the starter aircraft and, at the
bottom of the chute, if the airplanes are lined up properly, the race is
on. We leveled off doing a bit over 200 mph and Jim pulled the T-6 into
several turns simulating turned around pylons. I'm not sure the G-meter
in the back seat was working but I'd guess were pulling about 2 Gs.
 After
completing a circle around the deserted valley, we headed back to Stead,
where Jim pointed out the pylon the racers turn around first after
coming down the chute. We remained at 1,000 feet AGL and pivoted around
that pylon, number 5 and then around pylons 6 and 7 to the start-finish
line at the home pylon. The turn around pylon 1 is sharp after passing
in front of the grandstands onto the east side of the course. Pylon 2
forces a left turn of about 30 degrees on the east side, and then number
4 turns the racer west on the back stretch. The turn at pylon 5 puts you
back to where we came onto the course.
The T-6
isn't the fastest by any means, but with visibility afforded by the big
greenhouse canopy and the sound of that thumping radial out front, I can
see why pilots love racing these old warhorses.
We did a
low pass down the runway in front of the grandstand, and too soon, we
were short final and landing right into the setting sun.
Matt
Paxton |
Thursday at Reno was the first day of head-to-head
competition, and it served only to foreshadow what was to come. The weather
was beautiful; sunny and clear with temps around 90, with some added wind
later in the day.
 In
the Unlimited Medallion heat, Nelson Ezell in his Sea Fury held off Dennis
Sanders in Argonaut. Thomas Camp in his Yak 11, Maniyak, was third. Meanwhile,
Ike Ens in Miracle Maker was disqualified for forcing a pylon cut. The Bronze
heat saw Bill Rheinschild in his P-51 Risky Business run away from a field
comprised mostly of Sea Furies. Stewart Dawson was second in his Fury, Spirit
of Texas, and close behind him was September Pops with Randy Bailey aboard. In
the Silver heat, Dan Martin and his Mustang Ridge Runner jumped out to an
early lead and was never seriously challenged. Brent Hisey in Miss America and
Howard Pardue in his Sea Fury trailed, and then a second group composed of
John Bagley in a Fury, Stu Eberhardt in his Mustang Marlin's Magic, and Hoot
Gibson in Riff Raff kept dueling each other, but never could get close to the
lead pack. Eberhardt and Bagley cut the east deadline, an imaginary course
boundary, and Eberhardt was disqualified.
Sports class is developing a reputation for exciting competition, and
Thurday proved that reputation is being earned. Livio Bognuda won the first
heat in a Lancair IV, followed by Jon Sharp in the SX 300, Wright's Wride.
Mike Jones was close behind in a Glasair III. In the second heat, the race got
off to a shaky start when three racers declared maydays in rapid succession.
The top qualifiers in the class, David Anders in a Venture and Dave Morss in a
Lancair IV were both out; Anders flipping his airplane after a hot downwind
landing. Anders was not seriously hurt. Michael Dacey also had a problem with
his main gear, but the gear held when he set it down on Runway 26. Later, Lou
Meyer in the Thunder Mustang won the heat with a speed of over 305 mph, which
was a quite respectable speed in the Bronze Unlimited not too many years ago.
Lee Behel actually crossed the finish line first in his Questair Venture, but
a pylon cut added a 12-second penalty and put him second. Bob Schmidt was
third, also in a Venture.
The T-6 class ran two heats on Thursday. In the morning race, Thomas Campau
in Mystical Power edged Lee Oman in Four Play by a couple of seconds. Jim
Bennett and Tinker Toy were third. In the afternoon, Nick Macy and Six Cat
never relinquished an early lead and beat Warlock and Alfred Gross by six
seconds. James Good was third.
 The
biplanes ran both their heats in the morning. In the first race, Cliff Magee
in Pitts S-1 Tin Buddy won the heat when Mike Taylor in another Pitts was
penalized 10 seconds for a pylon cut. Andrew Buehler in his Mong Sport
Mistress was third. Chris Ferguson and his Pitts Let The Good Times Roll won
the second heat with a speed of 177 mph. Frank Jerant was second, and Bob
Blackwood third.
In the first International Formula One class heat, Bobby Budde and El
Bandito took first, followed by Carl Swenson in Annie. Ray Sherwood was third
in the Okie Stroker. Ray Cote, the class's top qualifier, won the second heat
with a speed of 243 mph. Gary Hubler was second and Scotty Crandlemire's
Cassutt Outrageous was third.
The big airshow event was the midday Blue Angels show. The Blues
entertained the crowd for over an hour, and as they were getting out of their
F-18s following the completion of their routine, the Air Force Thunderbirds
did an unannounced formation pass over the show. Rumor has it that the 'Birds
were on their way to a show in Oregon and took the opportunity to buzz their
seagoing counterparts. The Blues will perform daily during the rest of the
races. Not so the Thunderbirds...
What a difference a day makes.
 When
Friday dawned, the Unlimited Gold field looked to be Dago Red, Voodoo,
September Fury — Michael Brown's new Sea Fury — Strega, Critical Mass, Dan
Martin's Ridge Runner, and possibly Miss America. As the sun dipped below the
western horizon at the end of the day, Strega was out with metal in the
screens — a possible main bearing failure. September Fury and Miss America
didn't start the Gold heat on Friday. September Fury's problems appeared to
have eliminated it from further competition, but Miss America's troubles
turned out to be only several bad spark plugs. Critical Mass was set to start,
but a fuel leak caused Tom Dwelle to shut it down on the ramp. These three
popular racers may be able to climb back into the Gold field, but nothing's
assured. So, by the end of Friday, the Unlimited Gold field included Dago and
Voodoo, as well as Dan Martin's Ridge Runner and Stu Eberhardt's Merlin's
Magic, both close-to-stock Mustangs.
This strange day for the Unlimiteds started with a pretty straightforward
Bronze heat, in which Art Vance in an R-4360-powered Sea Fury, Furias, took
the lead from the start and held it for the entire six laps of the race. This
heat ended with Furies finishing 1-2-3. Nelson Ezell took second and Curt
Brown was third in Argonaut. Miss Merced, the newly-restored Fury with the
bright yellow with flames paint job, didn't start.
The
Silver heat in the afternoon provided the crowd with a great race between
Howard Pardue in his camouflaged Fury and Stu Eberhardt aboard Merlin's Magic.
Bill Rheinschild in his P-51, Risky Business, jumped out to an early lead
coming off the start, but pulled up with a throttle control problem in lap
four. Pardue and Eberhardt had been just behind Rheinschild, and they battled
all the way to the finish, with Eberhardt never able to quite get even,
finishing a quarter-second behind. John Bagley in Sea Fury Southern Cross was
third. Hoot Gibson aborted on lap one, and his Fury, Riff Raff, appears to be
out for the duration with an unspecified problem.
 It was the Gold heat late in the day that led to all the movement in the
Unlimited Gold field. With Critical Mass, September Fury and Miss America not
starting, that left only Dago, Voodoo and Ridge Runner to contend in the heat.
Dago won easily, with Voodoo second and Ridge Runner third.
In the Sports class, Mike Jones took the morning heat in Cheeky Charlie, a
Glasair III, with a speed of over 275 mph. Tommy Rose in a Lancair was second,
closely followed by Earl Hibler in a Glasair. The afternoon heat saw Dave
Morss smoke the field with his speedy Lancair, and then be sent to last place
because of pylon cuts and a deadline cut. Lou Meyer in the Thunder Mustang was
declared the winner, with a very respectable speed of more than 304 mph. Lee
Behel in the Questair Venture was second and Will Rittner in anther Venture,
Fast Fun, was third.
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A
Racing Family
Even the casual
follower of air racing knows the names of the top race planes and
pilots. While not exactly household names, Bill "Tiger"
Destefani, Skip Holm, Darryl Greenamyer, and Lyle Shelton are known and
recognised by anyone familiar with the Reno air races.
But, there are a lot
of pilots at Reno who aren't as well known, but who compete most every
year. Many of these teams aren't sponsored by large companies, and the
owner, and often the pilot, has to fund some or all of the expenses.
Stu and Marilyn
Eberhardt, and their sons Bill and Jim race a Mustang and a T-6 at Reno.
They don't have big time sponsors but do get some sponsorship from a
Reno area restaurant that caters lunch for the crew and pilots during
race week and also from a Reno casino hotel which, among other benefits,
provides accommodations for the crew.
 Stu
is a retired airline pilot who flew for Pan Am and later Delta Air
Lines. He had prior military flying experience and became interested in
racing after going to Reno as a spectator. He told Marilyn, "I can
do that." The family had owned airplanes over the years, starting
with a glider and moving on to a Cessna 170 and a Stearman.
After a two-year
search, they found a P-51 in Wisconsin, and then waited a year for the
dentist-owner to decide to sell it to them. It was a stock Mustang, and
even though he had never flown a P-51 before, Stu flew it back to
California.
The first year they
raced at Reno, 1986, they took the Mustang and a station wagon, and had
no crew. Now they have a paid crew chief, Steve Lamb, and a cadre of
volunteers. The crew gets its hotel room and meals covered.
Several years back,
the Mustang, named Merlin's Magic, got its distinctive yellow rudder.
The airplane suffered a trim tab failure in a race and it looked like
the team was finished for the season. As luck would have it, Old Yeller,
then owned by Bob Hoover, had suffered a taxi accident. Hoover lent
Merlin's Magic the rudder off Old Yeller to allow the team to continue
to race. As a salute to Hoover's generosity, the permanent replacement
rudder was painted yellow. Hoover later autographed it, and his
signature is still visible.
About six years ago, they also acquired a T-6, and along the way, a
North American F-86 Sabre.
 Marilyn
Eberhardt says that racing at Reno is a "family thing." It's a
chance for Stu and Marilyn to be with their sons, Jim and Bill, who both
also fly in the races. Jim, a textile business owner, flies the T-6, and
Bill, an airline pilot, switches off with Stu flying the Mustang.
Marilyn doesn't fly, and says she is the official support system. She
does admit that she worries. A mayday involving a broken throttle
linkage while Bill was flying the Mustang earlier in the week was scary,
she admitted.
The Eberhardts have
many friends among the other competitors and also among fans. Team
members help sell T-shirts and also talk about the airplanes with
interested fans.
The team arrives in
Reno on Saturday before the races. This year, they have a new Dwight
Thorn-built Merlin race engine in Merlin's Magic. Both Stu and Bill
clocked over 400 mph laps on the Unlimited course, a first for both of
them in the Mustang. Jim and the T-6 crew were busy early in the week
chasing down a persistent hydraulic leak. With that fixed, the T-6 was
hopping rides for guests of their hotel sponsor. Jim wasn't scheduled to
race until Friday.
The Mustang was
scheduled to run in the Silver Unlimited heat race Thursday afternoon,
and Stu chose to fly the race himself. The team thought Merlin's Magic
had a chance to win the heat, and get into the Unlimited Gold field. But
at the start, Ridge Runner, Miss America and Howard Pardue's Sea Fury
pulled ahead of the group of Southern Cross, Merlin's Magic and Riff
Raff. Eberhardt wasn't able to get around Southern Cross without
crossing a deadline, or course boundary, and was disqualified on lap 6.
It was a disappointing finish for him and the crew.
Friday, however, the
fortunes of racing ran in the other direction. Stu flew Merlin's Magic
in the Silver Unlimited heat, and ran a good race, coming in a very
close second to Howard Pardue. This second place finish, coupled with
the inability of several other Unlimited Gold aircraft to start the
race, put the team into the Unlimited Gold bracket, a first for the
Eberhardts. They have won both the Unlimited Bronze and Silver in past
years. Additionally, on Saturday, Jim Eberhardt flew a good race in the
T-6, battling for third place in his heat, but getting bumped to last
for a pylon cut.
After some worries
about the Mustang's engine on Saturday morning, Stu flew Merlin's Magic
in the Unlimited Gold heat Saturday afternoon. He came in fourth, but
ran well for a basically stock Mustang. He beat Pardue, Bagley and
Dawson and clinched a spot in Sunday's Gold finals. There was
celebrating in the Eberhardt pits Saturday evening.
The engine problem, a
small crack in cylinder head's water jacket, was still a worry for the
crew and family on Sunday prior to the Gold final. In the Silver finals,
Bill Rheinschild won in Risky Business, a fast P-51, and elected to run
in the Gold final, increasing the number of racers in the Gold to nine.
The field included
Dago Red, the top qualifier, Voodoo, Dan Martin's Ridge Runner, Howard
Pardue's Fury, John Bagley's Fury Southern Cross, Tom Dwelle's modified
Fury Critical Mass, Rheinschild and Steward Dawson's Fury Spirit of
Texas.
Eberhardt had a good
start, and was in fourth place as the came by the home pylon to start
the first lap. He was able to hold on to fourth or fifth place for
almost seven laps, but then he experienced the same throttle problem his
son Bill had had earlier in the week. He declared a mayday and got the
Mustang safely on the ground.
So, race week at Reno
ended on a bittersweet note for the Eberhardts. They had gotten Merlin's
Magic into the gold bracket for the first time, and had run well
Saturday and Sunday until the throttle problem. On the down side, the
new race engine had troubles that needed fixing. Their week at the Reno
air races probably mirrored those of many of the teams there which
didn't win their class but were still running the end of the week - both
the good and the bad. But, with any luck, they will be back next
September, hoping to better their record from 2000.
Without such optimism,
racing would never have lasted, and it appears to be alive and well at
the Reno air races.
Matt
Paxton |
The morning Formula One heat was a great race. Scotty Crandlemire got a
great start and was off first, but was overtaken by Gary Hubler in Mariah
early on. Ray Cote, the veteran pilot in Alley Cat, edged up on Crandlemire
and went high on a pylon midway in the race and passed. Cote wasn't able to
catch up to Hubler, though. In lap seven, Crandlemire's prop spinner
disintegrated and he was out. David Hoover in MacDaddy took third.
John Housley won the second F1 heat in Aero Magic, followed by Carl Swenson
and Annie. Holbrook Maslen finally got his replacement engine running well and
took third.
 The
first Bipe heat went to David Rose in his own design, the Rose Peregrine,
Rags. Rose appears to have set a record, winning the race with a speed of over
213 mph. Tom Aberle was second in a Pitts, followed by Stephen Brown, also in
a Pitts. Del Schulte won the second heat with his Pitts, Hummbaby, followed by
Steve Deckard and Frank Jerant, both also in a Pitts.
In the morning T-6 race, Gene McNeely edged Mary Dilda in Two of Hearts by
less than a third of a second. Robert Jones was third. The second T-6 heat
went to Alfred Grose in Warlock. Tom Campau was a less than a second behind at
the finish and Mary Dilda was third. The Medallion heat was won by Doral
Graves in Slo-Yeller. Richard Siegfried was second and Thomas Martin third.
For the second year in a row, the fastest qualifier, Jack Frost's
Frostbite, was disqualified from competition, reportedly for violations of the
technical standards of the T-6 class.
Saturday at Reno was one of those beautiful Nevada days, with hardly a
cloud in the sky. Warm temperatures were accompanied by a cooling breeze, one
that became somewhat blustery by late afternoon. The accident gods also
smiled, as there were no bent airplanes or hurt pilots. Mechanical problems
were also not as frequent as previous days, which saw a number of high
qualifiers either bumped to lower brackets for non-starts or put out of
competition altogether. One exception was the Blue Angels, who have had to
either replace outright or perform repairs to engines on two of their F-18
Hornets while at Reno.
 The
Unlimited class ran three heats on Saturday. The Bronze, in the morning, was
won by Bill Rheinschild in Sea Fury Bad Attitude. Steve Bolander gave him a
race for the first few laps, but fell back slightly toward the end. Thomas
Camp and his Yak 11 Maniyak was third.
The Silver heat was a critical race for several competitors who had lost
seeding Friday because of mechanical problems. Critical Mass, Risky Business
and Miss America were all seeking to move up to Gold by winning the heat.
Risky Business jumped out to an early lead over Critical Mass, but Tom Dwelle
kept the pressure on and Critical Mass, the clipped-wing Sea Fury, took the
lead midway in the race. He held on to win with a speed of 423.8 mph. Brent
Hisey's Miss America was third.
The Unlimited Gold race was mostly Dago. Skip Holm jumped out to a lead at
the start over Matt Jackson and Voodoo, but Voodoo pulled even and led for
half a lap. Dago retook the lead at pylon 2 and never looked back, winning
with a speed of over 441 mph. The stock Mustangs — Dan Martin's Ridge Runner
and Stu Eberhardt's Merlin's Magic — were three and four, all at over 400 mph
for the race. Howard Pardue was fifth, followed by the other two Sea Furies in
the race: Bagley's Southern Cross and Dawson's Spirit of Texas.
Sports class's first heat saw Tommy Rose in a Lancair IV defeat Livio
Bognuda, also in a Lancair IV. Earl Hibler was third in a Glasair. The second
heat in the afternoon started with David Morss zipping out to an early lead in
his speedy Lancair, but developing a problem in lap 4, forcing him to land.
Lou Meyer in the Thunder Mustang cruised to an easy win at just over 301 mph.
Lee Behel was second in the Venture, and Bob Schmidt was third, also in a
Venture.
Yesterday's record-setter in the Biplane class, David Rose, wasn't able to
start in the early Biplane heat, which was won by Stephen Brown in a Pitts.
Tom Aberle was second and Jeremy Chelfin third. Mike Taylor won the Bronze,
Byron Roberts was second and Andrew Buehler third.
Ray Cote got back on track, winning the first Formula One heat with a speed
of over 245 mph. Gary Hubler, who beat Cote yesterday, was second, and David
Hoover was third. Scotty Cradlemire's luck also improved from yesterday, when
he suffered a prop spinner failure. He won the second heat. Bobby Budde was
second and Holbrook Maslen third.
The T-6s ran two races Saturday. The first heat was won by Nick Macy in Six
Cat. Gene McNeely was second and James Good and the Wyoming Wildcatter was
third. Carl Penner won the Bronze race over second place finisher Lee Oman.
Keith McMann and Jim Eberhardt dueled for third the entire race. Eberhardt
held a tight line and McMann and Red Knight weren't able to get by on the
outside. Eberhardt cut a pylon in lap 1 and McMann was awarded third place.
Sunday at the Reno Air Races — the big day, the day the fat lady sings,
the day all the class finals are run, including the grand finale, the
Unlimited Gold.
But, there are often some great air races during the day in the other
classes, and even in the Bronze and Silver Unlimited class. The Biplane Gold
was a good example of a great race in another class. The bipes start from a
standing start and fly to the first pylon. Tom Aberle jumped out to an early
lead at pylon 1, with Stephen Brown in Tonopah Low second. Top qualifier and
record-setter David Rose was third. Rose ran a masterful race, picking off
Tonopah Low and then challenging Aberle in Class Action. Rose stayed high and
slowly gained on Aberle until he converted his altitude to speed on the back
straight and passed midway in the race. He maintained his lead, flying a good
line and won the Gold with a speed of 209.434 mph. Aberle was second and Brown
third.
In the Biplane Silver final, Jeremy Chellin won, Jeffrey Lo was second and
Charlie Greer took third. All three top finishers flew Pitts.
 International
Formula One Gold finals were held mid-morning, and, like the Biplanes, the
favorite had to battle for the win. Ray Cote in Alley Cat came from behind,
beating Gary Hubler in Mariah by four seconds. David Hoover was third.
John Housley won the Silver final in Formula One in Aero Magic, Holbrook
Maslen was second and Carl Swenson was third.
Nick Macy in Six Cat repeated as T-6 Gold champion, beating Tom Campau in
Mystical Power by a second. Alfred Gross in Warlock was third. The T-6 Silver
final was won by Lee Oman in Four Play. Jim Bennett in Tinker Toy placed
second and Robert Jones was third.
David Morss also was a repeat winner, taking the Sports class Gold in his
Lancair IV, with a blistering speed of 328.045 mph. His was a difficult week
in which he almost didn't qualify for the event at all. On Wednesday engine
problems forced him to abort takeoff during his qualifying run, but race
officials said they'd give him another chance bright and early Thursday
morning. After a long night of work, the engine was fixed—but on Thursday
morning, when Morss and his crew got to the hangar, it was locked.
Fortunately, they were able to break in and Morss was able to qualify. However
he had to abort his Saturday heat when a gap seal between the wing and
fuselage fell off the aircraft. Again the plane was fixed, but in the gold
competition Sunday, Morss declared another emergency just after crossing the
finish line. Fortunately he was able to land the plane safely. Lou Meyer was
second in the Thunder Mustang at 312 mph and Lee Behel took third in the
Questair Venture.
In the Sports class Silver finals, Dan Wright flew his SX300 to victory
with a speed of 279.981 mph.. Jon Sharp flew some of the earlier heats in
Wright's airplane. Mike Jones was second in a Glasair III, Cheeky Charlie, and
Arnis Luters placed third, also in a Glasair III.
The Unlimited Bronze went off late morning, and Miss Merced, the brilliant
yellow with flames Sea Fury cruised to an easy win, averaging 388.403 mph. Ike
Enns's P-51 Miracle Maker was second and Thomas Camp third in Maniyak.
 The
Unlimited Silver race was one with much at stake for several contenders.
Because of non-starts, Miss America and Risky Business, both Gold-bracket
airplanes before Saturday, needed the win to move back into the field for the
Unlimited Gold final. Bill Rheinschild took Risky to the front of the pack
from the chute and pushed the P-51 hard. Brent Hisey tried to keep up but
never could close the distance. Risky took the win, and Rheinschild opted to
forfeit the Silver prize and bump up to the Gold race. Miss America, second
across the finish line, therefore became the Silver Unlimited Champion. Randy
Bailey and the Sea Fury September Pops was third in the race and Nelson
Ezell's Sea Fury was fourth.
The Unlimited Gold had nine racers going down the chute. Dago Red pulled
out to an early lead with Voodoo a second behind. Skip Holm kept the hammer
down, but Voodoo tried to make a move in the fourth lap. Matt Jackson pulled
Voodoo up around the back of the course, but couldn't convert enough to pull
even with the red P-51.
Instead, the action in the Unlimited Gold was back in the pack. Around the
home pylon starting the first lap, Dan Martin's Ridge Runner was in third,
followed by Stu Eberhardt in Merlin's Magic and Tom Dwelle's Critical Mass.
Critical Mass moved up on the first lap into third, and held onto third for
the rest of the race. Ridge Runner maydayed on lap 6 with a smoking engine,
and Merlin's Magic was out on lap 7 with a broken throttle control bracket.
Dago cruised to victory for the third straight year, albeit with a different
pilot, followed by Voodoo and Critical Mass. Average speed for Dago was
462.007 mph.
Official results were delayed by the filing of a protest involving an
improper start by Voodoo. As a result of the protest, Voodoo was penalized one
lap, which dropped it to fifth place. So, the official finishes became: Dago
first, Critical Mass second, Risky Business third, and Howard Pardue's Sea
Fury fourth.
 After the
race, the starter T-33, an L-39 Albatross, the Stoli Mig 17s and Jimmy
Leeward's MiG 17 put on a jet race demonstration around the unlimited course.
The crowd loved Leeward's afterburning MiG, which threw out a 30-foot flame,
and pushed him into a large lead. Eventually, he came out of burner, and the
Stoli MiGs closed the distance. The run wasn't official in any way, but if
crowd reaction is any indication, jet racing at Reno would be a success.
Following the jet demo. Skip Holm was to try to break the elusive the 500
mph lap barrier, which has never officially been reached at Reno. He took off,
but almost immediately declared a mayday and landed with engine problems
severe enough to cause him to shut down Dago's engine on the roll out.
All in all, Reno 2000 must be measured as a success. Attendance figures are
unavailable at press time for Sunday, but Saturday's crowd was reported to be
a record. There were no serious injuries or deaths this year, and race fans
were treated to some excellent races, particularly within the fields of some
of the heats.
Don't miss AVweb's
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from the National Championship Air Races 2000
Official
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