WIX Archives

Reno Thursady

Posted by Chuck on Thu Sep 12, 2002 10:57:27 PM

Today was another fine day of racing. No accidents today and the show went off without a hitch. I ran into Lefty Gardner(no relation)at a booth where he is selling his pictures to help restore his P-38 "White Lightning". I met his son, Ladd who was the pilot during the unfortunate crash. Great guy. They are trying to secure funds to rebuild it but it will cost more than they orignally thought. Ladd hopes to keep it in the family and not have to sell it. I talked to Chuck Hall of San Diego, CA and got some good shots of his P-51 "Six Shooter". The A-26 that flew in is 434313 N1190R painted in silver and blue. Rare Bear ran her 3350 this afternoon for about 10 minutes. There is nothing quite like standing 30 feet from this meaty racer while she runs her engine at high RPM. The hope to fly it by Sunday for a test flight and for all of the fans. I also stood next to Precious Metal, the contra-rotating prop, Griffon engined P-51 while she warmed up to go race. I wish everyone could have been in my shoes and seen through my eyes. It was an awesome experience! Dick Bataya (sp) brought in his F7F Tigercat this morning. The F-104 Starfighters put on their display today. No loops or rolls but incredible to see with the high speed passes. P-51 "Voodo" went out for a photo shoot this afternoon so you will probably see it in a magazine in a few months. I talked with Michael Oleary (famous warbird photgrapher)today and is possible you might see some of his pictures at some point that are very similar to mine since we were shooting next to each other. I went and had a look at Miss America this morning. It is a wreck. It will take at least a year to rebuild. The wing is broke and there is a hole in the side in the engine from letting a rod go. Mr. Hisey had just raised the insurance on it before the race and his agent was at the races!! I saw him today and seems to be in good spirits given the circumstances. Nelson Ezell, famous warbird restorer, flew Stuwart Dawson's Seafury "Spirit of Texas" today and was the fastest plane on the coarse at 416 mph. P-38 "Joltin' Josie" was on the ramp when I arrived this morning and was a great sight to see. Steve Hinton flew it with P-51s Val Halla and Six Shooter with a F-16 for a Heritage flight. Great show!
More soon

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