RENO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2002 UNLIMITED RESULTS HEAT 2C BRONZE 6 LAPS
				RACE TIME RACE SPEED
50	Ike Enns Broken Arrow, OK	P 51 D	Miracle Maker Silver/Red Nose	8 25.10	353.584*
47	John K. Bagley Rexburg, ID	P 51	Ole Yeller Yellow	8:37 24	345.306
9	Jimmy Leeward Ocala, FL	P 51 D	Cloud Dancer Polished Silver	8:50.66	336,573
6	Dan Martin San Jose, CA	P 51D	Flying Dutchman Lt. Grey/Red Trim	8:52.95	335.127
81	Rob Patterson Corona, CA	TF 51 D	Lady Jo Silver/Blue	8:54.64	278.390**
44	Brant Seghetti Vacaville, CA	P 51 0	Sparky Natural Aluminum/Red Nose	8:58 79	276.246**
104	Dave Moms Redwood City, CA	Yak 9	Russian Roulette Camo Green	DID NOT FINISH LAP 4
*Cut Start Pylon on Pace lap plus 12 second penalty **Speed calculated on 5 laps completed.
POSTED 1216

 

RENO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2002 UNLIMITED RESULTS HEAT 2B SILVER 6 LAPS
				PACE TIME RACE SPEED
45	Bill Rheinschild Sun Valley, ID	P 51 D	Risky Business Natural Metal & Grey	7:11.38	414.034
15	Art Vance Sebastopol, CA	Hawker Sea Fury	Furias Orange/White/Blue	7:13.82	411.705
114	Dennis Sanders lone, CA	Hawker Sea Fury MK 1 1	Argonaut Dark Gray	7:37.89	390.063
117	Gary Hubler Caldwell, 10	Hawker Sea Fury	Bad Attitude Light & Dark Grey	7:44.30	384.678
38	Ron Buccarelli Hollywood, FL	P 51	Precious Metal Silver/Green	8:.00.26	371.895
27	Thomas Camp San Francisco, CA	Yak 3 R 2000	Miss Trinidad Blue/Green/Brown	8 .16.40	359.803
21	Nelson Ezell Breckenridge, TX	Hawker Sea Fury	Sea Fury Two tone Grey	DID NOT FINISH LAP 2
POSTED 1433

     

RENO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,2002 UNLIMITED RESULTS HEAT 2A GOLD 6 LAPS
				RACE TIME RACE SPEED
4	Skip Holm Calabasas, CA	P 510	Dago Red Red/Yellow/White	6:33.46	453.937
232	Michael Brown Carson City, NV	Hawker Sea Fury	September Fury Bare	6:40.29	446.192
5	Matt Jackson Calabasas, CA	P 51D	Voodoo Purple/Yellow/Green	7:22.85	403.311
22	Bill Eberhardt Gig Harbor, WA	P 51D	Merlins Magic Silver/Military	6:40.67	371.474*
105	Stewart Dawson Celina, TX	Hawker Sea Fury FB 1 I	Spirit of Texas Dark Grey/Light Grey	6:46.46	366.182*
99	Robert "Hoot' Gibson Murfreesboro, TN	Hawker Sea Fury	Riff Raff Red & White	7:14.68	342.409*
*Speed calculated on 5 laps completed.
POSTED 1638

    
Saturday September 15:

Randy Baily completed the engine change on Sea Fury 'September Pops'. However during his take-off run he shut it down and taxied in. The manifold pressure gage was not registering.
Furias, the R-4360 powered Sea Fury, fixed a persistent oil leak. Initially thought to be a push rod tube seal ® which was replaced, it turned out to be an oil scavenge line.
Precious Metal, the Rolls-Royce Griffon powered P-51D had suffered cam problems all week. On Saturday, the entire cam rack was changed on the 'B' bank. A design shortcoming that is also shared by the Merlin is that of scuffed cam lobes due to the hard chrome plate on the cam finger breaking due to fatigue. The Merlin guys have a bullet-proof fix for this malady in the form of Merrlin Fingers È developed and manufactured by Walker Wire in Ontario, Canada. Prior to his untimely death, Harry Walker was working on developing Merrlin FingersÈ for the Griffon. After his passing, the project was put on hold. For those not familiar with Merrlin FingersÈ, it resolves the problem by replacing the hard chrome surface with a block of tungsten carbide.
 

 

RENO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14,2002 UNLIMITED RESULTS HEAT 3C BRONZE 6 LAPS
				RACE TIME RACE SPEED
47	John K. Bagley Rexburg, 10	P 51	Ole Yeller Yellow	8:30.70	349.728
6	Dan Martin San Jose, CA	P 51 0	Flying Dutchman Lt. Grey/Red Trim	8:44.18	340.734
9	Jimmy Leeward Ocala, FL	P 51 D	Cloud Dancer Polished Silver	8:44 35	340.624
104	Sean Carroll Waldorf, MD	Yak 9	Russian Roulette Camo Green	9:26.77	315.130
81	Rob Patterson Corona, CA	TF 51 D	Lady Jo Silver/Blue	8:39 32	286.602*
31	Dan Vance Santa Rosa, CA	P 51	Speedball Alice Olive Drab/Black/White	8:40.43	285.991*
44	Brant Seghettl Vacaville, CA	P 51 0	Sparky Natural Aluminum/Red Nose	9:20.95	265.333*
911	Randy Bailey lone, CA	Hawker Sea Fury	September Pops Blue	DID NOT START
*Speed calculated on 5 laps completed
POSTED 1223

 

RENO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14,2002 UNLIMITED RESULTS HEAT 3B SILVER 6 LAPS
				RACE TIME RACE SPEED
7	Bill Destefani Bakersfield, CA	P 51 D	Strega Red/White	7:11.48	413.938
15	Art Vance Sebastopol, CA	Hawker Sea Fury	Furias Orange/White/Blue	7:23.92	402.338
114	Brian Sanders El Dorado Hills, CA	Hawker Sea Fury MK 1 I	Argonaut Dark Gray	7:37.18	390.669
117	Gary Hubler Caldwell, ID	Hawker Sea Fury	Bad Attitude Light & Dark Grey	7:48.93	380.880
38	Ron Buccarelli Hollywood, FL	P 51	Precious Metal Silver/Green	7:55.26	375.807
21	Joe Thibodeau Denver, CO	Hawker Sea Fury	Sea Fury Two tone Grey	8:01.44	370.983
27	Thomas Camp San Francisco, CA	Yak 3 R 2000	Miss Trinidad Blue/Green/Brown	7:15.28	341.937*
50	Ike Enns Broken Arrow, OK	P 51 0	Miracle Maker Silver/Red Nose	7:29.06	331 444*
*Speed computed on 5 laps completed
POSTED1426

     

RENO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14,2002 UNLIMITED RESULTS HEAT 3A GOLD 6 LAPS
				RACE TIME RACE SPEED
4	Skip Holm Calabasas, CA	P 51 D	Dago Red Red/Yellow/White	6:21.18	468.561
232	Michael Brown Carson City, NV	Hawker Sea Fury	September Fury Bare	6:31.83	455.825
5	Matt Jackson Calabasas, CA	P 51 D	Voodoo Purple/Yellow/Green	6:50.23	435.380
22	Stu Eberhardt Danville, CA	P 51 D	Merlins Magic Silver/Military	7:11.93	413.607
45	Bill Rheinschild Sun Valley, ID	P 51 D	Risky Business Natural Metal & Grey	7:12.75	412,723
105	Stewart Dawson Celina, TX	Hawker Sea Fury FBA 1	Spirit of Texas Dark Grey/Light Grey	7:22.83	403.329
99	Robert "Hoot" Gibson Murfreesboro, TN	Hawker Sea Fury	Riff Raff Red & White	7:02.58	352.214*
*Speed calculated on 5 laps completed
POSTED 1627

      
Sunday September 15:

This was the big day every one had been looking forward to. As per usual practice, Dago Red went out for an early morning flight to shake out any possible problems. At the kind of power settings used by this phenomenal aircraft, it's inevitable that many minor and not so minor squawks surface. Therefore, Sunday morning saw a flurry of activity in Dago Red's pits; cracked exhaust stacks and a cracked outer exhaust shroud. In his own inimitable way, Bill Kirtchenfaut made stainless steel repair panels and spot welded them to the exhaust shroud. In the mean time Mike Wilton, another of Dago Red's highly qualified team was finding one exhaust stack after another with microscopic cracks. Although they looked innocuous, barely perceptible to the human eye, it would take very little time for the cracks to propagate and torch through creating a major problem. And beyond these chores were the normal ones of changing spark plugs and checking valve clearances. These maintenance chores are performed after every flight when high power is used. One can only imagine how many sparkplugs are consumed during Reno week when 24 are consumed after each flight.
 

Provided he didn't suffer a mechanical failure, it was a foregone conclusion that it was Dago Red's race. And so it was. Dago Red romped around the course at a conservative power setting ® at least conservative by Dago Red standards. Michael Brown in the potent Sea Fury came in a well deserved second. With further development, this Sea Fury will be a force to be reckoned with. Undoubtedly due to the awful conditions prevailing during the Gold Race, the average speed was a fairly modest 466mph. Despite the valiant efforts of Strega's crew, this aircraft only lasted a couple of laps before declaring a mayday. Oil covered the cowling when it was towed into the pits. The inside scoop suggested that the Dan Martin engine had holed a piston, PERHAPS MORE, however, with so much oil covering the cowl one would have to arrive at the conclusion that something more significant than a holed piston had occurred. Strega was eventually flown home with Bill Rheinchild's ferry engine. Yet another example of the comrades with top unlimited racers.

 

.Another casualty form the final Gold Race was Ron Bucherelli's Precious Metal. After it taxied in from the race I noticed that during his scavenging run where the engine is run up to 1200 to 1400 rpm in order to remove as much oil as possible from the engine, it was smoking badly. Sure enough, when the screens were pulled, they were found to be full of metal ® another toasted Griffon has bit the dust.

 

 

RENO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2002 UNLIMITED RESULTS BRONZE 6 LAPS
				RACE TIME RACE SPEED
911	Randy Bailey lone, CA Blue	Hawker Sea Fury	September Pops	7:42.81	385.917*
9	Jimmy Leeward Ocala, FL	P 51D	Cloud Dancer Polished Silver	8:26.37	352.719
6	Dan Martin San Jose, CA	P 51D	Flying Dutchman Lt Grey/Red Trim	8:34.55	347.111
104	Dave Morss Redwood City, CA	Yak 9	Russian Roulette Camo Green	8:42.14	342.065
31	Dan Vance Santa Rosa, CA	P 51	Speedball Alice Olive Drab/Black/White	8:23.38	295.678**
81	Rob Patterson Corona, CA	TF 51D	Lady Jo Silver/Blue	8:24.11	295.250**
44	Brant Seghetti Vacaville, CA	P 51D	Sparky Natural Aluminum/Red Nose	8:36.34	288.257**
*Will exercise option to race Unlimited Silver Race **Speed calculated on 5 laps comp
POSTED 1220

 

RENO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2002 UNLIMITED RESULTS SILVER 7 LAPS
				RACE TIME RACE SPEED
21	Joe Thibodeau Denver, CO	Hawker Sea Fury	Sea Fury Two tone Grey	8:56.67	388.272
114	Dennis Sanders lone, CA	Hawker Sea Fury MK 1 1	Argonaut Dark Gray	8:59.62	386.149*
15	Art Vance Sebastopol, CA	Hawker Sea Fury	Furias Orange/White/Blue	9:05.07	382.288**
38	Ron Buccarelli Hollywood, FL	P 51	Precious Metal Silver/Green	9:06.40	381.358***
911	Randy Bailey lone, CA	Hawker Sea Fury	September Pops Blue	9:16.87	374.187
27	Thomas Camp San Francisco, CA	Yak 3 R 2000	Miss Trinidad  Blue/Green/Brown	9:17.07	374.053
117	Gary Hubler Caldwell, 10	Hawker Sea Fury	Bad Attitude Light & Dark Grey	9:26.86	367.593****
47	John K. Bagley Rexburg, 10	P 51	Ole Yeller Yellow	8:31.29	349.324*****
50	Ike Enns Broken Arrow, OK	P 51D	Miracle Maker Silver/Red Nose	8:33.38	347.902*****
*Cut Pylon Outer 6 on Pace Lap plus 14 second penalty **Cut Pylon Outer 2 on Lap 1, Cut Pylons Outer 6 and Outer 7 on Pace Lap plus 42 second penalty ***Cut Pylon Outer 1 on Lap 1 plus 14 second penalty ****Cut Pylons Outer 6 and Outer 7 on Pace Lap plus 28 second penalty *****Speed calculated on 6 laps completed
POSTED 1633

     
 

RENO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2002 UNLIMITED RESULTS GOLD 8 LAPS
				RACE TIME RACE SPEED
4	Skip Holm Calabasas, CA	P 51D	Dago Red Red/Yellow/White	8:30.12	466.834
232	Michael Brown Carson City, NV	Hawker Sea Fury	September Fury Bare	8:42.28	455.965
5	Matt Jackson Calabasas, CA	P 51D	Voodoo Purple/Yellow/Green	9:06 68	435.614
45	Bill Rheinschild Sun Valley, 10	P 51D	Risky Business Natural Metal & Grey	9:34.53	414.498
22	Stu Eberhardt Danville, CA	P 51D	Merlins Magic Silver/Military	9:35.28	413.957
105	Stewart Dawson Celina, TX	Hawker Sea Fury FB 1 I	Spirit of Texas Dark Grey/Light Grey	8:39.68	400.966*
99	Robert "Hoot" Gibson Murfreesboro, TN	Hawker Sea Fury	Riff Raff Red & White	8.48.48	394.289*
7	Bill Destefani Bakersfield, CA	P 51 D	Strega Red/White	DID NOT FINISH LAP I
*Speed calculated on 7 laps completed
POSTED 1705

 
     
Conclusions:

All-in-all, another successful Reno. Dago Red is clearly at the top of the heap and at the present appears to be unassailable. Scuttlebutt in the pits suggested that this would be Bill 'Tiger' Destafani's last year. However, one gets the feeling that Bill will be back campaigning as hard as ever next year. If Rare Bear can get a well funded and cohesive crew together then this aircraft is clearly another top contender. Unfortunately, the Rare Bear has been beset with personnel and financial problems for the last couple of years. Still, with a fresh rebuilt R-3350, maybe the Bear can return to its former glory ® let's hope so. But one thing is for sure, you cannot operate a top unlimited racer on a poverty program; it needs to be well funded with top talent in a supporting role. Anything less and the effort is doomed to failure. Michael Brown's efforts in the highly modified Sea Fury #232 September Fury impressed all who saw this ever improving racer go around the pylons. Although this report is focused on the Unlimiteds, it should be recognized that the day will dawn when these over boosted and over stressed R-3350s' and Merlins will no longer be able to hold their own. And so what will replace these warriors? One need look no further than the Sport class. Daryl Greenamayer's lap speed of almost 350 mph in this years Sport Class puts him right among the Silver class of the Unlimiteds. In a few years I could envision the top Sport Class racers graduating to the Unlimited class and in time taking over from existing aircraft. It should be remembered that with the value of warbirds where it is, it is highly unlikely that any will be converted to racers any time soon. This leaves the option of the top Sport class taking over, or; purpose built racers being built such as the late great Tsunami. But designing and building a purpose built racer takes mega-bucks and the monetary rewards, even if one wins, are miniscule.
In the mean time, every one now has their work cut out for them with the bar being raised to a new level. Dago Red has clearly shown that a 500mph lap is now achievable. Next will be a 500mph race average. Interestingly, years ago the naysayers claimed that a 500 mph lap at Reno was impossible. Another myth debunked. As always, lots to look forward to at Reno with never a dull moment.



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