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National Championship Air Races 2005

Reno / Nevada

- by Gerhard Schmid, translation by Jurgen Binnemans -

The Reno Air Races began in September 1964 with three racing classes, using the dirt runway of 2000 ft in length at the dusty "Sky Ranch". One of these classes was the "Formula One".

When in the Unlimited Class the engine performances go up to 4.000 HP, in the Formula One Class strict regulations are imposed. All participants must use the same engine, a Continental O-200 with 100 HP. That is the same engine installed in the popular Cessna 150. The airplanes of the Formula One Class -with this engine and fixed propeller - reach a maximum speed that doubles the speed of the Cessna 150. There are further regulations for the surface of the wings (66 square feet) and on the empty weight (min. 500 pounds).

The Formula One Class is dominated by two types of aircraft: the Cassutt and the Shoestring Racer. Each team makes their own modifications, according to the regulations described above. This year 24 participants raced in the F-1 Class.


#2 Engine test: a mechanic holds the Shoestring "Okie Swinger" of George Budde firmly at the vertical stabilizer. Because the engines of the F1 class are all alike, the smallest refinement counts.
#11 Beside the very large number of Cassutt Racers the Arnold AR-6 #11 "Endeavour" from David Hoover immediately catches the eye with its very modern design. The machine doesn't only look fast, already in the first year of participation David took the second place in the gold class with 250,7 mph.
#2 George Butte with his #2 "Okie Swinger" at an average speed of 209,3 mph. The race was on Saturday lasting 8 rounds and was over 25,5 miles long. He came in 7th in the silver race.
duel One of the many interesting duels in the Formula One is seen in this photo. Scotty Crandlemire with #12 "Outrageous" is attacked by Jason Somes with #4 "Alley Cat".
#69 Charlie Greer with his Gilbert DG-1 #69 "Miss B. Haven ". Like the Shoestring of George Budde this is also a modern F-1 Racer made of composite building materials. Thus there are more flowing design forms possible compared to the wooden Cassutt Racers.
#12 With its glittering metallic paint #12 "Outrageous" is a beautiful sight. Scotty Crandlemire flew the Cassutt III M to a fourth place in the gold class.
#69 In the evening after the races, #69 "Miss B. Haven "is still worked on until sunset, trying to increase her performance. In the final 223.5 mph where sufficient for the 6th place in the gold class.
#33 Again a Cassutt III M. The Formula One Class is clearly dominated by this type. Here Ed Dutreaux with his #33 "Slingshot".
#37 On the fuselage of the Cassutt III M #37 "Mohave Green" it became clear that this is a fabric-covered wooden construction. Pilot Roger A. Keeney is Boeing 747 captain - retired.
F1 duel Ray Debs attacks with his white "carbon slipper". He has to come out of the flight path of Ed Dutreaux and overtake him. The rules are like this and it is the only way he can keep Ed with the number 33 in his eye.
#4 With a speed of 240, 2 mph Jason Somes succeeded with his Owl OR71 #4 "Alley Cat" to get in third in the gold class.
#40 The third place in the Silver Class was occupied by David Roelofs from Prescott, Arizona with the #40 "Miss USA", a Jensen Cassutt Racer.
#43 From Chesterfield, Montana comes engineer John Housley into the desert of Nevada with the Cassutt #43 "Aero Magic". He became the winner of the bronze class at 216,5 mph. The machine is a Reno veteran. In 1982 Jon Sharp won the gold in the F-1 class.
#44 This time it is not a Cassutt: the #44 "Judy" is a Shoestring and flown by Holbrook Maslen. With 226, 2 mph Holbrook became the winner of the Silver Class. The Shoestring airplanes have a long history just like the Cassutts. From 1968 until 1975 Ray Cote won eight times in a row with his Shoestring.
#45 This is how a classical F-1 Racer looks: the Cassutt III M is the most flown airplane in this class. In the cockpit of the #45 "Quadnickel" sits Jay D. Jones. Only about 2 mph slower than John Housley, he came in second in the bronze class.
#50 Airline pilot Birch Entriken flies a modified Cassutt #50 "Scarlet Screamer". He was qualified for the gold race. However he could not start on Sunday.
#54 The Texan Gary W. Davis with his Cassutt III M #54 "Midnight Lightning" at pylon 5. His average speed of 225, 7 mph on Saturday was sufficient for the second place in the Silver class.
#57 Steve Temple passes pylon 5. Steve reached 235, 8 mph with his modified Cassutt Racer and reached fifth place in the gold class.
#81 Idaho borders with Nevada. From the capital Boise, Ray Debs came with his Debs-Weinman 001 Racer #81 "Carbon Slipper ". Here is Ray at pylon 5.
#57 The close-up of #57 "Aggressor" shows that the crew sealed joints and transitions with tape to avoid turbulences. The rudder column is also covered with plastic strips as on gliders.
#81 The close-up of "Carbon Slipper " shows the thin profile of the wings. Ray Debs came in 4th in the silver class with 218, 5 mph.
#13 With 176, 9 mph Brian Reberry in his Cassutt III M #13 "N-A-Rush" came in last in the F-1 class. So it was 75 mph slower than the winner Gary Hubler.
#96 201, 9 mph brought Steve Senegal also in a Cassutt III M Racer #96. "Miss Demeanor" took the third place in the bronze Class. The multicolour finish makes this Cassutt an eye catcher.
#95 And this is the winner of the Formula One Class. For the fourth time in a row Gary Hubler is the F-1 Champion. Here Gary is seen in his modified Cassutt III M #95 "Mariah" at pylon 5.

Continue to...   >>>Part 2

 

 

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