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Low and close - that is what Reno Air Racing
fans want to see. With these exciting duels of the biplane class the spectator gets value
for his money... |
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The basis of the extremely modified #62
"Phantom" of Andrew Buehler and Tom Aberle is a Mong Sport. But there isn't much
left of it. But all the trouble of modifying was worth it. With 230,8 mph Andrew Buehler
flew into first place - with 10 mph lead to the second place. |
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Together with the Formula One Class the
Biplanes share the smallest course. It is 3.17 miles long. Six rounds per race. So the
bipes fly a total of 19 miles. |
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Place 2 in the biplane Gold Class was for
Jeffrey Lo with the #13. His Pitts LR 1 is also extensively modified. Look at the wings! |
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That is not a formation flight! Here is an
exciting fight for the best places along the way. Larry Teuber starts to overtake with his
black Pitts S-1S #18 "Wily Cock". |
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A frightening experience for the spectators
and probably also for Jeffrey Lo. As he flies into the slipstream of airplanes ahead of
him, his LR 1 seems out of control for a few seconds. Close to the deck Jeffrey could
regain control and stayed in the race. |
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A look over the shoulder shows that both
overtaken machines drop back. The distance between them becomes larger and larger... |
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For Stephen Brown the Reno Races are a home
game. He lives in this gambling city. With 209,7 mph Stephen landed his Pitts S-1 #00
"Tonopah Low" in the fourth place in the Gold Class. |
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With 180 mph Larry Teuber of Rapid City won
the biplane Bronze Class race. |
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This modified Mong is steered by Frank Jerant
around the course. The film producer from Salinas, California, reached the seventh place
in the Gold Class. |
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One of the two overtaken pilots is Mark Barber
with his Pitts S-1C #51 "Shortcut". With 15 mph behind Class winner Larry Teuber
Mark landed on the 5th place in the Bronze Class. |
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The eighth and last place in the biplane Gold
Class was occupied by Robert Vaccariello from Houston, Texas, with his Pitts S-1S #711
"Rollin ". With 183,9 mph Robert was 48 mph slower than the winner Andrew
Buehler with "Phantom". |
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Earl Allen, likewise overtaken by Larry
Teuber, came in second with his Pitts S-1S #42 "The Other Woman". |
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Here Tom Aberle passes pylon 5 with Ben
Buehler's Mong Sport #26 "Mistress". 165, 1 mph was enough for the sixth place
in the Bronze Class. A pretty relaxed race for Tom, who normally dominates the Gold Class
with his "Phantom". |
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Pitts and Mong dominate the Biplane Class. An
exception is the Smith Miniplane DSA-1 #77 "Rich's Brew" of Richard Beardsley
from Vacaville California. 164,9 mph was sufficient for the seventh place in the Silver
Class. |
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Jonathan Gourley and Tom Aberle fight for the
best places. In the end of the Bronze Class race Jonathan had clearly the nose in front. |
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Jonathan Gourley flew with his Pitts S-1C #2
"Johnny Rocket" in the Bronze Class and got the third place. He flew with a
speed of 171,3 mph and was thus faster than the pilots who came in last in the Silver
Class. |
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"Eightball", Carl Gruber and his
black Pitts S-1C #8. With 164,8 mph he came in second last in the Bronze Class. |
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Winner in the Silver Class was Michael Davis.
Like most pilots Michael flies a Pitts S-1S. With his #28 "G-Whiz" he was
leading the Silver Class with a speed of 189,4 mph. |
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In the cockpit of this Pitts S-1S sits Marilyn
Dash, the only woman in the Biplane Class. Marilyn flew into the last place at a speed of
145,9 mph in the Bronze Class. |
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Tony M. Higa is an airplane mechanic. The
Californian also flies a Pitts S-1S. Tony came in fourth in the Bronze Class race. |
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This picture shows Earl Allen, with his #42 on
the outer line in order to pass the slower Mike Barber in #51. |
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With "Bar Code", his Pitts S-1S
#111, Bob Blackwood is a regular participant of the Reno Races. This year Bob, here at the
pylon 5, came in third in the Silver Class. |
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Almost a standard plane with small
modifications, but these are enough for the third place in the gold Class. You can see
this Pitts S-1S #27 "Magic" with Norman Way at the controls. |
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"Humm Baby" is the nickname of Jim
Smith's Pitts S-1S with starting number 50. At the end of an exciting race week, Jim
occupied the fifth place in the fastest group, the Gold Class. |
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Between races and in the evening the time is
used to fine-tune the engine in order to get the last out of it. |
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In order to fly in the Gold Class, pilot and
airplane must be above average. The pauses between races are used for maintenance and
testing, like seen here. |
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