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Bob Button's P-51D Mustang #7
"Voodoo" immediately catches the eye with her very remarkable paint job. Here
Bob is strapped in by the crew. The straw hat is taken off a little bit later and replaced
by his helmet. |
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The five time Space-Shuttle pilot Robert
"Hoot" Gibson climbs into the cockpit of Mike Keenum's Hawker Sea Fury #99
"Riff Raff". |
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Here Bob taxies to the holding point 08 for
Qualifying. Unfortunately a little bit later he pulled out of the race after a
"Mayday" due to engine problems. For Team Voodoo the 2005 Races were over before
they even really started. |
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Hoot always flies on the ideal line. By doing
this he keeps a pleasant distance from the Pylons, ideal for photographers. Thanks Hoot!
423,6 mph where sufficient for the fourth place. |
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Although Dan Martin's P-51D #20 "Ridge
Runner " outwardly looks quite stock, she is nevertheless one of the fastest Mustangs
in the field. Dan was 443 mph fast in qualifying. It was the third-fastest time. |
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Beside Brent Hisey's "Miss America
", Stewart Dawson's Hawker Sea Fury #105 "Spirit Of Texas" has quite a
patriotic painting. With 430,4 mph Stewart occupied the third place. |
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In the final race on Sunday Dan pulled out of
the race in the third lap with engine problems. Just before this he had an exciting race
with Stewart Dawson's "Spirit Of Texas". |
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She ranks among the fastest in the field of
the Unlimited Racers: "Dreadnought" - the powerful, R-4360 28 cylinders Radial
engine powered Sea Fury. Brian Sanders steered her to the second place with 448,8 mph. |
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Here the duel: "Ridge Runner" vs.
"Spirit Of Texas". Dan Martin's Mustang shows a clear vapor trail. It's the
result of distilled water, being poured over the heat exchangers in the belly of the P-51,
for better cooling. |
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The famous Grumman F-8F2 of Lyle Shelton is
being prepared for the race. The crew throws a last investigating look into the landing
gear bays. The pilot is once again the experienced John Penney. |
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The respected and last place in the final race
was occupied by Fred Cabanas with the #103 "Conch Fury". For a first year
participation in the Races this is a truly remarkable result! |
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After a long period of many technical and
financial problems the "Rare Bear" is finally at the top again. Here John Penney
taxies to the start. With the clipping of the wings you can see that ailerons have become
quite small. |
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The soft evening light brings the colorful
two-seat Hawker Sea Fury #911 "September Pops" to its right. It is one of three
Unlimited Racers that Mike Brown brings each year to Reno. |
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#77 "Rare Bear" passes the home
pylon. The short wings and the sealed landing flaps are very recognizable. And also very
typical the black oil trace on the fuselage. |
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Some last maintenance work in the evening. The
mechanics test everything again and again. Even the smallest annoyances are repaired. A
good preparation for the next day is already half the race... |
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John Penney was with 466,3 mph nearly 20 mph
faster than "Dreadnought". It was the ninth victory of the team around Lyle
Shelton with the famous Bearcat since start of the Reno Air Races. This was the third
victory for John Penney. |
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400, 1 mph was "September Pops"
fastest speed on Sunday and occupied thereby the 7th place. At the stick was
Dan Vance, the second pilot besides owner Mike Brown. |
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And this is how the surface of an airplane
looks, that just before flew with 750 km/h around the pylons. |
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Bill Rheinschild has only one airplane in the
Races since he is restoring his fast Mustang "Risky Businesses". With his Sea
Fury #117 "Bad Attitude" he also flies in the Gold ... |
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On the other hand the now already several
years continuing streak of bad luck doesn't seem to end for Team Strega. Bill
"Tiger" Destefani came well prepared with his fast Mustang to Reno... |
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... and Bill occupied this year the sixth
place with a speed of 403,5 mph. |
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...but with the first test flights metal
abrasion was found in the oil filter. Strega pilot Curt Brown, the second Space-Shuttle
pilot in the Unlimited Class, waited patiently for the result of the examinations ... |
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Ezell Nelson flies here with the Sea Fury #13
"Fury", the second airplane of the experienced Warbird pilot Howard Pardue, in
the Unlimited Races. 414,1 mph brought the 5th place for Ezell. |
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As the engine was opened it was certain: the
bearings of the crankshaft had a defect. Double bad luck: the bearings of the spare engine
originated from the same series... |
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A view of the race course seen from the public
grandstand. The spectators can see the entire course with its length of 8,4803 miles from
here and follow the Unlimited Racers going around the course. |
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So the fans had to be happy with looking at
the six fold Unlimited Gold winner and favourite for 2005 in the pit. |
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