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Surprise on the apron: the Hispano
HA-1112 of Harold Kindsvater really stimulated the imaginations of some airracing fans. |
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Test run for the team of "Miss
America" after the new engine was fitted. For the first time the "Miss A"
was supposed not to fly with the serial engine. |
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After the Bouchon from the Planes of Fame
Museum was damaged during the shooting of the "Pearl Harbour" Movie in 2000,
this Bouchon is the last one remaining in the USA. |
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Till late in the evening work was done on
the Yak-11 "Miss Trinidad". |
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If this rudder would have impressed the
unlimited racers? Unfortunately the fans couldn`t find out because the Bouchon remained as
if glued at its position for the whole week... |
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Until a few years ago the legendary Bob
Hoover performed breathtaking shows with the P-51 "Old Yeller". Now this famous
Mustang is owned by John Bagley. |
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On the other end of the apron a lot more
action took place. The music of the mighty R-3350 engine with it´s 4000hp roared for
hours in the ears. |
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One of the undisputable stars at Reno
2002 was the P-63 of John Bagley. This plane is an absolute rarity. |
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Even though the team had worked
very hard the "Rare Bear" was not ready to take part in the qualifying. So the
fans could only admire her on the ground and even there she was always the centre of
attention. |
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It`s just amazing - the P-63 is ready for
action. John Bagley likes the authentic look into even into the closest
detail. |
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#4 Dago Red during an engine test run.
The Dago-Team used every minute to work on their aircraft... |
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A glance into the cockpit of the P-36
Kingcobra. Here you can really talk about a "watch-collection"... |
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No racer but a very beautiful Mustang is
the "Dove of Peace" owned by the chief mechanic of the Miss America Team. |
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"Precious Metal" on engine
start-up of the Rolls-Royce "Griffon". Flames burst from the exhausts while the
contrarotating propellers start to turn. |
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Larry likes it comfortable - his
"Dove of Peace" has besides it`s autopilot also an air condition. |
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#99 "Riff Raff" starts it´s
engines producing a lot of smoke. This is quite normal for radial engines due to the oil
that collects in the lower cylinders. |
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The Sea Fury "Furias", piloted
by Art Vance is powered by a mighty R-4360 radial engine with 28 cylinders and over 70l of
cubic capacity. The white propeller blades really improve the optics. |
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Bill "Tiger" Destefani's #7
"Strega", the toughest competitor of the last years champion "Dago
Red". The engine test run of the witch was quite promising. |
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Steve Appleton taxiing behind the #7
"Strega" with his Hawker "Hunter". |
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"Six Shooter", a competitor in
the AT-6 class on the apron in the evening. |
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Julie Clark taxies with her T-34 Mentor
to the runway. She was one of the performers that filled the time between the races with
their aerobatics. |
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Bob Button's #5 "Voodoo"
wearing one of the most unusal paint schemes of all the aircrafts in the Unlimited
Class. |
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They don`t taxi, they are taxied: the
aircrafts of the Formula 1 are so light weighted that they can be carried by hand to the
start. |
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The team "Voodoo" around it`s
pilot Matt Jackson had not much work to do - the aircraft was as reliable as a
clockwork. |
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Lady Jo, piloted by Robert Patterson, is
a two seater Mustang that can be recognized by it`s extended cockpit. Here you can also
watch a formation of T-6 flying over the airfield in the sunset. |
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A premiere for a new race class in 2002:
the L-39 Albatros. Here the "Firecat" on the Apron. |
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"Merlins Magic", flown by Jim
Eberhardt. The lowered flaps reflect the evening sun. |
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