I have been into aircraft basically since before I could walk...My father worked on aircraft at NAS/NARF Alameda....Around 1975-6 I started to buy AC magazines like Air Classics, and saw articles on the Unlimited racing, mainly in Reno, NV....wanted to go but had a lot on my plate...

My favorite airplane was the RB-51...A WW2 Mustang that had raced for years- modified a bit, then Ed Browning bought it and hired two Lockheed engineers to design modifications to it; Wings clipped, smaller cockpit and the really crazy mod; A Griffin 57 bomber engine with counter-rotating props.

A young man named Steve Hinton was flying it and winning a lot of the races- and in 1979 set the speed record for a recip aircraft at 499.018 MPH- bad weather limited the runs and performance. With better weather they believed the plane could hit 530.

At Reno that year, Steve was flying in an unlimited race when something went wrong- basically the shaft that drove the supercharger and the oil pump failed....the oil pressure controlled the prop pitch- this resulted in the props going to FLAT pitch (Like having a barn door on the front of the aircraft!)

Steve was trying to make an emergency runway, but RB-51 was being slowed and fell from the sky- his last words were 'Tell Karen I love her!" (His fiancée in the pits) The plane dropped below the end of the runway- Huge ball of fire and smoke....

His crew jumped in an old wagon (Parts chaser) and raced down the runway, clearing the 6-foot fence below the edge of the runway by driving off the end at high speed (Car was wrecked). They found he had survived!

The plane had hit a big boulder and the wings (Fuel tanks) had separated...The engine had pulled the fuselage clear of the fire- by the time it came to rest, the fuselage had disintegrated...The only aircraft part identifiable was the vert fin. Steve had several broken bones, but recovered. The fuselage on P-51s is well known to come apart in crashes, so the year before the crash they had strengthened the cockpit.



Painting I did in 1978 of the RB-51;



Several years later, he was back at Reno, flying a Super Corsair (With the Corncob/R-4360 engine)...He Won the trophy in 1985.

By the way, Steve married Karen, and had a son who, in 2009, became the youngest to win the Reno Championship (at 22)

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 11-26-2022).]

A Corsair crashed here in 1994, the pilot survived.

I was really looking forward to seeing that plane for several reasons, but I couldn’t get out there until the following day. On Sunday they held off all of the Unlimiteds until the end of the day. The plane crashed into the GM proving grounds while employees were present and GM said, “Never again.”

As you will see in the video, the pilot (who had never before used a parachute) opened the canopy and climbed out. He was slapped by the tail and broke a bunch of bones before he even got to the ground.



https://worldwarwings.com/p...air-during-air-race/

Pretty cool story. I also had no idea you could change the pitch of the blades on the prop. I guess it's a lot like on a helicopter. Learned something new!

This is the Corsair that crashed in Mesa in 1994. It was sponsored by All Coast Forest Products. (people in California who chop down trees)



Here is a detailed description of the crash from the perspective of the pilot: https://www.aopa.org/news-a...uly/pilot/pilots-(6)

[This message has been edited by williegoat (edited 11-26-2022).]

I believe that is the same Corsair that Steve Hinton flew in 1985.

The prop on "Modern" aircraft (1930 on) had a "Power lever" that controlled engine power and prop pitch....basically, the engine stayed at the same RPM and the blade changed pitch to absorb more power.....You would "Flat pitch" the prop while on the ground running the engine (No thrust) and if you had an engine problem in flight you could "feather" the prop to create less drag to aid in gliding to a landing.

I worked on the last Recip/Radial-engine aircraft in the Navy back in 1979; The C-1A (Modified from S-2 anti-submarine aircraft)...Which was kind of dumb since I was trained in Avionics and the C-1A had (Basically) no electronics...But hey, I got to clean the wheel wells (I was a soggy mess)

quote Originally posted by cvxjet: I believe that is the same Corsair that Steve Hinton flew in 1985.

His group still owned it at the time of the crash.

That P-38 was flown by Lefty Gardner...He was well known to fly extremely low- once they found BARBED WIRE lodged in his wingtip!



I saw both Rare-Bear and that P-51 w/contra-rotating props at Reno back around 2000

My father helped hold an F8F before take-off, so it could do a short take-off (Shortest take-off by conventional aircraft back in the late 40s...)

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 11-26-2022).]

That is some crash survival story! When my ship comes in, I'd like to trade it for this little beauty, a Lockheed Electra L10

quote Originally posted by Notorio: That is some crash survival story! When my ship comes in, I'd like to trade it for this little beauty, a Lockheed Electra L10 CLICK FOR FULL SIZE

That plane always makes me think of Amelia Earhart.

It really makes me mad that they searched everywhere NORTH of her flight path but did not search Gardner (Nikumaroro) Island until much later. That was almost guaranteed where she ended up- they even (Later) found a skeleton of a thin Caucasian male....when the autopsy was reviewed years later it was stated that it might have been a female skeleton (But the skeleton had been lost) (Arrrgggghhhhhhh!)

They also found a few artifacts that may have belonged to Earhart.

quote Originally posted by williegoat: That plane always makes me think of Amelia Earhart.

I just fell in love with her 1937 Cord 812 (?). Where might that car be today ...

quote Originally posted by Notorio: I just fell in love with her 1937 Cord 812 (?). Where might that car be today ...

https://www.hemmings.com/st...rhart-1937-cord-812/

https://thejbscollection.co...phaeton-convertible/

USAF and Northrup 'unveiled' their new stealth bomber. B-21 Raider. Not much revealed about it and won't be in full production for some time yet.

quote The first flight of the B-21 isn't expected until 2023. Six models are currently in various stages of final development at Northrop Grumman's facility in Palmdale, California. The aircraft shown at the tightly-controlled unveiling ceremony on Friday (Dec. 2) will be first used for ground testing of its engines and subsystems before any of the advanced bombers take to the sky.

https://www.space.com/air-f...aider-stealth-bomber

quote Originally posted by williegoat: https://www.hemmings.com/st...rhart-1937-cord-812/ https://thejbscollection.co...phaeton-convertible/

What a great story and happy ending for her car! Thanks for posting. What an experience it must be to work in a restoration shop like that!

I know the story behind this photo, but I'll just leave it here for your puzzlement..

Gotta like a Sky Raider!

https://theaviationgeekclub...-bomb-north-vietnam/

[This message has been edited by olejoedad (edited 12-09-2022).]

DH 98 Mosquito


edit to point to :
Composite Engineering success history.
Much more information about the cellulose composite construction design.
Balsa Cored birch plywood sandwich construction.
Stash of deHavilland Mosquito Plans Discovered
Twin Packard Merlin Powered
21st century Mahogany Veneer with Balsa Core


' Designing and building a quad engined monocoque aircraft in 1936, the de Havilland DH.91 Albatross '
, Did the Gypsy V12 engines too.


Kermit Weeks' Mosquito B35

[This message has been edited by Valkrie9 (edited 03-28-2024).]

quote Originally posted by Valkrie9: The Wooden Plane That Terrorized The Luftwaffe DH 98 Mosquito

"...good Canadian wood"

Who knew that a wooden plane could've been so important for the Allies in WW2. Thanks for posting that.