FORMULA FORUM THE IF1 JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2010
FORMULA FORUM IF1 INC. Formula Forum 2010 International Formula One Pylon Air Racing, Inc. All rights reserved. Formula Forum is the official publication of International Formula One Pylon Air Racing, Inc., a Texas non-profit corporation. Member of the Air Racing Council of the United States. Published bi-monthly. DISCLAIMER FORUM CONTRIBUTIONS MEMBERSHIP RULES WEBSITE Articles appearing herein may be edited and are the opinion of the authors and not necessarily the opinion of IF1 Inc. Send contributions to: Editor, Lista Duren 3233 Via Alicante #48 La Jolla, CA 92037 Phone: 858-452-7112 Cell: 858-442-1811 E-mail: lduren@pacbell.net All contributions remain property of Formula Forum. Membership in IF1 is open to pilots, owners, crews and technical people active in Formula One Air Racing for $60/yr. Anyone may join as a non-voting Associate Member, $35/yr. Applications available from the secretary or on-line. For IF1 Technical and Procedure rules, check on-line at: www.if1airracing.com Jim Cunningham, Webmaster jjam_n262@netzero.net COVER PHOTOS Black and white photos in this issue take us back to the 1947 National Air Races and the first year of Goodyear Midget Racers. Photos by Emil A. Strasser. Film recently developed and printed by Gerald Liang EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SMOKEY YOUNG President 13089 Peyton Dr. C136 Chino Hills, CA 92709 909-548-0974 flies2fast@aol.com DOUG BODINE Vice President 821 E. Centennial St. Rapid City, SD 57701 605-393-7112 mei.cfii@gmail.com MARK A. JOHNSON Secretary/Treasurer 1670 Yosemite Ave. #104 Simi Valley, CA 93063 818-519-6402 markajohnson59@yahoo. com DIRECTORS BOB BEMENT Operations Director 7320 Old Stage Trail Kelsey, CA 95667 530-622-1434 rbement@wildblue.net *Note corrected email addresses for Jack Suierveld and Jay Jones Volume XXI Number 3 CONTENTS TOM DEHART Technical Director 5220 Walton Dr. Klamath Falls, OR 97603 541-882-1589 flyfastflylow@fireserve.net JACK SUIERVELD Technical Rules Committee Chairperson 216 Lemmon Drive Reno, NV 89506 theearthrider@hotmail.com ED DUTREAUX Procedure Rules Committee Chairperson 840 Jefferson Ct. San Mateo, CA 94401 650-347-6297 edutro@astound.net KIRK MURPHY Pilot Committee Chairperson 6140 Christa Lynn Pl. Prescott, AZ 86310 928-710-3105 murphyk79@aol.com JAY JONES Promotions Committee Chairperson P.O. Box 761 Buena Vista, CO 81211 719-661-4484 Quadnickelracer@gmail.com 3 President s Page Smokey Young 4 Vice President s Report Doug Bodine 5 Book Review Gene Hubbard 6 1947 E.A. Strasser Photos Gerald Liang 10 IF1 Marketplace June 30 July 30 Sep 12-15 Sep 15-19 Reno 2010 Calendar Applications due Submit documents Practice and Qual Reno Air Races 2 FORMULA FORUM, MAY 2010
As many of you may have realized, our IF1 website has been down for over a month. The victim of hackers our site became road kill on the information super highway. I hadn t realized how much we rely on our site until it was gone. Among other things, the site has been an excellent vehicle for disseminating information to the membership. Rest assured we have been working to get the site going again. We basically needed a new domain name and a new host for our site. Webmaster Jim Cunningham has done a great job of finding all of this for us and our new site is under construction. We hope to have it up and running again very soon. One of the most important functions of our site is that it serves as a central location for International Formula 1 Technical Rules, Procedural Rules and Bylaws. Because some very important changes have been made to our Technical Rules for the 2011 race season, it is imperative we ensure the membership has access to these rules. To that end we will provide each team at Reno a CD copy of the Technical Rules and Procedural Rules for 2011. I must stress, the changes do not affect Reno for this year as they will go into effect January 1, 2011. Another change just came through my email this morning and it affects the Pylon Racing Seminar. Although most of you will not read these words until after PRS, it may affect you in the future. It is now a requirement that anyone attending PRS meets all race requirements for the class prior to school start. In particular we are looking at total time and time in type. Remember, if you are a new racer President s Page: Class Presidents Meeting you are required to have ten hours total time in the airplane you intend to race. For returning racers transitioning to a different type of aircraft, the requirement is for five hours in type. Participation at PRS is forecast to be fair this year. We have two true rookies coming in to learn the skills necessary to compete. Some great news is that a veteran of the course and an air racing legend is coming back to re-qualify. Ray Cote will be there and the rumor I have heard is he will be flying Holbrook Maslen s Judy. In addition we have four returning racers coming back to practice on the course. Many of you may have seen my racer, Sly Dog up for sale on the web site and in the Forum. I will not be racing at Reno this year in number 3. This is not due to a lack of commitment to Reno or Formula 1 racing. I will be at PRS and the races this year, but purely functioning as the Class President. Sly Dog has been taken off the market and I will return to Reno with her in 2011. I had initially thought of selling her because I was looking at moving to another racing class. I have reconsidered that decision. The reason we will not be racing at Reno in the fall is due to the airplane being prepared to break some of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) Class C1a closed course speed records. To break the records we seek, the airplane will be changed to a configuration that will not pass 2010 technical inspection. The decision to attempt these records was business based. As many of you know I also race with Aero GP overseas and do some airshow flying. The record Continued, bottom of page 4. Smokey Young Sly Dog has been taken off the market and I will return to Reno with her in 2011. FORMULA FORUM, MAY 2010 3 Photo by Bill Rogers
VP Report: PRS Not Just for Rookies Doug Bodine Just a collection of scuttle for this issue. Drop me a line if you get a moment. 4 Photo by Bill Rogers Summer is finally here in S. Dakota. That means it only snows once a week. With June on our doorstep, the big news is PRS. I hear John H. is teaching again, which is good for IF1, and the turnout is not too bad. Kirk should be there, and Smokey may stop by. Smokey and another class pres are working on a new bit of race crew recognition, and may have an announcement by PRS stay tuned. Brian Reberry has a break that lines up with PRS dates and volunteered to make the trip down and help out too. Speaking of Reberry, Scott Adams seconded a rumor that he sold his plane. But the good news side is that the purchaser is taking it to PRS, so you ll still be able to get your multicolor fix in the IF1 hangar. The Watkins-Machowski Canadian Dynamic Duo may be compete against each other. Larry bought a red Cassutt last fall and took it to the land of the Maple Leaf. Tom was working a deal for a Cassutt as Reno was winding down last year, and he always mentions his EZ. So where does that leave the lime green racer? My guess is Larry will race it. We ll see. Route 66 must be wicked fast this year cause Dan Peters is already lipping off. I just hope he has a placard reminding him to latch the canopy before take-off. I know Jim Jordan has been doing some engine work. I am anxious to see what he turns out. When I was in the Air Force, Judy was brevity for Yeah, thanks, but I got it from here Kind of like a GCA Knock it OFF. I wonder if there is a secondary meaning there for Ray Cote s plane? Rumor says you FORMULA FORUM, MAY 2010 will be able to ask him about it in the pit this year. So, what up, Ray? Has Judy been in the air? Phillip Goforth (and multiply our winnings) may be slapping a new nose on his Knotty Gurl. Hopefully it will slow him down a couple knotties. Maybe he can make one for SCARLET! Yes, there it is I said it: Scarlet Screamer may be screaming for someone else in 2010 I don t know, cause Gary only calls to let me know I m porking it by not having the website encrypted at 128bits. Did you see Heartbreak Ridge? If so, you are familiar with the phrase Bring out the Swede. About that website Thanks to Jim for all his patience and hard work on it. He is a self-taught webmaster. Look for the site to be active soon. Well, there it is. Just a collection of scuttle for this issue. Drop me a line if you get a moment: mei.cfii@gmail.com Jethro President s Page (cont.) flights are in support of that side of my racing business. Again, I am fully committed to IF1 and Reno. I just figured Steve Temple needed a break from looking at the back end of my airplane for a year! Also, Michael Kenner can t sing beat Smokey in the pre-race issue this September, but instead I can write beat Michael Kenner. As always I hope all is well for each and every one of you. If there is anything I can ever do to help, or if you have an idea to make the organization better, call or email me. Smokey
Don Berliner has been hanging around air racing for a long time. I remember his articles in American Aircraft Modeler. from the 60s and 70s. By then he was already a veteran. His new book, Airplane Racing: A History, 1909-2008, describes the first 100 years of air racing; it s author watched more than half of them personally. This book combines a synopsis of every important race in the last hundred years with a few stories that highlight the turning points in the sport. These narratives make the book unique. Berliner was actually there at some of these junctures; others you only feel like he must have been there. Air Racing has always been different. Always expensive to run, not a lot of participants, not a lot of venues, and spectator interest ranging from wild enthusiasm to indifference. I learned quite a few things from the book. In the first races, the engines were so unreliable that all racing was done against the clock and the pilots were given blocks of several hours to make their attempts on the course. Under this system a single pilot could fly more than one plane in the same race, as Henri Farman did in the firstever race at Reims, France, in 1909. Racing enthusiasm developed faster than aircraft reliability. Less than two years after the first race at Reims, 51 competitors gathered for the 1000 mile Circuit of Europe Air Race through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England, crossing the English Channel twice. The race brought out Europe s best aviators, along with a lot of those better qualified to be spectators, Book Review: Airplane Racing by Don Berliner competing for public adulation, self-esteem, recognition by one s peers--and by the way, a major share of the $91,500 purse. The race started at Vincennes, where the crowd was estimated at 100,000 to 400,000, and was held back by 6000 mounted police. The race had nine stages spread over three weeks. Forty-two planes started, 18 finished the first leg, and 8 completed the entire race, only one with his original engine. A good crew and corporate sponsorship made all the difference then too. For me, the highlight of the book was Chapter 21, where the author describes his part in the revival of air racing at Reno in 1964: The first clue that someone could pull off the unthinkable came completely out of the blue in October 1963, in the form of a letter to the Professional Race Pilots Association (PRPA) from University of Nevada Engineering Professor Klaus Neilsen. He wanted a set of specifications for the 190 cu. in. class (the Goodyear Midget Racers) so his students could design and build an airplane to be raced at Reno in 1964. Forty-five years later, the Reno Air Races have become the longest running series of pylon racing ever and draw about as many competitors as air racing ever has. Berliner rightly points out clouds on the current Air Race horizon, but he makes it clear that the sport s outlook has never been CAVU. The book is worth reading, and it will make you want to find out more about some of the personalities involved. I ll close with a trivia question: which came first, the Cassutt 11 or the Cassutt 111? Hint: there are no typos in the previous sentence. Review by Gene Hubbard The [Circuit of Europe] race brought out Europe s best aviators, along with a lot of those better qualifi ed to be spectators, Don Berliner Airplane Racing, A History 1909-2008 McFarland & Co., Inc., Publishers www.mcfarlandpub.com Orders: 800-253-2187 FORMULA FORUM, MAY 2010 5
1947 IF1 Photos by E.A. Strasser #3 Little Tony. Aluminum with red trim. One of three Cosmic Winds built by LeVier & Associates. Flown by Tony LaVier to place 4th at 157.851 mph. Now under restoration in Washington state. #5 Swee Pea. Cream and green. Art Chester s 2nd race plane. Open nose spinner with cooling fan. Steel tube fuselage and plywood wing. Canopy opened sliding forward. Flown by Paul Penrose to place 2nd at 165.393 mph. Sold to Lynn Kaufold and raced as #7 Sky Baby. Now stored in Southern California. #10 Minnow. Yellow and black. Second of original three Cosmic Winds. Flown by Herman Fish Salmon to place 3rd at 157.851 mph. Placed 1st in 1948 as #4 (N21C) Minnow with wheelpants. A 1949 experiment making this a mid-wing racer did not increase speed. Old #4 was restored. New #6 Miss Cosmic Wind was created using the experimental fuselage and a new wing. Minnow is now under restoration in Peterborough, England. In the few months between publication of the Goodyear Midget Racer rules and the 1947 National Air Races, a handful of competitor built new planes, and more modified existing prewar racers with small displacement engines. All told, 18 midgets showed up at Cleveland, and 16 raced. One was disqualified and one crashed during qualifications. Emil Strasser became interested in aviation after Lindbergh s trans-atlantic flight in 1927 and started taking aircraft photos in 1930. He attended the 1947 races at Cleveland and photographed most of the Midgets during their first race series. When Strasser died in 1996, he left over 1,300 rolls of undeveloped film that were rescued, developed, and printed by Gerald Liang starting in the late 1990s. These 1947 images were scanned from prints provided to IF1 by Mr. Liang. The information in the captions comes from E.A. Strasser s notes, and from on-line sources including Warbird Information Exchange and Aerofi les.com. 6 FORMULA FORUM, MAY 2010
Printed by Gerald Liang #19 Suzie Jayne was a modifi ed pre-war Brown B-1. Ralph Bushey crashed the original plane while racing in 1934. Pilot Billie Robinson bought the partly restored wreckage from Tony LeVier and changed the engine and cowling to compete as a midget racer. He fi nished 6th at 143.865 mph. Externally braced wing and landing gear. Bright yellow. Currently in Wings Over Miami Aviation Museum, restored to its pre-war confi guration. #20 Buster. External wire bracing. Red with yellow numbers. Converted from Steve Wittman s Chief Oshkosh. Fourth engine, fi fth set of wings. Almost all fabric-covered. Spring landing gear patented by Steve Wittman. Lightest plane in 1947 race at 506 lbs. Pilot Bill Brennand weighed only 105 lbs. Finished 1st at 165.857 mph. Currently in the National Air & Space Museum. #39 Pftttt. Black with white trim. Built by Rod Nimmo and raced by Mike Argander. Strasser s notes indicate that he fi nished 5th in the Consolation race. Exposed cylinders. Parts were later used in #39 Deerfl y. FORMULA FORUM, MAY 2010 7
1947 IF1 Photos (continued) #44 Loose Special Silver. Built and raced by Warren Siem. Placed 5th at 151.270. Externally braced wing. Modifi ed from a 1935 radial engine Loose racer. Competed again in 1948 as Townsend A-1 Special. FAA registered until 2009. #70 Fliteways Special Yellow with red markings. Piloted by Charles Bing, fi nished 2nd in the Consolation race. Built by Ben White in 1947. Sideopening greenhouse canopy. Destroyed in testing in 1948. #81 Whistler. Yellow with red markings. Baby Bullet built by Perry Hansen from plans in 1934, modifi ed to the Goodyear formula by Jerry Francis in 1947. Piloted by Charles Bing, fi nished 2nd in the Consolation race. Wire-braced wing. Up-draft cooling. Rear half of rear canopy slides forward to open. Reported in Libonia, MI in 2008. 8 FORMULA FORUM, MAY 2010
#85 Hurlburt Hurricane. White with black numbers. Piloted by E.R. Smith, eliminated in the heat races. Heaviest of the 1947 Midgets at 662 lbs. Built by Marge Hurlburt, Anna Logan, & Mildred Caldwell. Currently being rebuilt at Murietta, CA. #89 The Falck Special Jeep was modifi ed from Art Chester s fi rst racer called Jeep. Silver with maroon trim. Externally braced wing. Won the 1947 Consolation race at 141.615 mph. #91 Falcon Special. The wing came off during qualifi cation. Pilot Claude Smith jumped from the plane and survived, but the plane was lost. #95 Californian. Silver with red numbers. Built by Ed Allenbaugh and raced by Dwight Dempster, place third in the Consolation race. Fiberglass fuselage cover. Plywood wing covered with linen. Now being restored in Sunnyvale, CA. FORMULA FORUM, MAY 2010 9
IF1 Marketplace AIRCRAFT FOR SALE Race #50, Scarlet Screamer has been sold. Scarlet s custom F1 trailer is still For Sale and is now available in Reno, NV. Call for details and pictures. $2900 OBO Prior to purchase of any aircraft, please contact the Technical Director for any IF1 rules or compliance items that may apply. 10 I have decided to retire from pylon air racing and Race #50, Scarlet Screamer is For Sale. If you, or someone you know is serious about racing in the top of the Gold this year give me a call. This airplane is quick off the line and fast on the course (2nd place Gold... Reno 2008 and 2009). It has the potential to be even faster with relatively easy modifications. Ready to race with trailer and newly developed HP carbon prop or your choice of Twisted Composite prop. $49,900 OBO Contact: Gary Davis 940-458-5515 texasflyer@hotmail.com SOLD Miss Demeanor, N96SR, Race 96 Race ready FLYING Formula one: Battery, Alternator, Starter, GPS, GRT EIS, MicroAir Radio and encoding transponder, NEW CYLINDERS AND PISTONS IN 2005, ENGINE OVERHAUL by LyCon in 2006 W/ NEW CASE, CRANKSHAFT, VALVES, ETC. Twisted Composites race prop. Sturba cruise prop. Uninstalled tapered horizontal stabilizer and elevators, produced by Craig Catto, designed to fly with Miss Demeanor s tapered wing. Sport fly during the year, race at Reno in September. Win the Silver, fly in the Gold! All for $35,500. Contact: Steve Senegal (650) 346-6967 ssenegal@sanbrunocable.com FORMULA FORUM, MAY 2010 CASSUTT WANTED Looking for an entry level, basic Formula One airplane to race at Reno. Must comply with IF1 technical rules. Contact Ira Saligman: (610) 324-5500 (Philadelphia) isaligman@saligman.com PROJECT PARTS & PRODUCTS CASSUTT PROJECT Stock wing, aluminum gear, cleveland brakes. Contact: George Budde (405) 733-1449 patbudde@earthlink.net Cassutt Racer Aircraft Kit/Project Plans. One piece wood spar. Welded fuselage frame (factory welded). Rudder complete Horizontal Stab to be completed. All wing ribs complete. Aircraft plywood for wing covering. Fiberglass canopy frame. Steel landing gear with Goodyear brakes, tires & tubes. Sufficient aircraft tubing, wood and plywood to complete the project. $3900 Contact: Laslo Zamolyi, Jr. Home: 610-746-2618 Cell: 610-746-2618 zamalama@aol.com EAA Chap. 70, EAA Technical Counselor CASSUTT PARTS National Aeronautics has Cassutt parts including Aluminum and Steel landing gear legs. cassutt.lornet.com Contact: Ib or Sue Hansen (303) 940-8442 cassutts@aol.com
If you have aircraft or other items for sale, or updates to your listing, please email Doug Bodine: jethro@rushmore.com Ads are free as a service to members Continental 0-200 stuff for sale: Twisted Composite Carbon Prop 54x64 used 12 times, wtih balancing kit $1900 Slick 4381 mag with induction $500 SAF-Air quick drain oil tank valve in package $20 8 Sabre prop spacer with custom nuts and bolts $300 Two flowed cylinders complete with valves and covers, grooved and need honing $150 each Tach housing with cover plate $35 Oil screen housing with screen $25 4 oversize pushrods SA537870P30 $ 80/set Push rods $5 each 24 Champion M40J plugs serviced by Champion at Reno 2009 $7.50 each All items located at Vancouver BC Shipping choices and costs are yours. Contact: Adrian Coop Cooper 604-328-1431 cooperairracing@gmail.com NAC Aircraft Display Mat (20ftx20ft) Plastic vinyl windscreen material with steel grommet boarder. Available colors: yellow, red, orange, green, blue, white, and black. Storage Bag Included Price: $300.00 plus ground shipping Contact: Tim Neubert 727.538.8744 TNeubert@airportnac.com Graphite Race Props Run One or Follow One Twisted Composites, LLC www.twistedcomposites.com Contact: Steve Hill (505) 832-1148 or (505)321-6467 carbonprop@mac.com NEW COMPOSITE PARTS Light Weight 9 Spinners, $90 Wheel Pants, $350. CASSUTT PARTS: Assorted Tail Feathers, call for Quote. LED Flashlights:Super Bright, Compact Size. Up to 155 hrs of run time on 2 AA Batteries, $32. 10% Discount to IF1 members Contact: Ray Sherwood (530) 626-6106 rayyjayy@aol.com Cassutt Projects and Inventory Cassutt 111M, 90% complete. Needs cowl and wing finished. Includes REBUILT engine. Cassutt 111M fully welded with tail assembly. Cassutt 111M wing needs skin. Cassutt 111M wing complete. Misc inventory: engine parts (3 O-200 engines), airframe parts and instruments, one sport prop. $15K for all. Contact: Gary and Linda Elliott for pics and inventory list: 972-264-3857 lfelliott@att.com AIR RACING BOOKS by Robert Hirsch Aircraft of Air Racing s Golden Age 1928-1939, 2 Volumes, 1071 pages, 158 scale drawings: $75 + $10 S&H Wedell-Williams Air Service $20 + $3 S&H Schneider Trophy Racers Goodyear and Formula One Racing (thru 1995): $45 + $5 S&H for both, or $25 + $3 S&H for one Free S&H to IF1 Members Make Checks to Maria Hirsch 8439 Dale St., Buena Park, CA 90620 Contact: Maria Hirsch (714) 828-7369 FORMULA FORUM, MAY 2010 11
1947 pit looks like 2010 pit! Temps at Cleveland were in the low 80s during the 1947 races. Photo by E.A. Strasser, printed by Gerald Liang FORMULA FORUM 3233 Via Alicante #48 La Jolla, CA 92037