Flashback Reno

Air Classics, Sep 2003 by Larsen, Jim

AS RENO PREPARES FOR ITS 40TH GATHERING OF UNLIMITED AIR RACERS, WE REVISIT THE ROOTS OF UNLIMITED CLASS RACING AND RECALL SOME OF THE HISTORIC FIRSTS WITNESSED AT THE RENO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES

Thirty-nine years ago at a high Nevada desert airport H named Sky Ranch, located between Sparks and H Pyramid Lake, the Reno National Championship Air Races took to the sky for the first time. Principally the brainchild of Nevada rancher/businessman Bill Stead, the Reno National Championship Air Races came to be as the result of Bill's interest and experience in aviation and motor sports, particularly Unlimited hydroplane boat racing, combined with an intense drive to bring back the excitement that he remembered as a boy reading about the post-war Thompson Trophy races held in Cleveland from 1946 to 1949.

Captivated by the civilian use of powerful World War Two fighter airplanes for sport, Bill eventually purchased a surplus Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat initially for recreational flying and subsequently for racing.

The first Reno National Championship Air Races was held 12 through 20 September 1964 as part of the official Nevada Centennial Celebration. The Thompson Trophy races for piston-engine airplanes ended in 1949, so in 1964 the ex-military fighter planes set to race around the pylon course at Sky Ranch were entered in the first Unlimited class race. The "Unlimited" terminology was coined by Bill Stead as a natural connection with his extensive hydroplane boat racing experience. This connection also extended to the rules format for air racing which involved a system of accumulated points based on finishing positions in three heat races.

Eight airplanes were entered and qualified for this first-ever Unlimited class air race: Five P-51s and three F8F-2 Bearcats. Thus the now lengthy racing history of Mustang vs. Bearcat was started. Only two of the 1964 racers were really modified for pylon racing - the F8F-2 flown by Lockheed test pilot Darryl Greenamyer and the P-51D Bardahl Special flown by Korean War ace Bob Love. Love qualified the sleek Mustang at 395.46-mph and Greenamyer posted a 359.51-mph speed. In third qual-ifying position was Mira Slovak flying Bill Stead's white Smirnoff Bearcat at 356.29-mph.

One of the qualified Mustangs was withdrawn before the competition so only seven racers flew three heats consisting of not more than four airplanes each to accumulate points toward Championship standing. One of the race rules required the racers to takeoff and land at Sky Ranch for each heat race. The runway was soft, un-surfaced dirt. Darryl Greenamyer's Bearcat had the flaps locked and sealed and was modified with a tiny plexiglass canopy which afforded limited visibility at the approach and takeoff attitudes. Darryl shot one touch-and-go landing and decided that additional flight operations from the dirt runway would be too risky. He was subsequently disqualified.

When all the heat races were com-pleted and the points tallied, the first ever Unlimited class champion was Mira Slovak in the Smirnoff Bearcat.

A lot of controversial things have changed since the 1964 race. The point system has been abandoned and the location of the races has also changed. Today, spectators and participants enjoy the excellent facility of Stead Airport just minutes by car from downtown Reno. This year, 11-14 September 2003 will mark the 40th gathering of Unlimited racers at the Reno National Championship Air Races, now the world's longest continuous running air race event.

The first race in 1964 started the Mustang vs. Bearcat battle which over the duration of the Reno races has resulted in Mustangs achieving the most wins: 21. Bearcats have taken 14 championships while Sea Fury Dreadnought has picked up two wins and a Corsair has won once.

The first Sea Fury to race was brought to Reno by Mike Carroll in 1966. This extensively modified airplane was flown in competition by Lyle Shelton. The airframe featured clipped wings, a small bubble canopy and a flashy hot rod style flame paint scheme. It retained its original Bristol Centaurus engine with five-blade propeller. This would not be the last of the Sea Fury racers; in fact it was the beginning of a host of extensively modified Hawker airframes that would feature larger Wright R-3350 and Pratt & Whitney R-4360 powerplants.

The first Corsairs arrived for racing in 1967. Bob Mitchem brought his FG-1D from Broomfield, Colorado, but had the misfortune of a destructive engine failure on approach to Stead Airport. He was consequently unable to compete that year. Gene Akers brought an F4U-4 which then became the first Corsair to compete at Reno.

Corsairs and Bell Kingcobras were regular participants in the old Thompson races but Reno did not see its first P-63 until 1971. Larry Havens brought a highly modified P-63C nameed Crazy Horse in which he achieved a fourth place finish in the consolation race.

The first and only Airacobra to race at Reno was a P-39Q initially brought to Reno in 1972 as Race 21 Mr. Mennen by Mira Slovak, Reno's first national champion. Mira unfortunately arrived after the qualification deadline so the airplane did not race that year. The airplane would eventually race in 1976 as Race 39 in the hands of Ed Messick.