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Several of the
Tulsa Gluedobbers headed towards
Reno
this September to help
Cliff Magee
ready his L-39 Albatross for the Jet class.
The Gluedobbers present were
Cliff Magee
, Grant Wilson,
Janet Clee
,
Scott Johnson
,
Jim Ewers
, and Tim Davie. I was
fortunate to accompany Cliff on his trip out to
Reno
in the back seat of the L-39, a Czechoslovakian trainer jet, built in the
70’s, used primarily by the
Soviet Union
to train fighter pilots. We
made fuel stops in
Tucumcari
NM
, Winslow AZ, and
Kingman
AZ
before landing in
Reno
NV
. Cliff let me fly from Tulsa
Riverside to Tucumcari, then from Winslow to Kingman.
We were approved for the overhead approach at
Reno
where Cliff did a military break over the numbers then proceeded to pull
several G’s to a downwind approach.
Cliff is very professional with his landing check-lists and calls
them off audibly since the L-39 is a somewhat complex airplane to fly.
This was the
second year Cliff has raced the L-39, with Grant Wilson being the crew
chief of the airplane. Grant
has spent many hours over the past winter lightening the aircraft
preparing for this year’s race, and has even earned his name on the
instructor pilot’s (back seat) canopy.
Cliff turned laps during the week in excess of 420mph on a fairly
tight course. One of the seven
pilots racing in the same race as Cliff was John Penney, who also pilots
“Rare Bear”, a world-famous modified BearCat that is one of the
fastest unlimited airplanes…known to turn laps in excess of 500mph.
The Reno Air
Races are not new to Cliff. He
has raced a Pitts Special or Pitts S-1 for many years in the Bi-plane
class, and has come to know many of the pilots.
It would not be uncommon for Curt Brown, former Shuttle Astronaut
to stop by to say hello. Last
year Grant took his B-36 and provided entertainment for the crowd when he
would start his six engines. Last
year, Grant offered to let Curt Brown take it for a spin, but he quickly
declined. No wonder he is an
astronaut.
The Reno Air
Races is the only place in the World where you can
see five days of REAL AIR RACING by Unlimited Aircraft, T-6’s,
Bi-planes, Sport Class, Formula 1, and Jets. The
Air Races have been run since 1964 near Reno, Nevada, USA, and are
currently held at Reno Stead Field, about eight miles North of Reno.
During five days of racing [Wednesday through Sunday] , racers
reach speeds of over 500 mph - by far the fastest-moving machines in
motorsports! The event also
includes a world-class air show featuring top aerobatic performers,
military and civil flight demonstrations, and a large display of static
aircraft. More info. Can be
found at www.airrace.org
Submitted by
Tim Davie
Club Treasure
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Cliff's L-39 Being Taxied To The Tarmac
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The BearCat
known as "Rare Bear" won the unlimited category with an engine
originally on a B-29(Wright 3350), and a propellor from a P-3 Orion.
The 4000hp engine is is ADI, Water, and Nitrous injected. |
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Mechanics
worked day and night on the unlimited aircraft. Here Mechanics
prepare to diagnose the Rolls Royce Merlin engine on the highly modified
P-51
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Grant With His Name On The Cockpit
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Cliff Shows An Air Force Test Pilot The Inside
Of The L-39
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