Is that the plane at airport-data(dot)com/aircraft/N6439T(dot)html? Nice bird. Unfortunately, we lost Rick in a crash in his F/V during a race in Iowa in the late 90's.
Hi, my dad was #26 in the formula 1 (he just sold his last ultralight last year),.. we were timing judges where Charlie tried to stretch his altitude back to the tarmac here in TX. I have a 35mm still taken at the moment of 'touchdown'....glad he walked away to race again!!! Rick flew my dad's plane for a race or two in Albuquerque one year...
@oliverlebot laserd8 (uploader) There's at least 4 races in this vid, but I think the scenes at 0:44 and 2:02 may have been from the Phoenix 500. I'm not sure, I wasn't there b/c at the time I had to mind the family business.
laserd8, I remember Charlie T and Rick. I met them back in late 80's up at the Sussex Air show. I knew Rick had an Accident back in 91. Is Charlie T still around? I remember him coming down to Allaire to work on Jim V's plane from time to time. He was good pilot. He did a couple of dead stick landings down there at Allaire when the engine quit due to a fuel pump or carb problem. That guy could fly.
Charlie's my Dad. He's still around, just celebrated his 70'th B'day. He still flies, but doesn't test homebuilts anymore. He had a buddy, also a test pilot, that he gave a baseball cap to that said "deadstick specialist". Everytime one of them had a dead stick landing, they would recieve the hat. It went back and forth for years and got all ratty looking!
Holy cow those guys are flying low! What a cool way to race planes. Sailboats have 1-design racing and cars have formula vee but I never knew airplanes also had Class Racing. Now if they only had 0-0 ejection seats.......
Oh- I was so relieved to see the pilot walk away from that crash.
The guy in the crash is my dad - with his old career of racing and testing homebuilts, it wasn't his first - or last- crash. There was no crash truck at the site, so he pulled the plane off the runway himself in case anyone else had to land!
The F/Vs were actually a box rule, there were a couple of designs, but eventually, only Monnett Sonerais were racing so it was sort of becoming one-design.
For one-design sailing action, check out my channel - I film my Laser racing with a headcam.
I'm glad he was OK too! Thanks! Actually, in flight testing,he had many hard bumps like this, only one landed him in the hospital. I've been in three crashes with him and I never got a scratch. Nothing beats a five point harness (we used the same as the NASCAR guys).
It was always a struggle to get enough planes and pilots - if you wanted to race an F/V, you either had to build one or find one already built. We lost some planes & pilots to accidents, some pilots to natural causes, & some planes changed hands only to be retired to the barn. We just started getting enough together when we had an accident on Long Island in 1997 when we lost a pilot and 2 planes. Others dropped out. The inertia was gone & so were the sponsorships. Oh, well.
These were actually scenes from several races - Lake Palestine TX and Albequerque NM in '88, Chicago IL in '90 (If memory serves) and Dayton OH in '93
Is that the plane at airport-data(dot)com/aircraft/N6439T(dot)html? Nice bird. Unfortunately, we lost Rick in a crash in his F/V during a race in Iowa in the late 90's.
My Dad flew a couple of F1's as well.
laserd8 10 months ago
Hi, my dad was #26 in the formula 1 (he just sold his last ultralight last year),.. we were timing judges where Charlie tried to stretch his altitude back to the tarmac here in TX. I have a 35mm still taken at the moment of 'touchdown'....glad he walked away to race again!!! Rick flew my dad's plane for a race or two in Albuquerque one year...
dabcorn 10 months ago
wow a race car beat a mosler street car - finally what an accomplishment. now go and beat a mosler race car that would be really something.
markbuiltme 1 year ago
Hey is this the pheonix 500? my dad was crew cheif on the silver BB #29,
for anyone who partakes in reno they would prolly know it, about 10 years ago
oliverlebot 1 year ago
@oliverlebot laserd8 (uploader) There's at least 4 races in this vid, but I think the scenes at 0:44 and 2:02 may have been from the Phoenix 500. I'm not sure, I wasn't there b/c at the time I had to mind the family business.
laserd8 1 year ago
This is a very cool video. Thanks for sharing!
DaveSandwich 2 years ago
laserd8, I remember Charlie T and Rick. I met them back in late 80's up at the Sussex Air show. I knew Rick had an Accident back in 91. Is Charlie T still around? I remember him coming down to Allaire to work on Jim V's plane from time to time. He was good pilot. He did a couple of dead stick landings down there at Allaire when the engine quit due to a fuel pump or carb problem. That guy could fly.
Tesla557 2 years ago
Charlie's my Dad. He's still around, just celebrated his 70'th B'day. He still flies, but doesn't test homebuilts anymore. He had a buddy, also a test pilot, that he gave a baseball cap to that said "deadstick specialist". Everytime one of them had a dead stick landing, they would recieve the hat. It went back and forth for years and got all ratty looking!
laserd8 2 years ago
Haha. That my friends is called living
JackGaryn 2 years ago
Holy cow those guys are flying low! What a cool way to race planes. Sailboats have 1-design racing and cars have formula vee but I never knew airplanes also had Class Racing. Now if they only had 0-0 ejection seats.......
Oh- I was so relieved to see the pilot walk away from that crash.
duanedragon2 3 years ago
The guy in the crash is my dad - with his old career of racing and testing homebuilts, it wasn't his first - or last- crash. There was no crash truck at the site, so he pulled the plane off the runway himself in case anyone else had to land!
The F/Vs were actually a box rule, there were a couple of designs, but eventually, only Monnett Sonerais were racing so it was sort of becoming one-design.
For one-design sailing action, check out my channel - I film my Laser racing with a headcam.
laserd8 3 years ago
@laserd8 glad your dad was ok, a crash in one of those usually doesn't result in a walk-away.
ushouldntjudgeme 1 year ago
@ushouldntjudgeme
I'm glad he was OK too! Thanks! Actually, in flight testing,he had many hard bumps like this, only one landed him in the hospital. I've been in three crashes with him and I never got a scratch. Nothing beats a five point harness (we used the same as the NASCAR guys).
laserd8 1 year ago
Very cool.........I wish someone could bring this kind of aviation show back to life........I would sure build a racer and fly in it.........
ultralightflyer 3 years ago
oh, but formuls one is alive and kicking....I dare you to come out and fly with us at RENO....2009....see ya there!!?
Spacedgurl 3 years ago
My dad did race Reno a number of years back - flew a Pitts in the Sport Biplane class. He flew a couple of F1's also.
laserd8 3 years ago
ive been to a few of these races, (1) in indiana, and i think (2) in dayton OH...they were alot of fun
cms04hd 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
jeez.
Always with the cheezy music.
Smartathanyou 3 years ago
Its a damn shame Formula Vee isn't around anymore. I don;t understand what happen.
sammy30842 3 years ago
Thanks for writing
It was always a struggle to get enough planes and pilots - if you wanted to race an F/V, you either had to build one or find one already built. We lost some planes & pilots to accidents, some pilots to natural causes, & some planes changed hands only to be retired to the barn. We just started getting enough together when we had an accident on Long Island in 1997 when we lost a pilot and 2 planes. Others dropped out. The inertia was gone & so were the sponsorships. Oh, well.
laserd8 3 years ago
Where was this race?
katana4 4 years ago
These were actually scenes from several races - Lake Palestine TX and Albequerque NM in '88, Chicago IL in '90 (If memory serves) and Dayton OH in '93
laserd8 4 years ago