Hi there Race Fans and Fellow Addicts,
Well, here we are with just about one week to go until Reno 2000. This is the
third in a series of Favorite Photos that I am running with the few short weeks
before R2k, (Reno 2000), that highlights some of the unique winners I have seen
in the almost twenty years of my attendance at the Reno National Championship Air
Races. In this photo, I am highlighting not only an aircraft, but a pilot as well
who requires very little intro at Reno, and a multiple winner of the Unlimited Gold
Race. This would be Steve Hinton, who will have the duties this year of piloting the
T-33 Pace Plane, as he has for a while. The aircraft is the Super Corsair, which was
put together from stock Corsair parts. Although it resembles the F2G Corsair because
of the massive engine up front, (the MIGHTY Prat and Whitney 4360), it did not start
out as such. Steve won the Gold in this particular aircraft in 1985. This would not
be the point in his career where he would become really famous. Anyone who remembers
the Red Baron of the 70's, knows the rest of the story. To make it short, Steve flew
the Red Baron, a highly modified Mustang with a Griffon engine, to victory in 1978.
In 1979, the RB-51, as it was known by then, had a failure which made the prop go to
a flat pitch which caused the aircraft to want to go to the ground very fast. Steve
fought to bring her back to the airfield but didn't quite make it. The RB-51 was a
complete write-off, and Steve was initially thought to have not survived the impact
into the side of the hill. He did, miraculously but with serious injuries. He came
back though and raced up until a few years ago, when he assumed the duties from the
famous Bob Hoover, as Pace Plane pilot and shepherd of the Unlimited Flock.
The Super Corsair met a similar fate back at the Phoenix Air Races in 1994. With Kevin
Eldridge at the controls, the aircraft developed a spectacular engine fire that would
not extinguish. Kevin had to bail out of the Corsair and she fell like a rock to the
desert floor, flames and smoke trailing her in. Kevin broke a few bones, (neck, arm,
and ankle), when he hit the tail surfaces when he departed the aircraft. Kevin still
flies and races today. An interesting side note, contributed by the reader who caught
my mistake, (see homepage Sept 8 news), Bob Hoover told the racers the next day, "If
they need to bail out make sure you go inverted before doing so". He said he did it
both ways and "it is a hell of a lot easier if you are inverted".
Although the aircraft wasn't an original F2G,she strongly resembled the original. There
is currently a survivor of the last Cleveland Air Races that was restored to her Race
condition of 1949, by Bob Odegaard. The aircraft was awarded the first annual Rolls
Royce Award for the work done in the restoration. Very impressive, and the only flying
example around. Sure would love to see her race at Reno! If only for nostalgia and
history reasons.

That's my story for this week's installment of the Air Race Addict's favorite photos.
Thanks once again for visiting.
Sincerely, The Air Race Addict