Picture request: P51 N182XF #64 1964 Reno

[cwmc]

Neat pictures, Clay Lacy, Mira Slovak and Wayne Adams, yet there is Frank Tallman in the Curtis Gulfhawk!
Interestingly, I got to talk with Russ Schleeh last year at the Planes of Fame show about his connection to the Maytag Mustang. A nice impromptu meeting.
Chris...

Hey Chris, how was Russ? It's probably been three or four years since I've talked to him (for me he was much more famous for his boat racing antics than the...what, one race he flew in the Maytag Mustang? Los Angeles 66, I think)? He's been suffering from Alzheimers for several years now and the last time we spoke there was a lot of stuff he couldn't remember. Really hard to see someone who is still of healthy body but the mind is just going away.

Ben Hall is the same way. Still strong and kicking, but....

Hi Brad,
He was "on" that day I guess because Ron (flies the Wing, I can never remember his last name) was tooling him around in a wheelchair and I thought it was just physical. He seemed very together, but I wasn't asking him power settings for the alcohol Merlin , just told him I knew he flew it. He did tell me that it was too bad it didn't make it to the Reno race and that Frank was flying with him when it blew on the ferry up there, so I never thought Alzheimers.
He really liked talking with Laura better than me, though. Something about the dress and that she was holding his hand and stuff like that...
Chris...

Last edited by cwmc on Sun Apr 03, 2011 9:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[cwmc]

For the model builders, that sweetened up picture looks far more like the old color than ANYTHING about the way it's painted now. The color now is too dark and dead.

I'd go with that photoshopped bright color, especially for a model.

In the '69, '70, '71 era, in my pre-teen mindset, I just thought it was Panther Pink because the car color was so close. Penhall even painted his airplanes like a Ranchero, it was all the rage.

Chris...

[The Inspector]

My P-51 ride, @ age 17 in 1966 was in Anchorage, AK in my then bosses airplane (Red Dodge) and it was painted bright PINK! He leased it to the BLM as a hot spotter for fire bombers.

[kennsmithf2g]

Here is a link to my model that I finished, along with my models of the rest of the 1964 Unlimited racers

http://kennsmithf2g.smugmug.com/Airplan ... 5420_Q6S3g

This year's symposium, to be held April 28th and 29th, of The Society of Air Racing Historians is having the 1964 Reno Races as it's theme with several of the pilots attending and giving presentations.

More info at: www.airrace.com

[The Inspector]

Nice work! If you haven't seen Mira in a few years, it'll be an attention getter. Saw him last year @ the launch of the beautiful reproduction of U-77 Miss WAHOO and he looks the same except all that wonderful head of hair is now pure white instead of glossy black. He was given an honorary ride in the new boat which turned into him taking the wheel for a lap or so, special day for all of us who remember fondly the plywood and MERLIN days in boat racing.

Ben Hall would get a kick out of Seattle Miss