I miss Howard...

[Speedy]

Thanks Lynn. Here's a Bearcat sunset

......and the rubber chicken hanging off the pitot tube. Best part of a fantastic picture.

[Neal Nurmi]

I was wondering if anybody would notice that...

You know -- it can a pain in the ass being a photographer. Everybody else is back at the hotel eating steaks and drinking beer, and I'm out at the airport freezing to death and hoping something like this will happen.

But sometimes it does happen.

[steve dickey]

Yup, 2001 was the only year that 66 and 13 were both on the plane. The strange thing is...the 66 was always on the back half of the fuselage behind the roundel. So in 2001 Howard had to have moved the 66 up forward and put the new 13 in back. Strange. But yes, you hit on it...Lefty had retired and 13 was next to 14.

1998 was the year that Howard had the engine quit on takeoff. As I recall, he had won the silver and bumped up...and in the process the crew forgot to refuel. I have video of it from pylon 8 where the engine goes brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrup....................brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrup................................................brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrup and then quiet. I couldn't tell who it was at the time (I thought it was Argonaut) because he was backlit, but the 180 to the left and then landing downwind on runway 8 was dicey. Good thing he was the last plane to take off and wasn't landing back into someone taking off.

Spent many a day working on Howards Birds, I sure miss that old man . Speedy, the story I was told(when I used to work @ Ezells) was that a film crew was allowed to place a camera in the cockpit and in doing so bumped the fuel selector and that it was sitting in between a detent so the engine was starving for fuel but making some power. And If I remember right he never even had the time to make a mayday call!!
That is how I remember the story to told to me from one Gary Austin(another I truly miss ) After that Howard said no more cameras in my airplanes!! I crewed from 03 -09 on the Bearcat and Fury, good times!!
Neal If ya got any more sure would be nice

[Neal Nurmi]

Hello Steve.

Before your time with the airplane I guess, but here's that innovative pitot cover...

[Neal Nurmi]

Howard's first venture into racing at Reno was in 1982. I guess he enjoyed the experience!

Where is the Wildcat these days?

[kalamazookid]

I think the Wildcat is now with Texas Flying Legends. Great pictures!

One of my few memories involving Howard Pardue was getting to see him fly his Wildcat at Warbirds Over Kalamazoo a couple times. He definitely didn't hold anything back with his aerobatics! There's a great interview with him about flying his aerobatic routine in the Wildcat on the Best Of Warbirds Over Kalamazoo video produced by Hart Aviation Video. I highly recommend picking it up if you can find a DVD or VHS (do other people still have working VCRs?) copy somewhere.

[Badman]

Yup, 2001 was the only year that 66 and 13 were both on the plane. The strange thing is...the 66 was always on the back half of the fuselage behind the roundel. So in 2001 Howard had to have moved the 66 up forward and put the new 13 in back. Strange. But yes, you hit on it...Lefty had retired and 13 was next to 14.

1998 was the year that Howard had the engine quit on takeoff. As I recall, he had won the silver and bumped up...and in the process the crew forgot to refuel. I have video of it from pylon 8 where the engine goes brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrup....................brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrup................................................brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrup and then quiet. I couldn't tell who it was at the time (I thought it was Argonaut) because he was backlit, but the 180 to the left and then landing downwind on runway 8 was dicey. Good thing he was the last plane to take off and wasn't landing back into someone taking off.

Spent many a day working on Howards Birds, I sure miss that old man . Speedy, the story I was told(when I used to work @ Ezells) was that a film crew was allowed to place a camera in the cockpit and in doing so bumped the fuel selector and that it was sitting in between a detent so the engine was starving for fuel but making some power. And If I remember right he never even had the time to make a mayday call!!
That is how I remember the story to told to me from one Gary Austin(another I truly miss ) After that Howard said no more cameras in my airplanes!! I crewed from 03 -09 on the Bearcat and Fury, good times!!
Neal If ya got any more sure would be nice

I don't know Nelson nor anyone from Howard's crew, but this is the story I remember hearing in the pits later that same day - the fuel selector was not fully set/engaged and closed on his take-off causing the immediate 180 landing. The film crew component of the story sounds familiar too, but I can't quite remember that detail for sure. I doubt Howard's crew nor Howard himself accidentally took off with empty tanks?

[C VEICH]

Howard's first venture into racing at Reno was in 1982. I guess he enjoyed the experience!

Where is the Wildcat these days?

'82 was my first Reno and also my first time seeing a Wildcat fly. There were not many Wildcats flying at that time and I remember being amazed that not only was Howard racing it but also doing an aerobatic routine. I had the pleasure of seeing the Wildcat again at Chino just a few weeks ago as seen in my pics below. Now with Texas Flying Legends as noted be kalamazookid. Seems appropriate as Howard could also be considered a "Texas Flying Legend".

[Neal Nurmi]

Thanks -- I'd been wondering where the Wildcat had gone.

Howard always wanted the Fury to go faster. In the mid 1990s he got this rather exotic looking prop done. It was on the airplane for a day or so at Phoenix, and then disappeared, never to be seen in public again. Howard said all it did was make the airplane 20 mph slower.

Airplane racing has proved time and again the propellers are truly a black art...

[Robbie Stuart]

Don't mean to side step this great subject, but does anyone know how "Fast Eddie" is?
Robbie

[Lynn Allen]

Don't mean to side step this great subject, but does anyone know how "Fast Eddie" is?
Robbie

I saw him around the 1st of the year and he was fine. I'm over due with a visit over there. Is that Gary on the wing??

[Neal Nurmi]

It's sad to think that four of these people are no longer with us, and we very nearly lost the fifth. Aviation on the edge can be an unforgiving business.

[Neal Nurmi]

Howard vs Bob Love. Two of the better pilots ever to race at Reno. They are both missed.

[Stoney]

What year was the Howard, Love race? Just wondering if I was crewing for Bob then.

[Neal Nurmi]

1984...