The Art, Action and Adrenaline of Unlimited Air Racing

Maybe we have a little too much adrenaline around here! Attrition is today's major story in the unlimited racing class... Critical Mass is out, Rare Bear is still officially a question mark, Czech Mate is probably out, and now Strega is groundbound from the sport forever. 

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians...

The "third indian" is out of the unlimited races at Reno 2K2... Bill "Tiger" Destefani had Strega pulled out for his qualifying run in today's morning session. He had a certain number in his mind for his qualifying speed... There had been some "discussion" among the unlimited pilots in the briefing, and it was agreed that The Tige would get a free and clear course and go for a 500 mph lap. This was going to be it.

After a bit of confusion on the radio as to when Tige would take the clock, his crew came back with "two laps." Strega was airborne and rounding the course rather high and just getting spooled up. As he took the clock, he remained high around the course. Was there a problem? Was Tige not happy with Strega at the moment? He kept going.

The second lap looked and sounded great... Strega came around pylon eight nicely, and took the checkered flag for a 487 mph lap. Not 500, but the real drama was just about to start.

Strega "exploded."

We didn't hear it from the west end of the field, but what we saw was Strega crossing the finish line wings level when part of the aircraft exploded and pieces went everywhere. Did a control surface flutter and come off? Did a wing fillet depart? A gear door? As the pieces fluttered down onto the runway, Tiger pulled back on the stick, declared a mayday, and started a left turn to get back to runway 14. *Everybody* stopped breathing and emergency vehicles were already rolling. 

Pure F*&!ing Terror

After that, it seemed like a "normal" mayday for the Tige. He set up a high left base for 14. The prop was still windmilling as he turned base, and and the gear came down shortly after the turn. There never was a lot of smoke, but a little came off the right bank as he was heading north. Strega turned final in good shape, touched down, and rolled to a stop. Everybody was breathing again.

Obviously, a huge crowd had gathered as Strega was towed back to the pit. Everybody wanted a look at the Racer, the Tige, and The Big Hurt. As she was put to bed in her pit for the last time, Tige was there talking to the fans. For a guy that just had his airplane literally come apart on him, a remarkably cool and jovial Tiger told his story to WarbirdAeroPress.

"The latter part (of the qual lap) was, like... I really didn't like it. After eight, it kinda gave a couple of little twitches. It wasn't right on; it wasn't 'on the step.' Then it popped. I think it dropped a valve, backfired through the supercharger and blew all that shit off. If you see that oil up there on those stacks, I think that tells the story. Usually, when they backfire, they drop the valve or the induction temp got goofy.  There was a misfire somewhere. If it drops the exhaust valve, not a big problem. If it drops an intake valve, you've got a big problem," he said. Apparently, his was a big problem. 

A lot of trash came off the bottom of the airplane when the engine deconstructed.

"I didn't see any of that...," he said. "All I heard was the explosion. I didn't see all of this until I got on the ground. It probably would have been more spooky if I saw all that stuff come off of there. I was very surprised to see that. It was a hell of an explosion from where I was sitting..."

Tiger, with plastic cup in hand (no, it wasn't water...), was surrounded by his fans, well wishers and press. After having a rather dramatic mayday, a lot of guys would be hustling to the trailer to change flight suits and underwear. Tiger was singing autographs and joking with his fans. That's who Bill "Tiger" Destefani is.

"It's pure f*&!ing terror until you've got it made... When something like that happens to you, you're shocked. You're thinking, 'You piece of shit... How can you do this to me?' Then you grab the bull by the horns and do what you got to do to get on the ground," he said. "It's got to run six laps on Friday, six laps on Saturday and eight laps on Sunday. This one didn't. We're dealing with 60 year old stuff, and we've got no spare. If we had a spare we'd throw it in there, pound out the cowl, and be flying tomorrow. That's another one of the problems; things have gotten so expensive. I come here to race - I come here to win. If we had a spare we'd be yanking that one out now and putting another one in and we'd be qualifying tomorrow. That's what disheartening."

"There is no next year. That's it; I'm done. I'm going to put the plane on a pole on the ranch and let it swing in the wind! Actually, I'll just fly it when I feel like flying it. I've had enough success, and enough heartbreaks. And, I'm getting older... I can't take the G's any more... I've got to wear these damn glasses to see across the way there. There is a time to quit. I've had a lot of maydays, and they're testers. You're butthole puckers up pretty good! I'm tired of that, and there are other things in life. I just hope I gave all these people a thrill while I was here. I've been here 21 years, and I always come to win. There is a time, and now is the time."

If Tiger is disheartened by how things turned out for him this year, one hopes that he feels the admiration and the good wishes from his fans and his competitors. If today's reaction - both personal and professional - are any sign at all; Tiger knows his participation, antics and flavor have been more than appreciated over his air racing career. Thank you, Bill.

In Other News...

Miss A has her race motor in place, and she flew this afternoon during the unlimited session. Slow timing the Merlin before putting power on it, Brent Hisey orbited overhead - teasing the Miss A fans. She'll have to qualify tomorrow.

Dan Vance got to try his hand at flying Furias today... With a new cylinder in place, he took the Sea Fury up for some slow time above the course, then motored around the pylons at a sedate pace. 

Is she, or isn't she? Czech Mate napped in her pit all day. No runup, no activity. Doesn't look good for the "second little indian."

Yesterday, Ron Buccarelli had his hands full during his morning qual attempt. Right after takeoff, the alternator failed and - unbeknownst to him - two of his batteries cells were bad. The result was landing gear that would not retract, water pumps that would not operate, and radio / gear lights that did not work. Ron figured something was wrong, cycled the gear back down and landed. The crew fixed the battery, changed the hydraulic pump and got the plane ready for the afternoon attempt. Today, the crew was busy polishing the racer. All looks good. 

John Bagley bought Frank Borman's P-63, and had it on display today. Sharp warbird! The Kingcobra is a former Oshkosh Grand Champion, and is complete right down to the stencils and nose armament.

Stu Eberhardt took to the skies again in Merlin's Magic and turned in some rather impressive laps. 

Matt Jackson took Voodoo back around the pylons today. She looked sharp, but didn't pull any major power. Race engine? Stock engine? Stay tuned to see what happens on Pay Day - Sunday!

All Stories and Photos Copyright by Scott Germain - WarbirdAeroPress.com 2002. All Rights Reserved.