See full version: Bill Muncey - The First Golden Age - Chapter 3 (1961)
On the eve of the race, Muncey and MISS CENTURY 21 were the obvious favorites, but this was to be a bad day for Bill. He got off to a miserable start in Heat One, found himself running seventh and last, but managed to work his way up to third behind Musson in MISS BARDAHL and Dallas Sartz in MISS SEATTLE TOO.
For 1961, the Bonus Point rule was not in effect, having been abandoned after the 1960 Lake Mead fiasco. Muncey didn't have the fastest boat in the 1961 race, but he managed to outlast everyone else. more
Bill made an on-the-nose start in Heat Three and led all the way. In so doing, he posted the fastest heat of the day at 111.111 miles per hour. The race was almost a repeat of Muncey's uneven 1960 Reno Regatta performance, which had also ended on an "up" beat for the U-60.
But change was necessary for the sport to survive. And for those that accepted the new order of things, their reward was as competitive a series of aquatic festivals as one could expect, which compared favorably--if not better--to many of the great races of the past. more
Sponsored by Outback Steakhouse, AUSSIE ENDEAVOR attended the 1996 Tri-Cities and Seattle races with Ron Burton as owner and Dennis Parker as driver.
With Jones and Bob Saniga alternating in the cockpit, the original STAMPEDE won the 1970 and 1971 Griffith Cup contests, the 1970 Victorian Unlimited Open, the 1971 Yarrawonga New Year's Day Meeting, the 1971 Kimbolton Cup, and the 1971 Eppalock Gold Cup. [links]
Included on AGGRESSOR's trophy shelf at season's end were the Griffith Cup, the Kimbolton Cup, the Eppalock Gold Cup, and the Australian National Championship award, among others. here
The 1952 season saw the craft take the Unlimited Unrestricted Championship at New Brighton. In later years, she was re-powered with a V-12 Rolls-Royce Kestrel--a pre-war forerunner of the Merlin--with the middle six cylinders removed and the two ends welded together to form a V-6. Other New Zealand Unlimited hydroplanes of that era that used the Rolls-Royce Kestrel included John Younger's MAESTRO, G.S. Jonathon's MERCEDES, Pam Palmer's STINGAREE, and L.W. Moult's WHIRLWIN.
After having proved herself in Australian competition, plans were formulated to ship the boat to North America in the spring of 1973 to do battle with the U.S. Unlimiteds. To finalize a sponsorship agreement, STAMPEDE had to establish a new Australasian straightaway record.
FLAK TOO, owned by Dick Shuttleworth of Wakefield, New Zealand, underwent a configuration change that is curious to say the least.
Joe Taggart of Canton, Ohio, won the seven-liter class race with his Tomyann; Phil Rothenbusch of Cincinnati won the 225-class with Wild Goose; Aubrey Thacker of Washington won the 225 division II with Jezebel IX; Dick Rankin of Pontiac, Mich., won the 135 with his Hi Ball, and Swede Stromstedt of Medera Beach, Fla., won the 48-cubic inch with his Dragon Jr.
Seven other boats listed as possible starters were either sidelined or failed to appear. The top casualty was Hornet, a new Dodge boat, said to be one of the fastest on the river. Bill Cantrell got the boat out of the pit but had to come back with a damaged gear box. [links]
Five boats answered the starter's gun in each heat of the unlimited class race. Only three finished the first while all five completed the four laps of the three-mile course in the second. here
For the eight laps in two heats, Miss Pepsi averaged 85.454 miles an hour. The fastest lap was the first of the first heat, when Thompson drove her 89.265 miles per hour.
Missile Fails to Qualify
The Dossin brothers' boat won both twelve-mile heats and claimed its third major victory of the racing season. Previously it had won the Steel Cup at Pittsburgh and he Maple Leaf regatta at Windsor, Ont.
Beginning with Wilbur and Orville Wright, the Miami Valley grew from the birthplace of aviation into a hub of aviation research and development through the various companies, military installations, and airports that were established in the region. Many of the aviation sites grew out of the work of the Wright brothers while others were developed by entrepreneurs with an interest in aviation. The variety of this development was instrumental in forming Dayton's future role in aviation.
As a result, in 1917, Deeds and Kettering incorporated the Dayton Airplane Company to manufacture airplanes for World War I. For several years prior to the official establishment of the company, experimental work on airplanes was conducted in the research section of the Dayton Metal Products Company, also owned by Deeds and Kettering. Deeds and Kettering had a long history together. Both worked at The National Cash Register Company under John H. Patterson, and in 1914, they founded the Dayton Engineering Laboratories (DELCO) to produce the automobile self-starter they invented. The profits they received from DELCO were used to start the Dayton Metal Products Company. [18]
The United States Air Force Museum on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which traces its inception to 1923, is the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world. A small museum to collect technical information was established in a section of a McCook Field hangar in 1923. This museum moved to Wright Field, along with the other operations of McCook Field, in 1927. After several other moves, the museum moved to its present building at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1971. The exhibits in the museum chronologically present the development of military aviation from man's earliest dreams of flight to present day. [53] [links]