The story of the 1939 national air races dvd captures all of the thrills and excitement of the last golden age air race. It was intended that the firecracker would have a simple structure to allow it to be built under license by thirdworld countries to. Despite his bent propeller and reduced rpms, steve wittman jockeyed his no. Tony levier in the schoenfeld firecracker passed chester on lap six and lead the. This kit is a rerelease of the original kit 1980s, updated for box, decals, and instructions in 2012. I photographed 590 different typemodelseries of aircraft in 2014, with 580 of those presented in this image i lost several in a hard drive crash this summer. Hetrc keith rider racer building thread page 5 rc groups. The prop was the most serious part damaged and one was flown in during the night. I bought the schoenfeldt firecracker last week at germanys aspach electric meeting, because there was a dutch fellow flying a jackrabbit with micro 6 on 3s lipos. Tony levier february 14, 19 february 6, 1998 was an american air racer.
Oct 8, 2012 this pin was discovered by adam dolsen. Williamsbrothers 2 ryder r4 schoenfeldt firecracker aircraft plastic kit wbr32518. My firecracker will get a slightly different and heavier setup than yours. Ray moore, in a seversky sev52, came in a long sixth at 238 mph and c. Pekanbaru, indonesia private airfast indonesia douglas c47a5dk pkobk. Firecracker came back in 1939 with even more modifications. Schoenfeldt rider r4 firecracker, menasco cs4 550 hp, nx261y, tony levier won greve trophy, cleveland 1938. Schoenfeldt firecracker new dick in silver creek outdoor rubber power scale date. Saltofamerica article the golden age of air racing, part.
Schoenfeldt firecracker, received numerous airframe modifications, painted. Photographs historic aviator collectibles for sale ebay. Stanley, a member of eaa chapter one at flabob, was too big to ever sit in the firecracker, but that didnt seem to slow him down. It was first flown by accomplished race pilot roger don rae, then tony levier placed first in the 1938 greve trophy race and second in the 1939.
In the early 1930s, many designers began looking at the new four and six cylinder menasco engines to install in the small racing planes. Tom wathens love of things that go fast led him to overlap the meteor project by purchasing a work in progress, stanley rackliffs reproduction of the schoenfeldt firecracker. Forum members can visit this topic in the forum to register. In 1976, nigel desmond norman, one of the founders of brittennorman, the manufacturers of the islander, set up ndn aircraft to build the firecracker, a single pistonengined trainer designed to replicate the handling of a jet trainer.
Flying the firecracker by pat halloran roadrunners internationale. Passenger planes deliberately targeted and hit by fireworks, the. Tom wathens replica racers collection aircraft spruce. After this race gus nosed the plane over during the landing roll. Schoenfeldtrider r4 firecracker, menasco cs4 550 hp.
The keith rider r4 schoenfeldt firecracker, a replica racer from the golden age of air racing. For 1938, a new engine, a few mods, and a new pilot, tony levier, made the r4 a formidable racer against the existing planes of the day. Aircraft exhibited included an original, nonflying replica of hughes h1 racer. Rider r4 schoenfeldt firecracker replica the keith rider r4 schoenfeldt firecracker, a replica racer from the golden age of air racing. Forum members can visit this topic in the forum to.
Keith ryders r4 design had some success in 1936, then sat until bill schoenfeldt bought and raced it in 1937, but it had teething issues. Make offer edward dechenne airplane crash joplin missouri wright brothers era photograph. Williamsbrothers 2 ryder r4 schoenfeldt firecracker. Rider r4 schoenfeldt firecracker replica the keith. Williams brothers model products is 60 years old in 2020. The keith rider r4 schoenfeldt firecracker 1938 racer. Most of those race planes disappeared during the war years and only a few were revived as. Although this airplane is not signed into the davismonthan register, there are many late 30s air racer images like this in the klein archive. The firecracker was a pretty conventional aircraft, steeltube fuselage. Model airplane kit williams schoenfeldt firecracker usa 1. Aircraft photo of n261y, 2004 schoenfeldt firecracker replica cn r4261, sun n fun 2008, by bob simmermon. Aircraft n261y 2004 schoenfeldt firecracker replica cn r.
Eight planes hit by fireworks as aviation bosses reveal fears of. Only small pieces of the racer remained after the crash but through some quirk of fate macready. A 1938 poster attests to the 18th annual, accepting that 1920 was the first national air races, although then not yet known by that name. Keith ryders r4 schoenfeldt firecracker racing aircraft 1.
Max fax 1989 11,12 travel air 6000 by dave rees new max fax newsletter date added. Golden age of air racing photo index refresh if blank. Each photograph has been studied and information recorded into the table under six separate headings. The racer was renamed the schoenfeldt firecracker and had its first taste of competition at the 1937 international air races in st. Oct 8, 2012 schoenfeldt rider r4 firecracker, menasco cs4 550 hp, nx261y, tony levier won greve trophy, cleveland 1938. Rb 51 in 1979 at chino airport just before steve hintons crash at reno that year. Its not necessarily a bad thing when horrendous thunderstorms scrap your weekend flying plans and send you snooping through hangars instead. Tony levier and the schoenfeldt firecracker, steve wittman and bonzo.
In perusing the airplane at oshkosh, it didnt take a historian to know that pilots who stepped out of wallowing biplanes directly into the likes of the rider r4 schoenfeldt firecracker were a. Aircraft photo of n261y, 2004 schoenfeldt firecracker replica cn r4261, proud firecracker being diaplyed, by helicopterfriend log in. New ray, modern plane, no scale, b2 spirit, plastic model, easy kit 2. Rider r4 schoenfeldt firecracker replica fun fly, firecracker, aircraft. Gotch, flying the schoenfeldt firecracker, finished the race seventh at 218 mph. This eliminated the racer from the next days races, but schoenfeldt had a prop sent from the storygawley co. While this started out as a fun project, it felt more and more like work as the year went on, with me making stupid trips all the way across town just to photograph a single aircraft. Do not use these information for navigation, flight planning, or for use in flight. Though medulin airfield ldpm can boast a fine selection of light aircraft, my sole target of the day was little old yucat, partly because its a citabria which im quite partial to and partly because it has quite a bit of local color behind it. Find gee bee airplane from a vast selection of historic aviators. In flight schoenfeldt firecracker aircraft, fighter rider r4 schoenfeldt firecracker 1929 racing airplane. Loveland, colorado air us private hadley page 7jetstream i cessna 206 n160 n4862f. Although her flight was short and only a few feet high, she is generally. In the tradition of testosterone team wathens schoenfeldt firecracker reproduction by budd davisson l ets say its 1934 and youre a shiny new army air corps lieutenant whos terribly proud of his equally shiny new boeing p26, the hottest new fighter the government has to offer.
Tony was very successful in the 193839 race season bringing fame and recognition to both himself and the firecracker. The original 1936 aircraft was flown to many topthree finishes in the years just prior to world war ii. The national air race museum narm was a shortlived 19931994 aviation museum featuring the golden age of racing and the reno air races, located in sparks, nevada. This index was compiled based on the photographs appearing in the golden age of air racing book published by the experimental aircraft association.
501 1372 607 1263 1187 940 885 31 1179 1136 1549 329 1364 492 1366 534 769 270 496 1208 420 898 686 352 1089 768 1619 688 312 73 1116 1624 62 534 532 185 1223 728 31 284 417