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Larry Childs and Roy Domke were my right and left
hands before and since Reno 2006. I relied once
again on them both and they both came through again
flawlessly! Thank you both for all the life time you
gave up to see this little Yak go so fast! Thank you
for your friendship. We have the most dedicated,
cohesive team at the Reno National Championship Air
Races.
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Reno 2007 was a bittersweet year for Team SteadFast.
Gary Hubler, our Alternate Yak pilot, was killed in
a midair collision in a Formula 1 race on Friday
morning. Fortunately my long time radio Control
Buddy, Jason Sommes, who was the other pilot in the
collision was O.K. Our hearts go out to Gary and his
family. Gary was such a helpful and intelligent
pilot, he had just joined our team as alternate
pilot on SteadFast and I was looking forward to
watching him fly and learning from him.
At Reno 2007, Team SteadFast pulled together and we
were able to qualify at 382.827 MPH. This is the
fastest SteadFast has gone on the course to date.
After searching the record books, we see that we are
officially the fastest R2000 powered Yak to fly at
Reno. Unofficially, Sam Davis’s Miss Trinidad had
turned speeds of 389 MPH but were not recorded due
to the attacks of September 11th on the United
States. That time was on the old course and using
different timing. If the rough equation is used,
that time might equate to 399 MPH today. We were
clocked occasionally at 391 MPH, which is
encouraging.
The distraction of loosing Gary this year was a
surprise to me. Couple that with seeing Brad go in
with his L39 really got my attention. I really had
to buckle down and concentrate on my job, flying. I
was occasionally distracted.
This year was about the people whom you meet at Reno.
The flying part is great but it’s truly the great people
that make you come back.
Great to see all you friends!
We were overwhelmed with Grumman Interceptors this
year. It seemed like everywhere I looked I was
passing or being passed by a Blue Bearcat. Not next
year! We are planning on being at Reno 2008. Not
only are we going to be there, but we plan on
breaking the 400 MPH mark. That is our current goal.
Next in line would be to Win the Silver or maybe
even bump to the Gold on Sunday.
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Well, that is it for now. It’s time to go take the
airplane apart and refine the aerodynamics, make it
bigger, stronger, faster. We will soon be starting a
race engine program based on an R2000 core sponsored
by Aero Union. A new airscoop for more Horsepower,
and some more propeller mods are on the books as
well. There will be some unmentionable speed mods
taking place as well this winter and don’t forget,
we are still looking for a sponsor who wants to see
this yak in his very own colors.
STAY TUNED!
Will Whiteside
More 2007
photos coming soon!

Reno 2006 for Team SteadFast was the realization of a dream.
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It was a race season
for us that we will try to re-live in future years. In March, 2006
we started with a new, Romanian factory-built airplane that was
untested, we had only six months to flight test the Yak and the
R&D was not always easy. We came up against a few obstacles
that should have kept us out of the races. I was told a few times
by some pretty key people involved in our Reno Push that maybe it
just would be better, safer, and more practical to just slow down
and shoot for next year.
We had some major setbacks. By the
time September came around, the airplane worked perfectly, the crew
performed like professionals and we had an excellent go of it. SteadFast
actually qualified 19th out of a field of 27 entrants at 363.589
MPH. "We had qualified the first day at 357 MPH but
I just wasn’t happy with that speed. I knew there was more
left in it and my line had improved as the practice sessions continued.
It paid off with an increase in speed of almost seven MPH. The Yakovlev
3U had 2 5th place finishes then on Saturday we won the Bronze race.
The team couldn't have been happier. "We had really just hoped
to make the field and not get bumped out by faster airplanes, a
win was the farthest thing from our minds when we showed up to Reno,
Stead."
With the 1st place on Saturday came
being bumped up to the Unlimited Silver race on Sunday. Once again
we were beside ourselves with the idea of being a Silver contender,
who would have thought it possible? We ended up running behind the
Tigercat who was in sixth place the entire race. He was substantially
faster than us so I came out of the power just enough to stay ahead
of my friends in the two stock P51's running behind us. When the
race ended we finished in 7th place Silver which was unbelievable
to us. We couldn't have been happier if we had won the Gold.
In 2007 Team SteadFast's sights are
set on turning a 380+MPH qualifying lap in 2007 and trying to get
closer to the front of the Silver pack of racers. "We would
like to get paint on the airplane but are holding off to secure
a sponsor that would like SteadFast in their colors. We have a long
list of modifications to make the Yak faster and more reliable.
Basically, a better overall sport airplane. That’s the beauty
of this short winged little brute, it's an air racer one minute
and an airplane you can fly away in for the weekend the next."
Team SteadFast would like to thank
the crew, sponsors and all supporters that made this project and
this dream year at Reno a reality. Without every single one of you
this little airplane would have never made it.
Thank you and please keep the sponsorship
and support coming. We cannot do this without you.
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Just 1 day prior to departing Santa
Rosa for Reno Stead Field in September
2005, Will Whiteside makes a last minute aircraft substitution from
the Lancair 360 he had entered, to the Glasair III of C.J. Stephens
“INFANT MONKEY”.
It seems that the gear doors on the
Lancair 360MKII were bending downward. Causing too much drag, these
gear doors will certainly be ripped off at the high indicated speeds
that the Sport Class racers experience coming down the “chute”
towards the start pylon as they begin the race. The Glasair is race
readied by C.J. and Will, finishing up only hours prior to departure
time. This Glasair III was built in 1998 by Stephens and Jim Rhienemer.
The engine is a normally aspirated Lycoming IO540 rated at approximately
300+ HP. C.J. believes in the “Lightweight” approach
so the interior and all other non-essential items were removed.
“We
Inspected the airplane thoroughly prior to it’s departure
to the races. After checking the weather at Stead, the cell phone
rang, it was RARA. The voice on the other end of the line said that
they had made a mistake in approving my substitution. I had already
been assessed the fee for this and as far as my Legal Counsel could
tell,(ART VANCE) things would work out! I
arrived at Reno and pushed the airplane in the hangar. This would
prove be an interesting race year.”
After Sundays race and after 6 days
of practice and 4 days of racing, Will had finished with 3, 2nd
place Bronze finishes and 1, 3rd place Bronze finish. Overall TEAM
“INFANT MONKEY” finished 2nd in the Sport Class Bronze.
They were really happy that out of 80 laps Will had flown within
3 MPH of his fastest lap time. The airplane ran great throughout
the week, it never even hiccupped once!
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