Among Champions:
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My Time in the Sport Class at Reno 2004
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February 28, 2005
Story and photos by - W J Pearce
Wednesday 9/15/2004 – Nemesis Promise
 No other qualification attempts were made. Parker was officially the top
qualifier, followed by Greenamyer and Sharp. Although Sharp was out for the
racing, the damage to NXT proved not too severe. Team Nemesis vowed to get the
plane running under its own power and taxi it before the crowd on the weekend.
To accomplish this, a lot of repair work needed to be done including an engine
change.
Blue Thunder was ready to rumble and prove that its qualification speed was
not just a fluke.
Thursday 9/16/2004 – They Should All Be
Like This
It was a beautiful day, perfect for an air show
and especially perfect for an air race. The air show performers demonstrated
their talents to the crowd, and air racers competed against each other. But my
thoughts, and the crew’s thoughts, were on Sport Heat 1A.
The Sport racers were out on the tarmac ready to go. The tension was higher
than it had been for qualifying. A million thoughts raced through everyone’s
minds: mentally checking and rechecking procedures, going over figures and
running though scenarios as the minutes ticked by before the race.
 The time to start the engines was now upon us, and Blue Thunder purred like
a kitten. Running a liquid cooled engine with the radiator on the belly can
present a few problems on the ground. Simply put, the cooling airflow is not
very effective, and the engine does not like running too long, or it will
overheat. It wants to fly, and who can blame it.
Greenamyer had some trouble starting his Lancair. Was this a sign of things
to come? After a few attempts Greenamyer and his crew chief Andy Chiavetta, got the
Continental engine going. Greenamyer rolled down the taxiway behind Parker and
out of sight behind the hangars at the west end of the airport.
The teams repositioned closer to the crowd line, out of the way of other
race teams preparing for their race. That’s when I heard the radio crackle:
“Race 33’s engine died and needs the start cart.”
Race 33 was Greenamyer's number, and I looked over at his team but saw no
movement. Again: “Race 33’s engine quit and he needs his crew to bring the start
cart.” Still no movement — they didn’t hear.
Quickly we ran over to them shouting: “Darryl’s engine quit, he needs a
start!” Before those words could have even sunk in, Chiavetta and crew were off
to start Greenamyer.
The thought crept into my mind that if we hadn’t told Greenamyer’s crew that
he needed help, he might not have raced, giving us an easy win. But I wanted him
to race. I wanted to beat him in the air, not on some technicality!
Blue Thunder sat on the runway getting hot while Greenamyer was getting
restarted. The irony of the situation was not lost on us. We half-joked about
how we would overheat waiting for Greenamyer and how we had caused the delay by
telling his crew that he needed help. But Parker knew what he was doing. He had
Blue Thunder at a slightly different angle than the other planes. He was facing
directly into the wind to get a little extra cooling air into the radiator.
Greenamyer was now running, and Blue Thunder was rolling down the runway,
dropping the engine temperature. It was time for the first race to get underway.
 Parker shot out in front at the start of the race. He and Greenamyer pulled
away from the rest of the field quickly. It would be a two plane race. As the
laps fell, Greenamyer closed the gap and was within striking distance. He made
his move on the front stretch, but suddenly, over the melodic hum of the
raceplanes’ engines came the horrific scream of a runaway prop. Greenamyer
pulled off the course and called a “mayday”.
The pitch of the propeller is controlled by a prop governor. If the governor
fails, the prop goes into flat pitch and begins to rotate at a dangerously high
RPM. The phenomenon is called a “runaway prop”. The prop forces the engine to
turn at a much higher RPM. This can literally tear the engine apart.
 Greenamyer came towards the runway with the engine shut down setting up for
his landing. He kept the speed up, just as he should, but the slick airframe
caused little speed to bleed off. Chiavetta remarked that the airplane had so
little drag that it would continue to float down the runway. Its floating made
me nervous. I wanted Greenamyer back on the ground.
Out of sight and down the runway, Greenamyer got the plane down and stopped.
Moments later, Parker took the checkered flag, setting a new race record of
344.495 mph. Parker taxied in, and we started a low-key celebration. Chiavetta
came by with race 33 in tow, saying that they would be back in the air later
that night. That remained to be seen.
 As is customary at the Reno Air Races, the winner of a race and their crew
is offered a ride down the flight line in an antique fire truck. When it was
offered to us, we all looked at each other. We aren’t the type that likes the
spotlight on us. In the midst of saying no, each of us shot a glance at
one-another. “When will we do this again?” we thought. Well, we hoped we would
do it again on Friday, but in the spirit of the event, we gladly accepted our
“victory ride” down the crowd line.
After a few more hours spent on the flight line, I returned to Parker’s
hangar and was greeted by an unusual sight. Darryl Greenamyer, Andy Chiavetta,
and two crew members from Performance Engines were working on Greenamyer's
propeller in John Parker’s hanger. The overspeed had damaged the propeller, and
it was now the only thing keeping them from getting back into the air. It
wouldn’t be that night, but they would get back into the air.
At 11 pm, only the crew from Performance Engines remained. Parker asked them
how much longer they thought they would be. “About three hours. But it’s your
hangar, so if you need to go, we’ll stop.” was the answer.
“Turn out the lights and lock-up when you’re done.” Parker replied as he
walked away.
Friday 9/17/2004 – Not a Good Day
Although we didn’t know when they left, we did know they cleaned up, turned
out the lights, and locked up. We also knew their work was all for not. A better
“plan B” had been implemented. That morning Rick Shrameck of Las Vegas few up in
his Lancair Legacy and loaned his propeller to Greenamyer. Race 33 was back in
the air. But was the engine damaged? Would it hold together for 3 more days of
racing?
 At the start, the race began just like Thursday’s, with Parker taking the
lead. A few laps into the race, three things happened almost simultaneously:
Blue Thunder seemed to lose power, I could see oil covering the bottom of the
plane, and Greenamyer took the lead.
At the checkered, it was Greenamyer followed by Parker, who quickly declared
a “mayday”, stating there was smoke in the cockpit. Parker got the plane down
without issue but engine oil was dripping off the bottom of the racer.
Like Thursday, Blue Thunder was greeted by a fire truck after the race. But
it was a modern truck with a full crew, who were doing their duty responding to
the “mayday” call. Fortunately there was no fire and nothing for them to do, but
we appreciated there attention. For us, there would be no fire truck ride. But
that was the last thing on our minds.
 Our situation improved back in the hangar. A clamp that holds the induction
together had broken, forcing some of the ram air into the engine compartment
instead of the engine. That was where the power loss came from. The oil, about 3
gallons, came from a dislodged drain plug in the gear reduction unit at the
front of the engine. Fortunately, 5.5 gallons of oil were still in the engine.
Our flight data showed that the oil pressure had never dropped below 50 psi.
Later, I checked to see how the repairs were going. John said that crew
member Perry Johnson “went to get the clamp.” He added: “but I don’t know if
he is coming back.”
This was a strange answer. “Why would Perry not come back?” I asked.
I was not prepared for what I was about to hear. “He got a call right before
he left. His girlfriend was just killed in a car accident on her way from L.A.”
I felt numb. The clamp and Saturday’s race became meaningless. I did not
know Johnson very well, but I wanted to make sure he knew I was there for him
when he got back. And he did come back with the clamp, despite getting a bit
lost on the way. It turns out that Johnson’s girlfriend had been on her way to
Reno to see the races, and him.
The races seemed to melt away as I talked with Johnson. Then Johnson said
something profound to me, “Right now,” he said, “the best thing for me is to be
around friends. And that’s exactly where I am. I can’t think of a better place
to be right now.”
Johnson’s comments made me wonder how much of the week was really about air
racing. Is air racing simply a catalyst for something bigger? One special week
that friends and family come together to celebrate life.
As Johnson left for the night, my thoughts retuned to the air races.
Saturday would be a better day… it had to be.
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