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24 August 2008
* Update 26-30 August 2008 *
** Update 8 September 2008 **
*** Update 6 October 2008 ***
**** Update 16 October 2008 ****
Speed Week!
*** "Rocket-88" by Stuart McCarthy [Larger image here - 1.1 MByte] ***
http://duraluminwolf.deviantart.com/
Speed Week History
(including the Spontoon Island Racing Association (SIRA)
and the move of the Schneider Cup Races to Spontoon)
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"The roar that poured from the clipped exhaust stacks
mixed with the blat of the props as they bit into the spray
and created a din that could be heard for miles, a long, high pitched howl
that sent shivers of delight through the crowds lining the shore."
(from 'The Story of the Schneider Trophy Race' in This Was Air Travel
by Henry R.Palmer, Jr. - 1962)
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*** Speed Week Stories ***
*** "Reggie-o Aeronautica" ***
by Simon Leo Barber
Reggie Buckhorn aids an Italian racing team (& two very charming
& resourceful young adventuresses) - Speed Week, 1936.
* "The Lady of Nîmes" *
by John Urie
Keith Lawton, organizer of the Schneider Cup at Spontoon Speed Week,
tells a reporter the story of an unusual entry for the 1935 race.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
* Part Four *
Keith Lawton & reporter Drake Hackett
(as seen in "The Lady of Nîmes")
are shown talking shop at the Speed Week office in this
excerpt from John Urie's serial: Pursuit! Chapter 27.
The Misadventure of the Miss Adventure
by Walter D. Reimer
The troubles of a seaplane race pilot
(Mature readers - for language and situations)
The Lead-Pipe Cinch
by E. O. Costello
Who would show you how a gentleman visitor of sporting inclinations
(and resourceful resources) comes to
speculate on that racing aircraft, the Miss Adventure
* Token Anarchist: A Charlie Bellman story *
(featuring the pilot, the Lady Helen Todd & friends)
by Antonia T. Tiger
Part One
A Speed Week dance begins at the British Embassy
Part Two: Wednesday morning
Captain the Lady Helen Todd & crew begin the Cloverleaf Derby race
Part Three
Daring & skilled maneuvers in the air; Daring & skilled manuevers on Casino Island
* Part Four *
A finish; a racing finish; landings.
ending this story sequence
Previous Charlie Bellman stories are here.
**** *** "Arrangements" *** ****
by Walter D. Reimer
August of 1937, during Speed Week -
a story featuring members of the Ni family:
Part One: Update 16 July 2008
Part Two: Update 28 July 2008
Part Three: Update 11 August 2008
*** Part Four: Update 6 October 2008 ***
(with art by Mitsene)
**** Part Five: Update 16 October 2008 ****
**** Part Six: Update 16 October 2008 ****
(with art by Seth C. Triggs)
(to be continued)
Previous stories of the Ni family: "Luck of the Dragon"
The Little Squirt And
The Tin Flying-fish
by Stuart McCarthy As far back as I can remember, I've always had a thing for airplanes. I even remember, back in the day, when my pop took me along to the air race held out by the lake. My pop and I had gone to see other races before, but this was something special! I musta been 'round eight or nine at the time. Oh, how I have fond memories of that summer's day. Not long before the race was about to start, the two of us snuck a look at some of the floatplanes sitting on the lake, awaiting their pilots. It was there that I first set eyes on the damned finest-looking seaplane you ever did see! There she was-as sleek as a silver teardrop; the brilliant rays of the mid-day sun reflected off her polished, mirror-like surface. She was one of them new racing monoplanes. Musta been about thirty feet in length, from tail to nose. This kinda reminded me of the tin toy seaplane my uncle Roy bought me for my birtyday, one time. I looked longingly at this wonderful machine, as though admiring her beauty had sent me into some deep trance. A short while later, as the race started, I looked on from the stand beside my pop. I saw that very same plane climb into the air ahead of all the other planes like it was some silver flying-fish soaring from the depths of the river. Man, you shoulda seen it! It was truly a sight to behold. The mighty roar of her inline engine was unlike anything I'd ever heard before. If there was some way to describe it, I'd have to say it was like some alluring siren's song. My, it sure was a day to remember. I would have many wonderful dreams about this day for nights on end. They usually involved me being the pilot of that silver floatplane which I so desired; I would race just over the clouds without a care in the world. Nowadays, in my mature years, looking at my bruised and battered old tin floatplane takes me right back to those glorious childhood days. The stuff that memories are made of. © 2008 by Stuart McCarthy
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by Stuart McCarthy
Other Air-Racing Celebrities:
Q: "How do you find out when there is a pilot in the room?"
A: "She will make sure to let you know."
(Old airport joke, via Mauricio Tavares, 2008 - with a modification)
Lady Katie MacArran
as reported by John Urie
Anglo-American Pilot, Aircraft Designer, & Industrialist.
John Urie's serial novel, "Pursuit!", covers major events in her life,
including her entry in the Speed Week seaplane races.
The inter-woven chapters from the novel offer views of
how lively Speed Week racing can be. Some selected chapters:
(Parts may be Mature for language & situations.)
Chapter 7: Someone has hi-jacked Katie's hangar space!
Chapter 25: How hard could it be to get a water-taxi ride?
Chapter 45: A visit to the French racing hangar, and later,
Katie introduces her racing seaplane to a guest pilot.
Chapter 47: The guest takes Katie's racer up for a go-round.
Lady Pamela Fenwick
as reported by R. J. Bartrop
English industrialist and supporter of British air-racing.
A portrait and biographical sketch.
In John Urie's "Pursuit!" Chapter 29, Katie MacArran
meets the formidable Lady Fenwick in the crowded lobby of
a Spontoon Island hotel during Speed Week....
* In E. O. Costello's collection of stories of Reggie Buckhorn, *
pokes by Lady Fenwick (for a contribution to British air-racing)
result in a personal boat-racing wager: "Around the Bend"
(Further stories of Reggie & friends may be found: here)
Sophia Bianco
as reported by Stuart McCarthy
Italian pilot, aircraft designer, and actress.
A biography with portraits
(Sophia also visits in some chapters of Pursuit!)
Sophia Bianco race photo 1932 (adjusting chinstrap) - by Stuart McCarthy
http://duraluminwolf.deviantart.com/
Ilsa Klensch
as reported by R. J. Bartrop
German test pilot & racing pilot
known as the "She-Wolf of the Luftwaffe"
R.J. Bartrop's webcomic "The Air Pirates" has
portraits of Ilsa and her racing aircraft, on the opening page.
Ilsa is a major character in the webcomic.
The McCradden family
(Superior Engineering)
as reported by Steve Gallacci
Owners, managers and head mechanics of this famous
design, maintenance, & repair firm in the Spontoon Lagoon.
Speed Week Art
* Aircraft Race Art - Page 1 *
* Aircraft Race Art - Page 2 *
(This page has open images and is large in size)
* Auto & Motorcycle Racing *
*** "Lift" by Taral Wayne [Larger image here - 719 Kbytes] ***
At a wharf after the arrival of the S.S. Sirius -- Location map for view
Taral Wayne art at: http://taralwayne.deviantart.com/ & http://www.furaffinity.net/user/saara/
* Cardstock Racecars! Cutout game pieces by Steve Lortz *
Lesle Vulpani: noted motorcycle racer (montage by Jerry Collins)
AutoUnion racecar variant (design & rendering by R.J. Bartrop)
Information for contributors, with reference Links
Superior Engineering, excellence in aircraft maintenance
* Aircraft of the Spontoon Islands *
"Bloop!": Racing floatplane tune-up (Roy D Pounds II)
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"...Jacques Schneider's original wish to promote interest
in seaplaning had degenerated into a madcap struggle for
speed supremacy using planes built only for racing
and good for nothing else."
(from 'The Story of the Schneider Trophy Race' in This Was Air Travel
by Henry R.Palmer, Jr. - 1962)
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