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  1. #631
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    The "legend" of Mert and the Railroad bridge was started by Mike Goerlitz...or at least he passed it on to me........

    There are a lot of "legends" that don't pass muster after all and a lot of memories that embellish over time. In a funny way I'd like to think that Mert somehow did pull that off.......... I know it wasn't Pruett because he couldn't have fit under that bridge WITHOUT a boat!

    T2x
    20 Foot Switzer Wing 2 X S3000 (Dust'n the Wind II)
    !6 foot Wood Eltro Vee (2X Merc 1500's) (Dust'n the Wind IV)
    15 foot Powercat 15C (2 X Merc 1500) (Dust'n the Wind III)
    (Single engine boats are lacking something)
    15’ Wooden Switzer Shooting Star...
    16 foot Lee Craft Merc S 3000-(Gold Dust II)
    (The exception proves the rule)
    Obsolete and Proud of it

  2. #632
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    SonofaLegend,

    I have always liked this paint job. Wasn't there also a dark brown boat in the same paint scheme?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails genethibodaux-1.jpg  

  3. #633
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    Back to hot singles......

    Willabee tell us about this one..........

    T2x
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails my pictures 063.jpg  
    20 Foot Switzer Wing 2 X S3000 (Dust'n the Wind II)
    !6 foot Wood Eltro Vee (2X Merc 1500's) (Dust'n the Wind IV)
    15 foot Powercat 15C (2 X Merc 1500) (Dust'n the Wind III)
    (Single engine boats are lacking something)
    15’ Wooden Switzer Shooting Star...
    16 foot Lee Craft Merc S 3000-(Gold Dust II)
    (The exception proves the rule)
    Obsolete and Proud of it

  4. #634
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    holy crap whats that

  5. #635
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    Quote Originally Posted by T2x View Post
    Back to hot singles......Willabee tell us about this one.......... T2x
    At first glance, I thought it was the plane/boat Merc built for record running, but it is not that rig. Upon closer inspection, it looks like something a designer and a driver from New Jersey might come up with if they were looking to set the altitude record.....for a boat .

    Don't know how many people know this, but Merc's answer for the Starflite IV record set around 1966 was a plane/boat. During a stay at Lake X in 67 or 68, I came out of my Lake hotel room early one weekend morning to find a group of adults playing with a remote control boat. As I walked toward them, I could see distress on some of their faces and I realized that I had just seen their secret project. I recognized one of the engineers, Hugh Gillgenbach, a nice guy that had worked out of the lab in Oshkosh before transferring to the Lake. Hugh and I talked later that day and, after swearing me to secrecy, he told me about the project.

    They had already built the boat.....it had wings, outriggers, a tail section and I think a stacked 1250 for power. It was driven like a plane and the first test driver had managed to take it up to about tree-top height before crashing . They then hired a pilot to drive/fly this thing and also built a model to simulate what changes in the design would do to performance. That's what I had stumbled upon, the model in test. In this particular test, the model had planed, lifted and then flew too high and crashed. I seem to recall that they installed those same changes on the actual boat anyway and it did the same thing!

    I have no idea how long they continued with this project or how much was spent. Hetzel told me that they took it to Parker where it continued to lift, fly and crash. They would repair it and then do it all over again. Obviously, it never attempted to go for the record and the Starflite IV numbers stood until 1973.
    Last edited by willabee; 03-21-2008 at 01:41 PM.

  6. #636
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    Where did you see the model ?? Ties loosely in with a story I heard.

  7. #637
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    Was this the flying boat that Mr.Kiekhaefer paid John McCall to build? I thought most of the testing on that one was done in Florida,before it crashed and was kind of swept under the rug. John talked about it a little to me in about 1974,but I could not get him to go into many details except he said there was controversy about whether it could be considered a boat since only the prop was in the water. I heard that what was left of it wound up in Fond du Lac.

  8. #638
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    Sure would love to hear more about the boat.Can you share a little more info?

  9. #639
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    Thanks for the info.I always wondered why John was so secretive about the project. We were having dinner way back when,and he brought it up.I didn't know anything about it at the time,and when I started asking questions,he kind of changed the subject,and I didn't push it.

  10. #640
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    The wreckage was in a small garage in Oshkosh in 1973-74. I saw it by accident one day and either Goerlitz or "Slick" said it "didn't work very well"...............

    T2x
    20 Foot Switzer Wing 2 X S3000 (Dust'n the Wind II)
    !6 foot Wood Eltro Vee (2X Merc 1500's) (Dust'n the Wind IV)
    15 foot Powercat 15C (2 X Merc 1500) (Dust'n the Wind III)
    (Single engine boats are lacking something)
    15’ Wooden Switzer Shooting Star...
    16 foot Lee Craft Merc S 3000-(Gold Dust II)
    (The exception proves the rule)
    Obsolete and Proud of it

  11. #641
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    Daring young men and their flying machines..........

    Since we were talking about a flying boat, I went back to the film of the 1970 Paris 6 Hour to try to get some frames of the boys as they were just trying to get down the backstretch. As you watch the race from the shore, you really don't get an appreciation for some of the things these guys are going through.....it happens so fast that the extremes sometimes just aren't captured in the mind.

    These aren't nice, clear pictures, but I hope you can still get a sensation of the wild ride these guys were enjoying . Wing pilots move over, there are other drivers that know how to fly!

    Here are a couple of Renato as he drives under the last bridge before the pit turn.....notice how flat the boat remains while airborne. Also one of him in calmer water further up the course.....still not much wood in the water .
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails paris70 Renato  088.jpg   paris70 Renato 090.jpg   paris70 Renato 100.jpg  
    Last edited by willabee; 03-25-2008 at 08:19 AM.

  12. #642
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    Daring young men and their flying machines.....con't

    Billy Don Pruett in one of his favorite hats getting ready to put his race numbers on for Paris. Poor guy, he fell off of his boat when we went to Trapps to test.....yuk, Seine river water in the face. Then his goggles got blow off early in his first two hour stint at Paris.....yuk - yuk - yuk, more Seine river water in the face. He did get pretty sick a few days later, but he sure drove a great race in Paris.

    Here's Billy Don getting a little air.....Again, not good pictures, just trying to show the ride he's getting.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails paris70 Pruett 054.jpg   paris70 Pruett 068.jpg   paris70 Pruett 069.jpg  
    Last edited by willabee; 03-25-2008 at 08:56 AM.

  13. #643
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    Daring young men and their flying machines.....con't

    I have more of those fuzzy photos to post, but thought I'd put this up since it is the turn I'm talking about. First shot is the pits, located just off of one of the Eiffel Tower's feet. Second is the pit turn.....The boats run up river on the right side of that bridges center structure and come back on the left. The aired-out tunnels are usually running between that big center section and the first support to it's left. Spectators not only cram the bridges that span the Seine, but also fill the roadway built on top of that center section and they can walk from side to side and see the race in both directions. The third is of the barges they secure along the seawall for the crews to use for their refueling equipment.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails paris70 Pits 052.jpg   paris70 Pit Turn 053.jpg   paris70 Barge for refueling 063.jpg  
    Last edited by willabee; 03-25-2008 at 12:33 PM.

  14. #644
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    Daring young men and their flying machines.....con't

    Bob Hering coming down the backstretch.....He's running nice and clean as he approaches the pit turn, sets the boat down a little as he goes under the bridge and then.....opps, up she goes!

    These shots, as well as those of Molinari and Pruett, were taken just a few laps into the race. That means the boats have about forty gallons of fuel aboard and the water isn't anywhere near as rough as it's going to get!
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails paris70 Hering 075.jpg   paris70 Hering 076.jpg   paris70 Hering 078.jpg  
    Last edited by willabee; 03-25-2008 at 01:38 PM.

  15. #645
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    Daring young men and their flying machines.....con't

    This is for that old Grump across the pond.....

    This race starts and Renato is the first boat back with Jimbo in hot pursuit.....it was beautuful, those guys were really hauling arse. Lap #2 shows Jimbo in the lead, but Renato gets through the pit turn much quicker and it looks like he will make the pass. Sure enough, Renato comes back in front on lap #3 followed by Jimbo, Pruett and then such a huge slug of boats that you can't tell who is in what position. Renato starts to build a lead, Pruett gets past Jimbo and I didn't see the Sanders /Posey entry during all of this.

    As I was looking for the flyin' stuff, I saw this sequence taken from that center section that connects the bridges. It's during the 1st two hours, the yellow hull on the inside is Johnny Sanders and the white one is Renato. They are heading for the bridge just before the pit turn and Johnny just motored on by to take the lead! Renato is running great, Sanders is running better! Surprised the heck out of me, but there it is, proof positive. Now you know for sure, the book can be calmly closed .
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails paris70 Sanders Renato 096.jpg   paris70 Sanders Renato097.jpg  
    Last edited by willabee; 03-25-2008 at 09:45 PM.

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