2023, the Bardahl Special P-51 (N2869D, which competed at the Sky Ranch races in 1964) in the hands of Steven Hinton (son of long-time Reno fixture Steve), reached 469 mph on his fastest race this year—the highest speed seen on the course since 2017.

Miss Merced was delivered to RCN as WG567 and brought on charge on August 28, 1951.

Ending service on February 8, 1957, it was owned by Robert P. Vanderveken, Pierrefords, Quebec, from September 1961-1965 and registered as CF-VAN.

Owned by Michael D. Carroll, Long Beach, CA, 1965-1969, it was registered as N878M and modifed as racer. Military equipment removed, airframe lightened. Outer wing panels clipped (removing 6.5 ft. total). Small bubble canopy installed.

The first race appearance was at Reno 1966. It was flown as race #87/”Signal Sea Fury” by Lyle Shelton.

Owned by Sherman Cooper, Merced, CA, 1969-1972, it flew as Race #87/Miss Merced.

Reno – 1970 – Unlimited Class – Hawker Siddeley Sea Fury FB Mk.11 (#87) “Miss Merced” (N878M) William (Sherm) Cooper Finished 3rd (Gold) Speed 412.583 mph

It nosed over during forced landing after engine failure near Mojave, CA, November 13, 1971.

Frank C. Sanders, Chino, CA, acquired the wreck in 1980-1981, who sold to James A. Mott, South Gate, CA, in 1984. It was rebuilt at Chino, 1984-1988 and flew as race #42/Super Chief.

Stephen Bolander and Jim Michaels/J&S Aviation, Oconomowoc, WI, owned N878M March 24, 1999-2002, trucking it from Chino to Ione, CA for restoration. Fitted with Wright R-3350 and additional racing mods. First flight, Ione, CA, March 2000, and flown as race #87/Miss Merced.

Owned by Eric Woelbing, Franksville, WI, July 21, 2003-2004. Flown as race #87/Miss Merced. Based at Kenosha Airport, WI.

A modified P-51 Mustang, Voodoo was built from parts. It was built in the 90s and started racing right from the get go, in a stock configuration.It was slowly modified over the last 25 years into a full-blown racer. The wingspan is reduced by two and a half feet on each side. There’s a production break on the wing, so the outboard portion is removed. The canopy is much smaller. It has a smaller radiator scoop and hat to supplement the cooling with a spray bar system. The aircraft doesn’t have any automatic systems, it’s all manual. Three different wheels in the cockpit adjust water flows and methanol flows.

The biggest modification is the engine. The stock Rolls Royce Merlin put out around 1,700 horsepower, Voodoo has 34 to 3,600 horsepower. Ground speed on the course is about 540 miles per hour (869 km/h) compared to stock Mustangs are doing about 340 (547 km/h).

After five days of qualifying, heats, and semi-finals, the 2013 Reno Air Races came to a finish on Sunday with Steve Hinton, Jr., flying the modified P-51 Mustang known as “Voodoo,” winning the Unlimited Class Breitling Gold Race, with a time of 7:59.313 and an average speed of 482.074 MPH.

Hinton beat the second place finisher, Matt Jackson flying “Strega,” by more than seven seconds. Sherman Smoot, flying the Yak 11 “Czech Mate,” finished third.

Steve Hinton, pilot/Mechanic, won the Unlimited class Gold for 2016.

Steven Hinton, pilot, broke the speed record for an internal combustion engine-powered airplane, Class C-1e, on a 3 km closed course in September 2017. Hinton was flying the highly-modified P-51 Mustang named Voodoo.

Over four laps, Hinton took Voodoo to an average speed of 531 mph. The fastest lap was nearly 555 mph according to Pursuit Aviation, an aerial cinematography company that documented the flight. The previous record was set at 318 mph in 2012 by Will Whiteside Jr. in a Yak-3U named Steadfast.

The ultimate goal was to break the speed record over a 3 km closed course set in 1989 by Lyle Shelton in Rare Bear — a Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat. While Hinton’s speed was slightly quicker than Shelton’s, had the rules not changed the record would have to beat by 1 percent, translating to 533 mph.

Steven Hinton is the son of Steve Hinton, a pilot in his own right who held the 3 km speed record before Shelton, from 1979 to 1989. Hinton Sr. is the president of Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California.

Mike Brown won the Unlimited Gold Race at Reno on September 17 2006 at a speed of 453.61 m.p.h. in Hawker Sea Fury September Fury. Second was Matt Jackson in Sea Fury Dreadnought, with Sherman Smoot third in Yak-11 Czech Mate. The other three finishers were all Sea Furies, the only two North American P-51 Ds in the race having retired.

In 2010 Jimmy Leeward returned Jeannie to Reno with the original 1940s name – ‘The Galloping Ghost”.

Frank Sanders Racing is responsible for this former Royal Navy Sea Fury T.Mk 20 racer. Dreadnought was prepared at Chino by Frank and his sons Dennis and Brian in 1982/3, and the two-seat aeroplane sported several modifications, the most obvious was the replacement of the original 1849-kW (2,480-hp) Bristol Centaurus with a Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial. A four-blade propeller was fitted in place of the Sea Fury’s characteristic five-blade unit.

The pilot for the first outing was Neil Anderson. Neil completed the Reno course in Dreadnought at 446.39 mph, breaking the qualifying record and eventually taking first place in the Gold Championship to make this another first-time-out winner in 1983.

Dreadnought
Span: 11.7 m (38 ft 4.75 in)
Length: increased from 10.54 m (34 ft 7 in)
Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney R-4360-63A Wasp Major, 2833 kW (3,800 hp)
Max TO weight: about 3946 kg (8,700 lb)
Max speed: about 480 mph at low altitude

Mike Brown won the Unlimited Gold Race at Reno on September 17, 2006, at a speed of 453.61 mph in Hawker Sea Fury September Fury. Second was Matt Jackson in Sea Fury Dreadnought.

Gallery

Mike Brown won the Unlimited Gold Race at Reno on September 17 2006 at a speed of 453.61 m.p.h. in Hawker Sea Fury September Fury. Second was Matt Jackson in Sea Fury Dreadnought, with Sherman Smoot third in Yak-11 Czech Mate. The other three finishers were all Sea Furies, the only two North American P-51 Ds in the race having retired.

After five days of qualifying, heats, and semi-finals, the 2013 Reno Air Races came to a finish on Sunday with Steve Hinton, Jr., flying the modified P-51 Mustang known as “Voodoo,” winning the Unlimited Class Breitling Gold Race, with a time of 7:59.313 and an average speed of 482.074 MPH.

Hinton beat the second place finisher, Matt Jackson flying “Strega,” by more than seven seconds. Sherman Smoot, flying the Yak 11 “Czech Mate,” finished third.