Amazing Video Of The 1970 'California 1000' Air Race! (Must See)
Friday, February 11, 2011 at 05:03PM This video posted by the claylacyaviation youtube account in late 2010 is an absolutely amazing historical record of a really unique air race: the California 1000. The race took place at the Mojave California airport on November 15, 1970. If you have even the slightest interest in air racing, you must watch this video. It's so worth it just to see a bit of Clay Lacy flying the big DC-7 low and fast around the course! But the whole video is full of great sights and info. And belive it or not, I was fortunate enough to be there as a 9 year old kid. In fact, looking back, 1970 was probably my greatest year ever in the world of aviation spectating. (and of course I have my dad to thank for all that!)
August 1-7 of 1970 was the first year that the EAA Convention and Fly-In took place at Oshkosh (Rockford, Illinois before that) and I was there and of course loved it. Then, September 13-20 was the seventh annual Reno National Championship Air Races, and I was there to see Darryl Greenamyer have trouble with one of the gear legs on his Conquest 1 Bearcat which kept him from being 'super fast', and that opened the door for Clay Lacy to fly his purple P-51 to victory after several years of coming in third. And then I was on hand to see the California 1000 in November where Clay flew the DC-7 Super Snoopy low and fast (about 355 mph indicated), but for this race, they all turned right instead of left due to the winds on that day. And I remember very clearly that Sherman Cooper flew that bright yellow Sea Fury with wild flames on it to win the 1000 mile race without ever stopping for fuel.
The video has a lot of details about the race and some fantastic footage of an event that otherwise is hard to find info on. Please take 7 minutes and watch this sweet piece of air racing history.
Clay Lacy's DC-7 and me on the right as a kid at the California 1000 air race in 1970
Bearcat, MustSee, P-51, Racing, Reno, WWII, historical, military, taildragger, video Email Article
Reader Comments (3)
I was an FAA Air Traffic Controller in Bakersfield, CA when I and another controller were assigned to a temporary Control Tower at Mojave, CA where we would "control" the incoming and departing air traffic that would arrive to watch the first Mojave 1000 race. We tried to use the old control tower from when Mojave had been a military base but, the windows were so dirty that we couldn't see anything and, moved all out equipment to the tower roof. If anyone else had been there or would like and article written about our experiences never encountered in this situation before, I have some stories to tell that are unique and yes, even scary. There is not enough room here but we were the first and after clouds of planes arrived and departed,we never had a midair between the 1700 spectator aircraft. My name is Pete Hansen (hansenpete@aol.com) and I am retired and live in Billings Montana. I'd be happy to tell my story.
valque e3d3fd1842 https://forum.weeboo.id/latirsmonska
I worked the first California 1000 Air race from Beginning to End with Darryl Greenamyer, Darryl’s Dad, Adam Robbins, and finally John Lear. After much planning, advertising, invitations and ground work we moved out to Mojave to set it all up. Speaking of windows, in your article, I know the problem. Our office and headquarters had the dirtiest windows imaginable. Cleaning them was a bear in all the wind. We searched for fuel put in the plane graveyard only to find mostly jet fuel. I learned how to drive a big flatbed truck and set pylons. Everybody did everything. No job was too small or too big. We all pitched in. The days started early and ended up at Darryl’s Dad’s motor home for dinner. I loved it all, especially my ride in Darryl’s P51. A flight of my life! It was an amazing experience. I left for Thailand soon after the race. I hopped a mail plane leaving from Mojave to LAX and caught my flight. I had to ride in the back with all the mail in something like a huge mesh bag. What a hoot. Kept up with Greenamyer and Lear but lost contact with Adam Robbins. Only saw him once after the race. Still have my yellow California 1000 jacket. Best time ever!!
Mary Pinkston (Christ)