Weatherly Big Air Club....

[Ron Mann]

I'll be posting pixs from Weatherly's jump....from 5 decades!! Who is going big you say??

Up first... Sam Maria in his Toyota MR2

[bob oswald]

Based on the picture on Jim's living room wall of him in the Kellison I'l bet on him. IT shows appr. 4 ft of air

[Ron Mann]

would love a scan of that pix Oz!!

Here is Mike Ancas...

[Ron Mann]

Back to the 60's with Judy Beattie and her Lotus!

oh...and I think I have the photo the Oz was talking about...we'll save that for later!

[Ron Mann]

Rob Campbell shows that some Bugs can fly....

[Ron Mann]

Morgan Wilson gets some hang time!

[Ron Mann]

The big Mach 1 of Steve Lewis, in the air....

[mrevilracing]

OMG! MORGAN! I don't care what anyone says....when I leave the ground, it's the scariest $#@!)&$%'n thing you can do. But holy crap. I'd just get out of that thing after that. So I'll hand it to you there, Morgan. Wow!

I know what the jolt looks like from the in-car in the Mach. I wanna see the in-car from that. My neck hurts just looking at the picture.

[FV195]

It really make you wonder if Morgs wings are working, or are they on upside down? that is alot of air!
well I guess I have seen it all. "FROGS FLYING"
THOR
PHA snowbird

[Ron Mann]

Al Corazza in his rally Subaru gets some quality air!

[Ron Mann]

Dennis Fink's first ride...prior to the destruction of this Corvette, it got some air!

[mrevilracing]

Wow. Corazza's car doesn't look like it's going over a jump. It looks like it's taking off.

[Ron Mann]

Blast from the past....Kerry Hitt, sorry for the poor quality!

[acorazza]

I don't care how I run the rest of the course or what my time is, I judge a successful run by how much air I get over the jump!

[dspgti]

Al, have you ever made any comparisons? You do realize that when you are in the air, you can't accellerate? Big air means you are off line. Makes for pretty cool photography but kills the run time.
Look at any shot from the front. See the inside low side and see the outside high side? Why do you want to be out there?

Hey , don't get me wrong, the worst run I ever had at Weatherly (that doesn't count the two crashes before I got to the jump) is the shot I show everybody else. Looks impressive but not where you want to be if low time is your goal.

Dave Y

[Mwilson]

Dave I hope you will enlighten us all on how to successfully run Weatherly. Are you saying if you get air you cannot run a proper line? Have you ever run Weatherly with a Formula car that weights 950lbs.? Have you ever run in the mid to upper 50's at Weatherly? We all know that you can't accelerate when your off the ground. Don't try to make us look like a bunch of Smucks that know absolutely nothing about hill climbing. For your information I have been told by some of the best drivers driving on how to run Weatherly. I have been running for 6 years and by no means am i as much of an EXPERT as you are about running the hills. I can tell you that I have tried not getting air and my times went down dramatically. I have experimented with different lines and different ways to get to the finish line as fast as I can driving a 1964 modified formula V with very antiquated suspension. The picture of me you are probably referring to was my fastest time ever at Weatherly and won me the Championship in 2007. I have seen many great drivers getting air over the jump because for them that is the fastest way to get to the finish line. Bob Ozwald, Jim Oswald, Ken Taggart, Kurt Eikenberg, D. Danko, Barry Griffin, Bill Miller, Rob Campbell, Mike Ankas, and many many more. Even George Bowland with his huge wings even gets a little air. Are you saying that all of these drivers are running off line. Are you saying that all of these drivers don't understand that they can't accelerate when their wheels are off the ground? I'm quite sure ALL of these drivers will eagerly be awaiting your EXPERT opinion on how to not get air and still remain competitive. Better still try comming to a few hill climb events this season and you could show us all how its done.

[TKnorr]

I have been told by a few who have run Weatherly in the past, that you should tap the brakes when you reach the crest of the jump so you can get the power to the wheels as soon as possible. I still do not follow that advice.
From turn 4 to the finish I do not lift; keep in mind my Sprite is not well endowed with a lot of power. When I have a good run, all four of my wheels are off the ground. It is true that you cannot get the power to the wheels when in the air, however, when you lift at any time, your car loses momemtum. The car is in mid air for a very brief period of time with no road friction. Is it faster one way or another, only a measured time through this area would provide the answer.
Tom Knorr

[Ron Mann]

geez Dave...you're such a thread buster....not all threads have to turn into some kind of clinic or rant.

[Ron Mann]

Now....back to the original thread.

Mike Sarzynski gets his big Volvo up....

[dspgti]

Morgan, why do you think I was stating anything negative about your line? My point was look at "any" picture taken from the front to get a perspective on the shape of the crest and how being outside will obviously give the biggest air but not only would you (meaning generic driver) would be off line let alone dangerious. I was commenting on Al's observation that he judges the success of his run by the amount of air and I recommended that he compare times to be a better judge.
I can only comment on sedan type cars but I don't think any of us would think of lifting, braking or purposely doing anything that would keep us from "hitting the jump at maximum speed". As for you Formula guys and sports racers, I wouldn't even think of offering any advice nor would I find tips from any of them usefull to my type of cars.
So you miss me that much at the events Morg or are you putting down a challege? Maybe I can make 1 or 2 more events this year. We'll see.

Love you guy, (and I mean that in a manly way)
Dave Y.