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John &
Marcia Moore’s Czech Mate!
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My German brother has
sent photos and a video clip
of his new high performance, very unique Scale CZECH MATE.
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Only a few aircraft can
boast speeds of 490 mph; a speed you need in order to win against
Strega, Dago Red or Critical Mass. The fact that
winning speeds at Reno have risen to this plateau is a tribute to
the owners, pilots, crews and engineers. It also means there are
"slower" racers that don’t have that speed, but they play an equally
important role.
[Click
Any Photo to Enlarge]
One such racer is John & Marcia
Moore’s Czech Mate! |
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| Czech Mate
had originally been built as a Yak-11, and was last used as a
primary trainer in the Egyptian Air Force. With dual cockpits and
controls, the 700 hp aircraft proved to be tough, reliable, and
relatively fast. After its military career was over, the airframes
were stored. French warbird collector Jean Salis came upon the
cache, and thinking the aircraft would make a good warbird/sport
plane, was able to acquire and export forty-one of the surplus
airframes. He sold them as restoration projects around the world.
Czech Mate, airframe number 407, was one of these. |
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In stock form, a 289 mph
stock Yak-11 would probably not even qualify to race at
Reno. But Yancey considered the airframe and what could
be done to bring the speed up. The Shvetsov radial
engine was reliable, but if he was going to make a racer
ou t of a Yak-11 airframe. Yancey’s idea was to graft his
Corsair’s R-2800 CB-16 to the Yak airframe. The airplane
already had short wings, and enough internal volume for
fuel, ADI and the associated plumbing for race systems.
Several other modifications were made to increased
speed.
Thousands of detail items
had to be designed, worked out, built, installed and
tested. When the project started looking like an
airplane again, the racer was beginning to resembled a
modern day Gee Bee. The Czech Mate has never been an
easy aircraft to fly, but the addition of a taller
vertical tail has made it more manageable.
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