![]() With John at the stick, “Pipsqueak” shocked the participants and crowds with its speed and performance, going on to win the 2005 Jet Class handily. Thanks in large part to John, “Rare Bear” is one of the most successful and popular racers at Reno. For years John has been associated with the Unlimited Class “Rare Bear”, a WWII Bearcat fighter. Prior to purchasing “Pipsqueak” Joe secured the commitment of John Penney, a good friend and an icon of Reno Air Racing. The third essential piece of the race picture is the Pilot. We slapped some paint on it and headed out with our long shot. Also, he set out to streamline all surfaces.īy mid August, only a month before Reno “Pipsqueak” was certified and ready for race tuning. Dave recognized that 0105 was far lighter than the later models, and also that it had a practically new engine.ĭelivered in Mid-February 2005, Dave set to work from the start to lighten the airframe as much as race rules allow, and to optimize the engine for the course conditions. ![]() Built in 1974, it did not appeal to US buyers who were looking for the later models built in the mid 1980’s. ![]() In our case he identified our aircraft in a late 2004 trip to Czech, where he found Production Number 0105, the fifth production L-39, sitting forlornly in of a corner of the factory. Dave can do it all.ĭave has even more to offer. There are one or two companies in the US that have put all these functions together, but they have many people each doing a part. He is type rated in the L-29, L-39, MiG 21 and MiG 23.įinally, as an FAA Authorized Instructor, Dave trains future pilots. Once he decides the aircraft is ready to go, Dave performs the test hops himself. Dave has business contacts in several former Soviet Bloc countries, including Russia, who help him identify planes for sale.ĭave then performs the prepurchase inspection, packs the plane for shipping and arranges transport to the US.īack in the US he shepards the aircraft through Customs and BATF inspections.ĭave then takes delivery, unpacks the crate, and assembles the plane-sometimes without any English instructions. Thoroughly vetted by BATF and the State Department, he is a registered arms dealer, authorized to import “weapons of war” which is the label the State Department has given our warbirds. Dave is the only person in the world that qualifies for, and can do ALL of the following: Dave brings an incredibly unique set of skills to the warbird community. In late 2004 Joe instructed Dave Cannavo of Aero Enterprises to acquire an L-39 to not only race, but win.ĭave is the “creative genius” of the warbird industry. We needed a plane that could match Pipsqueak’s winning spirit. She is the personification of our Pipsqueak winning spirit and we are looking forward to her representing our racer in the years ahead. She has also logged several hours of right seat time in the family Cessna. She has taken flights to Mexico, Trinidad and Venezuela. He is a pilot and rated aircraft mechanic.Įmma is 3 years old and already an enthustastic and experienced flyer. Our latest representation of the Pipsqueak franchise is Emma Moyer, the daughter of Davey and Kristy Moyer. We continue to hope declining participation in the Unlimited Class and declining fan interest in the slow Jets will force a change soon. Once again the politics at Reno prevent Pipsqueak, the world’s fastest 元9, from competing.
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