April 1993 - American Bonanza Society

BONANZA OF THE MONTH
;
Round-the-World Air Race
Bob Wahl ,md Steve Nagorny pilot 1967 F33A
Bonanza to victol)' in 25 day race.
OnJuly 12, 1992, pilot Bob Wahl qf Rochester, N.Y. ,
and copilot SIeve Nagomy of York, Pa., piloted Wahl's
F33A inlO first place in Cannes, Fmnce, 011 the final
leg of thejirst Round-the-World Air Race. The mce WClS
sponsomd by Arc en Ciel, a Paris aviation club with a
histOlY of doil1g this type of event.
l,'nlml1ts in the mce cClmefrom Belgium, C""CldCl, Fin­
IClnd, Fmnce, Cemlany, CUCllemala, Hong Kong, India,
Sweden, the United Kingdom Clnd the US.A. The 27 participating
ai-rcrCljl mced around Ihe world, over the
Soviet Union all the WCly to Siberia, crossed the Bering
Stmit to AlaskCl, .flew eastbound over C""adCl and the
United StClles, then into CmenlClnd and, ajler a jinal
jump over the North Atlantic, on to CClnnes, Fmnce.
Throughout the grueling 25-day mce, Wahl's
turbononllalized BonanzCl 'l'emClined in eitherjirst or
second place, baWing if out against a multitude of different
aircraft, including other non turbocharged Beech
Bonanzas and a B36TC; Cessna 210s, 310s, a 340,
414s, 421s; Piper Twin Comanches, an Ael'Osta/; and a
Piper Malibu; a Mooney 252 YBE; a turbo ClasClir JJJ;
Clnd various other high peljormClnce aircmft.
Assisted by a 70 knot tClilwind on their jinal leg, the
team of Wahl and Nagomy mced into Cannes to victO/y.
The /ollowing is a shol1 synopsis 0/ the
mce as laid by Bob Wahl.
For the flight, I had my 1987 F33A
Bonanza modi.fied with the installation
of a Flitecraft Turbonormalizer
and 80-plus ga llon tip tanks
designed by Ff'dnk Haile and fabricated
by Bill Bancroft. We were also equipped
with Gamlin GPS, Argus 7000 moving map,
Smnnscope, GEM, Shadin fuel totalizer, and
two 115 cu. ft. oxygen bottles.
Prevailing westerly winds would give the
turbo-equipped airplane an advantage, taking us
over the weather and giving us access to stronger
tailwincl