Rick Brickert and the Pond Racer

1986 National Champion Rick Brickert (standing with Bruce Boland behind cockpit) and the Planes of Fame crew with the Pond Rutan racer, Race 21, following flight testing at Ontario Airport, California, east of Chino, prior to the 1991 Reno Air Races. The opaque sky is caused by heavy smog in the Southern California area on the day this picture was taken.

The Pond racer was developed by Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites of Mojave, California, with funding provided by Philanthropist Bob Pond, owner of the Planes of Fame East Air Museum and the new Palm Springs Air Museum. Rutan and company provided the early development, with flight test later transferred to the Planes of Fame Air Museum, of Chino, California. The Pond was tested at Mojave, Chino, Ontario and Reno, and flown with escort to Reno during the racing season.

The Pond was raced at Reno in 1991, dropping out of the Silver as a DNS due to mechanical failures, but came back the following year to finish 2nd in the Bronze. Tragically, Brickert and the Pond racer were lost during qualifications at Reno in 1993, during a forced landing attempt in the sage.

The picture was among a group of photographs shot for Associated Press (AP) of Los Angeles, California, but never published. Additional photographs will be featured at a later time. Photo remains unbranded for collectors. Image is from negatives.

Photo by Mark S. "Bear" Daniels/www.ilips.net