Phantom wins championship air races; Aberle announces retirement

Joe Naiman

Village News Correspondent

Tom Aberle owns Aberle Custom Aircraft and Fallbrook Air Service at Fallbrook Community Airpark. Until a negotiated sale is finalized, he also co-owns a racing biplane with Andrew Buehler, and during this year’s National Championship Air Races in Reno, Buehler piloted the biplane called “Phantom” to its 10th Gold Cup race win while Aberle was part of the support crew.

Buehler flew Phantom for the first time since 2005, which meant that for the first time in 12 years Aberle did not see Phantom in the National Championship Air Races from the cockpit.

“It’s real spectacular, just fun to watch,” Aberle said.

Buehler averaged 219.854 mph in winning the third heat race and 226.725 mph in winning the Gold Cup.

Aberle, who is now 74, has decided to retire as a racing pilot due to health reasons. He made the decision approximately two years ago and did not participate in the National Championship Air Races in 2016.

“I will not be racing again,” Aberle said. “I’m retired.”

The Gold Cup race was Sept. 16, and the awards banquet was held Sept. 17. That night Aberle and Buehler obtained a commitment to purchase Phantom, which will remain with Aberle until the transaction is completed.

“It will run again,” Aberle said.

Phantom weighs 738 pounds, has a wingspan of approximately 20 feet and utilizes a four-cylinder, 360-cubic-inch Lycoming engine. Aberle designed and built Phantom over a seven-month period before the plane’s first flight took place in August 2003.

Phantom first flew in the National Championship Air Races in 2003, but after one propeller was damaged in the qualifying session and the other propeller was damaged in the first heat race, Aberle withdrew from the second heat and the Gold Cup. Phantom and Aberle won both heat races in 2004 while setting a qualifying class record with an average speed of 241.05 mph and a Gold Cup record with an average speed of 237.9 mph.

During the qualifying session, pilots fly the 3.1-mile course until they feel comfortable and give a signal to the timer. The planes are then timed for two laps with the faster lap being counted as the qualifying speed. The top eight qualifying planes compete in the Gold Division. The heat races and the main race are six laps apiece.

Aberle and Phantom also won both heat races in 2006 and set a new qualifying record of 249 mph and a new Gold Cup record with an average speed of 246.545 mph. In 2007 Aberle raised the qualifying record to 251.573 mph, although melted pistons forced Aberle to miss one heat race and exit the other heat race and the Gold Division race early. In 2008 Aberle raised the Gold Cup record to 251.975 mph while winning both heat races and posting a qualifying time of 249 mph. Aberle also qualified at 249 mph in 2009, pulled out of the first heat race after a plugged fuel injector caused engine problems, ran the second heat race at 70 percent of full throttle and won the Gold Cup at an average speed of 236 mph. Aberle qualified at a record 260.801 mph in 2010 and won both heat races while averaging 250.858 mph in winning the Gold Cup. He won both heat races after averaging 244 mph during qualifying in 2011, when the crash of a P-51 which killed the pilot and 10 spectators, canceled that year’s finals.

Three heat races were contested in 2012, when Aberle qualified at 260.413 mph and won the first two heat races but was disqualified in the added third heat for flying below the 25-foot minimum. Despite starting the Gold Division race on the outside of the back row due to the disqualification, he won that race with an average speed of 246.545 mph. Aberle qualified at 259.444 mph in 2013 and won both heat races, setting a class record of 254.243 mph in the first of those, while winning the Gold Cup with an average speed of 252.242 mph. In 2014 Aberle broke the qualifying record by averaging 274.091 mph and won all three heat races, but he was not feeling well the day before the Gold Cup and withdrew.

Aberle qualified at a record 284.454 mph in 2015 and won all three of his heat races with average speeds of 245.866 mph, 256.423 mph and 264.656 mph. He won the Gold Cup race with an average speed of 235.109 mph.

Aberle first flew the Reno course in 1966 and first competed in the National Championship Air Races in 1967.

“It is such a huge thing,” he said.

He plans to return to Reno for the races.

“I'll be up there for support maybe,” Aberle said.

Those stays will likely be overnight rather than for the duration of the competition, he said.

“I’m not staying up there for 10 days.” Aberle said.

Aberle will continue to remain active in Aberle Custom Aircraft and Fallbrook Air Service.