No, it’s not a blown-up Merlin on a Mustang being frantically changed by a team of twelve guys in the Unlimited pits. But for a guy racing his “daily driver” in the Sport Class, swallowing a valve can make for some lost time and a bit of coin. Fortunately problems like this early in the week can be dealt with so long as you have a friend willing to drive a new angle valve Lycoming cylinder in from Visalia (CA) overnight. Lycoming cylinders are rare as hen’s teeth right now, but hey—when the races are on, folks are willing to dig in to their secret stash to help a guy out.
This plane (identity withheld) will be back in qualifying trim by the end of Tuesday!
Enjoy reading about your aviation pursuits! We look forward to you speaking at one of our NASA Langley Alumni Assn (LAA) meetings in the future: https://larcalumni.org