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This sign is on the outside of the shop that welcomes visitors to the Miss Budweiser shop. |
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The shop is huge and two stories. Here we see a Budweiser pick-up truck, a Miss Budweiser truck and a Miss Budweiser hydroplane behind the truck. Not seen, is another boat behind all of this. |
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T-6, Miss Budweiser on tilt. The snorkel on T-6 adds lift and weight to the boat. |
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Many signs and posters decorate the shop. Work is zoned. On the bottom floor are the engine, gearbox, prop making equipment, etc. One can see that the shop has a second floor where drafting, final prop work, glass work, etc. is done. |
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In the lunch room on one wall are framed photos of all
Miss Budweiser drivers. The opposite wall has photos of all
boats.
Each Monday morning there is a crew meeting in the lunch room. The team has 7 full time crew. Some crew have been with the team for nearly 30 years; the average age is 50. Driver Dave Villwock is 50, and the youngest is crew chief Mark Smith, who is in his late 30s. |
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One of the 18 turbine engines. Engines can be rolled
as each is placed on custom made rolling carts. The T-55s were
manufactured in the late 1950s and 1960s. Although fuel controls
are in short supply, the team generally has access to turbine
parts. Engines can run 3-4 years before needing a complete
overhaul.
Years back the team bought 10 turbines in Vietnam, which were used to build 6 race engines; one of the engines had a mortar hole in it! |
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Accessories are neatly bagged and labeled. |
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Two gearboxes from the gearbox area. They, too, are on custom made carts. Nearby, additional parts and gears are stored in cabinets. |
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This is where the hunk of metal starts the process of being shaped into a prop. |
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More work being done in the three-week prop making process. |
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Finish work is done on props upstairs. |
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The fiberglass shop is upstairs. UU members could not miss what looked like the beginning of a T-7 cockpit. Plans for a T-7 were shelved. |
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The drafting room upstairs includes full-sized drawings of the Miss Budweiser boats. Jeff Campbell, facing camera, of the Miss Bud crew, explains a drawing to UU members. |
