Dave Heerensperger -- Innovator

Outrigger Pride of Pay 'n Pak

This very unusual and innovative boat was designed and built for the 1969 season.  Originally intended for mile straightaway record speed attempts, the design reduced lift by eliminating the air-trap between the cockpit/engine bay and the sponsons.  Gaps between the center hull and outrigger sponsons allowed air to escape, reducing lift..  In early 1969, the boat tried unsuccessfully to better the mile straightaway record speed set by Roy Duby in the Miss U.S in 1962.   After several days of trying to set the record, the team abandoned the attempt when speeds began to fall and equipment started to run-out.

Heerensperger entered the boat in the first five races of the 1969 season with Tommy Fults driving.  The boat proved to be very difficult to drive, and despite attempts to improve handling, the hull never improved significantly. The boat's last race was in Tri-Cities, WA, where Fults struggled to achieve the hull's best finish -- a third place.   The team decided to withdraw the boat from further competition after the Tri-Cities.  This was one of the few Heerensperger innovations which was not ultimately successful.  On the closed circuit courses, the design had proved uncompetitive in part due to the lack of air traps which reduced lift but also kept more of the boat in contact with the water.

Hemi-powered Pride of Pay 'n Pak

The Hemi-powered Pride of Pay 'n Pak featured two Keith Black 426 supercharged Hemi engines, just as the moderately successful Chrysler Crew had done.  Her Ron Jones designed and constructed hull featured the unconventional cabover configuration along with automotive power.  Patterned after Jones very successful 7-litter limited boats, the Hemi-powered Pride struggled during the 1970 season.   Her performance was weak enough that crew chief Dwight Thorne and the team decided to activate their backup boat, the "Pay 'n Pak 'lil Buzzard" and move driver Tommy Fults to the Buzzard and hire Ron Larson for the Pride.  Larson worked for Keith Black and had competed in Cabover limiteds, both assets which were helpful in realizing the full potential of the Hemi-powered boat.  In fact, the Hemi boat effectively became the backup to the Buzzard, the Pride never achieved the desired results that season. 

Following the 1970 season, Jim Lucero became crew chief and lead conversion of the Pride to Rolls Royce Merlin power and the conventional driver behind-the-engine configuration.  Over the next four years the reconfigured boat showed her true potential, winning 14 races including a Gold Cup and finishing second in national points for three consecutive years.  Her Jones designed pickle-fork hull had demonstrated higher cornering speeds than the competition, thanks to her wider, flatter, less box shaped design with broad afterplanes.

Winged Wonder -- Domination through Innovation

The next innovative boat appeared to be somewhat evolutionary on the surface (except for the radical horizontal stabilizer), but was in fact very revolutionary.   Incorporating honeycomb aluminum instead of wood for most of the structural elements of the hull, the new boat was considerably lighter than her contemporaries.   The new material affected the appearance of the boat -- honeycomb panels are inherently flat, so the boat had more plane surfaces than before.  While originally penned as a cabover, owner Heerensperger insisted the boat use the conventional driver behind-the-engine configuration, so it was built that way.  The new horizontal wing was functional, unlike most of the adornments on the tail of previous hydroplanes.   The wing allowed control of the center of lift, allowing the team to effectively balance the boat.  While somewhat crude, it was very effective for its time.

Thanks to the excellent design, innovative materials, and exceptional execution, the new Pay 'n Pak essentially revolutionized the sport.  She won the national championship for four consecutive years (1973-1975 as Pay 'n Pak, 1976 as Atlas Van Lines), including her very first year of competition.  By 1975, almost all the leading Unlimited Hydroplanes had sprouted wings, most were Ron Jones hulls, and most were aluminum honeycomb.  The combination of Heerensperger's competitive spirit and willingness to invest in R&D, along with Ron Jones considerable design and construction talent and Crew Chief Jim Lucero's extraordinary engineering talent created one of the most successful race boats of all time.

Birth of Turbine Power

Dave Heerensperger backed the talented Jim Lucero to allow Lucero to create the first successful turbine-powered hydroplane.  While the Jim and Pamela Clapp's U-95 deserves credit as the first practical turbine boat, having competed in several races and being the first heat turbine boat to win a competition heat, the Pay 'n Pak turbine was the first to win a  race.  One of the big differences between Lucero's creation and the U-95 was weight -- the U-95 with its two T-53 turbines and large gearbox weighed about the same as conventional hydros -- around 7,000 lbs.  The Pay 'n Pak was almost 2,000 lbs lighter, due to its extensive use of aluminum honeycomb and it single, more powerful T-55 turbine.  As with the winged wonder, honeycomb construction constrained the shape of the boat -- the slab-sides of the cowling and cockpit were prominent in this design.

The boat suffered two notable accidents -- the first in the Tri-Cities in 1980 when the horizontal stabilizer failed at speed, resulting in a blowover for the boat.  Driver John Walters was injured but recovered.  The second mishap occurred at Seattle in 1982, when the Executone lost control and collided with the Squire Shop, both boats veering across the path of the hurling Pak.  The Pak collided with the boats at tremendous speed, sending the Pak into the air and ejecting Walters, who was critically injured.   Although he did eventually recover, Walters suffered permanent back and leg injuries.  Heerensperger permanently retired from racing following the accident.

Lucero is now recognized as the turbine pioneer.  He established the Lycomming T-55 as the definitive turbine powerplant.  His lightweight hull construction was universally adopted.  On the Pak, Lucero also experimented with movable canards, which would become standard components of boats several years later.

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