Fred,
We dare not approach Miss Nellie with this one. We're afraid that she'll throw a fit – or something heavier, like a rule book.
Seriously, participants may not change the flight dynamics of the aircraft at this stage. Those flight dynamics include the plane's combination of speed, range, altitude, agility, stability, and so forth. That is the rule. You will understand that in a competitive environment, even in one so friendly and mild as this, we cannot have pilots tweaking their aircraft to suit their needs.
The Paul Clawson Gamma is a particular representation of the Northop Gamma 2A. You are right that it does not have the fuel capacity, and thus the range, of Frank Hawks' plane--but it is also a great deal faster than the original aircraft. (Our own research suggests that the performance is much closer to the speed of the specially-powered Howard Hughes transcontinental record-holder, the Gamma 2G owned by Jacqueline Cochran. For that effort, Hughes installed a different Wright engine and added extra tanks.) The Paul Clawson model might not have the same range/performance that other designers would incorporate, but it is the model that we approved for the White List.
That said, the Clawson Gamma 2A is very competitive in our field of aircraft – it might be the fastest racer. However, it asks for some strategic planning about how to balance speed against range for different sorts of legs during the course of the event.
Hope this helps,
The Committee
(BTW. We did do some extra research on the Northrop Gamma, and Paul Clawson's attractive model, because it is both the fastest aircraft in the race and also faster than the original. We decided to keep it on the White List because the Gamma is an airplane of real historic interest and character. The limited range compensates for the extra speed to prevent it from simply blowing away the competition.)
