[DesertRhino]

I wondered why his head wasn’t visible too. No idea if it should have been visible in that racing style cockpit. And why was the tailwheel down? Is there any chance that the force of the violent maneuver could have ripped it out of the retracted position?

[Kirkwood]

I would assume the seat harness would have kept the pilot upright in the seat, but what if the entire seat frame broke loose and slid backwards in the cockpit? I know nothing about the design of the cockpit. Just speculating. Is the seat on rails and is it pushed back at the start of the race? The pilot is clearly forward in the cockpit before the race.

[Kirkwood]

Compare cockpit in these two photos.

http://framework.latimes.com/2011/09/17/reno-air-races-crash/#/9

http://framework.latimes.com/2011/09/17/reno-air-races-crash/#/21

[jimmyray]

Yes, the pilots absence is odd. Perhaps he had a heart attack or a stoke?

visible in cockpit at taxi:

not visible prior to crash:

[Mensius]

And why was the tailwheel down?

Same question here... Could the pilot engage the rear landing gear separately, perhaps to induce drag and thus compensating for instability in the elevator? Curious...