Title: Hinton Sets Record, Souped-Up Jets Are Banned Source:
EAA URL Source:http://www.eaa.org/news/2011/2011-09-15_reno.asp Published:Sep 15, 2011 Author:Lane Wallace Post Date:2011-09-16 22:38:25 by X-15 Keywords:None Views:552 Comments:15
September 15, 2011 – This year’s edition of the 48th Reno National Air Races at Stead Field, Nevada, got off to a blazing start as 24-year-old race pilot Steven Hinton, flying the highly modified P-51 Strega, set a new qualifying record of 499.16 mph on the very first day of qualifying in the Unlimited Category. Will Whiteside, flying the P-51 Voodoo, qualified second, and Stewart Dawson qualified third in Rare Bear. Rod Lewis’ powerhouse Sea Fury, 232, flown by retired astronaut Robert “Hoot” Gibson, turned in the fourth-fastest qualifying time but then had to withdraw from competition due to mechanical difficulties. On the other hand, Gibson’s withdrawal made room for Matt Jackson to join the qualifying pack in the Sea Fury Furias. Furias was on a “waitlist” to race because its entry paperwork arrived late.
Lewis’ Sea Fury will not be the only powerhouse sitting out this year’s races, however. The Jet Class will also be missing several of its top fastest racers, due to a rule change implemented after the rookie Pylon Racing School (PRS) in June. In the past few years, owners of several L-29 Czech training jets, in an effort to beat the larger L-39 jets that had dominated the class, had put larger engines in the planes. But during this year’s PRS, one of the souped-up jets (flown by Heather Penney, daughter of veteran race pilot John Penney) had an overheating problem that almost resulted in the loss of its rudder. So, at least for this year’s event, the race committee has decreed that only jets with stock engines will be allowed to race. The other rule change that might affect this year’s event relates to weather. Last year’s Unlimited Gold Race on Sunday afternoon was finally called due to high winds - the first time that had ever happened. But this year, the Race Committee has already announced that if the surface winds are more than 35 knots, the race will be called in the interests of safety.
Jon Sharp, who holds 15 Reno championship titles in the Formula I and Sport classes, including four consecutive Sport Class victories in his NemesisNXT, officially announced his retirement from racing this past summer. But two of his NXT kit planes, one flown by Kevin Eldredge and one flown by Cristophe Delbos, are entered in this year’s Sport Class competition. So the airplane’s winning legacy might just continue without him.
What else? Well, the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor had to cancel (it, too, had mechanical issues). But the Air Force Thunderbird demonstration team will be performing over the weekend, along with a host of other air show performers. And for those who prefer their old airplanes straight up, the Rolls-Royce Invitational Trophy competition will showcase more than 20 Grand Champion-quality antique, classic, and warbird restorations throughout the week. The Rolls-Royce trophy, which resides at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Museum at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., the rest of the year, will be awarded Sunday before the afternoon racing begins.
The Reno National Air Races run through Sunday. Results will be posted on the event website.
Poster Comment:
Learn about Reno here before you get the disinformation/ignorance/lies from the MSM.
That was a tragic accident, but far less than it could have been. I hope they continue with the air racing tradition. No cultural event, of which I think this qualifies, that's worth doing is always safe.
They should not use such old planes in such a punishing way. This was an accident waiting to happen. Aluminum will fail suddently after a long period of low frequency stress much faster then say steel.
Think of how work harding works; bend the wire coat hanger over and over and le voila! it breaks.
Now, take coat cangers, one steel, one aluminum. Put it in a testing machine that flexes both slightly for a long long period, which could be years.
The aluminum one will break long before the steel one will. To do steel that way could take decades.
These airplanes have been gone over and modified to a degree that there's hardly any original metal on them. They are stripped down and inspected by FAA inspectors on a regular basis, they're maintained better than any commercial airliner and that's not an exaggeration.
That being said, they're ex-military modified racers attaining speeds that are at the limits of propeller-driven technology and there's always a risk every time any plane leaves the Earth.
Stock restoration pics just to show you how extensive a restoration is. Any questionable parts are replaced, money is no object on these planes.
You are right about that. But I worry if they use the old method of detecting weaknesses with dye penatrate rather then the new method using x-rays to find bad structural pieces. And I don't fully trust the method of rempacing working rivets with a larger diameter rivet as we used to do when we detected them on our helicopters in my old Army aviaton unit.
Regardless of how well these craft are rebuilt, I still trust new aluminum airframes over old ones. I am also very cautious when I fly. For example, if I am pre-flighting a rental I have never flown in, I allow plenty of time to do so and do my best to fail it which is preferable to the danger of flying something with a problem people have overlooked.
I am also very cautious when I fly. For example, if I am pre-flighting a rental I have never flown in, I allow plenty of time to do so and do my best to fail it which is preferable to the danger of flying something with a problem people have overlooked.
I didn't know you flew. I guess I don't know who else here flies. We should take a poll. I got a private license about 19 years ago, I guess it's been now.
My Dad was a commercial pilot who served as Navy pilot in WW II. My Mom was the youngest woman at age 16 in Connecticut in 1953m and I got my private ticket in 1970 at age 16 as well. I could fly before I could drive (by three months).
Years ago I had a Huey crash into a truck I was standing next to as well that did a pedal turn too fast with a heavy swing load. I did as I was trained and hit the ground and swam in the gravel, screamed and prepared to die. But I got up and was the first one on the bird laying on it's side with the T53L13 engeine still winding downm the short shaft having sheared separating it from the transmission. Basically the main rotor turned into metal shards hitting the ground a body's lenght from my legs.
I jettisoned the door and helped the pilot in the left seat with his inertial reel harness and gave him a hand getting out.
No one was killed, both pilots had very bad bruises, and the young man who had been standing where it hit ran like hell instead of doing the protocol Vick Morrow should of when his head was lopped off filming the Twilight Zone movie.
We were afraid he was unter it, but he was at the bottom of the steep bank on the opposite side of the road behind the truck out cold after hitting his head on a rock.
It happened very fas, I remember the truck tipping off the right wheels when the bird it it almost tipping onto me. I don't think I've ever had a fright or adrenalin rush quite like that.
I don't ever want to have something like that happen again.