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:827 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.
Your concerns are valid. There is a cottage industry for restorations, new skins, new rivets, new engines, new everything. CNC mfg methods make new parts with better tolerances (per original blueprint specs) than original parts. Plus, 65+ years of on-going maintenance have pretty much solved all maintenance issues, i.e. nothing new is being discovered at this point (except improved maintenance techniques and modifications such as better cooling systems and components, etc.).
Look at it this way: in WWII a plane had a combat-life expectancy of a few missions, they were expendable and maintenance (by draftee's or G.I.'s who wanted to do something else other than wrench on fighters) was geared to keep them flying until they were shot down or crashed due to pilot error/weather/etc. The people maintaining them today are in it for the long haul, they have the luxury of time to make everything perfect. Not "good enough", but perfect.
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.