Reno Racers

[GregP]

Clay Lacey wasn't done with airliners on public display. Later, he teamed up with the Human Fly and did a "wing walker" routine with a Douglas DC-8. I say "Wing Walker" toungue in cheek because the Human Fly never was on the wing ... he was on top of the fuselage. Without further ado, here is the Human Fly at low altitude:

Actually lower than the DC-7 above! Now that's not something you see every day!

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Great Pic Greg, I remember that, 1978 IIRC, I was in A&P school at the time and went to the races with a fellow classmate who fenagled us out to one of the pylons. Great times!

 

[N4521U]

Did anyone ever get a photo of the pickup truck Hoover ran in to?
He loaned his rudder to Stu Eberhardt that year as Stu's rudder trim tab broke away.
It was referred to as Bob's Hoover Magic bread slicer!

 

[GregP]

Didn't get a pic of that, but here's a good pic.

Yeager, Hoover, and Anderson.

 

[GregP]

Just a bit of wishful thinking. I wish someone would finish the racer Shockwave. Here's the airframe now:

and here's what it is supposed to look like, though the colors are pure fantasy:

Basically, it is a Hawker Sea Fury wing, tail feathers from an F-86 with full flying stab, T-2 Buckeye landing gear, and a new fuselage with an R-4360 engine in it making 5,000 HP. Would take effort to finish, but it is owned by Rod Lewis and it is possible that he has put enough money into air racing that he may not really want to finish it at this time. On the other hand, you never know, and he DOES love airplanes (gotta' love THAT about him, anyway! We need more people who love to race.).

I'd love to see it go 'round the pylons ...

 

[Admiral Beez]

So what does it take for a Mustang to win at Reno?

Aerodynamics. These airplanes are glassy smooth -- even the numbers and lettering are flush with the paint. Wings are clipped and often recontoured. Tail incidences are changed. Coolant exit doors are extended, and cooling drag minimized. The top dogs generally run a P-51H liquid to liquid heat exchanger to reduce cooling drag. Cockpits are sealed and airflow under the hood is scrutinized for the same reason.

At this point is it really a Mustang? Why not just start with a fresh airframe?

 

[GregP]

Wing incidences are changed, too. The engine mount is also straight rather than right thrust and down thrust. and the fin and stab are straight. The canopy is basically from a Formula 1 airplane. At least the shape. More likely, the size is a lot smaller than stock, too. Horizontal tail is also clipped a bit. Cooling drag is looked at VERY carefully. Props are generally contoured and a bit smaller than stock. Once reduced in span, they cannot then be used on a Limited category airplane ... at least, the blades.

 

[gumbyk]

Just a bit of wishful thinking. I wish someone would finish the racer Shockwave. Here's the airframe now:

View attachment 616991

That and Tsunami...
Tsunami History | FE Build A Plane (flightexpo.org)

 

[Admiral Beez]

How does the Bristol Centaurus fare in these events? Do the sleeves hold up?

I see that the Centaurus is often removed and replaced with P&W or Curtiss radials.

September Fury - Wikipedia replaced with Curtis Wright R-3350-93

 

[warbird51]

Did anyone ever get a photo of the pickup truck Hoover ran in to?
He loaned his rudder to Stu Eberhardt that year as Stu's rudder trim tab broke away.
It was referred to as Bob's Hoover Magic bread slicer!

i watched it happen. I was out with Race 6 when Hoover came taxiing by on the cold side of the ramp between the staged racers and the pits ( a serious no-no ). He had the tail wheel locked and was waving to the crowd and then signal to the racers to crank em up. People were having to run out of his way because he wasn't looking what was in front of him. I could see the dragster crew people waving frantically at him and running out of the way just before he hit the truck. The next day he borrowed David Price's Mustang for pace duties. He came fast taxiing by on the hot ramp side, tail wheel locked again. Someone got on the race frequency and announced " watch your trucks, Hoover is taxiing". It was quiet on the race frequency for a bit

 

[GregP]

The Wrights and Pratts an turn faster than stock, and that helps power in addition to more MAP.

From what I know, the Centaurus runs very well and very reliably at stock RPM levels but, if you run it much faster, even as little as 2,900 rpm, it gets very delicate in the sleeve valve area. It'll stand more MAP, but has trouble running even just a little bit faster than stock rpm.

That said, unless you are a serious racer, there is no reason to run one at higher than stock rpm as they are very powerful in stock form. So, a stock-looking warbird with a Centaurus can be a LOT lighter than wartime weight, and a stock Centaurus gives it very good power to weight. The main knock against the Centaurus is that it is getting hard to find good parts. I only know of one shop that can hone worn-out Centaurus cylinders back to smooth bores, and that is Joe Yancey's shop in Chino. There may be others but, if so, not many.

He did the cylinders for Ellsworth Getchell and the barrels for two Queen's flight Centaurus engines. Most shops don't seem to know how to get the top-of-the-stroke step out of the worn cylinders. Joe has it figured out. The Centaurus seems to run quite well and reliably. I hope to hear them still running for many more years. Great engine.

 

[AMCKen]

How does the Bristol Centaurus fare in these events? Do the sleeves hold up?

I was at Reno 10 times between 1974 and 1989. Somewhere I have a picture of Lloyd Hamilton looking in the cowl is his Sea Fury at a broken Centaurus. Perhaps he is wondering where he is going to get another. I expect spare P&W and Wright engines are rather more plentiful.