Midair at Reno Air races

Left aileron and complete empennage.


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I guarantee someone here will suspect the pods on the wingtips are engines. Can’t fix stupid. I never understood why Beguine had that mod, “Hey Guys, I’ve got a great idea. Let’s double the drag on the plane and paint the notes from my favorite song on the side!”. My perspective is based on mid ‘90s thinking 50 years later, they were pushing the envelope back in the late ‘40s.
Seems like there was a Mustang they flattened the belly on by relocating the radiator but I can't remember it. Either way - it was a pretty airplane - if they'd have just minimized it like on Strega or Voodoo or Dago it would have been a fast machine.
 
Seems like there was a Mustang they flattened the belly on by relocating the radiator but I can't remember it. Either way - it was a pretty airplane - if they'd have just minimized it like on Strega or Voodoo or Dago it would have been a fast machine.

Galloping Ghost, which crashed at reno in 2011 had that mod.
 
Seems like there was a Mustang they flattened the belly on by relocating the radiator but I can't remember it. Either way - it was a pretty airplane - if they'd have just minimized it like on Strega or Voodoo or Dago it would have been a fast machine.
I think the first one in the modern era was Stilleto back in the '80s, there might've been more since but I'm not a historian. I think they clipped the wings, ditched the scoop and put the radiators in the wing gun bays with an intake/exit that I have no knowledge of. It was built by some pretty smart people at the time and it was fast.
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The problem most racers find themselves butting heads with is trying to dissipate heat. You can trim everything down and reduce drag but if you want to go fast you have to make more power and making power creates more heat. I think Stilleto was Zueschel attempting to get really slippery and not push the engine so much, you can't win if you don't finish. I wasn't there, but I know people who were. Galloping Ghost had a boil off system and no scoop and it was fast, if you can figure out a way to keep the fluids on a Mustang cool without adding drag it's a rocket. But you have to carry a tank of ADI (50/50 water/methanol mix) big enough for the coolant radiator and the oil cooler, this all adds weight and you need to make sure that weight doesn't effect the handling of the airplane. I'm not saying anything but I can recall Lyle saying he was pushing forward on the stick coming around pylon 8 in the Bearcat once, and he was not happy about it. What do I know? I'm just a mechanic.
 
As cool as pylon racing is the record sure isn’t great.
Well, to be fair to pylon racing (and pylon racing needs lotsa love) this happened after the planes had left the pylons. This was a garden variety aviation thing. You know, a texting-while-driving kinda "tragedy".
 
Left aileron and complete empennage.


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The gear's already down, he was downwind turning to base to land. I'm not even sure what I think about pylon racing airplanes anymore. I never messed with a T-6, my efforts were always pushing for the Unlimited Gold, our airplane required a bit of time to slow down and cool off, you can't just pull off the power abruptly and coast. This was the T-6 Gold race on the final Sunday ever at Reno, it's a hard piece of work for more than just the week at the races to win the top prize in your class. The airplane in that picture won the last Gold T-6 race at Reno, the other airplane that crashed finished second. In my dumb head I can imagine someone who'd spent months or years to achieve something and somehow got complacent relaxing after the fact. These are probably the two best T-6 pilots on the planet and they run into each other? I'm sad. A little bird told me Stevo was ready to remind everyone why doing any of this was awesome, but it's over. So be it.
 
4 fatal crashes since 2011. The fact this was the last year for these air races, with one of those reasons stated being safety. Now they're looking for a new home and skipping 2024.
30K+/- deaths on the roadways every year. Of course, car travel is a norm and, generally, necessary within our culture; still, 4 deaths - however tragic - over a dozen years seems almost irrelevant if one compares it to travel by automobile, no?

4 compared to, roughly 320K?|

I'm sorry for the families of the four, but good gawd amighty, the rate/frequency seems inconsequential unless one really, really just hates air shows.

No requirement, of course, to reply, but why the focus on such a minimal loss vis-a-vis daily reality on the roadways, by fire and accident, or even suicide?
 
30K+/- deaths on the roadways every year. Of course, car travel is a norm and, generally, necessary within our culture; still, 4 deaths - however tragic - over a dozen years seems almost irrelevant if one compares it to travel by automobile, no?

4 compared to, roughly 320K?|

I'm sorry for the families of the four, but good gawd amighty, the rate/frequency seems inconsequential unless one really, really just hates air shows.

No requirement, of course, to reply, but why the focus on such a minimal loss vis-a-vis daily reality on the roadways, by fire and accident, or even suicide?
No, you’re right. We should be reevaluating everything to do with our •ed up transportation system, from the way it requires people to own an expensive, depreciating asset that spends 90%+ of its time sitting unused, to the needless deaths due to collisions and pollution, to the massive subsidies society gives to everything to do with automotive culture, to the way isolating ourselves in boxes for most of our day drives the intolerance and hatred spreading through society.
 
No, you’re right. We should be reevaluating everything to do with our •ed up transportation system, from the way it requires people to own an expensive, depreciating asset that spends 90%+ of its time sitting unused, to the needless deaths due to collisions and pollution, to the massive subsidies society gives to everything to do with automotive culture, to the way isolating ourselves in boxes for most of our day drives the intolerance and hatred spreading through society.
I agree with this, believe it or not. I think we could do better having a balanced transportation system across intelligent parameters, rail and bus and air, but it won't occur within my lifetime - I'm sure.
 
to the way isolating ourselves in boxes for most of our day drives the intolerance and hatred spreading through society.

*downshifts to 3rd, passes you in the cruising lane, flips you off*. If you'd just get the mom-van out of the passing lane, everything would be fine! Passing lane cruisers are the sole cause of the downfall of Western Society. They all vote for Trump and kick puppies for fun. It is time for a Jihad.
 
No, you’re right. We should be reevaluating everything to do with our •ed up transportation system, from the way it requires people to own an expensive, depreciating asset that spends 90%+ of its time sitting unused, to the needless deaths due to collisions and pollution, to the massive subsidies society gives to everything to do with automotive culture, to the way isolating ourselves in boxes for most of our day drives the intolerance and hatred spreading through society.
Flying is not an inherent right guaranteed by anyone and it's expensive for a reason. I know you know this but tossing people all over the place safely in metal tubes is no small feat. Aviation is inherently dangerous, therefore doing it safely is expensive, how comfortable you want to be is only limited by your budget. Want to fall asleep in a queen size bed in LA and wake up in Europe and take a shower before you land? No problem, just need to contact your bank before we book that. It's weird, it seems as if when flying became more affordable it also became more impossible for most people to afford to learn how to fly. I dunno, I'm just a dumb mechanic.
 
*downshifts to 3rd, passes you in the cruising lane, flips you off*. If you'd just get the mom-van out of the passing lane, everything would be fine! Passing lane cruisers are the sole cause of the downfall of Western Society. They all vote for Trump and kick puppies for fun. It is time for a Jihad.
I'd love to build a 700hp minivan sleeper and just torment people like you..
 
Drive whatever you want, just get out of the passing lane when you're not passing anything. This is not complex.
I agree and I doubt we'd find ourselves at odds on our great nations motorways. I've always appreciated the "sleeper", something unassuming that turns out to be a monster, especially if it's well done. I think Newman had a hot rod Volvo wagon, I'd love to have that to shame roll stoppers and the turn signal oblivious.
 
I agree and I doubt we'd find ourselves at odds on our great nations motorways. I've always appreciated the "sleeper", something unassuming that turns out to be a monster, especially if it's well done. I think Newman had a hot rod Volvo wagon, I'd love to have that to shame roll stoppers and the turn signal oblivious.
Agreed with Oak Leaves. Even in my dottering old age, I have dreams of a BMW 2002 with some relatively lightweight modern turbo 4, maybe out of an RS4, something like that.
 
I hope the races continue. Anyone participating and any bystander assumes the risk. I’m not interested in them enough to attend and I’m personally a bit indifferent, but I generally oppose ending an endeavor simply because someone may die in it’s pursuit…
 
I agree and I doubt we'd find ourselves at odds on our great nations motorways. I've always appreciated the "sleeper", something unassuming that turns out to be a monster, especially if it's well done. I think Newman had a hot rod Volvo wagon, I'd love to have that to shame roll stoppers and the turn signal oblivious.

While certainly not monsters, my old Volvo’s get down the road.

My Volvo V70R station wagon claims 300HP stock and my C30 was 230HP stock and is probably 270HP+ after mods.
 
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