Roswell to Host Races

[bimmerphile]

I'll also say that the piston powered 3K speed record (considered the gold standard) is going to be a hard, long, tough hill to climb for a sport class airplane. The amount of fluids that you need to carry onboard for a record attempt isn't feasible in an airplane that size. You can't use any hybrid nonsense, it's a piston powered propeller driven airplane record. Maybe 528 (Lyles record) or 531 (Steves record run after they changed the rules and retired Lyles record?). You should also know that Lyles first couple of passes were at around 545 both ways, but he ran out of nitrous halfway through the attempt. An unfortunate aftermath from a crew member who went back home to return to his job (he worked at Rocketdyne) and someone wasn't paying attention. The point is trying to set these records requires the stars to align and the smallest unexpected thing can kill your attempt. Here's an account of Steves 3K experience (sorry it's not video, it's words)...

Steve Hinton, Jr. & 'Voodoo': The Air Speed Record Attempt Story

Follow the team through victories, defeats and psychological strains.

vintageaviationecho.com

ya I don’t think the 3k is possible either
I know of 2 sport racers that are working on unlimited projects at the moment but its years in the making before an attempt

 

[Inverted]

None of the big unlimited racers are involved anymore. This is the death of the air races as we know it. Roswell was probably the worst of the spots in the running for spectators. Reno still hosts an airshow, so unless the show and tons of infrastructure move to Roswell, nobody is going to show up. I sure as hell am not going ever again. Stead worked because of the huge neighboring city supporting the thousands of spectators. There is nothing in Roswell.

 

[Inverted]

I'll also say that the piston powered 3K speed record (considered the gold standard) is going to be a hard, long, tough hill to climb for a sport class airplane. The amount of fluids that you need to carry onboard for a record attempt isn't feasible in an airplane that size. You can't use any hybrid nonsense, it's a piston powered propeller driven airplane record. Maybe 528 (Lyles record) or 531 (Steves record run after they changed the rules and retired Lyles record?). You should also know that Lyles first couple of passes were at around 545 both ways, but he ran out of nitrous halfway through the attempt. An unfortunate aftermath from a crew member who went back home to return to his job (he worked at Rocketdyne) and someone wasn't paying attention. The point is trying to set these records requires the stars to align and the smallest unexpected thing can kill your attempt. Here's an account of Steves 3K experience (sorry it's not video, it's words)...

Steve Hinton, Jr. & 'Voodoo': The Air Speed Record Attempt Story

Follow the team through victories, defeats and psychological strains.

vintageaviationecho.com

The 3k record is really irrelevant now. They are nothing more than passion projects at this point, and even back then, they were bragging rights to fluff your feathers in the pits at Cleveland/Mojave/Reno.

 

[MikeD]

None of the big unlimited racers are involved anymore. This is the death of the air races as we know it. Roswell was probably the worst of the spots in the running for spectators. Reno still hosts an airshow, so unless the show and tons of infrastructure move to Roswell, nobody is going to show up. I sure as hell am not going ever again. Stead worked because of the huge neighboring city supporting the thousands of spectators. There is nothing in Roswell.

That’s what I was inferring before here, that even the Phoenix 500 didn’t have a ton of spectators, even having metro PHX next door.

 

[Inverted]

That’s what I was inferring before here, that even the Phoenix 500 didn’t have a ton of spectators, even having metro PHX next door.

Viewership has been dwindling at Reno over recent years too. Maybe they will just steam it...

 

[///AMG]

Viewership has been dwindling at Reno over recent years too. Maybe they will just steam it...

If you can't get attendance, the backup plan naturally would be to steam it. Commercial grade steaming, if possible.

 

[knot4u]

The 3k record is really irrelevant now. They are nothing more than passion projects at this point, and even back then, they were bragging rights to fluff your feathers in the pits at Cleveland/Mojave/Reno.

Never underestimate the ego projects of some of the folks with very, very deep pockets. They say that with enough time and money anything is possible, the part that cliche leaves out is the talent required. I'm not one those Uber smart individuals that might make that sort of thing possible, I was more of a dedicated worker bee with no fear of hard work and getting really dirty. The talented smart people that actually made those records happen have all either moved on or passed away at this point. Except for Pete Law, if you want to go fast you need him on your side. He is as much of a legend at Reno as any pilot that ever raced there. I think he's still with us, and if he is he'll likely be driving around in a golf cart full of binders filled with notes, graphs and many secrets at Roswell 2025. Maybe you're right and the 3K is irrelevant now, but the question is it too hard or do people consider it impossible? Fritz Wendel went 469mph in 1939 in an Me 209 with the backing of the German government, Greenameyer broke that record in 1969 in a modified F8F at 483mph with some help from his Lockheed co-workers, in 1979 Steve Hinton Sr went 499mph (just missing that elusive 500mph) in the RB-51 with another group of volunteers, in 1989 Lyle Shelton went 528mph in a modified F8F with yet another group of volunteers, in 2018 Steve Hinton Jr went 531mph in a modified P-51 with still more people donating their time, money, talent and resources. This record has been the ultimate expression of the fastest piston powered, propeller driven airplane for a century. I suspect someone will make another attempt again, and if they break it it probably won't seem so irrelevant, time will tell...

 

[deadpixel]

someone did the math and there’s about 1300 hotel rooms in the whole town and one 70 seat rj flight a day, 2.5-3hr drive to other places with airline service

show me a course map* that goes over the runway complex and maybe people will show up to race

*(and some actual purse money)

Our event's manager told us to be ready for campers next year! Odd location choice with minimal infrastructure...

 

[Pilot Fighter]

Our event's manager told us to be ready for campers next year! Odd location choice with minimal infrastructure...

Maybe they are preserving the races by making it a meet instead of a spectator event.

I wish they would have established an Indy 500 kinda broadcast tradition .

 

[Pilot Fighter]

Reno still hosts an airshow, so unless the show and tons of infrastructure move to Roswell, nobody is going to show up.

Folks showing up was part of the problem.

Reno needed to be a mega spectator event with massive attendance or a private affair among racers. Anything in between was problematic.

I know principles of two teams. They don’t give a damn about the spectators and purses provide little motivation.

 

[knot4u]

Folks showing up was part of the problem.

Reno needed to be a mega spectator event with massive attendance or a private affair among racers. Anything in between was problematic.

I know principles of two teams. They don’t give a damn about the spectators and purses provide little motivation.

Very well put. Some people will absolutely go to every length possible, jobs, marriages, homes or families be damned. They have to be the fastest son of a gun in the valley. They're almost extinct these days, we used to call them Unlimited owner/pilots, or more plainly they're just called racers. No paint job, no problem. It doesn't have to be pretty to be fast. It's not hard when you get to a race to tell who's there because it's a fun time and who's there because they want to win at any cost.

 

[ChasenSFO]

A lot harder to get to commercially than Reno lol. Fares to cities like that are often exorbitant on the few existing routes. A bit more dedication required to go now lol.

 

[knot4u]

A lot harder to get to commercially than Reno lol. Fares to cities like that are often exorbitant on the few existing routes. A bit more dedication required to go now lol.

If only I had a fleet of rental RVs I'd be coordinating parking and services. Where else are the people supposed to go? I will say the campgrounds surrounding the pits at Reno provided way more fun than any casino for me. We all know about the Tug Races after the races stopped for the evening, they'd run out on the ramp. But there was also golf cart races going on in the adjacent campgrounds. We were not a bunch of numbskulls and the governors on our carts were not quickly disabled, I'm not going to admit to any other temporary modifications that might or might not have been introduced. At one point there was a literal dirt circle track set up behind some hangar somewhere and nothing ever happened there.

 

[derg]

That’s what I was inferring before here, that even the Phoenix 500 didn’t have a ton of spectators, even having metro PHX next door.

The Phoenix Coyotes agree!

 

[derg]

Or were they the Arizona Coyotes? See, I don't even know.

 

[MikeD]

The Phoenix Coyotes agree!

They going to Tucson, or headed out of state?

I can’t believe they lasted this long out here….

Oh, and “Arizona Coyotes”. They did what the Cardinals did when they came here. Cards were originally Phoenix Cardinals. But then people started complaining that the rest of Arizona was being left out by snobby metro-Phoenix. So they changed it. So did the Coyotes. However the Suns have always kept the Phoenix title.

 

[derg]

They going to Tucson, or headed out of state?

I can’t believe they lasted this long out here….

Salt Lake last I read.

A good amount of the players go to my gym and they were largely ignored. But when Scottsdale Fire is at Mountainside working out, the ladies go wild.

 

[MikeD]

Salt Lake last I read.

A good amount of the players go to my gym and they were largely ignored. But when Scottsdale Fire is at Mountainside working out, the ladies go wild.

Scottsdale Fire doesn’t have their own gym at their stations? I liked when they were Rural Metro Fire - Scottsdale.

 

[knot4u]

Scottsdale Fire doesn’t have their own gym at their stations? I liked when they were Rural Metro Fire - Scottsdale.

Probably not a lot of ladies at the station, just saying...

 

[derg]

Scottsdale Fire doesn’t have their own gym at their stations? I liked when they were Rural Metro Fire - Scottsdale.

I don't know. I just know it would get all weird when they'd roll in.