2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

[GRNDP51]

I noticed that I'm already later than usual in making this thread! Now is the time

Similar to last year, I am going to include planes I generally think have the capability of running toward the top of Sport Gold in 2019! Some of these are copy/pasted from last years report with some word changes for simplicity.

A full and unbiased report of all the Sport Gold hot-shots for Reno 2019!

(By Race #)...

#3 (N400MC) ~Glasair III~ "Havoc":*Officially Out. Sean seemingly suffered an in-flight emergency and ended up belly landing on 14/32. Sean is out of the plane, but his condition is unknown.*

#24 (N430R) ~Glasair III~ "Race 24": The first I saw of Jim Rust's Super Glasair III was photos of this beautiful all white Glasair at PRS 2018. Expecting to see the same in September, I was blown away by one of the most "race-y" looking Sport class planes on the ramp! Bright green and blue covered the wings and fuselage of the blank white canvas, and a special Whirlwind propeller accented this killer racer! Jim put on a very good showing with the Glasair's first go at Reno. Every race the plane went faster, ending with an impressive 4th place finish in 2018's Sport Gold at just under 360mph. Look for big things to come from this team in the future!

#30 (N115YP) ~Lancair Legacy~ "One Moment": A plane that needs no introduction after a fantastic showing in 2018, Andrew Findlay's One Moment is the new plane to beat! A conglomerate of awesome mods before 2018 put One Moment on top all weekend. In the process of showing Jeff LaVelle that One Moment was a huge threat, Andy claimed the title of Reno's fastest Legacy, and did so with flying colors. As always, the One Moment team continues to fine tune the plane to make it more and more competitive going forward. Keep the 400mph+ laps going!

#39 (N123AJ) ~Glasair III~ "Race 39": Another plane that, of course, needs no introduction. Race 39 was officially dethroned as Sport Gold champ by One Moment in 2018. The race week saw the Race 39 team ACTUALLY taking the cowl off for maintenance after a race, something that RARELY happens during race week! Race 39's engine has supposedly been the same for awhile now, and it slowly started to die out as the weekend continued. With a fresh engine mounted in front, Race 39 might be able to claim that top spot yet again. No matter what, Jeff still runs the fastest Super Glasair III at Reno, and doesn't want anyone to get close to taking that away.

#42 (N42XT) ~NXT~ "Relentless": Another dark horse going into 2019 is the racer with a name that fits the plane perfectly. Relentless is slated to return in 2019, and Kevin is dedicated to take Race 42 to the top. Kevin has been working diligently on getting Relentless prepped for racing, including a conversion to single-seat and a new engine setup (hopefully something more proven, rather than experimental). The NXT airframe has proven itself to be one of the fastest Sport racers at Reno, and Relentless has the chance to keep the NXT on top of the food chain. Let's hope Kevin finally has a mount that can run top of Gold in 2019.

#44 (N23LF) ~Lancair Legacy~ "Miss Karen II": As mentioned previously, the sister-ship to Race 33, Miss Karen II will more than likely be making her return in 2019. Race 44's last appearance was a pretty good showing in 2016 with a 4th place Gold come Sunday. Since then, she has been worked on plenty to get her back in good racing shape. With a slated return in 2018 pushed back one extra year, it would be great to see this speedy Super Legacy back on the ramp this September, hopefully faster than ever!

#47 (N477CM) ~Glasair III~ "Mojo": Another very fast Glasair III is Bob Mills' Mojo. Mojo is a very similar plane to Race 39, but doesn't have all the mods to keep it in the top of Gold. There have been some off-season mods in the works to help make this plane more competitive, but without a full carbon copy of Race 39's mods (and then some), Race 47 probably won't be able to keep up with the front of the pack.

#67 (N167BP) ~Thunder Mustang~ "Swiss Thunder": Peter Balmer's colorful Thunder Mustang ended up being the fastest Thunder Mustang at Reno after the devastating loss of John and Blue II. Race 67 sports a 3-blade setup as Blue II did, but is not nearly as refined as John's bird was. There is plenty of more development to be done with Thunder Mustangs, but look for Race 67 mixing it up in the Gold as usual.

#151 (N151CR) ~Thunder Mustang~ "Clas Thunder I": This Thunder Mustang was going to be quite the sight at Reno 2018 when the team revealed the MASSIVE 5-blade prop that was going to be spinning in front of Race 151. As Reno got closer, they made the decision to put the 4-blade back in front so they could do some more testing with the 5-blade before actually racing. Hopefully Reno 2019 will see the return of the 5-blade back up front, and be the first Thunder Mustang to run this AWESOME setup around the pylons.

#181 (N181KG) ~Lancair Legacy~ "GA1": Arguably my favorite Super Legacy, Karl Grove's Race 181 is quite the stunner. As far as I know, Race 181 is the first Super Legacy built from the ground up to race at Reno, and it shows! Her Reno 2018 debut was actually quite exciting. A qualifying speed of just under 250mph put Karl in the Bronze pack to start the week. Slowly and surely Karl added a tad more speed to win Bronze, Silver, and then be placed in the Gold on Sunday. Sunday's race was a disappointment when Karl pulled up and out coming down the chute. He landed safely, but the true potential of Race 181 was in question for one more year. Karl has been taking good care of her in the off-season, and knows the plane can do 400mph. Let's see it Karl!

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Update #7 (September 9, 2019): Race week is almost here! We are set at 9 Sport Gold contenders capable of running in the mid to high 300's and beyond!
3 Super Legacy's - The formidable One Moment and Miss Karen II, both already proven Gold capable racers. Karl Grove's ground-up racer 'GA1' is back as well to prove that his Legacy is in fact 'Super'.
3 Super Glasair III's - Race 39 and Mojo, along with 2018 rookie Jim Rust in Race 24
2 Thunder Mustangs - 'Swiss Thunder' and 'Clas Thunder I', both of them sporting new props. Race 67 may be the underdog this year picking up where 'Blue Thunder II' left off, racing this year with a race-prepared Falconer and the same prop that 352 ran. Race 151 on the other hand is swinging an incredible 5-blade MT prop that may be more for looks than speed.
And lastly... an NXT! Kevin Eldredge is back in the blisteringly fast 'Relentless' and it's in the best shape it has ever been in.

[CubersWrist]

#33 actually beats #181 for first Legacy built for racing. #33 only has the center stick. No carpet/interior and no flaps.

Rumor for #39 is they have been pulling long hours to find more speed.

Very exciting to see the growth in the field and everyone pushing the faster speeds

[TarDevil]

THIS class is what keeps my interest at Reno!

Thanks so much for the update!

[GRNDP51]

#33 actually beats #181 for first Legacy built for racing. #33 only has the center stick. No carpet/interior and no flaps.

Rumor for #39 is they have been pulling long hours to find more speed.

Very exciting to see the growth in the field and everyone pushing the faster speeds

You are probably right about 33. I was under the impression it was built and then modified (like most other Legacy’s), but can’t remmeber that far back. Thanks for the info!

[GRNDP51]

I may have left out a potential competitor, but I’m waiting to get some more info. I believe N513TM (Race 69 Poky) is under new ownership by someone who wants to race it again. Another awesome Super Legacy that has some really good mods done to it already.

[TarDevil]

#37 (N751LA) ~Legend~ "Joker": This is a plane that was slated to make it's debut at Reno 2018, but sadly wasn't ready. I have not heard any recent news, but I'm hopeful it will be on the list this year. I personally believe if any aircraft has the potential to set the new Sport class standard it would be this one. The Turbine Legend is notorious for being an incredibly sleek and fast homebuilt. Joker will feature a rumored V8 engine, shying away from the standard turbines that power just about every Legend built (obviously for Sport requirements). Stay tuned...

GNDP51, is Jeff Ackland involved with this? He told me they were working on an LS powered sport class plane with some nice power numbers, but still figuring out the PSRU.

[GRNDP51]

GNDP51, is Jeff Ackland involved with this? He told me they were working on an LS powered sport class plane with some nice power numbers, but still figuring out the PSRU.

Race 5 probably knows more than me about it. Bill Koleno of Titan 51 was listed as the pilot before it got taken off the roster last year. That's the extent of my info on it so far.

[Race5]

Race 5 probably knows more than me about it. Bill Koleno of Titan 51 was listed as the pilot before it got taken off the roster last year. That's the extent of my info on it so far.

I'm in the dark on that one too.

[Coug86]

I was at KPAE today and happened to see Race 39 take off at around 11:45 for what I assume was a test flight. It took off in formation with what I assume was a chase plane (looked like a Tucano), and they headed SW in formation. This is the third time I've seen the airplane up this year (though I'm guessing there have been other flights too). I hope their search for speed is going well. Sport Class should be very interesting and competitive this year.

[Jeff Ackland]

GNDP51, is Jeff Ackland involved with this? He told me they were working on an LS powered sport class plane with some nice power numbers, but still figuring out the PSRU.

No, I am not involved in any way. and I am not currently working on a Sport Class racer (although the thought does occasionally cross my mind)...

Jeff