2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

[CubersWrist]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

Thank you. I wanted to give the debbie downers a new reason to get excited for Reno. I’m noticing that Reno is a lot like baseball. It’s far more intense when you are a participant than when you are a spectator. Case in point I rewatch the gold race from last year and it’s kind of not exciting. But I remember being a nervous wreck the while time, and I started yelling at Andy to”Slow down!” because he was so far ahead. So I try to give others some idea of all the stress I’m going through.

[Desertdawg]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

Now "debbie downers" is funny young man, it's almost from the same time period as "Debbie Does Dallas"

[Desertdawg]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

"It’s far more intense when you are a participant than when you are a spectator."

Not sure about that. I stayed home and watched the gold race on TV and I was one the edge of my easy chair and intently following the race. Reminded me of the old Nascar days watching Dale Earnhardt Sr. side by side with Terry Labonte at Rockkingham. If I would have been in the stands I would have lost my voice.

That's how exciting it was for me.

[GRNDP51]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

"It’s far more intense when you are a participant than when you are a spectator."

Not sure about that. I stayed home and watched the gold race on TV and I was one the edge of my easy chair and intently following the race. Reminded me of the old Nascar days watching Dale Earnhardt Sr. side by side with Terry Labonte at Rockkingham. If I would have been in the stands I would have lost my voice.

That's how exciting it was for me.

I lost my voice during 2017's Unlimited Gold. When I was watching 2018's Sport Gold on Thursday via the LiveStream at home, I think I lost my voice then too. Watching the races live at Reno will always be the best, but watching it live through a computer screen can still amp me up. Like Thomas said though, re-watching old races on YouTube will never be the same as when it happened live, but when I need a good fix in late August, old Gold races always seem to do the trick

[CubersWrist]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

Well I'm glad to hear that you guys appreciate the intensity of what's happening. We didn't breathe for 8 minutes and then we still didn't breathe until we heard Jeff had landed safely

Andy was on another podcast. Similar content to the EAA podcast, but some new information talking about safety procedures and the like.

https://spreadaviation.com/ep-23-air-race-pilot/

[GRNDP51]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

A little news on Relentless via Facebook,

Kevin just dropped it off for paint touch ups to have it ready to head to Oshkosh at the end of the month. The cowl and canopy trim look to be the only unpainted spots that were updated. I also got lost following Kevin's new cowling. He had what looked like a new design with circular inlets, but the 'new' unpainted cowl on the plane now has the rectangular inlets like the original. Maybe someone else that was following can chime in.

The other huge update was converting it to center-stick/single-seat configuration. I believe the whole interior was revamped to go along with this.

Kevin is also going with a more reliable engine setup. On top of this he is getting a new MT race prop delivered. (Assuming it will be 3-blade, unlike the 4-blade he has on it now that went with the 8-cylinder).

Nemesis was fast enough "out of the box", Kevin made it even more of a race plane with the single-seat conversion. Really hoping it has a good engine and prop combo to go with it! That seems to be the death of Relentless year after year.

[FlyKidChris]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to observe a new Sport Class entry; one that will surprise many this year (yes, it's flying and entered). It will be an interesting week!

[GRNDP51]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to observe a new Sport Class entry; one that will surprise many this year (yes, it's flying and entered). It will be an interesting week!

Stirring the pot!!! Love it, can’t wait to hear more

[FlyKidChris]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

Stirring the pot!!! Love it, can’t wait to hear more

She's a beast, sure to cause Havoc.

[GRNDP51]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

She's a beast, sure to cause Havoc.

That’s speaking my language, is it gonna be painted? (If it hasn’t already been)

[Race5]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

She's a beast, sure to cause Havoc.

Looking forward to seeing what Sean and the team can do with that airplane. The first year gremlins are hard to avoid though.

[GRNDP51]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

Looking forward to seeing what Sean and the team can do with that airplane. The first year gremlins are hard to avoid though.

This is definitely true in Sport class. Everything can seem perfect on paper, but it takes time to get it done. Andy is the poster child for making it happen.

I'm hoping the first year gremlins are out of the way for Jim Rust's Glasair and Karl Grove's Legacy. Both of those planes have some serious potential to make a name for themselves.

But betting wisely, my safe guess is on Jeff and Andy to be up front, with Relentless up there too. All 3 of those have proven themselves as worthy 400mph+ planes. I do think Karl's Legacy could be an underdog if the kinks are worked out.

I would love to see the other Legacy's being trophy competitive (6, 8, 28, 33, 44, 69), but they just don't have the refinement that it's going to take to keep up with One Moment, and I'm 99% sure some of those I just listed will not be there.

The entry list will shed some light onto what Sport Gold will look like. It would be pretty awesome to not have a Thunder Mustang in Gold come Sunday (meaning we have 9 planes faster than them!!!)

[Race5]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

I think Karl is going to have the steepest learning curve of all. No one else has ever tried to run a water cooled 540.

[CubersWrist]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

This is definitely true in Sport class. Everything can seem perfect on paper, but it takes time to get it done. Andy is the poster child for making it happen.

I dunno about poster child. It took 6 years of constant development. I think Jeff Lavelle raced for 5 years before he won, and then you have the Nemesis project which had all the development challenges of a clean sheet design, and won in 4 years (I think?). If Karl were running the same engine this year and had made marked improvement with the cooling issues, then maybe, but with a brand new engine, I would expect another development year.

For Relentless the single seat mod is cool and Kevin said it handles better (lighter and simpler systems and a more forward CG). I don't see that alone making much speed though. Human factors and handling are important, but in terms of speed it is mostly weight reduction. Maybe there are future plans to reduce drag by cutting down the turtle deck and canopy (another high labor and more importantly structural mod), but for this year most speed gains will be from going back to the original power plant.

I'm very excited about Havoc for a couple reasons that I've not been cleared to disclose.

Jeff Benzing had mentioned last year that #6 might have its wingtips clipped.

Jim Rust's Glassair has exhaust augmenters now, in trying to get some improved cooling, and I think he will pass Bob Mills in "Mojo" this year because #24 is a cleaner airframe: no exposed flap hinges, the more acute windscreen, and inner gear doors (assuming they stay closed).

Actually I think inner gear doors on a glassair is quite the project, since the stock doors create a bump on the bottom of the wing with the bottom couple inches of the tire exposed. So off the bat you have more frontal area and you got air messing around with the exposed tire. Jeff solved it by customizing the gear and/or wheel well to get the doors to lie flush. I believe Jim's just created a smooth but curved cover like a P-51 gear. But that curve is like an airfoil and creates a low pressure area that is trying to suck the door open. And then as the air flows past the door you can create another low pressure area on the back side of the door which is another form of drag pulling the airplane backwards.

[GRNDP51]

Re: 2019 Sport Gold Synopsis

I dunno about poster child. It took 6 years of constant development. I think Jeff Lavelle raced for 5 years before he won, and then you have the Nemesis project which had all the development challenges of a clean sheet design, and won in 4 years (I think?). If Karl were running the same engine this year and had made marked improvement with the cooling issues, then maybe, but with a brand new engine, I would expect another development year.

For Relentless the single seat mod is cool and Kevin said it handles better (lighter and simpler systems and a more forward CG). I don't see that alone making much speed though. Human factors and handling are important, but in terms of speed it is mostly weight reduction. Maybe there are future plans to reduce drag by cutting down the turtle deck and canopy (another high labor and more importantly structural mod), but for this year most speed gains will be from going back to the original power plant.

I'm very excited about Havoc for a couple reasons that I've not been cleared to disclose.

Jeff Benzing had mentioned last year that #6 might have its wingtips clipped.

Jim Rust's Glassair has exhaust augmenters now, in trying to get some improved cooling, and I think he will pass Bob Mills in "Mojo" this year because #24 is a cleaner airframe: no exposed flap hinges, the more acute windscreen, and inner gear doors (assuming they stay closed).

Actually I think inner gear doors on a glassair is quite the project, since the stock doors create a bump on the bottom of the wing with the bottom couple inches of the tire exposed. So off the bat you have more frontal area and you got air messing around with the exposed tire. Jeff solved it by customizing the gear and/or wheel well to get the doors to lie flush. I believe Jim's just created a smooth but curved cover like a P-51 gear. But that curve is like an airfoil and creates a low pressure area that is trying to suck the door open. And then as the air flows past the door you can create another low pressure area on the back side of the door which is another form of drag pulling the airplane backwards.

Thanks for the insider info Thomas, love the contributions. In regards to Andy being the poster child, I do agree with what you are saying. To me it came up as the most recent success story, especially since dethroning Jeff by actually beating him is one of biggest accomplishments in Sport Class so far. To me, Sport has more or less been "normalized" for lack of a better term over the past 7-8 years. No more experimenting with Super Sport, the Gold class is becoming a more consistent group of racers with reliable engines, the class just seems more refined. Sport was pretty messy back in 2009 and 2010 with the Super Sport attempt, blown engines everywhere, etc. 2012 until now the class has started to balance. The planes to beat are established, and new additions here and there keep it exciting. Andy being a rookie in 2013 and taking small steps each year to improve the plane and the team until a 2018 win is what I was going for with "poster child".