Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
You are correct. I now hear Riff Raff is coming. Guess we will see this Sunday 09/09/07.
Frank C.
You are correct. I now hear Riff Raff is coming. Guess we will see this Sunday 09/09/07.Frank C.
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
If that is in fact the facts, then it will be an interesting Reno with the big three...........Originally posted by RCH
WE SHALL SEE!
"Racefuel, It's not just for breakfast anymore!" http://www.twracefotos.netComment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
I reported on WAP that I talked to Mike this past weekend, and I saw the airplane fly at the airshow. He will be in Reno unless it broke Sunday when he was performing.Originally posted by Frank C.Comment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
Confirmed how?Originally posted by RCH_________
-Matt
Red Bull has no earthly idea what "air racing" is.Comment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
I wrote this for a modeling group forum and a race pilot saw it and told me to post it for the masses...Originally posted by RCH
I do not know what this poster meant. Many questions arise from the post. They come from the gamesmanship many Reno racers play before the races, this being the height of "silly season" in air racing. Tiger said he had a "stock" engine, many believe he does not, especially since it is a "tube" motor used for racing by him in the past, not a two stage Merlin used in stock P-51D's.
The speeds quoted don't mean a thing, as the "confirmed" and "pulling 490's" are very ambiguous. Confirmed to be what? Timed over a known straightaway distance Tiger has out on the farm?
MPH, certainly not KIAS (knots indicated air speed) as about 410 is really fast at 5000 feet MSL, (and 490mph on a straight isn't very fast, 520 is a good straightaway speed at Reno).
"Pulling" in airplane parlance is properly used when refering to manifold pressure which is an engine power indication.
I suspect there is some element of truth to the poster's claims, they just aren't quantified and the poster isn't very well educated in the aviation field. Which is all the more fun during "silly season".
For me, it is down right humorous to read a lot of the posts going around, as so many fans aren't pilots, mechanics or engineers, just fans wishing their favorite guy will win!
Looks to me as Tiger has a racing engine that is similar to the old tube single stage racing engines he used to run, but since Dwight Thorne isn't building his celebrated "Mouse Motor" anymore, and many very knowledgeable engine guys that are on the inside say there are little to no parts available anymore for the "Mouse Motor" Allison G6 series connecting rod conversion, (which is to say there are no more NOS Allison G6 rods left), it will be anyone's guess as to how much power Tiger can extract from the Merlin and keep it in one piece.
Two slow nosecase Wright's will be racing (the Bearcat and 232) and they will be going very fast, so to stay with them the little Merlin will have to run at very high power, will it last? It is an unknown, just as it is every other year.
Even with a Thorn motor.
People got to thinking that the Dago Red team and the Thorn motor's winning were a given, even when failures would come within minutes of a race ending, or in testing. They, the team, were prepared and had very good racing luck. It happens, even Greenamyer won in Conquest 1 with a stock engine once. Prep and luck, one must have both to win.
Remember also that the last Merlin to win was the one John Slack and others I don't know, built with Dwight's help while Dwight was in the hospital after a stroke. Parts were brought to the hospital bed, and the doctor thought it was good therapy for Dwight as he was forced to recall and recognize people, parts, etc. Anyway, it was a long time ago now, and many a Merlin engine builder has been chasing down the secrets of making a Merlin run at as high power as Dwight Thorne got them to run. And last.
In case anyone feels that this is the end, or a first in history, I say , "nay, nay". Dwight was one of the guys that couldn't get them to stay in one piece, for decades in fact. His notable successes were in between times of abject failure. Someone will come up with another way to get the reliability while making power from the Merlin, it just won't be so cheap, or easy as before. The old steel works NOS parts from the past aren't in existence anymore!
Maybe now we will see some larger new production parts come along.
Of course I have no idea what I am talking about, I'm an outsider like the most of the other "silly season" posters!
Chris...Comment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
If Tiger doesn't break during the week. He'll be in the run on Sunday you can put money on it.
Matt JComment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
Matt, that thing is SO smooooooooooooooooooooooootttttttttttthhhhhh!
Then the jealousy sets in.
WWComment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
Just to stir the pot a little...
Da Bear flew just two times before being turned over to the painters. And might I add that the Bear is looking oh so fine
LonnieComment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
Chris, thanks for much for the detailed post and the explanation of Dwight Thorne's magic with the Mouse motors. After the all of the Merlin problems last year (Dago Red, Voodoo, Strega, etc.), I kept asking myself "how did they get Dago Red to go so fast for so many years in a row" and not have anything blow up, at least during Reno race weeks? Now I know! Hopefully your premise about someone coming along and building the rods with new materials will play out in the near future. I love the big round motors, but it's not the same at the front without a Merlin in the mix!Comment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
KB...Once you get the Rods (Allison Rods are .10" taller than RR rods). then you need Pistons, then you need rod & main bearing material that will take the strain, etc.,etc., etc.,and lastly, you need Prize $ that will make all this worth the investment!...D.Comment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
Originally posted by KB Adkins
I don't think the real behind the scenes story of the Dago crew has ever been told or realized outside of the inner circle of the team themselves. They may have made it look easy from the outside, but they sure were not sitting still either. They had their share of problems and issues to contend with, but they were not known to the public. If one watched them, they were all over the airplane all day long, even working into the wee hours of the night, leaving no stone unturned on the airplane.
MichaelComment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
I'm not going to hazard any guesses as to what's under Tiger's cowl. But I have been thinking:
Last year, the Merlin guys were really open and visible with their testing prior to race week, and there was a lot of discussion of the problems they were having, and from what I gathered not many people really knew the issues and had the facts right. They had a bad year, and everyone has been declaring the end of the "Merlin era" ever since.
Well personally, the fact that the V12 camp has been very quiet this year doesn't surprise me at all. Nor would it surprise me to see them come back and mop the course with round-engine oil. Likely? Probably not since Dago isn't playing and Voodoo still has a stock canopy leaving only Strega as a (possible, rumored, who really knows) all-out contender. But come on... silence from the water-heater guys may just mean they realized that their operations were too public last year and they don't want to deal with the hail of rumors and misinformation again. Personally, I'll only count the Mustangs out of the running if and only if the last one is parked on the ramp bleeding coolant 2 minutes before the start of the gold final on Sunday.
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
That's why it was known as MYSTERY AIRE!...D.Comment
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
so is it really true??! is strega not running a stock motor?
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Re: Bear, Strega, or Fury call it
Who knows, its silly season, lol
Dam I cant wait to get thereComment
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