Reno air races this weekend.

[icepac]

The course is shorter than last year's course to bring down speeds but I think there may be a 500mph lap.


Precious metal doing 450mph laps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reG3_cnXpkI

There should be a live stream from the guys linked below who have a video preview.

http://www.liveairshowtv.com/video.php?vid=86

[jd]

 

[Babalonian]

Really wanted to go this year, try to make it up for the last weekend, but finances are a bit too tight to make the party.

[Seanaldinho]

Even through youtube that is a beautiful sound.

[xNOVAx]

Ill be there 

[Grayeagle]

Missed this year ..just too much that conspired to hold me back.

Hopin I can make next year.

-GE aka Frank

[icepac]

Precious Metal in flight.



Furias had difficulty retracting the gear but he finally got them up and did a few hot laps.

Sadly the gear folded on landing.

Qualifying speeds in the link below.

http://reports.airrace.org/2012/2012.Unlimited.Qualifiers.Report.html

[Babalonian]

I'm following the T-6s closely this year, in particular the gold heat comming up tomorrow.

[icepac]

Strege streaked into the lead in very heat she raced and won sunday gold.

Rare Bear had cooling issues that never worked out and had to pull up in the sunday heat.

Precious metal had a gear door issue.

[jd]

Strege streaked into the lead in very heat she raced and won sunday gold.

Rare Bear had cooling issues that never worked out and had to pull up in the sunday heat.

Precious metal had a gear door issue.

(Image removed from quote.)

WOW, Nice photo

[icepac]

I just noticed you can see the gear door slightly open in the first picture.

[homersipes]

this maybe a stupid question but why is the intake next to the spinner on top?? 

[Seanaldinho]

I would guess for extra cooling but Im not a mechanic.

[Babalonian]

Strege streaked into the lead in very heat she raced and won sunday gold.

Rare Bear had cooling issues that never worked out and had to pull up in the sunday heat.

Precious metal had a gear door issue.

(Image removed from quote.)

Leaking a lot more oil in that later picture, and got some smoke (looks like coolant steam) comming out the oil cooler door, probabley just from pushing her hard during the races.   

I just noticed you can see the gear door slightly open in the first picture.

Good catch, likely someone kicked it on the taxiway and nobody reported/caught it in time.  Not uncommon.

[Babalonian]

this maybe a stupid question but why is the intake next to the spinner on top?? 

I would guess for extra cooling but Im not a mechanic.

I'm looking for a goodp picture/cutaway to share with you two now.  In a nutshell, in a normal late-model P-51 the air intake opening located under the spinner takes the air uner the engine through a trunk, after traveling all the way to the back of the engine, it makes a sharp 90degree turn up and travels a little ways further to the back-top of the engine, where the rather large supercharger is located.  Once through the supercharger, it is fed from the top-aft of the engine to the banks/engine....  it works but is inherantly/obviously not the most effecient routing (when talking racing and getting the most outa your most) given you just took the air from the intake on the bottom of the spinner 270-degrees around the entire length of a merlin V-12.

Not the best angle, but this cutaway has fantastic detail and you can see most of what I'm describing in it.


The earleir mustangs had the intake on the top, but this was considered an obstruction and the relocation of it greatly/vastly improoved a pilots view looking forward or over the nose.