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Reno 2017

rv6ejguy

Well Known Member
With Reno fast approaching, I'm looking forward to meeting many VAF members and others there on Saturday and Sunday. I'll be hanging around the Sport Class pits near Andy Findlay's orange Stihl Lancair (Race 30) a lot. Look for the guy with the SDS T shirt and feel free to tap me on the shoulder.

There will be some new entries in Sport Class which is good to see.

Should be a great time!:)
 
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Will see you there, I am crewing for a buddy (one of the new folks you mentioned) with his Lancair..........running your full system:D

Are you going to make it to the BBQ?
 
Cool, would be good to meet up with you again Mike. I'll try to make it to the BBQ. I have a list of about 13 people to meet up with this year so far. Looking forward to it.
 
I'll be there from Wednesday thru Sunday. Even tho I grew up around the Shafter Skunk Works, this will be my first year hitting Reno. Super stoked.

I'll look for you. I emailed you about the SDS system for my -4. Want to pick your brain some more.
 
You guys know of any hangar or tie down space at Stead or International? Will be there Fri thru Monday. I've been in contact with Atlantic Aviation at RNO. Trying to find out their daily rate for a RV-4. Regardless of that, they are charging a $75 special event fee if you stay between the 13th and 18th. Hoping not to get gouged on the daily rate...
 
How does one fly in to see the race, please?

Odds of flying into Stead are low. I haven't read the NOTAM yet but I'm pretty sure it's closed from morning until early evening when everything shuts down for the day. Nowhere to park unless you have some pull or know someone with a hangar and space from what I gather. Atlantic Aviation at RNO is taking reservations. I made one last night. $75 special event fee plus overnight fees is what I received in an email after reserving online. I replied trying to see what the daily overnight fee will be and if there are any waivers with fuel purchase. No reply yet...
 
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How does one fly in to see the race, please?

Many people fly in to Carson City or Truckee. Heck, even Minden isn't that far. If you have someone who can pick you up, Silver Springs is only an hour's drive away. The only ones flying in to Stead are racers or insiders. If you're coming from a long ways away, the airports I mentioned are really pretty decent and not that long of a drive. We drive up and back to the races from our airpark in Dayton every day - takes a little less than an hour each way, and let's me catch up on some audio books.

Paul
 
⇒ NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES (NCAR): o The FAR Part 91 Waiver will be in effect beginning Saturday, September 9 for two one-hour blocks, then again Sunday morning, September 10 from 07451730 LCL, and remain in effect 0745-1730 each day through Sunday, September 17. For the waiver to be in effect, ?RACE CONTROL? must be up and operating.

o A TFR will also be in effect from 1100 ? 1200 and 1500 ? 1600 Saturday 9/9, then 1030-1700 Sunday 9/10, and from 0800-1730 EVERY DAY, beginning Monday 9/11 through Saturday, 9/16. On Sunday, 9/17 the TFR will be extended until 1830. A later TFR is established to facilitate safe operations due to numerous participant departures after the Races are complete. NOTE: A Prior Permission Required (PPR) assignment is required for all tenants to operate from Stead at all times, beginning 0600 on Sunday, 9/10 until 0600 on Monday, 9/18. Contact Dani Austin at (775)328-6570, or me at (775)690-9450 no later than 24 hours in advance for a PPR assignment.

o TEMPORARY CONTRACT TOWER: Hours of operation (Local) for the temporary tower (?Stead Tower? 133.3) will be: Thursday - Friday 9/7-8/2017: 0800-1700 Saturday, 9/9, 0800 ? 1130.
NO temporary tower on Sunday, 9/10. (?RACE CONTROL? 133.3 only, 0745-1700)
Monday 9/11-Sunday 9/17: 1630 or Last Racer on Deck (LROD)-until 2000 daily.
On Monday, 9/18 from 0800-1200 ?Stead Advisory? service will be provided on 122.7.
 
This advisory service will be provided to expedite departures from RTS.
If you plan to operate from RTS Sunday, 9/10 through Sunday 9/17, arrivals and departures should be planned for no later than 0730 in the morning and no earlier than 1700 in the afternoon. (See NOTE in TFR section above). If you are departing before 0730, there will not be a tower in operation, so broadcast intentions on CTAF (122.7). For arrivals after LROD, contact Stead Tower on 133.3; for departures, contact Stead Ground on 126.4. On initial contact, advise you are ?Stead tenant with AWOS?. If something happens that absolutely requires you to depart during racing, contact me at 690-2217 to coordinate your request. Please do not use this service unless absolutely necessary (life and death emergency would qualify). If you are authorized (PPR assignment) to depart during racing hours, contact RACE CONTROL ?Ground? on 126.4 for taxi instructions. If arriving with PPR, contact ?RACE CONTROL?, frequency 133.3, 10 NM out for instructions. There will be NO arrivals or departures while racing aircraft are on the race course.
o THE AIRPORT WILL BE CLOSED EACH NIGHT FROM 2000 UNTIL 0600 THE NEXT DAY, SUNDAY, 9/10 ? SUNDAY, 9/17.

o Due to high volumes of personnel and visitors on the ramp, A NO PROP /
ENGINE TURN LINE will be in effect from 0600-2000 daily, beginning
Thursday, 9/7 through Monday, 9/18. Exercise EXTREME CAUTION at all times while taxiing due to the possibility of pedestrians and vehicles in all areas of the airport. I realize the level of inconvenience this creates, but the safety of our visitors and yourself is more important. The NO PROP / ENGINE TURN LINE is north of the pit
 
That prop turn line is no joke. The FAA will be there enforcing it and many other rules. It is a red and white line painted on the ramp.

If you fly in there, be careful with all the "additional" ramp equipment, cones, etc.

We will be there.
 
Guys: As was mentioned above the "no prop line" is no joke. Here is what I was told by the Air Boss, " there will no aircraft coasting across the line this year. In the past an aircraft would taxi toward the line and cut their engine just before prop spinner past over, then coast another 20 to 30 yards, no more". The FAA is driving this, their position on the field is the 10' x 10' shed just behind the jersey barrier with a full view of the racers coming toward them. It would be wise to taxi in slowly stop and shut your engine down. Tow vehicles are usually readily available. Try real hard not to be this year's "poster boy example of careless aircraft operation" My hangar is the R3 BBQ location, and I see this last minute shutdown and coasting over the line many times each day. It is a safety thing, just saying. Dan from Reno
 
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Saturday at Reno was fantastic. I met dozens of new people and some friends I'd met before plus some long time internet friends and customers. Great to put faces to the names and share stories. Such great, friendly folks here as usual and the airplane atmosphere is a wonderful break from the office.

The depth of knowledge and insights/ information you can find here is amazing.

Love this place and look forward to meeting more today.

Our products are well received and the 2 teams using them are near the top of their classes with some more to show today hopefully. I couldn't ask for more. We have such great and enthusiastic clients. Thank you for all your good words and promotion. We really appreciate it. :)
 
More on-the-scene reports please!

The results page has Bob Mills in a close group for Sport Gold today, with Andrew Findlay and Vicky Benzing. One of them could be the
winner if Jeff LaVelle blows up, although he hasn't in previous years.

What happened to Relentless? Results page shows two DNS and one slow heat, then not scheduled for the final.

Ross, you're supporting Andrew and who else?
 
Reno Lap Length Changes Between 2016 and 2017

The official results are at: http://reports.airrace.org/

Keep in mind that the method of calculating lap length changed this year. To the best of my knowledge the pylon positions did not change so the lap times are comparable. However the posted lap speeds are slower for most of the competiiors. The aircraft did nor slow down but the distance used to calculate average lap speeds decreased therefore resulting in lower posted speeds.


F1 Lap Length:
2016 = 3.1875 miles
2017 = 3.1193 miles

Biplane Lap Length:
2016 = 3.1875 miles
2017 = 3.1193 miles


Sport Lap Length:
2016 = 8.0782 miles
2017 = 7.9107 miles

T6 Lap Length:
2016 = 4.9352 miles
2017 = 4.8257 miles


Jet Lap Length:
2016 = 8.1025 miles
2017 = 7.9107 miles

Unlimited Lap Length:
2016 = 8.0851 miles
2017 = 7.9107 miles

-larosta
 
More on-the-scene reports please!

The results page has Bob Mills in a close group for Sport Gold today, with Andrew Findlay and Vicky Benzing. One of them could be the
winner if Jeff LaVelle blows up, although he hasn't in previous years.

What happened to Relentless? Results page shows two DNS and one slow heat, then not scheduled for the final.

Ross, you're supporting Andrew and who else?

You know the racing game Dan - hard to get accurate reports from the participants while the competition is still going on. For instance, the last two days in Unlimited Gold, Strega has sailed around the course with Voodoo losing about a second a lap each heat. Does that mean Voodoo is slower, or that Stev-O now just knows what he needs to know for today? Reports from reliable sources say Steve-O is smiling and relaxed.....

But back to Sport - no word on what happened to Relentless - I saw this morning on the pairings that he wasn't listed. Hasn't really been a factor this week anyway.

RARA does some things well, some things poorly....but whoever does their online "results" page is definitely on the ball. Updates have come almost as fast as you can get back the shade to look at the iPad after some races. Follow along here:

http://reports.airrace.org/

We've been putting some behind the scenes "flavor of the event" reports on the KP web site as well.

Paul
 
Just got a report that in the Sport Medallion race this morning, there was a mid-air just before the start. Both planes got on the ground (on runways) and pilots are safe, but the race was red-flagged before a lap was complete.

Don't know anything more now.

Paul
 
#26 RV-8 had aileron damage from Glassair III (correction:GP4) prop strike.
 
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Dang! glad they made it down safe, so does this qualify as a required prop strike disassemble inspection? :eek:
 
Heat 3a

More on-the-scene reports please!

What happened to Relentless? Results page shows two DNS and one slow heat, then not scheduled for the final.

Relentless pulled up at the start near the first pylon and quickly landed on runway 14. It was too far away to see anything.
 
More on-the-scene reports please!

The results page has Bob Mills in a close group for Sport Gold today, with Andrew Findlay and Vicky Benzing. One of them could be the
winner if Jeff LaVelle blows up, although he hasn't in previous years.

What happened to Relentless? Results page shows two DNS and one slow heat, then not scheduled for the final.

Ross, you're supporting Andrew and who else?

Also Mark Fredrickson's Lancair 320. He won Medallion Gold after the race was scrubbed due to a mid air where all involved managed to get down safely.

Andy saw his highest GPS numbers by a big margin and was actually showing some shadow to Jeff for the first lap but had some finger trouble unfortunately and pulled out of the race only to discover the issue and have power come back.

I had such a good time. Both Mark and Andy and their crews were very friendly and I spent a lot of time with both teams but they didn't need any help with their SDS stuff. All worked flawlessly.

Kevin had a series of Mayday's throughout the weekend unfortunately. Rumor was fuel system issues- contamination.

Vicky did very well after being plagued by problems as was Dave Sterling. Things worked for them in the gold finally.
 
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Look for a Titan Mustang to be there next year. In addition to all of the RV's.

"When the flag drops, the BS stops."
 
Fast RV 7

Looks like Lee Ulrich in his RV 7 would have been 250 mph by last years course. I belive that makes him the fastest RV 7 in the world. His official time this year was 244 wow.
 
Apparently Relentless clogged his fuel filters which starved the engine of fuel. That happened at least 3 times while flying and resulted in 3 deadstick landings. The air raft had a 'For Sale' sign up half way through the week, $225000 I think.

All RV pilots acquitted themselves very well. What an excellent week!

Pete
 
Apparently Relentless clogged his fuel filters which starved the engine of fuel. That happened at least 3 times while flying and resulted in 3 deadstick landings.

Gee, that's tough luck. The tanks must be deteriorating.
 
Looks like Lee Ulrich in his RV 7 would have been 250 mph by last years course. I belive that makes him the fastest RV 7 in the world. His official time this year was 244 wow.

I wonder how he keeps his tail intact. Any more information on this plane?
 
As in the example of one Glasair, Vne 300, but speeds well over 400. How does that thing hold together? Is it that overbuilt, or has the airframe been modified?

How about RV's?
 
The Titan high speed wing was originally around 275 for Vne. That could change. The 215 number is for the slow wing.
What precautions are taken by the RV guys, and others, when exceeding Vne by up to 100 mph?
 
I'm finally back from Reno after 4200km of driving. Had some snow in Idaho at 0400- lots o fun on summer hi perf tires...

It was great to see lots of RVs out and going fast via nitrous and a turbo. Nice to meet up with Bob Mills and AX again at the pilot debriefing plus some of the other RV pilots and other racers. Thanks to Bill Beaton and Bob for promoting SDS and of course Andy Findlay and Mark Frederickson who were flying our stuff.

Got to meet up with some other VAFers including the ever present Mike Starkey who was crewing for Mark.

Handed out lots of cards and T shirts so it was very worthwhile plus the Unlimited Gold Race was one of the best I've ever seen.

Always a good time at Reno!
 
I ask again...what precautions are taken to allow exceeding published Vne by up to 100 mph?
Do the RV racers routinely exceed Vne, like the Glasair pilots?
 
Changes to exceed Vne?

I doubt you will get many answers.

Racing is dangerous. It pushes the boundaries. It shows what is possible and unfortunately sometimes the limits are exceeded and things break. Racers have weighed the risk and have decided for them it is worth it. I applaud this. (For myself I doubt I will ever have the courage.)

Why no answers to the question? Either they did or they did not make changes.

If they did modify the airframe.
1. If they admit it here they will surely be flamed for making changes not approved by Van's.

If they did not.
2. They have decided the extra margin built in by Van's is good enough for race purposes. Which could be argued is different than typical sport flying purposes. If they chime in someone here will flame them for not following Van's limitations.

Maxwell
 
That certainly is understandable. It's a lose-lose situation.

Best to keep quiet.
 
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There are some post in the past showing the mods that some have done to the tail on the Rockets ect, don't quote me, going on memory... tie stiffeners together, thicker skin, 1" angle longerone and lots of other top secret stuff I don't know about. On my 7a I did the ASA VS plates and the HS spar SB. just for comfort level, not racing.
 
If someone does make changes, there will be a hundred people to criticize them and none of them would be satisfied until a complete Boeing-level aerodynamics engineering review has been done - which simply isn't going to happen. There is no advantage to even discussing changes they may or may not have made, or what engineering went into those decisions.

They are also not about to discuss "trade secrets" among competitors on an openly-read forum like this.
 
That's too bad, really. I'm based at a great airport where there is a section called "RV Hill". Great guys and builders with a wealth of knowledge. But, of those I've talked to, none race, so I'm limited in my gathering of that aspect. I'm a speed demon...I love going balls out. I wish those that push the design would be a little more open. Heck, it might even save a few planes.
 
While it is not a secret, in the development of a high speed wing the manufacturer added a second spar. This wing was originally designed to be raced at Reno. It will be there next year in a clipped wing version.

Advertised as a +9 G wing, but built to take over 10 G's.
 
Was the tail tested at those speeds? Was it modified?

The entire airframe was tested for certification in the U.K.

A forklift was used to induce dynamic loads on the tail, plus weights were used on the wings. The plane withstood 12.7 G's. At that point, the wing skin showed a trace of wrinkles.

No mods. The new wing has a double spar, but it was not subjected to the U.K. testing process.
 
I doubt you will get many answers.

Racing is dangerous. It pushes the boundaries. It shows what is possible and unfortunately sometimes the limits are exceeded and things break. Racers have weighed the risk and have decided for them it is worth it. I applaud this. (For myself I doubt I will ever have the courage.)

Why no answers to the question? Either they did or they did not make changes.

If they did modify the airframe.
1. If they admit it here they will surely be flamed for making changes not approved by Van's.

If they did not.
2. They have decided the extra margin built in by Van's is good enough for race purposes. Which could be argued is different than typical sport flying purposes. If they chime in someone here will flame them for not following Van's limitations.

Maxwell



Some planes have mods for strength, some don't. A tail can be broken anytime you're flying over Va (142m) and use full deflection. So 250 mph at Reno is about 230 mph indicated..so at Vne, not over (by much). Just my observation.. but it would seem that acro breaks more stuff than going fast..G loads in a loop are more than around the Pylons.

The General Lee has a stock tail for now. Upgrades are in the works before I'll push the black knob all the way in.

Here's the disclaimer: I'm not recommending that anyone should experiment with their experimental! Since every plane is built differently, the results will also be different.
 
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