NZFF

When thinking about my entry for this months screen shot comp i thought about the knights of the sky theme and some of the modern day knights of the sky are seen one week a year in the skies of Nevada... the National Championship Air Races at Stead field show super pilots pushing their steeds to and beyond the limits, one or 2 have made the effort in the last 25 years to create a truly unique racer for the unlimited field that does not chop up a valuable WW2 warbird, one of the most exotic was Bob Ponds racer designed by Burt Rutan as a true modern alternative to the Mustangs and Sea Furies that have dominated the unlimted class. The racer, powered by 2 Electramoitve Racing engines based on Nissan Auto engines adapted for aviation, the Pond had potential but was hamstrung by the engines which never developed the power they should have. The 'Pond' garnered much attention a bit negative and a bit positive in her short life before she was lost at Reno after an oil leak caused a forced landing which also claimed the life of pilot Rick Brickert in 93.

The blowers were required to push cooling air around the motors after landing to protect the Composite cowlings which were also structural, the motors were fueled with methanol so cooling was not much of an issue due to the cooler burning nature of Methanol

A life claimer and twenty years ago .. Burt has a lot to answer for .. Imagine putting guns on this ... but then the snarl ... they'd hear you coming five miles out

Ian Warren wrote:

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Mar 25 2013,4:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

but then the snarl ... they'd hear you coming five miles out

Not if you are travelling almost at the speed of sound you would be on them before the sound caught up

Funny you say that as NZ2415 rips overhead ..... these unlimited racers tho , some of the weird designs ole Burt come up with ..

Ian Warren wrote:

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Mar 25 2013,4:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A life claimer and twenty years ago .. Burt has a lot to answer for .. Imagine putting guns on this ... but then the snarl ... they'd hear you coming five miles out

She didnt snarl.. the pond had a scream to her

Ian Warren wrote:

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Mar 25 2013,4:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Funny you say that as NZ2415 rips overhead ..... these unlimited racers tho , some of the weird designs ole Burt come up with ..

ahh the Unlimiteds, some have tried to build one off racers over the years, there was also Tsunami in the early 90's, the pond, Miss Ashley II which looked like a stang but was pure custom build with a Learjet wing and Griffon up front, all 3 of those airplanes crashed with fatalities, and on the horizon there is the wildfire project which has been under construction for nearly 30 years, American Spirit which has been under build for 15+ and Shockwave which also has been a 15+ year project which has stalled. American Spirit and Shockwave use T-2 buckeye wings with custom fuselage's and R-3350 power, will be interesting to see if they ever get finished.

Yup some real mod's done .. but also many these aircraft being ex-warbirds get destroyed , I do prefer Burt to build rather than rip apart a 51 or a F4U and Fury class

That is very true Ian, many Warbirds have been lost as a result of the unlimited racing, but also some of the more iconic unlimiteds, such as Rare Bear and Strega actually started life as nothing more than hulks, Rare Bear has parts from a couple of different air frames, Strega is the same, but on the other side of the ledger, one of the most highly modified P-51s of the last 30 years Stiletto which had the scoop removed and a couple of cooling systems tried was converted back to stock, there have been a couple of other racers been returned to stock. One of the most modified furies, Critical Mass is being returned to stock at the moment. Racing has claimed airframes no doubt, but also it has saved many airframes as well.

EDIT: While i remember, Tsunami, which has a quasi-mustang look but was built to put the smallest practical airframe around a merlin/alison type engine, killed its original owner on landing after the 91 reno, but the family about 2-3 years ago got the remains out of storage and are slowly rebuilding her with a view of going back to the Air Races.

Great shots KS!! P-38 springs to mind.
@Ian ..... nice to see/hear the stang over the city again.

Splitpin wrote:

QUOTE (Splitpin @ Mar 25 2013,7:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

@Ian ..... nice to see/hear the stang over the city again.

Stang ? ... Its a bloody Muzzie CLASSIC !

What an oddball!

Noddy wrote:

QUOTE (Noddy @ Mar 26 2013,9:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What an oddball!

Oddball ... I keep thinking of Burt and Ernie ..... something out off Sesame Street ... maybe