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  1. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    The chicken-and-egg scenario is what held up Formula V in its beginning. The FV rules were originally published in Air Progress Oct. 1965 issue but there were no existing airframes that met these rules. Wittman got his V-Witt flying in 1970; Monnett had his Sonerai-1 flying in 1972; these two...
  2. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    My friend Charlie Terry, who was an experienced pilot in Formula V, flew a Pitts Special in a pylon race in 1985. This was on a 3-mile 6-pylon IF1 race course at Detroit. He remarked afterwards that he was shocked by the upper wing blocking his visibility in the turns. As the planes bank around...
  3. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    I am pleased that this discussion has brought up wing loading vs gusty wind conditions. Formula V with 75 sq. ft. of wing area and approx. 720 to 740 lb. flying weight was occasionally bothered with gusty wind conditions. See the YouTube video of the 1996 FV race at Myrtle Beach for example...
  4. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    With reference to Steve Wittman's thin airfoils, note that his raceplanes all had externally wire-braced wings. Wittman's design philosophy was to make the raceplane as light as possible so that it would accelerate better from a standing start and take the lead at the start of the race. To this...
  5. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    I recently priced out the parts cost to build up a 1600 cc VW long block engine (to answer a question about VW engine availability for a restart of Formula V) and the total was $2948. Importantly, this was without magneto, carburetor and prop extension drive. Any competitor should be able to...
  6. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    I would caution everyone to be careful about racing any existing aircraft design that is not suitable for aerobatics, especially canards or tail-less designs. Wake turbulence can be dangerous... ask yourself what would happen if your Quickie is rolled upside down at 50 ft AGL due to suddenly...
  7. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    The earlier revisions of the FAA Inspector's Notice "Policy Updates for Issuing a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization for an Aviation Event" Order 8900.1 mandated a maximum 65 degrees turn from one pylon to the next, thus mandating a 6-pylon (or more) race course layout. All this race course...
  8. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    Currently a 1600 cc. 'long block' VW engine can be built up for $3K in new parts. But the accessories to make it into an airworthy FV engine (magneto, carburetor, fuel pump & prop drive assy.) easily add another $2K... I would consider the 'long block' itself to be very reliable. FV saw a...
  9. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    Let me remind everyone of the limits that the FAA will impose on any public pylon air race event.... 1) a mandatory 500 foot horizontal separation between the spectators and the edge of the race course. This will prevent these races held at existing auto race tracks where the seating is less...
  10. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    I was a crew member at the 1990 Digital Schneider Cup race in England. This was a handicap pylon race over the Solent near the Isle of Wight, sponsored by Digital Computers (DEC) of England. The race course was somewhat similar to the 1929 & 1931 Schneider Trophy race, three pylons with a lap...
  11. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    Almost half the field at the first Goodyear race in 1947 were modified pre-WW2 raceplanes - the winner was "Buster" which was rebuilt from Wittman's prewar "Chief Oshkosh". Others were the Brown B-1, a Loose racer, the Chester "Jeep" and maybe one or two more... along with new designs by veteran...
  12. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    I respectfully but strongly disagree with your assertion that a sub-200 mph racing class would not be popular with spectators, sponsors or media. Spectators understand and enjoy the concept of close head-to-head competition – whether it occurs at 180Mph or 400Mph is of secondary importance...
  13. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    I had a number of design requirements for my new FV design. I wanted it to be modular like the Cassutt, in that the design would be a baseline that could be later easily modified with a different wing and/or other refinements as we have seen occur in IF1. Neither the Sonerai-1 or V-Witt designs...
  14. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    I built FV V-Witt #33 “chasin' rainbows” and later owned FV Sonerai-1 #77 “Blueberry” which is currently displayed at the Motorsports Hall of Fame Museum in Daytona Beach FL. I learned a lot from both of my FV raceplanes. Frankly, both FV designs had serious deficiencies. The Sonerai-1 was...
  15. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    Tiger Tim, you didn't ask me – but I can answer to describe my effort to restart Formula V in 2017... For Formula V Rev. 2, I had put together a detailed proposal document which called for five partners to join me in creating a new corporation to own the revived class. The six partners would...
  16. jvliet

    Formula-I?

    It's fun to dream about new air racing classes, but the FAA has made it very difficult to start up any new air racing class in the USA. To get FAA permission to conduct air races, a new class organization must be created, with at least 6 to 8 planes and qualified pilots, plus leadership people...
  17. jvliet

    Contenders for National Championship Air Races from 2025

    With reference to post #40, over-water pylon air races for IF1, biplanes and FV were held at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland in 1977-80, 85 and 89. The two federal agencies involved (FAA and US Coast guard) were at odds - FAA wanted the race course moved out for audience separation...
  18. jvliet

    New Sport Class Venue October

    "The prize money at Reno hasn't covered much more than fuel expenses and entry fees for the last decade in any class. Racers are there to race, not for the money." .... I hear you, and IMHO there's been a noticeable decline in the number and quality of Reno participants in these recent years...
  19. jvliet

    New Sport Class Venue October

    I notice that there is no mention whatsoever of any prize money... This is an unhealthy trend for all of air racing, that competitors will put on a race (demonstration or otherwise) "for free". The word gets around quickly in the airshow industry - this makes it much harder for any racing...
  20. jvliet

    2023 final year for air racing at Reno

    Racers, please don't gamble on the races happening at the Spaceport site near Las Vegas in 2024. According to news reports, they're still trying to raise money to build an airport there. And, they own only 240 acres of land at the Spaceport site, which IMHO is nowhere near large enough for a...
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