| The
main focus of this website has always been the
Big Dogs of Air Racing – the thundering
Unlimiteds. These are the machines that bring in
the paying customers – after all, who
doesn’t want to watch highly modified
Warbirds wailing around the pylons? Lost in the shuffle, though, are
another group of dedicated and fiercely
competitive Racers. The Formula 1 guys are not
flashy high rollers
(I’ve been involved
with them for over 20 years, and I can not think
of one who’s been seriously rich).
They are, by and large,
regular guys who love to fly, and really love to
race. These Racers don’t look like much
– after all how impressive can a 500 pound
machine powered by a Cessna 150 engine be?
But think about this –
a Continental 0-200 motor will pull a Cessna 150
along at maybe 120 mph – downhill. The best
IF1s, with this same motor, (and the rules only
allow stock and original parts) are running a 4
mile closed course, with almost no
straight-aways, at over 250 mph!!
This is pure innovation,
attention to detail and pilot skill and desire.
Reno 2000 is going to be
especially exciting to those who take the time to
watch the battle for the crown in IF1, because
the Racer that has utterly dominated the class
for the last decade has been retired. Jon and
Tricia Sharp’s wonderful Nemesis is going to
the Smithsonian. This truly leaves the field wide
open for R2000 !
Here’s a look at the
IF1s, and some of the legitimate contenders to
the throne.
-Neal
Nurmi-
The story is told within
the images, begin with picture one and continue
through the story as the drama of IF1 at Reno
2000 unfolds.
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