So since AAFO is extremely slow for this time of year, I thought why not give my full, detailed synopsis on this years Sport class "hot shots". Maybe it'll spur up some excitement that is definitely lacking this year. Here it goes!...
(By Race #)..
#2 (N41VR) "Modo Mio": Vince Walker's Legacy "Modo Mio" has always been a contender in the mid-back of the Gold pack. This is one of the sexiest Legacy's I've ever seen and she seems to be very reliable at putting up low 300mph races without any problems. Placing 6th in the gold in 2015 was a pretty easy task given the lack of very fast racers ahead of him, but will Vince and his Legacy get pushed back into the Silver this year? My bet is yes, prove me wrong Vince!
#6 (N726DW): This Legacy is nameless for now... This is the late Dennis Stutes' Super Legacy which really never proved itself at Reno. I feel like it may have raced in the past but never in "super" legacy fashion like it is now. It has sported the #21 on the tail for a long time now and never got out to the pylons. This year Colleen Keller will be racing this plane as Race #6 and will definitely be one to watch. If I remember correctly she also has some aerodynamic similarities to Race 33 thanks to AeroChia.
#8 (N5S): David Sterling's Legacy has proven itself to be the fastest Legacy on the course. Boasting a 380mph qualifying time in 2014, Race 8 has never been able to show what she's really got (besides a 3rd place finish in 2013). 2015 gave David and the Legacy a first place win in Heat 1A due to Parker's pylon cut, but a DNF in Sunday's gold race left David without a podium finish that almost looked promised. Now David's up against Blue II and Race 39 which have both proven to be faster aircraft. Is she ready to win this year or at least sit on the podium??? I hope so!
#28: I forget the tail number on this plane as it is the most secretive Legacy racing this year. Being flown by one of the best pilots at Reno, Pete Zaccagnino, I promise this plane to be fast. I know very little about this plane and have never seen a single picture of it. All I know is that it was almost ready last year and is 100% ready this year. Before I say anything else... Let's wait to see some pictures and qualifying times to back up my hopes!
#30 (N115YP) "One Moment": One of my favorite racers! Not only one of the coolest paint schemes, but Andy is surely one of the nicest guys in the sport. One Moment placed 3rd last year in the Gold race after some maydays opened the spot up for him. This year will be a different story... I'm not sure how much Andy has done this year, but I have a feeling his 356mph race last Sunday won't be enough to secure a podium finish this year! I hope the One Moment team has some tricks up their sleeve!
#33 (N33XP): If I have my money on a Legacy that will place on the podium it's going to have to be Elliott in Greenameyer's old Race 33. Andy Chiavetta has been putting a magic touch on this racer to make it a major contender this year and it's looking awesome. This airframe has proven itself to be incredibly fast, but today's definition of "fast" is a lot faster than the plane is used to! Running around 350mph the last year it raced, I know Andy has the plane ready to push 380+ without issues. Can't wait to see how Elliott and the team do this year.
#39 (N123AJ): Lavelle and Race 39 are the current title holders for the fastest Glasair, the fastest qualifier, and the fastest race speed ever clocked by a sport racer at Reno. After a 1 year hiatus, Jeff is back and wants his title back. If it doesn't break it's on the podium, there's not much else to be said!
#42 (N42XT) "Relentless": We all know what a NXT airframe can do (Thanks Jon Sharpe), and Kevin Eldredge wants to show everybody what Relentless can do. Last year had Race 42 rocking an 8-cylinder ACE engine and he's back at it again this year. Placing 5th in last year's Gold at a speed of 310 (nearly 40mph slower than 4th place), it seems as if Kevin's plans didn't go as he hoped. Good news is, this wasn't the full potential of this beast of an engine. After last year's races, Kevin reported that there was a "miscommunication in the set up of the cam timing". The engine was only putting out 350 horsepower and is capable of at least 475. If you think of it logically, that will be about 35% increase in horsepower, and if that directly translates to 35% increase in speed... Well you get the point, Relentless will not disappoint. And for once she's fully painted and looks amazing!
#44 (N23LF) "Miss Karen II": Lynn Farnsworth and MK2 have a very good track record and come off of a solid second place finish in last years Sport Gold. Finishing 3 seconds behind Blue II, Lynn is and will be a force to be reckoned with this year. I'm not sure if any recent mods have been done, but if Jeff is running 400+ laps on Sunday, 370mph won't be cutting it.
#47 (N295JH) "Lucky Mojo": Gary Mead has a very fast Glasair that always has a spot in the Gold race. We all know what a Glasair is capable of and if Gary did any more mods in the off-season, Lucky Mojo will definitely be a contender. She placed 4th in the Gold last year with a speed of 348mph which is nothing to be looked past. She may get knocked down by some of these new Legacy's, but i wouldn't count Gary out yet.
#352 (N352BT) "Blue Thunder II": Reno 2015's Sport gold winner and almost always a podium finished (if it doesn't break). I'm not sure what has been done to Blue for this year, but I think the engine may be tuned a little differently. If John wants to keep up with Race 39, there better be a little more horsepower inside that Falconer!
#67 & #151: These are two honorable mentions as they are both Thunder Mustang's which are probably faster than Vince Walker's "Modo Mio". Clas Thunder Race 151 raced a 320mph average in 2014. Both of these Thunder's will definitely be pushing the bottom of the Gold race and sound awesome while doing it!!!
That is your outlook of the hot-shots of the sport class in 2016. All tallied up that's 13 racers that are Gold race capable. Most likely 9 racers will make it into the Sport Gold and that leaves 4 planes that can run over 300mph in the Silver (if nobody breaks). Now this is gonna be a really fun year to watch. I couldn't be more excited and I hope this pumps you all up as well
(By Race #)..
#2 (N41VR) "Modo Mio": Vince Walker's Legacy "Modo Mio" has always been a contender in the mid-back of the Gold pack. This is one of the sexiest Legacy's I've ever seen and she seems to be very reliable at putting up low 300mph races without any problems. Placing 6th in the gold in 2015 was a pretty easy task given the lack of very fast racers ahead of him, but will Vince and his Legacy get pushed back into the Silver this year? My bet is yes, prove me wrong Vince!
#6 (N726DW): This Legacy is nameless for now... This is the late Dennis Stutes' Super Legacy which really never proved itself at Reno. I feel like it may have raced in the past but never in "super" legacy fashion like it is now. It has sported the #21 on the tail for a long time now and never got out to the pylons. This year Colleen Keller will be racing this plane as Race #6 and will definitely be one to watch. If I remember correctly she also has some aerodynamic similarities to Race 33 thanks to AeroChia.
#8 (N5S): David Sterling's Legacy has proven itself to be the fastest Legacy on the course. Boasting a 380mph qualifying time in 2014, Race 8 has never been able to show what she's really got (besides a 3rd place finish in 2013). 2015 gave David and the Legacy a first place win in Heat 1A due to Parker's pylon cut, but a DNF in Sunday's gold race left David without a podium finish that almost looked promised. Now David's up against Blue II and Race 39 which have both proven to be faster aircraft. Is she ready to win this year or at least sit on the podium??? I hope so!
#28: I forget the tail number on this plane as it is the most secretive Legacy racing this year. Being flown by one of the best pilots at Reno, Pete Zaccagnino, I promise this plane to be fast. I know very little about this plane and have never seen a single picture of it. All I know is that it was almost ready last year and is 100% ready this year. Before I say anything else... Let's wait to see some pictures and qualifying times to back up my hopes!
#30 (N115YP) "One Moment": One of my favorite racers! Not only one of the coolest paint schemes, but Andy is surely one of the nicest guys in the sport. One Moment placed 3rd last year in the Gold race after some maydays opened the spot up for him. This year will be a different story... I'm not sure how much Andy has done this year, but I have a feeling his 356mph race last Sunday won't be enough to secure a podium finish this year! I hope the One Moment team has some tricks up their sleeve!
#33 (N33XP): If I have my money on a Legacy that will place on the podium it's going to have to be Elliott in Greenameyer's old Race 33. Andy Chiavetta has been putting a magic touch on this racer to make it a major contender this year and it's looking awesome. This airframe has proven itself to be incredibly fast, but today's definition of "fast" is a lot faster than the plane is used to! Running around 350mph the last year it raced, I know Andy has the plane ready to push 380+ without issues. Can't wait to see how Elliott and the team do this year.
#39 (N123AJ): Lavelle and Race 39 are the current title holders for the fastest Glasair, the fastest qualifier, and the fastest race speed ever clocked by a sport racer at Reno. After a 1 year hiatus, Jeff is back and wants his title back. If it doesn't break it's on the podium, there's not much else to be said!
#42 (N42XT) "Relentless": We all know what a NXT airframe can do (Thanks Jon Sharpe), and Kevin Eldredge wants to show everybody what Relentless can do. Last year had Race 42 rocking an 8-cylinder ACE engine and he's back at it again this year. Placing 5th in last year's Gold at a speed of 310 (nearly 40mph slower than 4th place), it seems as if Kevin's plans didn't go as he hoped. Good news is, this wasn't the full potential of this beast of an engine. After last year's races, Kevin reported that there was a "miscommunication in the set up of the cam timing". The engine was only putting out 350 horsepower and is capable of at least 475. If you think of it logically, that will be about 35% increase in horsepower, and if that directly translates to 35% increase in speed... Well you get the point, Relentless will not disappoint. And for once she's fully painted and looks amazing!
#44 (N23LF) "Miss Karen II": Lynn Farnsworth and MK2 have a very good track record and come off of a solid second place finish in last years Sport Gold. Finishing 3 seconds behind Blue II, Lynn is and will be a force to be reckoned with this year. I'm not sure if any recent mods have been done, but if Jeff is running 400+ laps on Sunday, 370mph won't be cutting it.
#47 (N295JH) "Lucky Mojo": Gary Mead has a very fast Glasair that always has a spot in the Gold race. We all know what a Glasair is capable of and if Gary did any more mods in the off-season, Lucky Mojo will definitely be a contender. She placed 4th in the Gold last year with a speed of 348mph which is nothing to be looked past. She may get knocked down by some of these new Legacy's, but i wouldn't count Gary out yet.
#352 (N352BT) "Blue Thunder II": Reno 2015's Sport gold winner and almost always a podium finished (if it doesn't break). I'm not sure what has been done to Blue for this year, but I think the engine may be tuned a little differently. If John wants to keep up with Race 39, there better be a little more horsepower inside that Falconer!
#67 & #151: These are two honorable mentions as they are both Thunder Mustang's which are probably faster than Vince Walker's "Modo Mio". Clas Thunder Race 151 raced a 320mph average in 2014. Both of these Thunder's will definitely be pushing the bottom of the Gold race and sound awesome while doing it!!!
That is your outlook of the hot-shots of the sport class in 2016. All tallied up that's 13 racers that are Gold race capable. Most likely 9 racers will make it into the Sport Gold and that leaves 4 planes that can run over 300mph in the Silver (if nobody breaks). Now this is gonna be a really fun year to watch. I couldn't be more excited and I hope this pumps you all up as well
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