Discussion about the future of Unlimiteds at WIX

[ZacYates]

Hi all,
I posted at the Warbird Information Exchange forum about whether anyone knew anything more about the potential of a reborn Red Baron or the sometimes-mentioned Miss Ashley II clone, and it turned into quite a wide-ranging discussion about the state and future of the Unlimited class. It's been really interesting to read and be involved in, and I thought some folks here may be interested.

I don't think you need to be a member to read the thread.

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=65851&sid=90215457c3dc40e017ea07d855b15337

[wingman]

Re: Discussion about the future of Unlimiteds at WIX

Thanks for posting the link. It has indeed been an interesting discussion, with input from people outside the core AAFO group of hard core Race fans.

Neal

[Desertdawg]

Re: Discussion about the future of Unlimiteds at WIX

Yes, thanks for sharing and mentioning the ongoing discussion on WIX.

I for one think Reno style air racing (once a year) get together, for real turn left air racing will go on. Today's warbirds will be part of the large fielded museum classes.

Then a whole new breed of young energenic/skilled/entrepreneurs will help develop carbon fiber replicas of today's P51, F8, etc., racers and utilize V12 Lambo engines or maybe affordable CNC produced Merlin V12 variants.

Just thinking positive and out loud.

[Mustang1957]

Re: Discussion about the future of Unlimiteds at WIX

the muzsala family has the red baron wreckage and plans to getting it back to racing status.

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Discussion about the future of Unlimiteds at WIX

the muzsala family has the red baron wreckage and plans to getting it back to racing status.

Yes, its been an interesting thread on WIX. With the Muzsala family looking to rebuild the Red Baron, the question becomes, what Data plate are they going to use? Wee Willy has the Red Baron Data plate.

The bottom line is, the Unlimited class needs a purse big enough to cover most of the costs to race. I think its great that a few of the museums are starting to get involved. Even if we see most of the field become stock racers, at one point some museum might step up and say hey, we have a former winning racer here, lets restore it to the racer it was so we can try and win this year (or next year or, whatever) and from there others start to revert back to racers that were rather than the normal stock birds. Rivalries happen, and when they get started, they tend to escalate.

There is also the chance that the modified birds change from Sea Furies and Mustangs to Yaks. Yaks are cheap and plentiful (relatively speaking). Allisons are out there, as are R1830s. Yes, we might see a step backward in speeds for awhile, but perhaps not that far. Czech Mate becomes the repeat winner until someone finds a way to go faster.

Could be interesting.

Will

[Mustang1957]

Re: Discussion about the future of Unlimiteds at WIX

I think czech mate has a R-2800.I'd like to see red baron,dago and strega all making a mad dash to the finish line!

[RAD2LTR]

Re: Discussion about the future of Unlimiteds at WIX

I think czech mate has a R-2800.I'd like to see red baron,dago and strega all making a mad dash to the finish line!

Yes, Czech Mate has an R2800, and is the most developed Yak racer ever. I was simply thinking in terms of cost to play. The Yaks with Allisons and smaller radials could be resonably cost effective (when it comes to air racing, nothing is cheap ) and they are pretty easy to find for sale.

That said, for the cost of a single Ferrari 250 GTO, one could build a dedicated racing mustang, Sea Fury, corsair, or what have you and still have millions left over (I think the last 250 GTO to sell went for about $38M, and it gets raced.) There is plenty of $ out there to make the field amazing, however getting it into air racing is the tough part. (For what its worth, last year there were 3 Ferrari 250 GTOs racing at Monterey. Let that sink in for a moment.)

If I won the lottery, you bet I'd be running out to build an unlimited racer. Possibly even two of them. (September Fury and Diamondback so I could return Diamondback to Stiletto, and hang a R4360 off the front of 232.) One can dream right?

Will