Voodoo At Reno 2004

[jarrodeu]

I just got a reply from an email I sent the Voodoo air race team. He said they will be at Reno this year. They said they will put the rebuilt engine in on the weekend of 13th and test fly it on Sunday morning. Also said that Curt Brown who raced the jet last year will race Voodoo this year with Bob Button racing the jet.
Jarrod

[Wilnit]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

I also saw on Bob Hannah's site that American Spirit (L-39) is for sale... Any information on this???

[jarrodeu]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

Sorry I have no clue. Im sure someone here knows. This place is filled with smart people. Not me, Im just a spectator who loves air racing

[speeddemon]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

I think 'every' plane is for sale, at any given time...for the right price.

[MerlinV12]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

Is voodoo racing at reno this year??
How fast is voodoo compared with dago red??

[ShaneDog]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

I would make an estimated guess...of...about...460-470. So about 35-45 mph slower than Dago. Just a guess, correct me if I'm wrong!

[Victor Archer]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

FASTEST Speed for VooDoo
Race: Qualifying, 1 Lap(s) Date: 1998-09-14 Distance: 9.13 miles
Pilot Name: Hannah, Bob Aircraft: *Voodoo - Race 5 Type: P-51D Mustang
Time: 01:12.64 Speed: 452.549 Place: 1

FASTEST Speed for Dago Red*
Race: Heat 2-A Gold, 6 Lap(s) Date: 2003-09-12 Distance: 50.33 miles
Pilot Name: *Holm, Skip Aircraft: *Dago Red - Race 4 Type: P-51D Mustang
Time: 5:57.29 Speed: 507.105 Place: 1
Notes: New race record.

This information is from the RARA site.
One thing to keep in mind, the speed on VooDoo was with the race canopy.

[Victor Archer]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

This is the fastest race speed for VooDoo with the stock canopy.

Race: Heat 3-B Silver, 6 Lap(s) Date: 2003-09-13 Distance: 50.33 miles
Pilot Name: Jackson, Matt Aircraft: *Voodoo - Race 5 Type: P-51D Mustang
Time: 6:49.47 Speed: 442.483

65mph under Dago's racing speed for the same year.
I didn't think there was that much difference but those are the numbers.

[First time Juke]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

Hi,

How is it possible that VOODOO is so much slower than Dago ? VooDoo is so sporty looking.
Does it have a different engine or is it missing the gizmos Dago has ?

JT

[speeddemon]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

Skip, Matt......Skip, Matt......Hmmmmm........you be the judge.

Actually, it's a matter of philosophy in the engine department: High boost, low rpm vs. low boost, high rpm.

[Victor Archer]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

Don't forget, Crew Chief - Bill Kerchenfaut

Anyone know who's doing the engine for VooDoo?
I know at one time it was done at Mystery Aire.
Speaking of: How is Dwight Thorne doing?

[Phantom Samurai]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

Keep in mind that the current incarnation of Voodoo also has the stock canopy back in place, which also hurts the aerodynamics.

But even when Voodoo was in full race dress, it always seemed to be one problem or another. Voodoo Chile/Voodoo did, in fact, run the Mystery Aire Allison-rod Merlins from 1995-1999. Unfortunately, the racer never quite saw the full potential of what the Mouse Merlin could really do. The best chance seemed to be 1998, but Bob Hannah had the near-disasterous problem with the elevator trim tab. Filled with high hopes, a further refined version of Voodoo arrived to race in 1999, only to have an oil line from the prop governor let go during a qualification run, resulting in a runaway prop and terribly oversped Merlin.

For the 2000 season, engine building duties were undertaken by Jack Hovey of Hovey Machine, and Jack has built all the Voodoo Merlins since. As speeddemon has already stated, Jack's racing philosophy differs greatly from the Mouse Merlin crowd, ie, lower boost/higher RPM (Hovey) vs. higher boost/lower RPM (Mouse). But while the 2000 version of the Voodoo Merlin was a full blown Hovey racer (and the 2001 version as well, prior to a catastrophic failure just before Reno) the 2002 and 2003 Voodoo Merlins were modified stockers, and simply not capable of producing the kind of HP seen in the Dago Mouse.

But make no mistake, even with the stock canopy and semi-stock Merlin, Voodoo is a VERY slick racer, and at 90+" MP, should see speeds in the 440+ range.

TPS

[jarrodeu]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

Why did they take the racing canopy off?
Jarrod

[Phantom Samurai]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

The race canopy was removed in 2003 ostensibly to allow owner Bob Button to attain more stick time in the a/c. Since Button purchased the racer in 1994, he's had very little Mustang stick time of his own. The removal of the race canopy (which was added before Reno '97, BTW) made for a kinder, gentler sport plane which would be more suitable for someone with low time in type.

TPS

[Race 29]

Re: Voodoo At Reno 2004

I'm sure the stock canopy makes for better visability for someone that is low time in a mustang. But we also need to consider that Bob Button is a BIG GUY! Much bigger that Skip, Matt, or Bob Hannah. If I spent that kind of money on a racer, I'd want to fly it, not just hire someone to fly it for me. Maybe we'll see Bob out on the course in the near future, a la Tiger Destefani. I wonder how tight of a fit the race canopy was for Bob? I've seen pictures of him in it with the race canopy, but it couldn't have been much fun for a big guy like that. Wait a minute....if he's like me, anytime in a Mustang would be fun!

Race 29