Some old Reno pics

[wingman]

I believe the wing was moved towards the rear not forward. Compare the location of the leading edge to the firewall.

I have found this endlessly confusing, but Mike is obviously correct. The airplane started out very tail heavy, with a lot of lead in the nose. A magnesium tail did not entirely cure things, but it helped.

Reno 1989







Reno 1990

[wingman]

This was a nice angle on the airplane.

Taken during the Saturday Heat Race.

[SpinB]

Tsunami may well be the ultimate "What could've been" had circumstances turned out different! She had incredible potential...

[wingman]

I can't remember, was moving the wing a smart move? Did it make positive gains? Or was it just a move that produced a net gain of ? I think the plan for Tsunami is to put the wing back where it was on the plans as they have no notes for where it got moved to.

Will

I don't think anybody really knows. Steve has been quoted as saying the airplane flew better but may not have been as fast. There are lots of Sandberg haters that are sure Jack screwed things up, but they seem divided over whether the wing move was awful or the flaps screwed everything up. The airplane flew faster after the wing move and Skip absolutely loved the airplane the way he flew it. That should tell you something, I think.

The reality is that there was much wrong with the airplane as first flown, but it was the fastest airplane on the field in 1987 -- clearly faster than Strega in a qualifying scenario at least. It just got faster over the next 5 years. In that time they changed carb intake, cooling system, wings and tails, went through a bunch of scoop and doghouse designs, spent a fortune on magnesium, and just got faster.

This is a summary of some of the bigger changes, from Sharon Sandberg's newsletter...





So massive changes happening constantly. I think it is pretty much impossible to say much about the wing move and its effects.