What is air racing ?

[DPKII]

Re: What is air racing ?

Juke,

Yes I realize that you are considering this a tailwheel aircraft and you are correct in stating that landing at a high angle of attack (3-point, full stall) will work fine with the main gear placed far ahead of the cg. The problem will be if the pilot comes in a little fast and touches down above stall speed. That is where the bouncing starts!

I think your plan to build a model first is great. Try your ideas and see what works.

David

[First time Juke]

Re: What is air racing ?

Ok David I will...thanks for the comment.

Here is a record setter LW-02 whose records Tweedy could go after with a skilled pilot:

http://www.popularaviation.com/ListNewsArticleDtl.asp?id=258

-------------------------------

Here is the sole finnish HK-1 record that I know of:

http://records.fai.org/general_aviation/aircraft.asp?id=507

[kennsmithf2g]

Re: What is air racing ?

This is the first time that I have looked at this post. When i first looked at you drawings of Tweety Bird, I thought that some one was making another modification to the Goodyear Racer "Rivets". The canopy arrangement kinda resembles the 1947 version of the Goodyear Class racer "Whistler", race #81. the sideview also resembles the 1948 version of the Goodyear Class racer "Rivets", race number 92, and the tail looks like what Rivets wore later in her long racing career. I have not seen anything on why Whistler was redesigned with a more standard tyoe of canopy for the later Goodyear races.

Attached Photo was taken by a friend of mine in 1947 of "Whistler"

[First time Juke]

Re: What is air racing ?

This is the first time that I have looked at this post. When i first looked at you drawings of Tweety Bird, I thought that some one was making another modification to the Goodyear Racer "Rivets". The canopy arrangement kinda resembles the 1947 version of the Goodyear Class racer "Whistler", race #81. the sideview also resembles the 1948 version of the Goodyear Class racer "Rivets", race number 92, and the tail looks like what Rivets wore later in her long racing career. I have not seen anything on why Whistler was redesigned with a more standard tyoe of canopy for the later Goodyear races.

Attached Photo was taken by a friend of mine in 1947 of "Whistler"

Excellent !

I want to see RIVETS Race 92 view as well...any data of Whistler around...specs of any sort ?

rgds,

Juke

PS: A good friend of mine promissed to make an R/C model of Tweedy-Bird and praised its appearance...I appreciate that a lot since I know his dad teaches aeroplane building in one vocational education center.

[First time Juke]

Re: What is air racing ?

Attached Photo was taken by a friend of mine in 1947 of "Whistler"

I have a 1958 issue of local Tech Mag and it has same type of canopy in a record braking DEMM 50 ccm moped...same kinda ventilation opening at the rear end of the canopy...the speed was 154 km/h attained with that wheeled canopy + a 50 ccm Demm engine.

--------------------------------

Earliest comment on Bill Falks RIVETS is from 1956..you don't mean him do you ?

http://www.airrace.com/New%20speedrecords.htm

Are you sure the Good Year Rivets race no 92 had tail like the Tweedy-Bird design has ?

[kennsmithf2g]

Re: What is air racing ?

Here is a picture of Rivets taken in 1948 by my friend. Yes, it's the same Bill Falk. Rivets was origionally design to be flown in the prone position but the race officials nixed that idea quickly. It was much modified many times until it's fatal crash, with Bill Falk at the controls, here in Cleveland in the 70's during an air start. I went to the Air show/race the next day after the crash and was sicken by the attitude of the crowd that wanted to see another crash and stayed away from the Cleveland show for many years afterwards. That was the last year for races at Cleveland too. I understand too much "politicking" ended it as the racers actually had planned to come back the next year but the airshow had other ideas.

It eventually had a "T" tail, which the Cox Control Line Model has and I thought I saw a picture of the "T" tail version with side rudders, but I may be mistaken.

Have a nice day!

Kenn

[First time Juke]

Re: What is air racing ?

Thanks Kenn !

That must be the most rare pic of the Falck RIVETS !

I never knew that kinda plane existed. I bet he wanted to keep the number and name for some reason.

He emigrated to USA in 1932 and constructed first racer before WW II..but never raced it until 1947/48..and now I see the plane.

Here is the later RIVETS:

[First time Juke]

OT; Bill Falck and the crash ?!

OT:

Since Rivets was constructed before WW II and heavily modified in several occasions I assume that the crash was due to technical malfunction, but was the crash ever thoroughly investigated ?

Was the wreck ever discovered ( it went to the lake Michigan..or Erie ).

I have had hard time believing that the Rivets in 1948 and the later T-tail Rivets is the same aircraft.

Who remembers or knows what most likely took place ?

[kennsmithf2g]

Re: What is air racing ?

Rivets crashed into Lake Erie just off Burke Airport here in Cleveland. It was an "Air Start" over water, meaning the planes "lined-up" on a pace plane and when the pace plane pilot pulled up, the race was on. It is very hard to judge attitude over water and a lot of planes will dive at the start of a race to gain airspeed. The races held the next two days were ground starts, where the planes line-up abreast on the ground and start from a stopped position.

If I remember correctly, the plane, with the pilot sill in it, was found and recoverd the next day or the day after that. (one of my college classmate's told me that one of his diving club's members snagged the plane with his boat anchor....not in an area where the search was going on....... )While the lake is not deep in that area, it was very cloudy.

I don't know what the "official" cause of the crash was. At last year's Society of Air Racing Historian's Symposium, there was much discussion of various theories of what caused the crash. The end result being that Air Racing and the World lost a valued member.

As a general rule of thumb.....Almost all air racers are in a constant state of redesign and developement. Which makes it very difficult to document them as sometimes they even change during the course of a race week..........


Kenn

[First time Juke]

Bill Falck and F1 in general

As a general rule of thumb.....Almost all air racers are in a constant state of redesign and developement. Which makes it very difficult to document them as sometimes they even change during the course of a race week..........


Kenn

I heard Rivets was made for the 1948 Cleveland race just in time and the prewar racer by Falck was a radial engined barmer currently in EAA establishment somewhere in storage.

Anyway the original drone position and radically changed fuse with engine and tailfeathers + other changes definitely have been very demanding in safety aspect.

I have also heard that Rivets was quite a handful to fly and was only flown by one other person besides Bill Falck...anyone know who he was ?

I personally think that T-tail looks like there is very little room for error in some slow flying maneuvers and stall lurks constantly...and I also heard its CG was quite aft.

I dunno how fit 64 year old Bill was to fly but someone mentioned he was broke and loansharks were after him...I dunno if this correct ? Or did it matter in the first place.

Well...Bill Falck is a legend and may his life be a lesson that can be used as a light tower when one wants to navigate into victory in F1 class. He at least achieved a lot with very little means he had available.

Long live the F1 class despite the unlucky incidents in Reno 2007 race. Is the recovery chute hard to install into those F1:s ?

[First time Juke]

Re: Wankel in a ultralite

I promissed to report on the famous AIXRO Wankel engine on a ultra.

Friend of mine has done his project to this stage.

Some questions raised.

I love the sidestick system on it.

Original problem was the Briggs and Stratton V engine that oscillated too much due to installation and it had to be removed. He is working on a dual 110 ccm engine for it as well..that is interesting engine too.

Mustang was on the day before previous day in Duxford England in the American Museum building there. Weather was little gloomy but normal. I love England.

..and we did have some beers...

[Lance]

Re: What is air racing ?

Juke, the fourth picture looks like it would work really well on my lawnmower.

[First time Juke]

Re: What is air racing ?

Juke, the fourth picture looks like it would work really well on my lawnmower.

It is the paraglider engine...he had coupled two with a belt to turn the prop...so 220 ccm altogether and 22 ps ( 11 + 11 ).

The emptyweight of that plane is 108 kg.

He had also two car and motorcycle engines converted for aviation..and one from a snowmobile....slightly damaged, but fairly new.

And quess what..the plane has blue foam fuse with steelprofile beam...foam has fiber on both sides.



Picture of the Susuki engine is unfortunately blurry.

There is a Zero in the Axis plane pic. Not in the best shape thou ( ...and a Pucara nose on the far right ). Dark pic has two classics...one of them kind is rotting in Finland in Koskue in a gas station on a pole.

Can you spot the 7 planes in the last pic ?

[First time Juke]

Small twin racer update !

Hi,

Small twin racer has progressed on the drawing board.

Some questions has been raised.

1. Sitting position is unacceptable.
2. Nosewheelsteering ( mainwheel actually ) cannot be operated with feet

What do you say ? All comments welcome.
I may be just wasting my time designing this if no one see any awesome cool sides in this design.

Going 200 mph with 12 000 USD plane could be possible ( requires a lot of own work ).

Latest 2-views here:

http://www.aafo.com/hangartalk/showthread.php?p=60841#post60841

here is the plain 2-view; http://www.aafo.com/hangartalk/attac...chmentid=10905

[GeeBeeZ1931]

Re: What is air racing ?

Hi Juke;
If the tailwheels steered with the rudders that would solve steering problem.
Bill K