Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

[wingman]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

Rare Bear in the lead, then Dread Sled with Dan high, and a whole bunch of those other things well behind...

[tjyak50]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

Check out the heat blur behind those airplanes. Wow.
A lot of energy being converted right there.

[MRussell]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

Check out the heat blur behind those airplanes. Wow.
A lot of energy being converted right there.

I was thinking the same thing. The Bear's heat signature looks larger to my eyes.

[tjyak50]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

Might be that it is closer and shows up better?

One would have to assume that they have similar drag profiles, and probably require similar amounts of fuel converting to heat to do similar things.

Maybe on the Bear with all the heat coming from the same place it looks more dramatic? Exhaust and engine cooling all from around the cowling.

Whereas a water pumper dumps a lot of heat through the stacks on the side and more from the belly.

Although I suppose at 470mph is all gets bunched together pretty fast.
Very cool regardless.

[grampi]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

Has any other plane besides Dago run 500+ MPH laps?

[440_Magnum]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

The story of Ridge Runner III 2005 should be told more often. Dan Martin inspired a lot of people that day.

I drag that one up *EVERY* time someone makes the claim that no Merlin will ever be competitive again....

[flyingjibus]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

Actual Clocked and recorded laps, To my knowledge No. But your getting into the new course/old course lap time issue. I look at it like this:

Dago, Strega, and the Bear have all at one time or another been in the 500mph range if using the new course layout. (soon to be old).

September Fury is in the 470-490 range.

Everyone else is 460 and below.

If trying to compare them on an equal playing field I think this is as accurate as you can get in my opinion.

[440_Magnum]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

Might be that it is closer and shows up better?

One would have to assume that they have similar drag profiles, and probably require similar amounts of fuel converting to heat to do similar things.

Maybe on the Bear with all the heat coming from the same place it looks more dramatic? Exhaust and engine cooling all from around the cowling.

I think its some of both. The Bear still has a bearcat wing thats less efficient than a Mustang wing, so it takes more power, burns more fuel, and dumps correspondingly more waste heat overboard. That was probably even more true that year than currently after all the airframe and engine improvements over the last 2 eyars. But there is also the the fact that the bear's exhaust ejectors also dump the engine cooling air too so that you only have two hot air streams, rather than having two heat streams from exhaust stacks and a third for engine cooling air down below like you do on a Mustang.

[Leo]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

Can argue the course from now until dooms day, whether it was 500, 507, 512, 495... All I know is from our vantage point in the valley, he went a little wide, a little low and a LOT fast. The passes sucked the air away, then blew it back with a wiff of exhaust and a mist of spray bar. It was'nt a roar it was an explosion, and short of standing next to top fuel dragsters (and a pylon pass or two of Lefty's) the most intense motorsport experience I've ever had. He just plain LOOKED faster than ever before or since.

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

With the course changes coming for this year, all calculations from year's past will be out the window..

Who's fastest on the course???

Ain't that part of the fun.. we just DON'T know till September!

The Merlin gods may be smiling this year.. I know, even the Rare Bear guys PRAY that this is the case!

I talked with "Super Dave" earlier today and he genuinely said "hope so" when we talked about the potential success of the on-going Merlin program/s....

I know ALL of the Rare Bear guys feel the same.. I'm not as close with the Sept Fury guys, but from what I know of them, they are racers and they want to RACE, not walk away with anything.

Let's all do a little "kumbia" to the Merlin god and hope/pray that they hold together and we have some SERIOUS racin' this year!!

Can you believe RENO is soooooo close and PRS is NEXT FRIGGIN WEEK!!!!!

[T.F.]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

With the course changes coming for this year, all calculations from year's past will be out the window..

Who's fastest on the course???

Ain't that part of the fun.. we just DON'T know till September!

The Merlin gods may be smiling this year.. I know, even the Rare Bear guys PRAY that this is the case!

I talked with "Super Dave" earlier today and he genuinely said "hope so" when we talked about the potential success of the on-going Merlin program/s....

I know ALL of the Rare Bear guys feel the same.. I'm not as close with the Sept Fury guys, but from what I know of them, they are racers and they want to RACE, not walk away with anything.

Let's all do a little "kumbia" to the Merlin god and hope/pray that they hold together and we have some SERIOUS racin' this year!!

Can you believe RENO is soooooo close and PRS is NEXT FRIGGIN WEEK!!!!!

The Mustangs will rise again. Firm belief.

[grampi]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

The Mustangs will rise again. Firm belief.

The reason the Merlins haven't been winning is because the two fastest ones (Dago and Strega) haven't been racing. I'm not sure a healthy Bear can beat either of those planes healthy.

[flyingjibus]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

The reason the Merlins haven't been winning is because the two fastest ones (Dago and Strega) haven't been racing. I'm not sure a healthy Bear can beat either of those planes healthy.

Which races are you going to?

[Leo]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

With PRS next week, we should all get together, sit in a circle around a picture of Dago Red, burn some Pennsoil incense and chant the mantra "Merlinmerlinmerlinmerlin". Maybe sacrafice a radial to the in-line gods.
Seriously tho it would be really cool to see a good in-line-radial challenge.

[SCEPTER]

Re: Any chance we'll ever see Rare Bear, Strega, and Dago Red in the same race?

The inline motors have had there share of problems. However the bottom ends have been staying together. Even the catastrophic failure of merlin magic's motor in '05 was from detonation I belive.