Sopwith Triplane

A BMW with wings! Simply the best
The sporty, German- Pitts S-1S Special:
made Aquila A211GX unmatched aerobat
December 2015 £3.99
W
I
a Pitts N!
S-2A
flight
experie
nce
WORTH
£260
Anything and everything you can fly
Sopwith Triplane
Learning about flying in
a First World War fighter
PL■USBeyond the PPL: improving your landings and arriving in style
■ Carlisle Airfield Profile ■ Old Timers airshow round-up ■ Safety Matters
www.pilotweb.aero
Notes
Special Report
Air Race 1 World Cup
Formula One
air racing’s first
world champion
In the long history of Formula One air racing,
2015 will be remembered as the year in which the
first truly international series of races took place,
Swedish born Thom Richard taking the crown
Words Trevor Jarvis Photos Jane Jarvis
T
The Brits didn’t
he Goodyear Trophy held at Cleveland, Ohio in 1947
enjoy much glory
was the first time ‘midget’ racers, with their 190
in Tunisia; Des
cubic inch engines, competed in a professional race
Hart and his crew
series. From 1968 the then-new 200 cubic inch
just about fighting off the
motors were permitted and the series became
gremlins to take third place in the
officially known as the Formula One Class.
Silver race and Trevor Jarvis
Only minor changes to the formula have been sanctioned
suffering major engine problems that
since the introduction of the O-200 engine, and the basic
would prevent him racing in the remainder
concept of relatively cheap and safe racing still remains.
of the series. Terry Gardner’s Cassutt was
Formula One calls for a minimum wing area of 66 square feet,
flown to good effect by Justin Phillipson
minimum empty weight of 500lb with no fuel or oil, fixedfrom California, who took a very creditable
pitch propeller and fixed main undercarriage with brakes.
second place in the Silver race.
There are of course numerous other technical and safety
Immediately after the Tunisian
constraints set out in the thirty-page International Formula
race, the aircraft were stripped down
One technical rules pamphlet, all of which are randomly but
for transporting to Catalonia in Spain,
regularly checked for compliance at pre- and post-race
ready for the next event in the series on
scrutineering.
The Air Race 1 World Cup kicked off at Monastir International Sunday 28 June at Lleida International Airport.
The French racers
Airport, Tunisia with the Gold
who had participated in
and Silver race final heats
the showcase race there
taking place on Sunday 7
in 2014 joined us for this
June — the first Formula One
event, including last year’s
air race to be held on the
winner Christian Guilie with
African continent. The racers
his self designed, built and
were shipped in containers
raced Arletty II. Despite a good
from as far as Texas and
fight in the Gold race by
California, the closest being
Christian, trying to replicate
the three British entrants,
his win of the previous year, he
two from GB Air Racing —
was beaten to the home pylon
Cassutt G-BOMB, flown by
by Thom Richard in Hot Stuff.
Des Hart, and Shoestring
Des Hart managed second
F-PYXC, flown by Trevor
place in the Silver race with
Jarvis. Both pilots had
G-BOMB, whilst Stan Damiron
already raced in Spain the
from France flew Terry
previous year; the newcomer
Gardner’s Cassutt Kermit to a
was Terry Gardner with his
Silver third.
bright green Cassutt G-BFMF
The final race in the Air
Kermit. Winner of the Gold
Race 1 World Cup series was
race was Thom Richard,
held in Reno, Nevada on
originally from Sweden, flying
Air Race 1 World Cup 2015 winners celebrate at Reno: 1st place —
Sunday 20 September in
his newly acquired and
Thom Richard (centre), flying Reberry 3M1C1R; 2nd — Cassutt pilot
conjunction with the National
futuristic looking Reberry
Jay Jones (left); and 3rd — Boyd GR-7 Panther pilot Steve Temple
Championship Air Races.
racer Hot Stuff.
16 | Pilot December 2015
www.pilotweb.aero
Clockwise from above: looking every inch the part, our
man Jarvis and his Shoestring racer Silver Bullet (which
fell victim to engine problems that knocked the aircraft
out of contention for the series); crowd appeal —
Steve Temple’s Boyd GR-7 Panther Madness, positioned
to lead the racers out in front of the spectators in
Tunisia; this series is all about true and sometimes very
close air racing — Justin Phillipson in Terry Gardner’s
Cassutt Kermit dices with Des Hart of GB Air Racing in
his Cassutt G-BOMB/Hart Attack; Mike Mundell receives
the chequered flag in Spain as he passes the sponsor’s
home pylon; out on the ramp in the baking Catalonian
heat, competitors and their crews preparing to race; and
waving the Tunisian flag in celebration of his win, Thom
Richard lends scale to Hot Stuff — yes, the aircraft really
is that small!
Although the NCAR Formula One Gold was won by
Steve Senegal in his David Hoover AR-6,
it was Thom Richard who once again
brought Hot Stuff home first of the
Air Race 1 World Cup contenders.
In second
place for
the World
Cup
series was
Justin Phillipson in
Shoestring No Strings
Attached and Philip
Goforth came in third
with Stratocaster
Knotty Girl. British
participation at Reno
included Stephen
Partridge-Hicks in his
North American
based Jensen Slipknot
Miss USA and,
although not part of the Air
Race 1 series, Rob
Michie raced his Cassutt Sassy Sangoma which he
air freighted over from UK, winning him Rookie of
the Year.
The overall winner of the Air Race World Cup
2015 series was Thom Richard racing Hot Stuff some consolation for the fire damage to his
Unlimited Griffon engined P-51 Mustang
Precious Metal whilst taxying after a
refuel en route to Reno. Second place
went to Jay Jones in his much
developed Cassutt Quadnickel Racer
and third went to Steve Temple
flying his Boyd GR-7 Panther
Madness. Planning has already
begun for the 2016 series, with
Lleida in Spain scheduled for Sunday 5 June. Up
to date information and all the detailed results of
the series can be found at www.airrace1.com
www.pilotweb.aero
Pilot December 2015 | 17