November, 2001
Transcription
November, 2001
FOR/IIIIULA FORUIII NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2OO1 Rememb-r& e-l l-zool THE IFl JOURNAL FORMULA FORUM VOLUME XII NUMBER 6 For rules, send a check for $7.50, payable to IFl to cover cost of printing and mailing. JEFF GUNN Operations Director 866 Santa Cruz St. Corona, CA 92882 909 734-2925 [email protected] EXECUTIVO Formula Forum tFt tNc. @ COMMITTEE 2001 International Formula One Air Racing, Inc. A11 rights reserved. Formula Forum is the ofiicial publication of International DAVIDIIOOVER Formula One Pylon Air 650/573-1323 [email protected] Pylon A Texas NonProfit Corporation. Member of the Air Racing Council of the United States. Racing, Inc., 107 Williams Lane Foster City, CA 94044 TONYWRIGHT,JT. Vice President TOM DeHART Technical Director P.O.Box 1431. Klamath Falls, OR 97601 541/883-3320 [email protected] 12200 Gateway Court # I 28 Auburn, CA 95603 s301885-7278 Website: http:/fvrww. iflairracing.com DISCLAIMER President Articles appearing herein are the opinion ofthe authors and not necessarily the opinion of DANGILBERT Pilot Committee 12508 Jewell Street, Bellville, MI 48111 7341699-5649 [email protected] WILL DENNIS IFl,Inc.. Secretary Contributions should be sent to the Editor, Bill Rogers at Willits, CA 95490 [email protected] 110 Main Street, Suite B CONTRIBUTIONS 926 Rawhide Newbury Parlq CA Place, 707/456-0576 [email protected] 91320. Phone/FAX: 805/498-0846, email text to [email protected] Text on Zip or PC floppies in Photos WP,Word or .rtf. remain property of Formula Forum. DIRECTORS F 1 [email protected] ANITAINTANTE Promotions Director 97298.300fth St Kewanee, tr- 61443 309/8s3-5328 MEMBERSH!P RAY COTE Technical Committee 11009 Horizon Hills Dr. El Cajon, CA92020 619/442-10s6 RAY SHERWOOD Procedure Committee 1612 Merian Drive Pleasant Hrill,CA94523 Membership in IFI is open to pilots, owners, cr€ws, and technical people active in Formula One Air Racing. Members $50, Non-voting Associate Members $25. Rules package and application available from the Secretary, Will Dennis. COVER PHOTO With the flag at half staff, Will Dennis taris by, part of the lF1 contribution to the National Day of Mourning on Friday, prior to cancellation of the races. Al \lYimer Photo FORMULA FORUM, NOWMBER 2OO1 CONTENTS 3. President's Page 4. 5ft Column - Editorial 5. Reno 2001 8. Reno Racers 925/827-2604 [email protected] David Hoover Bill Rogers Bill Rogers 10. Promotions and Marketing Anita Infante Steve Hill 12. Tech Tips - Propellers 14. Odds and _ 15. For Sale President's Page David Hoover It was hard to get motivated to write this issue's President's Page because of the events on September l lth, and the subsequent cancellation of this year's races. My most sincere condolences go out to all those that lost their lives on the llth, and to their families and friends. I have to applaud RARA's efforts. They pulled out all the stops and were in hourly contact with Nevada State Senators, the FAA, and EAA trying to do whatever it would take to get clearance for the races to continue. Most F1's that were trailered to Reno were packed up and gone by Saturday afternoon, and those that flew in were housed in the big hangar until VFR flying was legal again. A consequence ofthe races being cancelled is that it has had a devastating effect on RARA's finances. RARA bases most of it's yearly revenues and purse payouts from pre-sold tickets, and walk-in ticket sales. No races : No revenues. As of mid-October, RARA was at least 1.5 million dollars in the hole. They are getting dozens of letters daily frompeople wanting full refunds from their ticket purchases. A result ofthese lost revenues was the fact that no pilots in any class received any money. When I received this information about two weeks after the cancellation of the races, I notified the piloVowners via email of the situation. Every single response I received back was supportive and understandable of RARA's situation. Lets hope that the other classes are as supportive as Formula One. RARA did offer to fully refund race entry fees to those that asked, or the pilots could donate that money back to RARA to help them financially. I know that a lot of our pilots elected to contribute their entry fees back to RARA to help them out. For those pilots that had their race insurance through Bob Cannon, he offered full refunds as well. I have been assured by RARA that we will be racing in2002. Reno 2001 would have been a banner year for RARA and Formula One; ticket sales were up over 20%o;the crowds would have been huge; Fl had26 airplanes show up, the highest number of airplanes of any class. Six rookies were there, and all were pilot qualified by Monday. They all flew very well and their planes looked great. I think that the Slon Racing Seminar had a lot to do with that. 12 pilots got qualiffing times on Monday. The weather was spectacular and everything was running smoothly. I feel bad for the Rookies. They were just getting the flavor of the Reno experience when everything stopped on Tuesday. Every single one of them said it was still a great experience for them and they all plan to be back next year. Look for Fl to possibly have 30 entries next year. I want to welcome the new Board members that were elected at Reno this year. They include: Scotty Crandlemire (Vice President), Bill Rogers (Procedures), and Gary Hubler ( Tech Rules). Thank you to the outgoing Directors, Tony Wright, Jr., Ray Sherwood, and Ray Cote for their hard work and dedication. All ofthe other Directors were re-elected into their previous positions. Look for a complete facelift of the website soon. Ray Debs has volunteered to take over the site and spruce it up. For a preview of Ray's work, see his website at (www.aerophile.org). On another note, I want to personally wish Robert Jones the best of luck on his upcoming wedding in December. God Bless America FORMUI,A FORUM, NOWMBER David 2OO1 sth column Bill Rogers Editorial It is impossible to imagine what it was like to sit at your desk in the World Trade Center, with your coffee, and to feel the building shudder with the impact of a manned missile or to be huddled in the back of a doomed plane - your survival dependent on fate; your life in the hands of an evil dastard so filled with hate that he cares not even for himself. It did not matter to them that not only Americans were casualties, and so the world mourns with us. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvani4 their rescuers and their survivors. All of us in IFl are involved in aviation to some degree or other, and aviation seems to have taken the brunt of the repercussions of September 1ltr, so far. United and American flight crews and passengers were first to experience this new horror. Some are dependent on aviation for a living - crop dusting businesses were shut down for a period and several people fly for the airlines. Others had their aircraft trapped on tle ground by FAA restrictions. Airports and the akcraft industry are directly affected. Our hearts go out to the aviation community as well. Unforhrnately it's not over yet, and we are committed to lead a crusade against a scattered band of international terrorists. The military is on a war footing and my son, David, is a gunner on a US Air Force rescue helicopter. His wing is responsible for the Middle East, and he has already had tours in Kuwait and Turkey before all this, waiting for an F16 to lose an engine over Iraq. He will be shipping out soon and possibly involved in any action in that area. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who must go in harms way to protect what is left of our freedom. FORMAI.A FORAM, NOWMBER 2OO1 RARA is facing an enofinous financial crisis, and one can only hope that the racers, the fans and all the Reno businesses involved, directly or indirectly, support them to ensure a 2002 everfi. I have often said, that whatever we may think, the most important person in air racing is the promoter. Without RARA, there is no Reno; without Reno how much air racing will we have? RARA did their best, but this event affecting the world community is so much bigger than our show. With everl'thing shut down,I was heartened by the stories from fans and enthusiasts who fought their way to Reno with epic drives and nerve racking airline flights. The casinos and hospitality businesses were hard hit - a fact visible even as we hung on in Reno hoping that restrictions would be lifted. Our best wishes go out to them too. As the ripples spread out through the economy, an economy that has also been damaged, the reduced discretionary advertizing budget will impact motorsports sponsorships. We found it difficult before September 11e, but already major automobile racing series and even the top teams are feeling the financial pressure. Airshows are being cancelled, even organizations that use airports for non-aviation events are being run off by security concerns. Our sympathies too for our rookies they worked so hard and were better prepared than any oftheir predecessors, only to sit in the hangar. But like Americq let's come back determined to sweep up the glass, find a better balance between security and practicalrty, and get on with the pursuit of happiness. Bill Reno 2001 Bill Rogers This is usually called the Reno Race Report, but the tragic events of Sept. 1ltr directly impacted the air races even before the Trade Center buildings fell, and there were to be no races. As air traffrc was shut down in the wake of the terrorist attacks, so were we shut down, except for a few aborted minutes on Thursday - but more of that later. It would have been agrcatyear. Thanks to the efforts of David Hoover, Scotty Crandlemire, Charlie Greer and the rest of the Directors, we had the best entry in about 10 years. Apart from the 25 people listed last month, Bobby Budde appeared at the RARA office, money in hand with a late entry. Although the list was full, he was allowed in as an alternate, since we try not to tum anyone away and there is usually some attrition. A large crop of well-prepared rookies, thanks to the PRS, appeared raring to go. Two foreign entries, the retums of Dan Borgstrom and Stephen Alexander, kept us Intemational. THE ENTRY From the original entry of 25, Birch Entriken was the only one to withdraw. He had repaired "Scarlet Screamer" after his accident at Truckee, and wheeled it into the hangar for a short time on Saturday, but it was not quite complete, and he decided not to rush it. Robert Jones' "Aggressor" looked smart and featured a clipped horizontal, new wheel pants and a faired-in tail wheel. He had also redone the weight/balance and was able to remove some ballast, reducing the weight by l8 pounds. *Baby Dragon" reappeared in the hands of United pilot, Gary Davis, as *Midnight Lightning", sporting a smart black and white paint scheme and a new N number. Another rookie was Ed Dutreaux, who had a new aircraft built from a few pieces of #19 o'Okie Streaker". This was beautifully made and featured a shrouded exhaust. 'oMiss USA" also returned pretty much unchanged, now in the hands of Dave and Clodagh Roelofs from Prescott, Arizona. Will Dennis had a new motor, a new air scoop and, after several days of intensive work, an actual spinner. The Wrights had "Midnight Oil" back for Cris Ferguson again and had been flying it too much for major mods. Dan Borgstrom had used the off-season to take "Half Fast" back to Sweden where the might ofNordic aerospace was employed to develop a titanium 4:1 exhaust system and associated heat shielding as well as reworking the canopy by removing all the mechanism and adding a substantial roll bar. The result was a significant weight reduction of 40lbs. The other foreign entry was that of the #7. After an anxious wait, the container from England, via Oakland, arrived on Saturday. Upon opening it they were horrified to find that someone, probably US Customs, had loosened tiedowns that held the wing above the fuselage to examine inside the plane and had not retightened them. The resulting damage was extensive; both wing tips, the rudder and fuse as well as a large concave bubble in the canopy where the wing had rested. The damage was more extensive than that to John Parker's Thunder Mustang that landed on one main gear the same day. It took the crew two and a half days to repair, but they were ready to go on Tuesday. The airplane is the same old Thompson Cassutt, but with a new sponsor - GPN hence the new registration, and a striking white paint scheme with a central red stripe, hence the new name -'oJam Brits with Sandwich" like Brit police cars. FORMAIA FORUM, NOWMBER 2OOI Another unlucky (or lucky) team was Holbrook Maslen's, who blew a trailer tire in southern Idaho. The trailer detached itself from the motorhome and completed a roll, coming to rest on it's side, well off the road with "Judy" holding onto the wall with her wheels. The Hubler team came on the scene and assisted in recovery; amazingly the airplane was virtually undamaged with a few nicks in the prop and spinner. the help of a spare trailer from Hublers, and a new prop, Judy ready to With Q UALI FYI NG the was race. has put him in the pilot's seat. With his hand injury, David Hoover did not quite complete his new plane in time and again appeared with Kelly Kikkert's #96 and installed his race motor. George Budde had brought #6 for Ray Sherwood and had installed a 4:1 exhaust and new baffling. Other aircraft appeared to be externally unchanged. Qualifying An hour long untimed session on Sunday allowed most of the rookies, and people needing requal to complete their requirements. Charlie Greer has come to grips with #69; significant weight savings were achieved by replacing the vertical and refairing the aft fuselage. The Hublers also had worked the fuselage with a clean new cowling back to the wing trailing edge. Jay Jones had done it again; after loading "Quad Nickel" he fell off his Go-Ped and broke, this time, his elbow. He must be wondering if someone is trying to tell him something. Crewchief Larry Lechner picked up the piloting duty. The airplane had received a new cowl with distinctive cheeks merging quickly back into a small Wi& another (et) class, hopes for a Pilot Meeting later than 0700 were dashed and qualiffing sessions were limited to 45 minutes. On a beautiful Monday moming everything was in place for qualifying and, with less favorable weather threatened for Wednesday, five people took the opportunity to set a time once the few folks who needed to complete pilot items were done. Bobby Budde, Carl Swenson and the Brits were not yet ready. According to my watch, Charlie Greer was running in the 240's and Crary Hubler in the 250's. firewall. Dave Morss had lost his Lancair ride and returned with an unchanged "Cool Runnings". Hep Porter has stayed involved in F1 as a member of the Contest Committee and as an airplane builder, so his appearance with "38 Special", apreviously-unraced, stock Cassutt was not unexpected. Also retuming was Steve Myers in his Cassutt, renamed as o'Flashback". Another rookie, Tim Bovee, was ready with the ex-Troy Channing Midget Mustang, now renamed "Purty Pony". Wing damage had forced a rebuild of the right surface. Gary Dalleske is familiar as David Hoover's crewchief, but his unraced Cassutt "Blackjack" FORMULA FORUM, NOWMBER 2OOI The noon session was less amenable to fast times, but seven more people got on the board including Ray Cote and Gary Hubler. Scotty Crandlemire had a carb problem and after sputtering around for a while made a hasty, but successful emergency landing. Hep Porter suffered the loss ofpart ofthe graphite covering on his wood-cored prop. Speeds were lower than expected, although Gary set an identical time to last year. Dan Borgstrom's work yielded a 9 mltr improvement. 4 Ray Cote, El Cajon,CA; 243.552 Owl OR-7l/Cote, "Alley Cat" N1VD 95 GaryHubler,Caldwell,ID; 243.341 NI lXR Cassutt IIIM, "Mariah" 99 Dave Morss, Redwd QUALIFYING IMES Cassutt o'Cool Cty,CA;227.378 Runnings" N799DM ?":ff:::,B*i';#:L::,"'"''ffi;t# WTC attack on the news, and was a sober group that filed into the see the it T:1'13 Louis; 218.529 everyone",y:,,1;"#*r,fl""J#ii;. else in the county watching o'Aero Cassutt, Magic" N14SJ events unfold and listening to Bill Eck 43 John Housley, St. ffi#*k:&ffi Tii#, ffi;:,il,::, Cassutt'MissUSA" N5381 we pushed.u, 0900update,wepushedback, 1100All 30 Dan Borgstrom, Sweden; 209.950 Hands Press Conference - we waited; Shoestring "Half Fast" Nl18DP Reno called their political contacts to no 23 Steve Myers, Scottsdale, A2;207.890 avail - we waited. The class Presidents Cassutt "Flashback" N27JM were now in the RARA radio loop so 38 Hep Porter, Gardnrville,NV;199.364 that we could respond immediately to Cassutt "3S Special" N38MW any change in the situation. We will race 2l Gary Dalleske, Camron Pk,CA;191.2 tomonow, they said, and the Classes set Cassutt "Blackjack" N85GN 90 Tim Bovee. Wenatchee,WA; 177.581 Midget Mustang "Purty Pony" N190A 96 David HooveqFoster DNQ Grove GR-7 *MacDaddy' N687RB Cty; 12 ScottCrandlemire,Meridian; DNQ " Diego; Hoover/Cassutt "Outrageous N25VS 69 Charlie Greer, San DNQ Gilbert DG- 1 "Miss-B-Haven'N390DG 57 Robert Jones,Kerman, DNQ CassutUGrove, "Aggressor" N603R 6 Ray Sherwood, Pleasant DNQ CA; Hill; Stroker" Cassutt IIIM, "Okie N102 17 Sonny Swenson, Conroe,TX; DNQ Cassutt IIIM, "Annie" N45889 45Lary Lechner, Leadville, CO; DNQ Cassutt "Quad Nickel" Will Dennis, Willits, Cassutt "Fool's Gold" 15 26 Chris Ferguson, CA; N53014 DNQ pairings as best they could. Thursday; still go but a delay till 9. We fly at 0800; the few who have not yet flown, B. Budde, Dennis, Jones and Swenson, also Stephen Alexander who had not completed final pilot quals. At 0750 we started engines; the now almost pristine #7 shut down immediately with oil pouring from the bottom of the cowl. The oil filter had split and a frantic search for a replacement ensued, while a dedicated hazmatteam drove by whirling props to mop up. The rest,and a lone biplane took off. By 0830 someone had noticed the biplane on radar, and black flags shut us down once can and for all. N3154H RenoNV; DNQ There would be no racing on Friday as Oil" we wouldparticipate in the National Cassutt IIIM, "Midnight N6439T 33 Ed Dutreaux, San Mateo, CA: Cassutt, 54 Gary Davis, Cassutt *Midnight Lightning" N54ML 7 Stephen Alexander, England DNQ Cassutt "Jam G-OGPN 50 Birch Entriken,Truckee,CA DNShow "Slingshot" DNQ Day of Mourning, and at 3:00 it was N8ED Sanger,TX; DNQ Sandwich" Cassutt'oScarletScreamer" Nl35R 10 Bobby Budde, Clear Lake,ALT,DNQ N16G Cathaway "El Bandito" Then came Tuesday. The early pilot meeting had many of us up in time to announced that no assurances of a lifting of the grounding could be obtained and the races were cancelled. It would have been a great year, instead we have the possibility that the financial disaster suffered by everyone associated with the races, will jeopardize the event in future. Lets hope that RARA's brave assurances are backed by solid support from the community. If they hold it, we will come. FONruUUT FORUM, NOWMBER 2OO1 Reno - .Y The year that never was o (E P o (E m Rookies but ready vu,o -q, (E o - (E o g .g) E p =o 'Ee o.= }E (u0, 9= o .f- @ o, .E a xf (U o o E l,ll a f a .t4, a0 = ah o 6o t o (s o 8 FORMUI-/'FORUM,NOWMBER2OOI o o E c(Ug xo o'= <E EE CLr #E o .a; oe Or EE o,E (f) v L.4 Oo E|l o TL o- o T c o o. t = IL a) o o fiI E tr T o (E -o @ o tr io =o o a FORMAL,A FORUM, NOWMBER 2OO 1 Marketing & Promotions Anita lnfante Reno Air Races Although the races were cancelled, I want to express IFI's thanks to our sponsors who agreed to support our new dates in November 2A02, and planning to expand the event to 3 days. racing at Reno. AeroShell continued Thanks to the additional pilots/teams their support through their product sponsorship. Each Formula One Team that would have qualified, received two cases of AeroShell oil. Also, rather than store the additional oil that was set aside for the winners in the IF1, Biplane and Sport classes, Paul Royko agreed to who signed-up at Reno to fill our field. We would have had 8 teams entered. Hope to see you next year. distribute the remaining oil to the IF1 teams. Thanks Paul & AeroShell! Other sponsors who agreed to support IFI through product awards were Unison Industries and Precision. Unison has been a sponsor for five years, and this is Precision's second year. I am continuing to work on expanding our sponsorship program. If you have any contacts or suggestions for other companies, please let me know. New Membership Marketing Survey: Thanks to those ofyou who immediately responded to the Marketing Survey; I have 20 responses to date. There are currently 80 voting members and 5l associate members of IFl. This means that I haven't hemd from 1l I of you. In order to have a valid survey, I need more responses. I would appreciate it if AIl If'l Members and supporters would please take a few minutes and fill out the questionnaire and fax or mail it back to departrnent officials shortly after Reno me, as soon as possible. Please make photocopies ifyou need extras. (Fax: 3 09-8 53-5328, Address : Anita Infante, 9729 E. 3000th St., Kewanee, IL 61443). Please answer questions as completely as possible. If you have multiple answers for one question, list by highest use or priority. Thanks for your help! to discuss their concems about scheduling the event in the wake of the Possible Races Homestead/Miami Air Races & Sport Aviation Competition As most of you know by now, this event has been postponed. The Miami-Dade Aviation Department is our primary sponsor for the event. I met with the attacks of September 11th. The biggest problem was that the aviation department had immediate financial difficulties. The deparhnent's revenue is almost entirely based on commercial aviation, and the airlines were struggling. It was reported that the department was losing $600,000 a day, and they were laying people off to reduce their loss. In addition to the financial burden, the Homestead site caused us conc,erns because of the 10 proximity of the Air Force Base and the nuclear power plant. We are looking at FORMULA FORAM, NOVEMBER 2OOI The prospects of a race or two in Phoenix look very good. I have sent overviews of our course requirements and our current fee skucture to the airport owners. I am traveling to Phoenix on October 27thto look at the airport and for meetings with a couple of potential sponsors. I'll have more complete info by the next newsletter. After I return from Phoenix I will be meeting with the organizers of the Deke Slayton Air Show in Sparta, WI. Their event is next July, and they would like to add an IF1 race. This event is the weekend before EAA's Oshkosh AirVenture. The Prairie Air Show in Bloomington, IL is also looking into the feasibility of staging a race during their air show. Their event is the weekend prior to the Deke Slayton event. Ifyou know ofany other venues that are possibly interested in staging an IF1 race, please let me or David Hoover know who to contact. AeroShell paid for the set-up of the new embroidery die that saved us more money. I was asked if we could order more shirts since I didn't have all of the sizes, and we ran out of some of the colors that people wanted. I have made arrangements with the supplier to take individual orders and put them together into one embroidery run. The shirt is a Jerzees #69791,1000 Combed Cotton, Short-sleeved, Polo Shirt with Racing Collar and sleeve cuff. These shirts run true to size and even though they are 100% cotton they shrink very little. Colors Available: Royal, White, Red, Birch, Gold, Black Available: M (38-40) L (42-44) xL (46-48) xxl- (s0-s2) Sizes The price for IFl members is $30.00 plus $3.95 shipping and handling (Continental US, ground UPS international shipping is higher) Orders should reference IF 1 and be directed to: VIP Marketing,Inc., W63 N131 Washington Avenue, Cedarburg, WI 53012. Toll-free Phone Orders: 888 375-4883, Hours 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM Central time. Ask for Fran and mention the IF1 Polo Shirt order. Checks, Mastercard or Visa IF1 Polo Shirts: Order yours in timefor Christmas! I purchased only a few polo shirts with Race Flags and the IF1 name to be sold accepted. at Reno this year as a test for a merchandise program. Since the races were canceled, we didn't receive any feedback from the general public but the IF1 membership response was great. The last day to order is November 30th. After November 30th, your order will be refused. We are only producing one embroidery run to keep the cost down. If you miss this order, we will have more shirts at Reno next year. We sold enough shirts and hats to cover the cost of the purchase with a little left over for the IF 1 treasury; since Anita FORMUL,A FORUM, NOWMBER 2OO1 11 Tech Tips Steve Hill Owens Composites Racing Props Many years ago we suffered multiple failures of metal propellers, and as a result, banned themfrorn use on our aircraft for safety reasons. Composite props have been improved and developed by Steve Hill and others to provide a reliable, and highly competitive replacement. However, the dynamic erwironment inwhich these propsfunction has gottenwotse (N speeds have increased. This informationwas distributed to all the entries at Reno, but needs to be made available to all owners and pilots, so bear with us as we repeat it here. Ed RESONANT VIBRATION OF COMPOSITE FORMULA ONE RACE PROPELLERS Our composite propellers have been flying on Formula One racers for more than 13 years. They have proven to be reliable and nearly indestructible. Short of ground contact, the only failure mode seems to be due to resonant vibrations occurring at particular engine RPMs. The good news is that the failures are not catastrophic. They show up as small delaminations and cracks in the forward face of the skin plies and are only discovered during post flight inspection of the propeller. The bad news is that they are expensive, since repairs of these delaminations have not been successful. The purpose of this article is to present a method by which a pilot can determine which engine speeds to avoid with his particular aircraft. 2000 series props have unidirectional carbon fiber tape interiors and 3000 series props have carbon fiber roving interiors. Most props manufactured since mid 1994 are 3000 series. Each series has a different vibrational resonant frequency due to the different materials. Another factor is our limited ability to get the exact same materials from year to year with the result being that props within the same series can have slightly different resonant frequencies. The vibration in the propeller is induced by the engine at certain speeds which are different for each airframe/engine/prop combination. The pilot needs to determine what engine RPMs excite the resonant vibrations in each propeller that he uses, and then absolutely avoid operating the engine at those RPMs. In order to determine when the propeller is vibrating, the pilot must be very familiar with his aircraft and with the various noises and vibrations that it makes in general. Then the pilot must put the aircraft in a favorable condition to feel the propeller vibrations which may be very subtle and hard to feel or hard to excite. We have some pilots report an obvious vibration while others have never felt anything at all. The prop WILL be damaged if it is operated for long periods at engine speeds which excite the resonant vibrations. We believe that a pilot should be able to feel the vibration and should make every We have manufactured race props using 3 different material combinations which are designated by the last four digits of the serial number on the inside of the hub. All of our props have carbon fiber fabric skins. 1000 series props have unidirectional fiberglass tape interiors, t2 FORMULA FORUM, NOWMBER 2OO1 effort to determine what engine speeds to avoid. The best conditions to allow the pilot to feel any prop vibration occur during an end-of-race pull-up. At maximum speed in level flight with wide open throttle the LETTERS pilot should perform a normal end-of-race pull-up. During the maneuver, the throttle should be slowly eased back as ttre airspeed bleeds off. The throttle should not be pulled back so quickly that the propeller acts as a brake. Not only does this put undesirable loads into the engine but the aerodynamic forces on the stalled prop couple with the forces caused by the engine to make any resonant vibration significantly worse. During this gradual change of engine speed with the propeller unloaded, the vibrations should be able to be detected. Vibration can occur at many different engine speeds but only three of those speeds are likely to be in the normal operating range of the race plane. The nature of the vibration is that if it occurs at 1200 RPM it will also occur at 2400 and 3600 RPM or any other multiple of 1200. The vibration at the lower engine speed Scott Garland I am writing to express my displeasure with the elections conducted by IFt the last several years, and to request that action be taken to correct the proceedings. The process ofasking for nominations emly in the week at Reno, and hastily preparing a slate for voting prior to the Wednesday General Meeting, completely excludes a large percentage of the membership that does not attend Reno (a significant amount), as well as some that do not arrive until later in the week. I have raised this point with the Board of Directors and was told that since a majority of the voting membership is present at Reno, this constitutes a quorum for a legal election. This may be true, but it certainly is not in the spirit of a club in which membership dues are collected. If I am voluntarily paying money to belong to a will be easier to detect because it causes club, I expect to have the opportunity to the biggest movement of the prop. Once vote for the elected officers whether I the lowest RPM is determined, it is easy to can make the annual meeting or not. calculate the next two or three RPMs to This opportunity has not been provided avoid. If the lowest engine speed which in recent years. causes vibration is 1450 RPM, then 2900 and 4350 should also be avoided. Revising the bylaws to change the time of the election from race week at Reno Each pilot should make a serious effort to to mid-October, would make it easier to perform this testing on each propeller that include all voting members in the is used and determine the engine speeds to process. Nominations could be called avoid. It might be a good idea to consider for in August, due by September lst. putting this information on aplacard in Ballots could be handed out to those view of the pilot, if necessary, as a attending the annual meeting, with all reminder. Caution should be used by others receiving a mail ballot by the end anyone borrowing a prop since the engine of September. Results would be speed which causes the vibration on one announced in mid-October, with the new aircraft, will be different when the same board taking office November l5th. prop is installed on another. The events of September 1lth, this year compounded the problem by preventing We are proud to be the major propeller several members from attending the supplier to the Formula One class. Our annual meeting on Wednesday, Sept. goal is to help expand the Class by selling lzth.lt is safe to say that the upcoming new props to new pilots-not to sell Board of Directors was elected with the replacement props to existing customers smallest amount of membership because of avoidable failures.. participation since the inception of IF1. Sincerely, Changes are needed to make sure the Steven S. Hill, VP, Owens Composites entire voting membership has a reasonable opportunity to participate in Sincerely, Scott future elections. FORMALA FORAM, NOYEMBER 2OO1 13 Odds and The AGM was held on Wednesday, Sept. 13e; a plus was the silence - no T6s droning by, but we were missing several members who were not able to reach Reno. David Hoover was elected last year and will continue to be our President Motorsports Museum in Novi, MI. Once the races were cancelled on Friday, IFI awards ceremony was held. We presented plaques to David Hoover a small (Bob Downey Award for 1999); Ray Sherwood (Bob Downey Award for 2000); George and Bobby Budde (IFl Lifetime Achievement Awards) for their contributions to IF1 over the years. Both Bobby and George addressed the crowd with their sentiments. Ray Sherwood also took a moment to recognize his beginnings in air racing which was a result of his knowing the Buddes. President David had all the Rookies stand and we all gave them a round of applause. They were regretfully informed that they would remain Rookies until they completed the next for 2002. Scotty Crandlemire was elected VP, while Will Dennis was reelected as Secretary/Treasurer for 2 year terms. Directors for I year terms are: Gary Hubler, Tech Rules and Bill Rogers, donated his plane, Blueberry, to the as Procedure Rules Chair. Re-elected were Ops Director, Jeff Gunn, Tech Director, Tom DeHart, Pilot Chair, Dan Gilbert, and the tireless Anita Infante in charge of Promotions. Tech Rules Committee members (2year terms), Gary Dalleske and Charlie Greer join Scotty Crandlmire, while Ray Cote was selected to replace Gary Hubler for the remainder of his term. On the Procedures side, Ron Hawes and Gary Hublerjoin Ib Hansen, and Robert Jones picks up the remainder of Bill Rogers'term. The corrected URL for HighPlanes, manufacturer of F1 plastic kits, is http ://www. corryongcec.net. aul-hiplanes race. A suggestion that we remove the wings from the racers, and starting on the ramp, we race up the taxiway, down the runway and back onto the ramp as a means of deciding the Champion was vetoed. However, you can race Fls at http://www.f-s-a-r.com on your computer. Also the UL race sim that we reported on before, has now shipped. http ://www.xtremeairracing. com/ Kraz Krasnowski, cartoonist and artist to the racers did the new paint scheme on Furias and has expressed interest in working on an Fl. Contact him at: Kr az@h,r azati on s. com or (206)9rs-3448 New President of Formula Vee is Dave Patterson, while their long time kingpin, Jim Vliet has retired from racing and 14 FORMULA FORUM, NOWMBER 2OO1 *g 5555555 Reno 2OO1: -:w'g,W-fr* IFl6old Championship Race For Sale AIRCRAFT Ads are free as a service to members. #2 NSEW Wagner Prior to Contact: George Budde: purchase ofony [email protected] aircraft, please contact the Technical Director for any IFI rules compliance items that nay apply. Cassutt Project. Fuselage on gear with "Okie Swinger" Beautiful Gold Racer a (405) 733-1449 U01 #4 NIVD Owl OR71 o'Alley Cat" Reno Champion with 2race engines, 3 graphite props, and customized? axle trailer Contact: Ray Cote: (619)442-1056 10/01 F 1 [email protected] #14 N4l4M Miller JM-2 65Pushy Cat" Reno Winner with Trailer, Drawings and Tooling to build kits. Contact: Jim Miller: 8 (210-493-7516) after 6PM 7l0l CST [email protected] #42 N42l<K Kelly F-lD'6Barbara Jean" w/o engine, with prop, spinner, mount, cooler. Includes flatbed trailer, spares and support equipment. In very good shape. Contact: Kevin Ke[y e $6D723-2142 [email protected] 5/01 #57 N603R Cassutt 111M "Aggressor" Gold racer, new Grove wing, new motor, great trailer, extra canopy, props etc. 10/01 Contact: Robert Jones: (559)432-3041 [email protected] #96 N687RB Grove/Boyd "Mac Daddy" 2'd fastest qualifier in 2000 @248.676 mlh 2 hr Ly-Con engine, spares, enclosed trailer. Contact: David Hoover a (510)786-3422 8/01 [email protected] PARTS & SERVICES Cassutt - Sale or Trade. Complete with 0-200, was flying with thin wing, now disassembled to install thick wing. Make 4/01 offer. Southbury, CT Contact: John Chmura a e$)264-8697 graphite tail surfaces - needs wing 5/01 Contact: Scotty Crandlemire: tr (208) 866-7530 [email protected] National Aeronautics has Cassutt parts including Al and Steel landing gear legs. Contact: Ib or Sue Hansen: a (303) 940-8442 [email protected] Teledyne Continental Parts at Racer prices - Mattituck Aviation. Mention IFI Contact: Phil Haponic: a (1 800) 624-6680 [email protected] Graphite Race Props - Run One or Follow One. Owens Composites Contact: Steve Hill: a (505) 832-1148 [email protected] Aircraft Design and Analysis Services: Everything from comput efized airfoil design to complete aircraft drawings and CFD analysis using NASA's Pmarc-l2 Contact: Gary James: a (817) 596-3278 GSJAME [email protected]. com Custom Embroidery: Team shirts, hats, jackets, etc. at racer rates for 12 pcs & up. Contact: All Stm Warbirds, Sharon Sandberg: a (763)856-3148 [email protected] Raceplane Books by R.S.Hirsch Wedell-Williams Air Service by Bob Hirsch and Barbara Schultz, $19.95 plus $2.00 S&H from: Raceplanes by Hirsch 8439 Dale St. Buena Park, Ca. 90520 (7r4)828-736e [email protected] Cassutt Project. Fuselage complete ready to cover, tail, wheels, brakes, canopy, cowl, but 4l0l no wing. $1250, Greenwich, a (401)885-8080 Contact Paul Merriam: RI Information on things of IFI interest sale or wanted should be sent to the Editor, or IFI YP Tony Wright, Jr. 53 0/88 5 -7 2 7 for I or wright@winvire. com [email protected] FONUAUT FORUM, NOWMBER 2OO1 15 Dave and Clodagh Roelofs Miss USA sets the mood Johm Garrett Photo PYLON AIR RACING . THE WORLD'S tr'ASTEST ENGINESPORT RACING INTO THE NEW MILLEIYNIUM FORMULA FORUM 926 Rawhide Place, Newbury Park, CA 91320