Hawker Sea Fury Unlimited Air Racer

[billt]

This is the Reno Unlimited Air Racer "September Fury" doing a night run tied down at full takeoff power. They check the exhaust plume at night to make sure the 18 cylinder 2 row radial engine is banging on all 18 cylinders. You can see how hard it is to get these big radial engines started. The 9 exhaust stacks you see in the video are only half. There is another bank of 9 on the other side. The flames really show when they get it up to full manifold pressure, (1:55).  Bill T.

[twyacht]

Wheel Planes, are Real Planes....

Nothing like raw horsepower.

[Hazcat]

Wheel Planes, are Real Planes....

Nothing like raw horsepower.

Also looked like #2 from the top was not firing real well.

[tombogan03884]

Built in timing light  
 I have to say though, it really irks me when they build a classic war bird into an unlimited Racer.
Yes I realize that when it was originally done a lot of them were not classics, they were just surplus planes.
But still .........   

[jnevis]

Unlimiteds are bloody awesome.  I've been to Reno a few times for the races.  Mustangs have always been my favorites though.  Most of the Furies have had their British Rolls-Royce Centarurus engines with Wright R-3350 or Pratt Wasp engines and different props.


The Bearcats are pretty cool too.  Used to talk with a guy that owned a Bearcat and Mustang but never raced them.


Every attempt to build a modern version has failed.  Look at the Pond Racer.  designed and built by Rutan but never could get the engines cooled off enough and finally burner through the firewalls.

[Sponsor]

[crusader rabbit]

Scotty, sounds like a bad plug in number two...

[tombogan03884]

Unlimiteds are bloody awesome.  I've been to Reno a few times for the races.  Mustangs have always been my favorites though.  Most of the Furies have had their British Rolls-Royce Centarurus engines with Wright R-3350 or Pratt Wasp engines and different props.


The Bearcats are pretty cool too.  Used to talk with a guy that owned a Bearcat and Mustang but never raced them.


Every attempt to build a modern version has failed.  Look at the Pond Racer.  designed and built by Rutan but never could get the engines cooled off enough and finally burner through the firewalls.

There was a guy named "Lefty" something that used to race a P-38 Lightning. And there's a guy who races a Corsair.
It used to seem to go in cycles, for a few years no one could touch the Mustangs, then they did something to the Radial engines that made the F8 Bearcat's the bird to beat. Not sure if any one ever raced an F-10 Tomcat, I seem to recall one.
Still bugs me when they modify the cockpit shape though  

[philw]

very cool
 
I love the sound of those old engines

[philw]

seeing that reminded me of a Goggomobil that I saw a while ago on the interweb

[billt]

The one I remember most was The Red Baron in the 70's. It was a Mustang with counter rotating propellers. It broke every record in it's day and nothing could touch it. Steve Hinton was the pilot and he almost died when it crashed. He was hospitalized for a long time, but went on to fly again. He is now the President of the Planes Of Fame Museum in Chino, California and he flies the T-33 Pace Jet at the Reno Air Races. He also still flies warbirds, and owns a P-51 Mustang.  Bill T.