sandiego89 wrote:
OD/NG wrote:
Also, a swept wing has already been tried on an Unlimited racer. It was called "Vendetta" / "Miss Ashley II". It ended up with disastrous consequences and killed a well known race pilot.
But as I recall, the cause of the crash was likely a trim tab or flutter issue on the tail- not an inherit flaw or direct "consequence" of the moderately swept (tapered?) lear-jet wing. A true swept wing as most define it (ala' f-86 shape) has been mused about, but not applied to an unlimited.
All the best for the record attempt team! It is quite a testament to see how long the record stayed with the me 209, Conquest 1, and Rare Bear.
Any time Miss Ashley II comes up, there's talk that the swept wing wasn't the best for the Reno race course, but supposedly in level flight it could really haul the mail. It was still in the development stages when it crashed though. If it is true that the swept wing wasn't the best at Reno, it would be even more true now since the race course is much tighter.
In Voodoo's case, from what I understand, the sponsor had the wing analyzed and figured that with a little modification it would be able to break the record. A lot less expensive than building a new wing or adapting a different one.
Oh and don't forget the Red Baron! Funny that Conquest, Baron and Bear's records are all 10 years apart. It is fitting though as each one was the dominant force in air racing when they set their records.
Yes, all true statements. Generally speaking, swept wing aircraft don't turn as well as straight wing aircraft. If one were to currently build an Unlimited racer with a swept wing, it would be optimized for straight and level all out speed - not real great for a course that has a plane in a turn nearly the entire time like at Reno. Swept wing aircraft tend to have a larger turn radius, a lower rate of turn, and in low aspect ratio swept wings - a higher bleed off of energy (airspeed) via induced drag - during turns. So who, in their right mind, would spend literally millions putting a swept wing on an Unlimited for only one purpose - to capture the world speed record and nothing else. I guess there are multi-millionaires who would do that, but even Rod Lewis had a budget for Air Racing. After "Rare Bear" didn't produce, he effectively grounded the plane.