Warbird Information Exchange

You won't see any T56/501D powered racers. There are a very limited number of hot sections still available for the civilian market and even fewer propellers and no new parts being made. Those who have them are keeping them close to the vest because of it. You'd probably see the PT6 and TPE331 as the powerplants used.

Oh, what does that Nixon guy know anyhow? LOL

As someone who 'did' the piston to turbine transition with the Unlimited Hydroplanes in the late 1980's, I can say that it was the downturn of the sport. It went from a truly 'unlimited' class to a highly-regulated and restricted class....and while the curiosity factor was with the crowds for a while, they ultimately lost interest. The crowds still haven't come back...and we've had 25 years to perfect racing with the turbines. That's not to say that the competition isn't better, or that the longevity on the motors isn't exponentially better with the turbines...it's just that the "thunder" in what used to be the "thunderboats" is forever gone.

And it's not to say that something didn't have to be done...the boats were brutal on the motors and were much more responsible for the (and I quote...though I don't like the tone used) 'wholesale destruction' of WWII engines than the Unlimiteds at Reno ever were. The choice was to go automotive or turbine, because the supply of Allisons, Merlins, and Griffons was just going away.

Now, having a lot of hours behind large turboprop motors, I can agree that some serious horsepower and performance would result from their use...but I could also see the exact same thing happening in the planes that happened in the boats. All you have to do is turn that little screw on the fuel control up a little bit more...and a little bit more...and a little bit more. And suddenly you melt the engine down. And then you melt another one down. And another one down. That is why the rules were implemented in the boats to 'restrict' fuel flow and N2...to save the equipment that was being gone through at a very rapid rate.

Want to take the Unlimited Class and make it 'restricted'? Go for it. But I won't be there anymore. Like most of the people have aluded to, the draw isn't just of watching a race plane go fast...it's of watching a Mustang or a Bearcat or a Sea Fury go fast....and the sound that goes with it. A turbine Unlimited Class wouldn't do a thing for me. The sound of a piston motor versus a turbine engine...it's just not in the same league. But that's just my .02 worth.

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Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline......

Speedy,
You've nailed it! Back in the day, whenever someone put their boat in the water, if you lived just about anywhere in the Metro Seattle area the sound drew people to the lake like flies to a doughnut. You can't hear a turbine boat beyond a few blocks, the noise reminds me of a vaccuum cleaner plugged into 220 Volts. When the hydro Museum drops the BARDAHL or soon the Blue Blaster in the lake people flock to the shoreline BECAUSE OF THE SOUNDS.
The switch to turbines along with a certain beer salesmans domination of the sport (like the current domination by a Ballard boat prop maker) pretty much killed the sport. G Boat never got off the trailer and now the Unlimited Light series has disbanded so there's the hair driers or nothing, I feel the same decrease in spectators will happen to RENO unless someone develops a big inch multi cylinder all out racing engine that doesn't sound like a car motor being pushed beyond it's limits, when I personally need that, I go to the Drag Strip or a NASTYCAR race.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

Speedy and I grew up about 6-9 miles as the crow flies from Sayres pits (in Burien), and I distinctly remember being able to hear the boats running (albeit faintly) from that far away. Amazing that they were that loud.

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