Reno Update 2010 4th place Unlimited Gold
What a banner year it was for the team. First we must start by giving thanks to
all of the team members and sponsors for their dedication to seeing this program through. Crew Chief Larry Childs,Bryan Lee, Mike Stephens,Chris Seppeler, Don McMullin,
Charlie White, Ray Anderson, Pete Law.
Also this year we had the fortune of working with Bill Whitlatch of the Czech
Mate team and the Planes of Fames one and only, Johnny Maloney as our race pilot.
The team put the engine trouble of 2009 in the rear view mirror as our engine
inlet trouble had been solved.
With a new 3 bladed propeller built by Sponsor, Stockton Propeller and Charlie
White of Chesapeak Airways, redesigned carburetor inlet and a new blower by
Anderson Aeromotive, SteadFast took to the racecourse with confidence under the
expert hands of Maloney.
Qualifying went smoothly with SteadFast placing 7th out of the field. This being
a first for the small racer, it easily won 1st place on Thursday in the silver
heat placing it in the Gold for Fridays race. We had finally made it into the
gold!
Friday moved SteadFast into 5th place as Dreadnaut had blown the engine and
after more attrition on Saturday with Ridge Runner out, we moved to start in 4th
place for the Sunday main event.
The anticipation was immense as we plodded and schemed for a top 3, podium
finish. We lined up in front of the crowd, being introduced in order of
position. By the tine the announcements were nearly complete, a sport class
racer crashed very near where we
stood being introduced to the crowd.
The wind had picked up considerably and canceling the race was being considered.
Well with the crash being so close and the wind so high, the controlling agency
pulled the plug and we were told the race would not be held.
Disappointed, we went back to our parking spots and discussed what could have
been!
After considering what it had taken to get the little racer to the event and all of the fun the guys had all week we felt successful and honored to be involved in such a wonderful test of man and machine.
2009 Reno National Championship Air Races
2009 was a rough one for Team SteadFast. We experienced engine trouble in May and couldn't get it resolved in time to make the races in September. It wasn't for lack of trying though. The team worked feverishly to rectify the problem, consulting the guys in the know and we just couldn't seem to isolate the issue. Sponsorship was down and money tight so buying a spare engine ($55,000) just wasn't in the cards. Our sponsor, Ray Anderson of Anderson Aeromotive has the engine now and is investigating the source of our trouble. We hope to come back stronger than ever in 2010, with our sights set on achieving over 400 MPH and winning the Unlimited Silver.
If you are interested in seeing Team SteadFast succeed, we offer sponsorship and donation opportunities on our sponsorship page. Every little bit helps!
2008 Reno Wrap Up
For the 2008 season Team Steadfast was able to add a
considerable amount of speed with our aerodynamic modification
program. Over the winter, we rebuilt the wings in their entirety. We
found some factory errors and have corrected them with a little bit
of work. The airplane now flies perfectly straight. We also added a
servo tab system to help lighten aileron control forces at race
speeds.
We secured
sponsorship from Jim Cook of Hawleys Paints to paint the Yak and we
were able to do this over a period of about 3 months. We were able
to aerodynamically “Smooth” the airplane using a high build primer
filler and not Bondo. Then adding a nice smooth and clean paint
scheme that surely brought lower drag and higher speeds. We also
added a new, full wrap around after spinner which smooths airflow to
the front of the engine after the spinner.
After the
aerodynamic clean up was complete, we went after the propeller and
reduction nosecase. The nosecase was sponsored by Ray Anderson of
Anderson Aeromotive and was a departure from the baseline thought
process of those in the know. We had been trying to secure propeller
sponsorship all year to develop a backup plan to our prop backup
plan.
We would flight
test an Albatross HU-16 propeller on the airplane with the slow nose
case giving a prop tip Mach of .92M. We ran Baseline tests on last
years prop/gearing and found a speed that seemed pretty fast. We
were essentially faster on a reduced power setting than we had
accomplished in 2007. This was great news.
We then put the
new gearing in the airplane and had some trouble with schedules to
get the new HU-16 propeller in place. Finally with 1 month to go, we
were testing the new prop and had modified last years Tracker blades
to a tip style recommended by well known race plane designer and
builder/Crew Chief of Rare Bear, Dave Cornell. The Tracker props
43D50 hub and spider were used on the new HU-16 Assembly so we
couldn’t swap props in a timely fashion so we were stuck with only
flight testing the Albatross propeller. More on this later.
The new nosecase,
off the little brother to our R-2000 an 1830, spun the prop at 250
RPM faster than the previous gearing. I gambled on a combination
that, would put the tips at a higher more efficient Mach number and
reduced angle of attack of the blades at race speeds. The Yak
suffers from short landing gear and high horsepower so the optimum
long propeller blades would hit the ground if used. Once we flew the
new combination, we realized that the new prop/nosecase combination
was just the ticket.
We took the
little Yak out to qualify on Monday and before we knew it we were
going 5 MPH faster than our best 2007 speed. We were now operating
with reduced power due to an unknown factor. Immediately after a
second re-qualification attempt, we found the leak in the induction
system which reduced power considerably. After fixing the leak we
gained 6 more MPH in racing bringing up our race speeds 18 MPH from
2007. SteadFast qualified 11th fastest out of the field up 5 from
16th last year and won 11th fastest Unlimited in 2008. We won 3rd in
Sundays Silver race behind Dan Vance in Sea Fury 911 and very fast
P51 Mustang Miss America. Look for higher speeds and more
modifications to SteadFast in the future.
Our plans for 2008 include a
smaller aft canopy, a different propeller, a race R-2000 producing
upward of 2000 HP. SPONSORSHIP We are currently trying to secure
sponsorship to build the race engine program. Charlie White of
Chesapeake Airways has sponsored the engine we will modify into a
volumetric efficient modified R-2000. The build up of the engine
will be done by Ray Anderson. We figure 30-40,000.00 will see the
test program through it’s initial stages onto completion and ready
to install on SteadFast. If we are successful, we could see
Steadfast finish in the Gold in 2009! Thank you for your support in
our efforts to win the Reno National Championship Air Races!
STAY TUNED!
Will Whiteside
Larry Childs and Roy Domke were my right and left
hands before and since Reno 2006. I relied once
again on them both and they both came through again
flawlessly! Thank you both for all the life time you
gave up to see this little Yak go so fast! Thank you
for your friendship. We have the most dedicated,
cohesive team at the Reno National Championship Air
Races.
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Reno 2007 was a bittersweet year for Team SteadFast.
Gary Hubler, our Alternate Yak pilot, was killed in
a midair collision in a Formula 1 race on Friday
morning. Fortunately my long time radio Control
Buddy, Jason Sommes, who was the other pilot in the
collision was O.K. Our hearts go out to Gary and his
family. Gary was such a helpful and intelligent
pilot, he had just joined our team as alternate
pilot on SteadFast and I was looking forward to
watching him fly and learning from him.
At Reno 2007, Team SteadFast pulled together and we
were able to qualify at 382.827 MPH. This is the
fastest SteadFast has gone on the course to date.
After searching the record books, we see that we are
officially the fastest R2000 powered Yak to fly at
Reno. Unofficially, Sam Davis’s Miss Trinidad had
turned speeds of 389 MPH but were not recorded due
to the attacks of September 11th on the United
States. That time was on the old course and using
different timing. If the rough equation is used,
that time might equate to 399 MPH today. We were
clocked occasionally at 391 MPH, which is
encouraging.
The distraction of loosing Gary this year was a
surprise to me. Couple that with seeing Brad go in
with his L39 really got my attention. I really had
to buckle down and concentrate on my job, flying. I
was occasionally distracted.
This year was about the people whom you meet at Reno.
The flying part is great but it’s truly the great people
that make you come back.
Great to see all you friends!
We were overwhelmed with Grumman Interceptors this
year. It seemed like everywhere I looked I was
passing or being passed by a Blue Bearcat. Not next
year! We are planning on being at Reno 2008. Not
only are we going to be there, but we plan on
breaking the 400 MPH mark. That is our current goal.
Next in line would be to Win the Silver or maybe
even bump to the Gold on Sunday.
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Well, that is it for now. It’s time to go take the
airplane apart and refine the aerodynamics, make it
bigger, stronger, faster. We will soon be starting a
race engine program based on an R2000 core sponsored
by Aero Union. A new airscoop for more Horsepower,
and some more propeller mods are on the books as
well. There will be some unmentionable speed mods
taking place as well this winter and don’t forget,
we are still looking for a sponsor who wants to see
this yak in his very own colors.
STAY TUNED!
Will Whiteside
More 2007
photos coming soon!
Reno 2006 for Team SteadFast was the realization of a dream.
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