Air Racing - Old Buck 15Apr12

[stiknruda]

Thought I might take my old car out for a drive and pop in and watch.

Anybody know anything about this "spectacle"?

Stik

[FantomZorbin]

pboyall

although they've had a few crashes recently
at Old Buck??:confused:

[MichaelJP59]

I think actually it was at Bembridge as we landed soon afterwards, very sad:(

I don't think the RAC air races are like Reno with fire-breathing WW2 warbirds though apparently if the handicapping works out they have a hair-raising mass finish which must be quite exciting to watch.

[stiknruda]

Ah - well, I didn't go as I learned that the racers had been asked to leave yesterday by airfield management.

Allegedly, it was a cluster-fcuk of the highest order - with race officials over-riding A/G, declaring the 'drome shut and diverting bonafide inbound traffic.

Anyone have more detail!

Aeroplane and old car cleaned and polished instead, in between hail showers!

Stik

[Pitts2112]

My experience with them was while I was at Leicester and I admit I didn't actually speak to any of them. But the whole thing came across as a self-absorbed traveling flying circus that really did little more than pitch up at an airfield and spend a day or two howling around the countryside for miles, low and at full power, essentially sh*tting in someone else's back yard for their own amusement. If an airfield has problems with the neighbors, they're best to tell this lot to move on.

Other than buying fuel and food, I was at a loss to see how the host airfield benefited at all, since the event doesn't exactly attract a huge number of spectators and it plays hell with the normal operations on a busy weekend.

And, on that point, the times I've seen them, the handicapping must not have been very accurate because they gaggled across the finish line in a same day/same way kind of fashion, hardly in sight of one another, not even providing an interesting finish to the event.

Stick, in my estimation, you didn't miss anything.

Oh, I nearly forgot. This part is absolutely unforgivable. At Leicester it made me cry to see that this lot in C152s, Barons, and other not-very-interesting-GA types, were actually competing for the Schneider Trophy in what I can only call the most egregious display of arrogance I have ever witnessed in aviation. Yes, THE Schneider Trophy. The original piece of magnificent aviation majesty was there on the table in the clubhouse for all to see. Such was the ignominious misuse of this once-great race and trophy that I just couldn't see how they could justify continuing to hand it around to each other each year and think it was anything less than an insult to the true racers of the day. I would much rather see it retired to a museum somewhere with the plaque of the last "real" winner displayed and restore it to the level of glory and legend to which it rightfully belongs. The whole travesty was pitiful and heinous in a way that words fail me to properly describe.

[stickandrudderman]

Sounds like something that might have something to do with the LAA forum!

['Chuffer' Dandridge]

spend a day or two howling around the countryside for miles, low and at full power, essentially sh*tting in someone else's back yard for their own amusement. If an airfield has problems with the neighbors, they're best to tell this lot to move on.

I guess this explains the 'new venues' every year.

It's outdated, and in the noise sensitive times we live in, the local whingers don't know or care if the racket is generated by the local pilots or, as Pitts 2112 so succinctly put it, selfish, noisy, good-will thieves.

[Justiciar]

It would be interesting to have the perspective of an air racer. I did their training course a few years ago and it was quite interesting. I have never competed. It comes under the Royal Aero Club. Whether the leave behind a queue of dissatisfied neighbours and airfield managers is difficult to comment on, but I have not heard that they have. Quite a number of the venues are repeated year after year so they obviously don't upset too many!

Surely the Schneider Trophy is not the only award from the heyday of aviation and motor sport still awarded? Segrave Trophy, for example. Exactly how do you compare the achievements of one generation with another?

[Pitts2112]

It seems the original Schneider Trophy has actually been retired and on display in the London Science Museum since 1977. It must have been a replica that I saw on display at Leicester some 10 years ago. However, I still stand behind my point about it being a gross injustice to the memory of the original participants.

Justiciar asks a valid question. How do we compare the achievements of one generation against another? Started in 1911, the Schneider Trophy was awarded to the winner of an international race of seaplanes. Its intent was to further technological research and advance the new science of aviation. It was truly a pioneering event and led to the pushing of the boundaries of the state of the art of the time in high performance, experimental aircraft. It was awarded to countries as much as individuals. The pilots were the test pilots of the day and had to have been of immense skill, courage, and competitiveness.

I fail to see how there is any comparison between the above and a couple dozen weekend hobbyists tooling around in 30 year old spam cans of such low performance they have to handicap the race to even make it worth their time.

I have no doubt their flying skills must be sharper than the average pilot, and a lot of planning and practice goes into it. I am sure they are a dedicated bunch. And, as Justiciar points out, Leicester was (still is?) a repeat venue, so clearly, the club leadership thought there was some advantage to the club. The general membership, however, felt they were an intrusive pain in the arse that just got in the way of an otherwise routine operation for which we paid dues and put in sweat equity.

[FleetFlyer]

StiknRuda, the airfield was Notammed as closed. I think that providing notice to other aviators via NOTAMs is the only sensible way to do it. If a pilot elects not to check the NOTAMs for their intended route then gets politely told that the airfield they intend to land at is closed, then its hard cheese on them.

[MichaelJP59]

Aren't there any RAC air racers on PPRune to defend their chosen hobby? It does seem a bit bizarre to me as well but there must be something to it. Is it like amateur motor racing where they're always fiddling with their engines to get the last ounce of performance? Smoothing out the airframe to reduce drag etc.?

I know they've always had handicapping though as watched an old Pathe newsreel the other day with a civvy Hurricane winning the Kings Cup just after the war. He had to start the race long after the others had taken off!

[Justiciar]

I fail to see how there is any comparison between the above and a couple dozen weekend hobbyists tooling around in 30 year old spam cans of such low performance they have to handicap the race to even make it worth their time.

I think the RAC reintroduced the race about 30 years ago to commemorate the original race. I don't think anyone would try and suggest that the modern version is the same event.

It seems to me that the people who air race do it for the same reason we all take to the air: the love of flying, in its various forms. The air racers last year had 20 entrants, which is not bad for that type of discipline and comparable to other disciplines. As for them all being spam cans, a look at the list from last years shows things such as T67, Baron, SF260, Bulldog, RV8, DR400! An RV6 or 7 won overall a couple of years in a row. I know they return year on year to several of the airfields including Alderney and Abbeville, so not that unpopular!

For every perosn who loves, touring, aeros, precision flying or racing there will be a couple of others who can't see the point!

[Genghis the Engineer]

I've not raced, but I spent a while helping out with RAeC air racing.

Aeroplanes are handicapped by maximum level flight speed, the course defined (x number of laps), and take-offs staggered. The idea is that if every aeroplane flies the course perfectly, then they'll all cross the finish line at the same moment - which inevitably won't happen as pilots misjudge wind, don't preserve energy as best they can in the turn, lose time because they didn't quite navigate right to the turning point, gain or lose on climbs, attract a few too many dead flies, etc.

All good fun, and open to any aeroplane which does more than 100mph in level flight - which is even a fair number of microlights and motorgliders these days so pretty all-inclusive (well, apart from the sheer number of hours that keen racers end up flying).

I have no problem seeing the appeal of it it and will probably do the course and enter a few races myself one of these years.

It's reasonable from a spectator viewpoint, as it's all relatively low level and the final dash for the finish line can be quite entertaining. The environment is a little political (what form of competition isn't), but generally pretty social and good natured.

G

[Zulu Alpha]

the airfield was Notammed as closed.

Was it? I thought it just said that air races were taking place.

[stiknruda]

I was flying on Sat from my strip first thing in the morning, I did check Notams!

The 'drome was not CLOSED but the Notam said that racing was taking place.

As I understand it by 1500A the racers still could not get their sh!t in one sock!! By this stage a/f management had had enough of the bizarre demands put upon them and the racers rather cavalier use if the A/G freq.....

[RTN11]

You only need 100 hours and an aircraft capable of 100 mph to enter, if more people showed an interest perhaps it wouldn't be the same crowd of pilots every year.

I agree that they take over an airfield without a though to other visiting pilots, but they are zooming around at full power reasonably close to the other competitors, and the airfield is usually a main turning point and the fnish line.

I've watched a few races and the handicapping has never come even close to working, Strange in these days when it's all tracked with GPS and the exact speed of the aircraft is known, someone needs to buy the guy a calculator!

I think interest has dropped a fair bit since the fatal crash at bembridge a few years ago.

[Unusual Attitude]

Since I own an actual racer I'd always quite fancied putting it through its paces and trying some Air racing but after reading this thread I'm not so sure!

Looking back through the aircrafts engine logbook from the late 80's when it used to race in anger makes interesting reading however, multiple entries such as "15mins at 3700rpm" on an 0-200 certainly made me raise my eyebrows! One of the last entries was "10mins at 3900rpm", shortly after it spat a piston through the casing during a display resulting in a forced landing and muchos damage!

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/dft_avsafety_pdf_500336.pdf

Engine Zero timed and only has 150hrs on it now, thankfully I'm somewhat less demanding on the RPMs!