I calculated seven gpm at full chat. Airborne for ten minutes, one third of which is "less than full go". Forty gallons at this stage of the heat is about right, perhaps generous.
He doesn't need more runway, necessarily, he has plenty gitemup to reach rotate v in a hurry. A measured acceleration, wild ass torque, etc. no 'hurry' to get in the air. With that wing loading, below 200 knots, I think caution is indicated. This is NOT an 'aerobatic aircraft'. It is built for velocity, stop.
Jim Howe's article is a good one, but a couple comments. First, the "g" was not horizontal, pushing pilot/seat back, it was vertical, pushing pilot/seat down. There was no wild g on the seat's rails, fore/aft, but on the rails and floor of the cockpit, down. This stopped as he reached the apex of the climb, and the a/c rolled gently, right. I too think he may have suffered a broken neck, but not from interference with the dorsal frame of the cockpit. Unless he had seriously tight straps, his chest went forward, and down, onto his lap. The rotation of the initial climb would force his head to roll forward, to subject it to the full force of the ascent.
The first problem with this flight was not the climb, as Jim has written. The a/c was rolled just right to the left (exiting the turn), when it started to continue to roll left, and the wings were vertical. Jimmy stopped this roll with aileron, and the a/c started to roll out to level as it exited the turn. This then was followed by a sharp rotation to begin the g event.
I was not present at this race, so my call on the gee is subject to inaccuracy. I didn't see 10-12 gee. I saw perhaps 6-7, but less than gloc value for a healthy fit pilot.
Google 'GeeBee'. It makes the Ghost look tame.
Last edited by Lyman; 26th Sep 2011 at 19:17.