That's one Healthy sounding Merlin. It's always a magical gift to see these in action on the screen or better yet in person. An experience of a lifetime. How wonderful. Thanks for posting this awesome Mustang.
This is historic, no other air unlimited air race has ever flown this course faster or set a faster one lap time. This record will stand forever (IMO). Great video photography too, this is a document that is priceless showing the fasted air racer of all time running at Reno. 👏👏
It's too bad Dago or Strega never attempted the 3km record, because I think either one of them would've bested Rare Bear's, or Voodoo's records by a considerable amount. Both were faster around Reno, so why wouldn't they be faster on the 3km course?
Trust me, they even admit it quietly in the pits.....you'll never see Unlimiteds like this again. Been attending since 66 and it gives me no pleasure in saying it. Yea, I saw Conquest 1 , Miss Bardahl, Roto Finish, The Red Baron, Super Corsair , etc......only memories and wonderful videos like this now
Sadly, you're absolutely correct . . . I attended the 2019 races after a 10 year hiatus, and could not believe how far the level of competition in the Unlimited category had declined from the 2009 races. No offense to the pilots who participated, but the Gold Race was very disappointing, with Dreadnought taking the win at a laughable 403 MPH. I feel very fortunate to have seen and heard the likes of Dago Red, Rare Bear, and Voodoo in their heyday.
The Reno Air Races now Unlimited Class has become not much more than parade laps around the course, sad to see this happen, it's nothing but a shadow of "what used to be".
That happens when the purse is cut to a small fraction. The venue keeps millions in revenue. Always is out of money. And runs the entire show on volunteer effort.
Real cool. When I was in the Air Force, at Norton in San Bernardino, I worked for about a year at the Santa Monica Flight Museum, on Miss America, Dago Red, a P39Q, and an A26 Invader around 1992-3.
I sure don't mind saying it but HOLY SHIT IT SOUNDS SO GOOD! I get chills when they pass, hearing the fantastic roar of that engine with the wind up then BAM! You have just hear the pure power and speed and the propellers just absolutely cut through the air and I would have shit my pants if I heard that during the war, I just love it! Music to my ears
This is incorrect. Stock mustangs race at Reno every year. And they are only 330-340mph airplanes at 5,200'. If you take a stock mustang and stick it in high blower on the deck, it will make upward 110" of manifold pressure. Sure. But it will also blow up immediately. This airplane has substantial portions of its surface area in supersonic flow. It is literally transonic at 751ft/sec, which is Mach 0.66 under these conditions. The propeller has the outboard inches completely supersonic. The exhaust is exiting the tailpipe at mach 2.2 and generating 400-500lbs of jet thrust is doing so. Stock mustangs, this number is given as 70lbs of exhaust thrust. Dago Red is producing around 250% more power.
Dago Red was really the first P 51 that trounced the Rare Bear. Now the Bear isn't flying and the P 51's and Sea Fury's plus Czech Mate are about the only planes left in the Reno Unlimited Races! At least I think this is correct. Anyone who knows please tell me. And does anyone know if the Rare Bear will ever race again?
Well as far as i know Dreadnought is the only Super-Unlimited left. There were rumors last year about Miss America getting a real racing trim, we'll see this year. Strega und Voodoo retired, the Bear sitting and waiting for overhaul, Czech Mate collecting dust, Precious Metal in derranged state and other former racers restored to stock - the glory days of unlimited air racing are over. But i guess we'll see more stock warbirds racing in the near future... The big thing is the Sport Class now. Some are faster than the old warhorses and are getting faster every year...
