In
September 2010, R.G. “Smokey” Young established a Closed Course World Speed Record
of 242.7 MPH for propeller driven aircraft weighing less than 1100 lbs. What
set this record apart was that the fuel used was the first in a series of Experimental
Aviation Gasoline’s developed by Swift Fuels of West Lafayette, IN that are
designed to provide a lead free, clean burning alternative to the leaded
aviation gasoline currently used by General Aviation aircraft.
Swift
Fuel is one of several manufacturers who are working with the FAA to address
the Aviation Gasoline (AvGas) issue. AvGas or 100LL (100 Octane Low Lead) is
the only leaded fuel used in the United States. Although it accounts for a very small
percentage, AvGas is under continuous pressure from environmental groups who
would like to completely ban its use.
The
problem however is largely economic. Piston
engine airplanes built over the course of the past 70 years were, and continue
to be, certified to burn leaded fuel in order to generate the power required
for flight. Automotive fuels, particularly those containing high levels of
ethanol are incompatible with our engines, hoses and fuel line fittings. An
outright ban on 100LL would render thousands of aircraft useless.
And
while airplanes are considered by the public to be play things of the wealthy,
the reality is that the majority of these airplanes are used by independent
flight schools to train future pilots and for other small independent aviation businesses
such as air taxis, sightseeing, and banner towing. Grounding these aircraft
would force small businesses to close and would have a severe impact on the
nation’s ability to train the next generation of airline pilots. Thus, before it can be eliminated, there must
be a replacement for leaded aviation gasoline.
Record
Setting
Young,
a former US Air Force F-111 pilot and veteran Air Racer, along with sponsor Base11.com,
a non-profit organization located in Costa Mesa, CA are focused on the
advancement of aerospace education and innovation. To this end, they have
partnered with Andy Chiavetta of Aerochia in Santa Paula, CA to build the next
generation of Nemesis NXT aircraft. This aircraft will be the platform to establish
a series of speed records for piston driven aircraft weighing between 1100 lbs
and 3858 Lbs. Their plan is to use Swift’s latest iteration of fuel, 102SF to
set these records helping to prove the legitimacy and performance
characteristics of the fuel.
Young
is no stranger to these types of projects or this type of flying. He earned his
piloting credentials in the US Air Force flying high speed, low altitude strike
aircraft. Like many former military pilots he eventually moved on to the world
of airliners and big airplanes but never lost his appetite for the adrenaline
rush of flying low and fast.
He
began competing in the National Championship Air Races held annually in Reno,
NV in 2003. Young started out in what he describes as “a fairly stock Cassutt
racer” a model of experimental aircraft that meets the rules of Formula 1 (F1)
Air Racing. F1 airplanes, like Formula 1 race cars, must meet strict rules as
to size and engine displacement.
By
2006, Smokey had caught the attention of a sponsor and was soon racing a highly
refined, one of a kind airplane called a Western Air Race Special. The new ride
moved him from the back of the pack to the front where he was a dominant
presence in F1 Air Racing for the next three years.
Then
in 2008, Young became a member of a select group of pilots who raced
principally in Europe and the Middle East in an event, called Aero GP (AGP). AGP
was the brainchild of aviation promoter Jeff Zaltmann. It combined a closed
course, low altitude pylon race with air to air combat and either a solo freestyle
aerobatic or target bombing competition.
Pilots
would compete in each discipline and be assigned points based on where they
placed in each event. At the end of the competition the pilot with the most
accrued points would be named the winner of the “Grand Prix” event.
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| Aero GP Dog Fighting |
Explains
Young, “I was hanging out in my pit at Reno in 2007 when I was approached by
Jeff [Zaltmann] I had left the airline in 2005 and was focusing primarily on Air
Racing and General Aviation. I started
working at a civilian dog fighting experience center in the LA basin called Air
Combat USA flying Extra 300’s and SF-260. We took people up for aerobatic
flights and dog fighting. Jeff was
looking for someone with real racing experience to join his stable of pilots.
His initial group were all aerobatic guys and while they are good at what they
do, they tend to not be real used to sharing their air with anyone else. They
had a mid air collision during a race in Malta and one of the pilots was
killed. I was unique. I had the experience of racing at Reno coupled with
aerobatic flying and dog fighting in the Extra 300 at Air Combat. He asked me
to come participate in a race being held in Constanta, Romania in early 2008
and I accepted.”
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| Aero GP Pylon Racing |
Young
travelled to Romania in the Spring 2008 competing in a borrowed Harmon Rocket
II, an airplane he describes as “a grossly overrated dog and totally unsuitable
for AGP”. Returning to the US, Young’s
team assessed which would be more beneficial from a business perspective; AGP
or expansion into another race class at Reno. “We thought about buying a Super
Sport racer but really thought AGP had a future so we went with an airplane
suited for that event.” But rather than
purchase an airplane solely for the purpose of winning AGP, Young and his team
made a calculated gamble. Competitive AGP airplanes are purpose designed
aerobatic machines capable of unlimited maneuvers. Rather than buy a single seat
airplane which would be lighter and more competitive, Young’s team purchased an
Extra300L, a less competitive two seat aerobatic plane with an eye towards
providing press, sponsor and incentive flights during competitions.
“The
idea was not to win. The idea was to get press exposure and expand the income
generating potential of the airplane with an eye toward a more competitive
machine 3-5 years down the road” says Young.
Things went well until late 2009 when the world economy began to
shrivel. The last AGP event was held in 2010 and Young’s team sold the Extra
300L in early 2011 followed by the Western Air Race Special later in the year.
During
their 4 years of active racing they had placed in the Reno Gold Class in 9 races,
competed in Aero GP events in Constanta, Romania; Turweston, Silverstone and
Blackpool England; and Al Ain, United Arab Emirates as well as establishing a
100KM Closed Course World Speed Record.
With
his racing sponsorships terminated and airplanes sold Young settled down to a
life of teaching aviation courses at a local community college, doing aerobatic
and spin recovery training in his Skybolt biplane and towing banners along the
southern California beaches. But in the spring of 2014 all of this changed with
the approach of a new sponsor and a new challenge; Sweep all seven closed
course speed records for F.A.I. Class C1b using clean burning fuel while
exposing community college students to aerospace technology.
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| Chiavetta and Young working together |
As
the project germinated it was deemed desirable to actually attempt the longer
distance records in the heavier C1c class. The project, nicknamed “Raven NXT”
began in earnest in June 2014 when Young travelled to San Luis Obispo, CA and
purchased an NXT airframe kit from Kevin Eldridge of SLO Air. The NXT (Neoteric
eXperimental Technology) is a high performance, carbon fiber kit airplane
designed to compete in the Reno Air Race Sport Class. Originally designed by
veteran Air Racer, Jon Sharp, and first raced in 2004, over the next 5 years Sharp’s
airplane “Nemesis” followed shortly by Eldridge’s “Relentless” dominated the
class. “I couldn't think of a better airplane to use to establish these types
of records” said Young. But the airplane was in kit form. It needed to be
assembled and engineered to do the work Young and his sponsor envisioned.
Andy
Chiavetta is well known within the cloistered world of high performance racing
airplanes as a master in carbon fiber construction. Chiavetta’s formal
education is in Aviation Science through a community college in Southern
California. But it is his informal education that has made him a master at his
craft. He got his start in the world of high performance carbon fiber
construction by working for a company that built masts for racing sail boats. An
avid skim boarder, Andy applied his new found knowledge of carbon fiber
construction to the construction of skim boards for himself and friends. This
morphed into a company that now supplies high quality skim boards to
competitors around the world. Andy also became interested in the burgeoning
world of high performance kit aircraft and was a pioneer in the world of kit
airplane construction for discerning, high end customers. His reputation for high quality work began to
be noticed within the racing world and he soon found himself building an
airplane for legendary Air Racer, Darryl Greenamyer. Greenamyer’s Lancair Super
Legacy was built to compete in the emerging Reno Sport Class. The airplane went
on to win the Sport Class Gold and continues to be a dominant aircraft to this
day.
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| NXT at the Aerochia facility awaiting engine installation |
“When
I was looking for someone to oversee construction of the airplane, Andy was the
first person I thought of” says Young.
Young and Chiavetta were acquainted both through their connection at
Reno as well as Young’s previous speed record. According to Young, “We needed
someone to build some parts for the Western Air Race Special and so my crew
chief approached Andy. Andy built the
parts and proved to be a great guy to work with. I really wish I had gone to him back in 2007
when we were doing a lot of composite work on the racer. I was kind of scared
of Andy because he was such a presence in the Sport Class and was racing with
Darryl who to me is a deity in the sport. I just didn't think Andy would want
to fool with a Formula guy.”
Responds
Chiavetta, “Yeah, sometimes I am a victim of my own reputation.” The two are now teamed up however and are
building a one of a kind, high performance airplane that promises to be one of
the fastest propeller driven aircraft ever produced.
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| Young in the Western Air Racing Special at Reno |
Aviation
records are certified by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, a
worldwide governing body for air sports. Young and Team Raven will be seeking
to break or establish what are known as “closed course” records for absolute
speed. This means that the airplane is flown on a series of consecutive runs
over an established distance with each run flown in an opposite direction. The speed is then averaged across the
runs.
The
most demanding of the record flights will be for speed over a 3 km Course. This
is the run that will establish the highest speeds and will demand the most from
both airplane and pilot. Young will enter the course at an altitude of less
than 300 feet above the ground and must maintain this altitude during the
entire flight. He will enter the course
at what is termed a “defined approach point” which is established 1000 meters
prior to the actual 3 kilometer run. At the approach point he must be level and
at the altitude he will fly the run at. At the end of 3 km he will execute a
180 degree turn, fly across another defined approach point and begin the 3
kilometer run in the opposite direction. This process is repeated and the
established speed determined based on the average of all four runs. Young must
strictly maintain a level altitude. Diving onto the course to increase speed is
not allowed.
In
addition to the 3 kilometer record, Young will also seek to establish low altitude
records of 15 km and 100 km. Aircraft compete for records based on their weight
at takeoff. Team Raven will operate their NXT in two different weight classes;
C1b and the heavier C1c. According to
Young, “We are working within these weight classes because they are
representative of most General Aviation airplanes and our powerplant is the
same used in quite a few high performance sport aircraft. Of course we are
pushing our engine at the limits of its design capability.” In addition to the
short, high speed dashes Young and his team will also seek to establish longer
distance records over closed courses of 500, 1000 and 2000 km
respectively.
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| Pylon Racing at Reno |
In
an airplane built for all out speed over a short distance these records will
also present a formidable challenge. Chiavetta designed an aircraft
modification that incorporates fuel tanks in the wings of the aircraft. The additional fuel will allow the airplane
to cover longer distances.
This
type of flying is not without its risks. Veteran race pilot Lee Behel, current
holder of the 3 kilometer record was killed at Reno last fall when his modified
GP-5 race plane suffered structural failure in flight. Young himself was
severely injured two years ago in the crash of an experimental aircraft.
However the quest for higher speeds and innovation continues to drive these
competitors.
As
Young states, “This type of flying is high risk but we try to mitigate the risk
through extensive planning, testing, and preparation. This airplane will go through hours of formal
flight test before we even begin to make it go fast. Its performance characteristics will be well
known before we attempt records and the speeds we are looking for will be
approached incrementally. The whole idea is to prove the fuel can make the
airplane go fast and operate reliably. This isn’t some yee-haw effort.”
And
so, sometime in the Summer of 2015 a very unique and fast airplane will take to
the skies over Southern California in an attempt to claim the title of World’s Fastest
for two men who, through different directions, one through piloting and the
other through engineering have dedicated themselves to the advancement of
aviation and the pursuit of speed.
Good Luck, Smokey!
