The Intricacies of Getting Ready for Reno

Ever since John Dowd, a profession crop-spraying pilot, flew his Yak-11 to victory at 376 mph within the Silver race on the Nationwide Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada, in 2016, he felt the previous Russian World Battle II coach might do higher.

Following the race, Dowd was using a wave of gratification, figuring out he had at the least set a document for plane powered by the Pratt & Whitney R1830 Twin Wasp engine, sourced from a Douglas DC-3. “That was the quickest that engine has ever gone,” he says. And whereas he’s not the sort to say it, his Yak—named Lilya, for Russian wartime fighter pilot hero Lilya Litvyak—made the remainder of the sphere, all North American P-51 Mustangs with legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, look sluggish.

Racing Prices Cash and Time

After returning to Syracuse, Kansas, Dowd started engaged on enhancements that he believed would push the airplane previous 400 mph, which might virtually actually be quick sufficient to crack the Gold race, although in all probability not sufficient to win it. You may anticipate solely a lot enchancment in efficiency yr to yr, particularly when you find yourself on a price range. In addition to, Dowd, who has racing expertise at Reno courting again to the Nineteen Seventies, had issue discovering time to work on his race airplanes.

“You wind up with an inventory of ‘wanna dos’ and ‘gotta dos,’ and in my case my spraying planes at all times have been the precedence,” he says of the aerial software enterprise he owned for many years. “My farmers needed to come first.”

Dowd didn’t return to Reno till final yr, however after issues getting Lilya prepared, he introduced a P-51A known as Shanty Irish, with which he gained Silver once more, flying very easily and really low, even by Reno requirements. Although followers cherished the P-51A, Dowd felt the Yak had extra successful potential. In addition to, he has by no means actually loved flying P-51s. Whereas they could seem clean and sleek rounding the pylons, the expertise within the cockpit looks like drudgery. “It’s like driving a truck across the course—loads of work.” The Yak, he says, is just simpler to fly.

Generally, Much less Is Extra

There have been a number of extra causes Dowd selected the Yak over the P-51. First, it’s smaller than the P-51s, Grumman Bearcats, and Hawker Sea Furies that make up a lot of the aggressive air racing area. This primary trait tends to equate to a smaller price range required.

In all probability essentially the most important benefit associated to the Yak’s measurement is that it doesn’t want an infinite engine in an effort to go quick. Dowd’s airplane gained the Silver in 2016 at 376 mph utilizing the Pratt & Whitney R1830 Twin Wasp—and it was tiny among the many air-cooled radials sometimes discovered at Reno, together with Pratt & Whitney R2800s and R4360s, and Wright R3350s.

There are engine folks and airframe folks amongst those that race at Reno. Whereas the teams overlap, some have a tendency to show to extra highly effective engines once they want extra velocity. Others search for methods to make airframes lighter and extra aerodynamic. “A race-prepared Merlin goes to value you $300,000, overhauling a 3350 is about $250,000, and an R2000 overhaul is nearer to $125,000,” Dowd says. A smaller engine is extra economical, although not precisely low-cost. “You rapidly discover that it may be cheaper to deal with airframe modifications.”

Dowd additionally has the benefit of being an aeronautical engineer by coaching. For many years he has spent winters performing intensive upkeep on his agricultural plane—and sometimes squeezing in racing initiatives—in his well-equipped store.

How It Is Performed

After buying the Yak in 2010, Dowd went by means of it rigorously, rebuilding and changing quite a few components that have been damaged, worn, or simply not working correctly. Over the subsequent few years, he overhauled the engine, balanced management surfaces, and started redesigning a number of the plane’s inner electrical and mechanical methods. Largely, although, he sought to scrub up the machine aerodynamically.

Most World Battle II plane, even these well-known for top prime speeds just like the Mustang, actually have been designed to fly at 250 mph or so—or about how briskly you fly when escorting bombers to their targets. The incidence settings of the horizontal stabilizer would replicate this, so these plane usually trim out simply to fly at that velocity, or roughly half the tempo required for the Gold.

For this reason racing airplanes typically have to make use of a number of trim to maintain the nostril down when approaching 500 mph. Generally the ensuing aerodynamic strain is tough sufficient to tear the trim tabs off the elevators. An elevator trim tab misplaced on this method was named as a contributing issue within the crash of race pilot Jimmy Leeward’s P-51 Galloping Ghost at Reno in 2011. The accident killed Leeward and 10 spectators, whereas a further 70 have been injured by flying shrapnel when the airplane nose-dived into the bottom and disintegrated. The stakes at Reno are excessive.

Getting his Mustang to fly quick meant Dowd needed to reset the angle of its horizontal stabilizer and take away an offset constructed into the vertical fin to counter engine torque. Doing so considerably decreased “trim drag.” Curiously, the Yak flies effective at race velocity with out adjustments to the tail.

Spinner Afterbody

One of many modifications that makes Dowd’s Yak stand out is barely seen. It’s a fiberglass fairing known as a spinner afterbody. Like most radial-powered racers, the Yak makes use of a large-diameter propeller spinner to cowl a lot of the engine cowling’s frontal space to enhance aerodynamics. This association leaves a slender opening between the cowling and the spinner for cooling air to achieve the engine.

Because the air accelerates, it strikes across the spinner and into the cowling. The void behind the spinner causes turbulence and strain to construct, inflicting drag. Dowd’s spinner afterbody, which he designed, is sort of a mirror picture of the spinner. The fairing matches the massive diameter in the back of the spinner and narrows to a smaller diameter because it reaches the engine crankcase to which it’s hooked up.

Consequently, air flowing over the spinner continues easily throughout the fairing, increasing and decelerating to extra effectively cool the engine whereas lowering turbulence and drag. That is the sort of machine aeronautical engineers dream up. It could not appear to be a lot, however the afterbody is efficient, Dowd says. “It’s good for an additional 20 mph.”

Different racers took observe, particularly Dowd’s buddy and longtime rival, Sam Davis, who flies an analogous Yak, Miss Trinidad, and is understood for his talent at fabricating customized plane exhaust methods. Dowd was positive {that a} set of Davis’ customized pipes would add much more velocity to his Yak, which nonetheless had its authentic, inefficient exhaust system.

• READ MORE: Expanding the Campaign at Reno

Making Offers

“After I requested Sam about making the exhaust, he stated he would do it, however he wished me to make a fairing for him in change,” Dowd says. Whereas giving that a lot assist to a competitor might sound unusual, it’s the approach issues go within the air racing group. Pilots typically take a yr off from the game to assist rivals put together their plane or be a part of their race-day pit crew. Generally they even fly for them. Along with supplying the spinner fairing, Davis proposed that Dowd fly Miss Trinidad for him as effectively. These are the sorts of offers that racers make on a regular basis.

Davis, primarily based in Corona, California, has been working steadily on Miss Trinidad for weeks, together with the set up of Dowd’s fiberglass fairing. The airplane is predicated at Chino Airport (KCNO), residence of the Planes of Fame Air Museum and Fighter Rebuilders, an operation that restores warbirds and prepares quite a few racing plane for competitors.

Just lately, John Maloney, a longtime racer, movie pilot, and son of Ed Maloney, who based the museum and restoration companies, test-flew Davis’ Yak and deemed it able to race. Properly, virtually. The plane is at the least prepared to start the method of numerous tweaks, fine-tuning, and observe flying essential for a great run at Reno.

In an attention-grabbing twist, Maloney has even provided to fly Miss Trinidad at Reno, presumably bumping Dowd to reserve-pilot standing. “It’s effective. Johnny is likely one of the greatest sticks I do know,” Dowd says, noting that he’s typically happier working with the crew than flying the airplane. “I’ll be there with all of my instruments.”

This story first appeared within the September 2023/Problem 941 of FLYING’s print version.

The submit The Intricacies of Getting Ready for Reno appeared first on FLYING Magazine.