500
mph lap was not broken on the old course distance...only
the new. Dago Red race record broken on old course and
new at 494.458 mph, making Skip Holm eligible for
Pulitzer Trophy at the lower speed.
Silver State
News Service spoke with Jack Sweeney, Secretary-Treasurer
of the Unlimited Racing Division, one of the seven Air
Race liasons for the National Aeronautic Association
(NAA), which sanctions closed-course pylon racing events
in the United States. Mr. Sweeney informs SSNS that the
NAA Contest & Records Board has that he recalculate
the 2003 record speeds to reflect the conventional course
measurement system; and second, that he approach all the
participants (All pilots, All Racing Classes) as to their
preference of distance measurement systems they would
prefer in future races.
Mr. Sweeney or
the various racing class leaders will be contacting the
racers by mail for their vote. If the participants decide
that they like the old course measurement system better,
the new course records will not be used in the NAA Record
Book and the recalculated speeds will be entered into
their books. If the participants decide that they like
the new course better, then the speeds, times and records
will stand -- with but one twist:
Mr. Sweeney
indicates that the pilot setting a new pylon racing
record during 2003, are eligible for the Pulitzer Trophy.
All Classes of Air Racing are affiliated with the NAA by
the Air Racing Council of the United States (ARCUS),
which was organized in 1991, to represent all Classes of
Air Racing. The organization keeps a low profile ("Boy,
I'll say! -- Ed.) and handles
matters on behalf of all classes to event organizers, the
NAA and others, including inter-Class.
All 2003
records will be recorded using the conventional course
measurement distance. Future records (2004 and on) will
be will be by either system depending upon the vote of
the 2003 participants.
Holm appears to
have broken the old and new course records by being the
first to achieve a 494.458 mph race speed at the Reno
Invitational event. So, with this slower speed, Holm has
a record and a shot at the Pulitzer Trophy either way.
The nomination
of Holm for the Pulitzer Trophy would come from the
Unlimited Class for final consideration by the NAA. Also,
though the first 500mph lap title would be vacated, Holm
would still be eligible -- along with all the other
Unlimited pilots -- at another shot for the lap in 2004.
According to
Sweeney, "There is no Pulitzer Trophy award for
breaking the 500 mph couse speed; awards are made for
setting a new qualifying speed or race speed - provided
that they exceed the existing record by at least one-half
percent. Further, if a new course measurement is adapted
by the NAA, any new record must exceed the existing
record (if measured under the old course measurement
system) by the above mentioned one-half percent plus the
percentage increase in course length. There would be no
records that, although reflecting a higher speed due to
the new course measurement system, actually were set at a
longer time than the existing record. Appropriate
corrections would be made in calculating whether or not a
new record was set."
Gribbin
apparently engineered the course to make it seem longer,
thus increasing the speeds as a result. This effort was
performed on paper as RARA desired a 500 mph lap, race or
qualification, strictly for marketing purposes.
Additionally, a
surprise might be found in the possibility that most, if
not all of the pilots, are unhappy about the course
changes and would actually vote for the old course times
and speeds, selflessly disqualifying themselves from a
new record and allowing the hard-earned records of others
in current standing to remain alive.
In an
interesting note, the members of International Formula
One (IF1) held their annual meeting during the Reno
Invitationals, voting couragiously (Editor's
note: applies to Majority and Minority -- the importance
of Voting is to stand up and let your voice be heard...)
to have the Class President dispute the course change
with a majority vote of 17-3.
If similar
numbers are reflected across all Racing Classes, the
results that Mr. Sweeney obtains from both the speed/time
recalculations and the pilots' opinions/votes should be
rather interesting once they are announced. In any event,
Reno plans to publish 2003 and all future results using
the new (longer) course measurement system.
Sweeney reports
that readers can determine for themselves what the old
course speeds for Unlimited racers are by determining
what the new course speeds are -- as reported by the Reno
Invitationals in 2003. The end result is the correct
speed for the conventional course measurement distance.
Mr. Sweeney
also informed SSNS that the NAA announced that High Speed
Cameras necessary for the recording of 3KM Record flights
are no longer available and that Novatel, of Canada, is
providing a GPS Based Satellite system that the NAA will
be testing shortly. This development was sponsored by a
$30,000 grant from the Institute Of Navigation and the
donation of the equipment by NovAtel.
The system is
excellent for faster Class speed record runs while
traditional timing instruments can still be utilized for
slower Class speeds over the same course. The NAA has not
yet decided the location of the tests.\
Finally, Mr.
Sweeney has announced the election results for the
officers of Unlimited Class Air Racing. Here are the
positions as announced:
President
-- Art Vance
Vice
President -- Tom Camp
Secretary/Treasurer
-- Jack Sweeney
Rules
Committee: Nelson Ezel; Steve Hinton; Stewart Dawson C.J.
Stephens
Membership
Committee: Jimmy Leeward; Dan Martin; Robbie Patterson
Note:
The Editor would like to thank Jack Sweeney for his
corrected version of this piece, installed online
February 11, 2004. The initial piece was poortly and
hastily written, plus the draft not checked with Mr.
Sweeney -- a mistake I will not be making again...Ed.
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