Real World Solutions, Inc

Home of RA Classic Apex Seals and RA Super Seals

Editorial: To Race

By Tracy Crook. First published in Rotary Aviation News Issue 1, 1999

Very few things capture the imagination more quickly than a race. It seems that if anything can run, roll, slide, float, fly or otherwise move, Americans feel compelled to challenge each other to do it faster than the next guy. There is even an American Association of Barstool Racers who set the rules for power (Ford starter), wheels, batteries and other guidelines for competing.

This kind of racing verges on the absurd but even mainstream racing is a totally artificial environment designed mainly to thrill the crowds. Take for instance Stock Car racing. People presumably identify with the competitors because the cars look like the ones parked in their own driveways, but of course the resemblance is not even skin deep. The rules require only that a template shaped like the car represented, fit accurately over the top of the racecar. Not a single piece of the original has to be used.

Major automotive sponsors like to claim that improvements developed on the racetrack eventually find their way into the cars we buy. This too, is mostly a fantasy. The missions of race and production cars are so far apart that very little cross-pollination occurs. The real reason sponsors get involved is the “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday” strategy. And of course a car emblazoned with a Logo is about the only way to get a cigarette ad on TV.

Even for those who enjoy technical innovation, racing is usually a disappointment. The rules are actually designed to eliminate innovative thinking. If you come up with a really great idea that is sure to win, you can bet that your idea will be banned next season unless everyone else is in a position to do the same thing. For example, rotary engines have been banned from almost every class of racing. Do you remember what happened when Andy Granatelli almost won Indy with a turbine engine?

I joke and complain about how racing is regulated but sometimes I still feel the urge to get involved. In times past, it was a form of motorcycle racing known as Flat Track that got my blood pumping. I’m still not sure why the idea of 10 guys sliding around on the delicate edge of control and aiming for the same spot in a turn appeals to me. It is insanely dangerous, almost no one makes any money and your career is limited to those few years of young animal health shortly after puberty and before loosing your body’s virginity to the orthopedic surgeon.

My youth and virginity are long gone, along with dreams of flat tracking. Racing for me is now more of an intellectual duel, i.e., my ideas can blow the doors off yours. Of particular interest to me is, of course, air racing, where there is still some room for innovative ideas.

The rotary engine could easily be the winning edge in a great number of air racing categories and Alan Tolle recently challenged all the ‘rotor heads’ on Paul Lamars email newsletter to go out there and prove what the rotary could do. You may recall seeing Alan’s spectacular performance in the Time-to-climb contest at Sun ‘n Fun when his Powersport rotary powered RV-3 trounced the Thunder Mustang.

There is no denying that a win would go a long way in getting the rotary recognized, so, once again I started thinking about entering the Sun 100 and time-to-climb events. I started drawing up lists of changes needed to be competitive and making plans to implement them.

Make no mistake about it, if you plan on winning, the airplane and engine will require a lot of special preparation. What works best for an all around good performer, (which is what the RV-4 and my 13B installation was designed to be) will not be what it takes to win in a race. I do think that given the same level of preparation, the rotary will win against its Lycoming 0 – 320 and 0 – 360 competitors.

As my list of things to do grew longer I began to contemplate the full meaning of the phrase “given the same level of preparation”. During these planning stages, I looked around to see the lengths to which others had gone. Probably the most rabid group of air racers is the bunch from Bakersfield, California. Among these is one Dave Anders who demolished the CAFÉ competition records with his IO – 360 powered RV-4. At last report his top speed was just over 260 MPH which is an astonishing number for a fixed gear airplane. The airplane itself has undergone an extensive drag reduction effort. Every square inch of the airframe has received some attention to improve streamlining including major changes like all new carbon fiber cowl and a new fuselage turtledeck behind the canopy.

His engine has had an equal amount of attention lavished on it. I won’t bore you with the details but just one fact will give you some idea of how ‘pumped up’ his engine was. During the Sun 100 race, his fuel burn was higher than the O – 540 powered planes he was racing against.

The bottom line is that Dave expended four very busy years of his time in preparing to race. As the cold reality of this sank in, I had to step back and ask myself -- Was I willing to do the same?

And then there are the other realities of racing to consider. It is the nature of things in serious racing that a “perfect” racing engine will disintegrate as it crosses the finish line. If it doesn’t, it means that it wasn’t producing as much power as it could have or that its parts are over-built and it weighs more than it had to. The racer who runs closest to the ideal ‘exploding engine’ is the one who wins. This is literally true in unlimited class racing but even in less intense competition like the Sun 100 there is a price to pay. At the very least, the competitors sacrifice a significant percentage of engine TBO in order to compete. As a real world example, the gearbox in Alan Tolle’s plane destroyed its rear prop shaft bearing immediately after winning that time to climb race and had to be towed home on a trailer. And I heard from a reliable source that Dave Anders’ engine lasted only 145 hours before needing overhaul. After 800+ hours of normal flying behind the rotary, the only thing I’ve broken is a rubber O-ring and it has always returned home under its own power. Again I asked myself the question – Was I willing to give up this level of reliability?

I won’t deny that it would be awfully nice to have the bragging rights for winning but my main objective is to get the rotary the attention it deserves. Winning races would certainly help but after careful consideration I concluded that I could best serve that end by continuing my development of conversion information and hardware for the rotary. So, reluctantly, I have accepted the reality that there is not enough time to do both. But if any of you feel the urge to do battle in the air, I would encourage you. The rotary engine is certainly the best tool for the job. Just don’t forget the commitment required to go with it.