Jetrader - Winter 2017 - 46

Jet racer Vampire rounds a pylon.

A characteristic 2017 scene: Voodoo chasing Strega.

Close racing; a field of T-6s.

Texas Flying Legends.

Spitfire chasing B-25J, Betty's Dream.

737 Classics as well as, 757s and even 767s.
A more advanced version of the winglet,
dubbed "Split Scimitar," can be retrofitted
on 737NGs as well. These Split Scimitars
differ from Boeing's AT-winglets that are
fitted as standard on the 737 MAX family.
The reason for Voodoo's metamorphoses and Aviation Partners' sponsorship?
Hinton's attempt to break the 3 km World
Speed Record of 528.33 mph (850.26 km/h)
set by Rare Bear in 1989. The record attempt
was made a few weeks before the races
with the fastest of four runs recorded at
554.69 mph (892.69 km/h) and an average
speed of 531.53 mph (855.41 km/h). This
broke the C-1e record (powered land aircraft
with take-off weight of 3.000-6.000 kg)
set by Will Whiteside in Yak-3U Steadfast in
2012. To the disappointment of the Voodoo
team, due to changes in the FAI record
measurement standards, Rare Bear's record
was not broken, as it had to be beaten by
at least one percent (533.6 mph).
Unfortunately for Aviation Partners and
the Voodoo crew, their 2017 farewell race
(reportedly Voodoo will be sold) ended in
another disappointing result at the end of
race week. While Strega had consistently
been faster during qualifying and in the
Friday and Saturday heats, many spectators believed that Hinton had a trick up
his sleeve. Aviation Partners' reputation
as masters of the still-partly "black art" of
aerodynamics suggested that they would be
able to add some more speed to Voodoo's

bag of tricks. On Sunday afternoon, just
prior to the Unlimited Gold Race, it was
clear this would be a shootout between the
two Unlimited Mustangs with the four Sea
Furies and Full Noise acting as a support
act in the drama.
Under blue skies, the seven racers took
off from Stead and lined up behind the pace
plane. Coming down the chute, Voodoo
immediately took the lead with Strega in
second position, following a higher and
slightly wider line. During the first laps it
looked like Voodoo was just extending its
lead and Strega wouldn't be able to catch
up. After just three laps, the two Mustangs
started lapping the much slower Yak, as
well as the four Sea Furies. Around lap six
(of eight), Voodoo was still flying much
lower than Strega, and the witch started
to close in on the race leader. While the
higher, wider line doesn't look to be the
fastest way around the track, it allows
the pilot to gain speed when diving down
to a lower flight level. It also looked like
the low-flying Voodoo had more problems
passing the backmarkers, but not so much
that it would be forced to relinquish the
lead to Strega. While the crowd was cheering for the immensely popular Hinton, the
two planes started probably the most dramatic last lap in Unlimited Air Racing history. At the far end of the course - known
as The Valley of Speed - Strega closed in
on Voodoo in a dash to the finish, both
overtaking the final backmarkers.

46 The official publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading

Coming back to the main straight, the
red-and-white plane barely beat its allwhite competitor by less than one second.
Average speed for the Strega: 481.34 mph.
Average speed for the Voodoo: 480.744
mph. After the race and on top of it all,
Voodoo suffered engine trouble and Hinton
had to park his plane at the far west end
of the field, spending some lonely minutes
with his Mustang and missing the victory
ceremonies in front of the main grand
stand. For some awesome videos of the
2017 Gold Finals, search YouTube for "Reno
2017 Unlimited Gold Race" and "Steve-O
unwinding with Voodoo."
So, what about the future of the
"Fastest Motorsport on Earth"? Reportedly,
Voodoo is done racing but is supposed to
remain in airworthy condition. Rare Bear
is thought to become a static display.
Czech Mate may not come back because
of financial limitations, and 232 is likely
to be converted back from a racer to a
standard warbird. Precious Metal's future
is uncertain after it was largely destroyed
in a fire while  heading to Reno in 2015.
This effectively leaves Strega as the
only remaining active racer, which could
make it pointless to return to Reno. Let's
hope  the  combined  witchcraft and voodoo power of the two racers still make
Unlimited Air Racing continue in 2018.
What if all of the major leasing companies
would adopt one racer each? Now that
would be truly magic!
Jetrader - Winter 2017

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