STICK AND RUDDER : 20,000 EXPECTED AT AIR RACES.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer In Formula One racing This article focuses on a specific subtopic of Formula One. A Formula One race takes place over an entire weekend, with two free practice sessions on Friday, a practice session and a qualifying session on Saturday, and the race on Sunday. , the airplanes scream along at 240 mph just a few feet above the ground and within a few feet of each other. The racers' wing tips often overlap by a foot, and the pilots say they just have to trust that the other fliers won't do anything stupid. ``The adrenaline is going hard. There's no time to get scared,'' Lancaster pilot Kevin Kelly Kevin Kelly may refer to:
Kelly, a 45-year-old design engineer whose airplane is named Barbara Jean 2, added: ``It's the best E-ticket ride around. . . . It's high-speed formation flying 40 feet off the ground.'' Some 20,000 to 30,000 spectators are expected to show up to watch the excitement Saturday and Sunday at the Fox Field National Air Races The National Air Races were a series of pylon and cross-country races that took place from 1920 to 1949. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew rapidly during this period; the National Air Races were both a proving ground and showcase , which will bring air racing Air racing is a sport that involves small aircraft and is practiced around the world. It is somewhat similar to auto racing; however, corporate sponsorship and broadcast media coverage occur at a much lower level than in auto racing. back to the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley for the first time since the 1970s. Race organizers scheduled four Formula One races each day, starting at 10:05 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Between races, there will be aerobatic performances, radio-controlled airplane demonstrations and experimental-aircraft races. ``It will be a nice, full family fun weekend of aviation,'' said Jon Sharp Jon Sharp is the head coach of Super League club Huddersfield Giants. Formerly an assistant coach at St Helens, he was appointed in 2003 when Tony Smith left the club for Leeds Rhinos. He is also part of the Great Britain coaching set-up. As a player he played for Hull. , a Lancaster Formula One pilot and one of the event organizers. The 16 Formula One racers will fly around a three-mile oval course - not far different from the Indianapolis 500 oval. The Formula One aircraft have to weigh at least 500 pounds, have 66 square feet of wing space and fixed landing gear. Each aircraft uses a 100-horsepower engine, and engine specifications are strictly regulated, putting airplane builders' focus on aerodynamic design rather than engine power. The aircraft start each race lined up on the runway, with a row of three aircraft in front, two aircraft in the middle, and three aircraft in the back row. The aircraft make eight laps around a course marked by six pylon pylon (Greek: “gateway”) In modern construction, a tower that gives support, such as the steel towers between which electrical wires are strung or the piers of a bridge. towers. Each race lasts about seven minutes. ``This is what they should have been doing here for years,'' said Dick Ellis, 70, of Palmdale, who came out Friday to watch the pilots practice. ``It's good for the city and good for the airfield.'' Organizers say the last air race at Fox Field was in 1964. Races were held at Mojave as late as 1979, attracting 400 mph P-51 Mustang and F-8F Bearcat racers in the unlimited class. ``They raced everything,'' said Bob Brun, 33, a Palmdale resident who saw the Mojave races. ``They would get 20,000 to 30,000 people out there. It was a big deal.'' Brun is hopeful the Fox Field races can lead to bigger events. ``I hope it works,'' Brun said. ``I hope they get the unlimited racers out here.'' In addition to the races, there will be experimental aircraft on display, radio-controlled model A radio-controlled model (or RC model) is a model that is steerable with the use of radio control. All types of vehicles imaginable have had RC systems installed in them, including cars, boats, planes, and even helicopters and scale railway locomotives. airplane demonstrations, sailplane sailplane: see glider. demonstrations and a race among six Long EZs, home-built aircraft designed by Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (born June 17, 1943 in Estacada, Oregon) is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft. , the Mojave aircraft designer who built the Voyager aircraft that flew around the world on one tank of gas. Also scheduled are sailplane aerobatics aerobatics Sport of performing maneuvers such as rolls, loops, stalls, spins, and dives with an airplane. As an organized sport, rather than as an air show attraction (“stunt flying”), aerobatics began international competition in 1960 under the auspices of the by George Watkins; aerobatics by Ken Brock in a KB-2 gyrocopter; and aerobatic performances by Bob and Marta Meyer. Bob Meyer was a member of the 1994 United States Aerobatics Team, and Marta Meyer is the United States National Advance Champion. FOX FIELD NATIONAL AIR RACES Saturday 9 a.m. - Opening ceremonies with flybys of T-28 trainers and a C-46 cargo plane. 9:30 a.m. - Long EZ race and Tailwinds radio-controlled model airplane demonstration. 10:05 a.m. - Formula One race. 10:30 a.m. - George Watkins' sailplane performance. 10:45 a.m. - Formula One race. 11:10 a.m. - Long EZ race and Tailwinds radio-controlled model airplane demonstration. 11:45 a.m. - Golden Age Racers of 1930s vintage racing planes and replicas. Noon - Experimental Aircraft Association flyby fly·by also fly-by n. pl. fly·bys A flight passing close to a specified target or position, especially a maneuver in which a spacecraft or satellite passes sufficiently close to a body to make detailed observations without . 12:30 p.m. - Bob and Marta Meyers perform aerobatics in a Phoenix biplane biplane, aircraft, typically of early design, having two sets of wings fixed at different levels, especially in a vertical stack with the fuselage included between them. See airplane. . 12:45 p.m. - George Watkins' sailplane performance. 1:05 p.m. - Formula One race. 1:30 p.m. - Experimental Aircraft Association flyby. 2 p.m. - Ken Brock performs aerobatics in a KB-2 gyrocopter. 2:15 p.m. - Formula One race. 2:40 p.m. - Rob Harrison performs aerobatics in a Czech-built ZLIN Zlín A city of eastern Czech Republic east of Brno. It has an important shoemaking industry. From 1949 to 1989 the city was named Gottwaldov. Population: 80,900. 50 airplane. 2:55 p.m. - Tailwinds radio controlled model airplane demonstration. Sunday 9 a.m. - Opening ceremonies. 9:30 a.m. - Rob Harrison performs aerobatics in a Czech-built ZLIN 50 airplane. 9:45 a.m. - Tailwinds radio-controlled model airplane demonstration. 10:05 a.m. - Formula One race. 10:30 a.m. - George Watkins' sailplane performance. 10:45 a.m. - Formula One race. 11:10 a.m. - Tailwinds radio-controlled model airplane demonstration. 11:45 a.m. - Golden Age Racers of 1930s vintage racing planes and replicas. Noon - Experimental Aircraft Association flyby. 12:30 p.m. - Bob and Marta Meyers perform aerobatics in a Phoenix biplane. 12:45 p.m. - George Watkins' sailplane performance. 2 p.m. - Ken Brock performs aerobatics in a KB-2 gyrocopter. 2:15 p.m. - Formula One championship race. 2:40 p.m. - Formula One trophy ceremony. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Box Photo: (ran in AV only--color) John Housley in his Cassutt aircraft rounds a pylon during a practice run for the Fox Field National Air Races in Lancaster. (2==ran in AV only--color) Pilot Jon Sharp of Lancaster and mechanic Jack Wells work on Sharp's DR90 aircraft in Lancaster on Friday. (3--ran in AV only--color) Bill Nusz of Rosamond pilots his Smith Cassutt. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News Box: FOX FIELD NATIONAL AIR RACES (see text) |
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