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5 RV's entered in Big Sky Air Race

hydroguy2

Well Known Member
On July 9th, Montana will join the ranks of hosts for a Sport Air Racing event. The Big Sky Air Race is going to be hosted out of Three Forks, MT at Headwaters Flying Service.

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Last winter shortly after I first flew N155BK, a couple of my friends were mumbling about how to increase interest in aviation. People just aren't flying as much these days. Airshow and aerobatics demo's cost big money and same ol pancake fly-in is not getting it done. Since I've been a big fan and follower of Bob A, Bob M, Mike T and the SARL, I said "how about a race?" Instantly we had peoples attention. It's been a ton of work, but I think we are ready. More work than I thought it would be, but got some good help and 1 great sponsor who spent mucho $$$ making this TV promo

We have 14 registered so far, with many locals planning on entering at the last minute. We have people from Texas, Reno, Washington, Canada. Big points available in the RV Blue class as we have 5 RV's all 360 powered. I'm guess Brent T in his RV-4 (Race TF) will battle Mike T(Race 26). It'll be my 2nd event, starting middle of the pack trying to hold off newcomers Kurt K (Bison Mountain Bags) in his RV-6A and Paul M coming down from Calagary in his RV-8.

I'll go out a limb here and say Alan c in his "Spirit of America" Lancair will best everyone with speeds around 270mph. Bob Mills will show off his newly acquired pylon skills in his Super 6 in the 240+mph range.

Gonna be fun all day event with airplanes, burgers, beer(after you're tied down), steak dinner, music and hangardance to top off the evening.

Come on out, we'd love to have everyone show up....racing or not.
 
I think we are up to 8 RV Blue class entries. 2 RV Super 6's and at least 1 Harmon Rocket. Also got a message that a couple RV-10's may show just to hang out. Gonna be a great RV day, but also have the 275mph Spirit of America Lancair here and a beautiful 1929 WACO. something for everyone.

Race starts a 10, dinner at 6. Beer truck at noon...after everything is tiedown:D
 
Big Sky Air Race

Brian,

Thanks for the great weekend up at 9S5!
Scott and I had a great time racing our tens, even though I placed 2nd. At least I wasn't last!
Oh, wait a minute there were only two entries in our class!
Looking forward to next year and staying at the Sacajawea Lodge and having a few Cold Smoke drafts.
 
Sean, after you guys left, we were wondering why the speeds seemed a little on the low side. So during a review of the spreadsheet used for calculating speeds we found an error. We will have official results posted soon. Order/place does not change, but everyones speed went up. If i can find your email from all the paperwork I'm digging out from under i will send you an updated speed roster. But you ended up running 211.08mph, good for 2nd place in RV gold class. Scott took 1st place honors at 211.91 in RV gold .

Next year we will have the scoring system and awards a lot quicker and smoother. this was our biggest snag of the whole event. all in all I hope you had a good time.
 
race results

Race # Name Aircraft Class Elapsed Time Speed (MPH) Speed (KTS)
Race 75 Chris Woodard Varieze Sprint 0:46:40 193.97 168.56

Race 43 Bob Mills RV Super-6 SportFX 0:36:55 245.20 213.07
Race 8R Ken Flikkema Harmon Rocket SportFX 0:39:33 228.88 198.89
Race 21 Carl Brownd RV Super-6 SportFX 0:40:30 223.51 194.22

Race 02 Alan Crawford Lancair legacy Sport 0:32:42 276.82 240.55

RACE 1u Jim Booth supercub experimental SEAPLANE 1:27:42 103.22 89.69

Race 10 Scott Schmidt RV-10 RV GOLD 0:42:43 211.91 184.14
Race 101 Sean Strasburg RV-10 RV GOLD 0:42:53 211.08 183.43

Race 391 Jason Rovey RV-8 RV BLUE 0:41:07 220.15 191.31
Race TF Brent Travis RV-4 RV BLUE 0:41:50 216.38 188.03
Race 155 Brian Carroll RV-7 RV BLUE 0:42:45 211.74 184.00
Race MC Paul Malott RV-8 RV BLUE 0:43:55 206.12 179.11
Race 26 Mike Thompson RV-6 RV BLUE 0:44:20 204.18 177.43
Race 357 Joel Haynes RV-7 RV BLUE 0:46:10 196.07 170.38
Race 85 Kurt Klewin RV-6A RV BLUE 0:47:32 190.44 165.48

Race 81 Stu VanBuren Glasair 1-RG RG BLUE 0:40:24 224.06 194.70

Race 61 Tim Bovee Mustang II FX RED 0:49:07 184.30 160.15
Race 4EP Kevin Danz Long EZ FX RED 0:50:07 180.62 156.95

Race 66 Alexander Koch PA-28-140 FAC5 1:12:31 124.83 108.47

Race 62 Al Irvin Cherokee PA-28-180? FAC4FX 1:01:02 148.31 128.88

Race 4H Scott Richardson Mooney FAC3RG-T 0:45:59 196.85 171.06

Race 07 Harley H Globe Swift FAC3RG 0:53:01 170.74 148.37

Race 4Y Bob Hollister C-182F FAC3FX 0:58:14 155.44 135.08

Race 8P Evert Wierda Piper Camanche FAC2RG 0:47:09 191.98 166.83

Race 193 Bobby Bennett Bonanza S35 FAC1RG 0:42:31 212.91 185.01

Race 65 Dennis 1929 Waco BiPLANE 1:11:14 127.08 110.43
 
So dissapointed that I did not make it. Gusting 42 kts at our airport, a SIGMET for severe turbulants on route and a flipped Husky from the wind convinced me that I made the right choice. It is on my calender for next year. Great video. Sean and Scotts number should be called a tie :D
 
wish you could have made it also. International flyer, Paul M RV-8 made it down the night before, but was worried about getting home and may have overnighted in Cut Bank or something.

Scott and Sean's plane were beautiful examples of what great machines RV's can be. Not sure how hard they pushed them as they look effortless even at speed. Heck, not sure they didn't have some sort of air conditioning in them. i recall Sean saying he had the TCAS running monitoring the racers position.

See you next year
 
What........there are no ties in real sports.

Sean and Scotts number should be called a tie :D

Noooo way that is a tie!! The bragging that I have been doing does not represent that it was a tie at all. There has already been mud slinging about how I can get to Oshkosh 4 minutes faster from Salt Lake City based off those numbers.

Race 10 Scott Schmidt RV-10 RV GOLD 0:42:43 211.91 184.14
Race 101 Sean Strasburg RV-10 RV GOLD 0:42:53 211.08 183.43

We are going to do some tweaking this weekend on his as it is brand new, engine still breaking in and I have played around with aileron position and a few other things but until then I will keep the title of the fastest RV-10 between Sean and I. :D

Seriously, Sean and I were amazed at how close our numbers were, especially our fuel burn. We flew up from Salt Lake and did the race and then filled up our planes and they were within .1 gallons on a fill of 38 gallons.

Thanks again Brian, I had a fun time flying a very nice course. I really enjoyed meeting everyone. Like you, I had a blast diving around turn 4 and 5 over the water and the island with some great music playing through my headphones.
 
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Noooo way that is a tie!! The bragging that I have been doing does not represent that it was a tie at all. There has already been mud slinging about how I can get to Oshkosh 4 minutes faster from Salt Lake City based off those numbers.

Race 10 Scott Schmidt RV-10 RV GOLD 0:42:43 211.91 184.14
Race 101 Sean Strasburg RV-10 RV GOLD 0:42:53 211.08 183.43

We are going to do some tweaking this weekend ... <snip>

Now there's a couple racers talkin'! :D Oh Pierre...you seein' this?! ;)

Great to meet you and Sean this weekend Scott! Thanks for letting me sit and play in your beautiful airplanes...and for helping me keep those awesome 10s a secret from my wife, who will want one when she sees yours!

And Brian...thanks to you, Cody and Kevin for hosting an absolutely great race, and a magnificent event. From the fun course, to the great people, to the visit to Lewis and Clark Caves, to sitting on the wrap-around porch at the historic Sacajawea Hotel eating soft-serve ice cream while watching a Big Sky sunset with the kiddos...this was a great trip, and a great race!

I hope more folks put it on their calendar for next year! Big Fun in Big Sky Country!!

Cheers,
Bob
 
There has already been mud slinging about how I can get to Oshkosh 4 minutes faster from Salt Lake City based off those numbers.

Well if you look at it that way, geez Sean you are slow.;) A few tweeks and I am sure you can get to Osh 4 minutes sooner than Scott. I am thinking that this may become a tweeking addiction.:) Isn't that what it is for all racers out there?

This such a great hobby.
 
Great fun in the Big Sky

Brian,

I want to add my kudos to the great event you organized. The course is challenging and beautiful, race day went well, good food, good people, good fun. I really wanted to win RV Blue, but Jason ran an awesome race, so I'll be back next year with a faster airplane. See you soon.
 
...... I'll be back next year with a faster airplane. See you soon.

Drat! just when I think I can inch up on you, you go and do that. I can't afford the gas I'm burning, let alone a faster airplane. Although I might be able to find some speed tape or build race tips for my wings.
 
Thanks

Thank you Brian and All,

It was my first race and the course was a blast to fly. I really enjoyed the trip.

Paul

RV-8
 
Hay Paul, how's was the bumpy ride home? Before dinner, I took my -7 back to Townsend(20miles) around 4:30 and got pounded. I ended up flying at 130kts, trying to keep it right side up. Seemed strange after doing 185kts past the same point earlier.

Glad you made it to the race and look forward to seeing you again. Format will change next year and we'll have a Racer dinner the night before so people can get home in a timely manner.

Thanks to all you RV's and other folks who came to support the BIG SKY AIR RACE. It was a lot of work but we are already planning for next year.
 
in the mind of Racer 155

On a personal level, the Big Sky Air Race was only my second time at any race venue. 3 weeks previous I had a lot of fun, but knew I blew the turns and wandered off track. This race, I was exhausted from trying to ensure we had a safe and fun event. My wife Kris even asked if I was really going to run. I assured her; I would be safe and abort if I wasn't mentally ready. My goal was simple: Be safe and improve on my 177kts.

As I sat in Aurora prepping, I saw a friend moving my direction. I lowered the
canopy and waved him off. With <5minutes to engine start?..I had to focus.
Headset on, race briefing on the seat, the world seemed calm for the first time in several days. Nerves were on high alert as I shoved the throttle forward. As I crossed the start line, I looked for Race 26 but he was gone. A 1 minute head start and I was already 3 miles behind. All alone again, I scanned my panel where's the best power today?, what's the best altitude? Where's that white RV? Turn 2 already! About 6 minutes later I'm approaching turn 3 and wondering why I haven't heard Mike T, when I hear "Race26 turn 3". 20seconds later I call "Race 155 turn 3" and there... in the weeds?.a white slit of wings, the prey is trying to escape. I don't seem to gain anything before turn 4 and I as I bank hard for the tight turn 5, my only thought is "I hope the folks below are getting a good show" so I wave as I drive for the water at about 195kts. Race 26 is visible against the Big blue sky of Montana. Still don't seem to be gaining, but stay at 200'agl hoping for the cool lake to give me horsepower. Turn 7 coming up, I am more focused than ever. About 5 seconds separation at the turn, Mike asks if I have him in sight. Oh yeah, I have radar lock. A few seagulls try to run intercept for Mike, but I dismiss them and continue on. I make a perfect turn 8, as I see Mike climb a touch. He's probably hoping for that west wind to come over the ridge and give him some help. I want to follow, but he's not pulling away so I stay down. He drops down in front of me as I inch closer. Now what, I've never passed anyone before so don't know the proper etiquette. I move right and tell him I'm passing on his right side wide. His response was a subdued, "I figured" I drift back on course and start climbing slowly to clear the ridge. I go wide off course a bit, to avoid the downdraft that surely awaits anyone crossing to the right of the peak. I have no idea where Race 26 is at this point, but hope for the best. I tweak the mixture and fiddle with the prop while in a slight descent. I think about this time I see 202KTAS on the Dynon. Turn 9 in sight when I hear "are you lost or am I?" I call back "I don't know?" and followed by "Race 155 turn 9" the wide route wins again. From there I was enjoying the ride. Crossing the finish line, I finally let out a breath that I had been holding for 42min45sec. WHEW I did it. I hit my goals?Safe flight, mind was clear and I averaged 184kts.
My Bonus: I passed the SARL National chairman.
Brian Carroll, Race 155
 
Great race guys! This was my first race and I didn't know what to expect. What I found was great planes, great folks, good food and a great time. We even got to pass two planes on the course so it "felt" like we were going fast. We hit all the turn points and missed all the mountains and birds. A good first outing. So what are the dates next year !! Great time. For those of you that haven't flown "The Big Sky"....come on up. Its a good excuse to enjoy a little vacation up north.

Kurt Klewin
RV6A
Bozeman, Montana
 
Go get'em! Kurt. Here's a pic during your take-off
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which planes did you pass? We are hoping to hold the race on the same weekend next year. (right after the 4th) We will be fine tuning the timing crews, awards and one or two other things. Big Sky will be even better next year.
 
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