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Lycoming Roars at RenoJon Sharp Takes the Gold in Sport Class Race
“This is the first time a Lycoming engine has won first and second in the Gold Super Sport class division at Reno,” noted Ian Walsh, senior vice president and general manager, Lycoming Engines. “Lycoming has supported Jon Sharp and Team Nemesis for the past four years and we are excited to see him win again. The Nemesis is an innovative aircraft design coupled with the unchallenged power and command of a new Lycoming Thunderbolt engine from our Advanced Technology Center. It’s great to see and hear the Thunderbolt roar with force and speed here at the races.”
The Super Sport class (based on kit-built airplanes), which has grown in popularity due to a variety of new aircraft designs, was established in 1998. Jon Sharp’s kit aircraft, the NemesisNXT, is a composite-design product of the engineering expertise of Jon and Patricia Sharp’s team. Nemesis NXT, powered by a Lycoming Thunderbolt T10-540-NXT engine, modified to deliver added horsepower on race day, competed in the Super Sport Class against 24 planes in three races from September 12 through 16. New Speed Record Set
Proud Sponsor“It was a privilege to have the opportunity to represent Lycoming at the Reno Air Races. Our sponsored teams are professional and at the top of their sport in every way,” added Eric Parlow, Lycoming Application Engineer responsible for supporting the racing teams. “The engine ran flawlessly thanks to the care of our field technician Steve Dyer. We are looking forward to a long string of victories in the years to come.“
Whether pylon racing, precision aerobatic flying, on a business trip, or on a family vacation, dependable Lycoming engines are the Power of Choice. |
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Lycoming-sponsored racer Jon Sharp, in his Nemesis NXT design, won the 2007 Reno Air Races Super Sport Class division Gold Race. It was a one-two punch for turbo-charged Lycoming Thunderbolt engines and the NXT design as Kevin Eldredge made an impressive second place finish in the same race in the NXT Relentless.
Six different classes of aircraft competed at the 44th National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada, including the T-6 class, Jets, Unlimiteds, Bi-planes, Formula One, and the Sport class. Lycoming Engines powered almost half of the planes in the Sport Class race category and 100 percent of the Bi-planes in the 2007 Reno Air Races.
Jon Sharp’s qualifying speed of 386.904 mph in his NemesisNXT set a new course record for the Sport Class, placing him in first position out of the 25 qualifiers and shattering the previous record set by John Parker in 2006 in a 12-cylinder Thunder Mustang. Sharp went on to win the Super Sport Gold race with a speed of 385.650 mph, with some lap times exceeding 390 mph.
Kevin Eldredge, in his Lycoming TIO-540-NXT powered “Relentless” also exceeded the old course record. In the qualifying event, he placed in second position at 378.289 mph. Then, in the Super Sport Gold race, Eldredge finished second overall with a speed of 383.134 mph.
Mike Jones’ Glasair III, at 298.525 mph, qualified in eighth position with the fastest speed for a naturally aspirated (non-turbocharged) engine. Jones’ craft, Warpspeed Wanda, is powered by a Lycoming Thunderbolt IO-580 engine with roller tappets, LFC fuel system and high compression pistons. Competing against turbocharged engines, he finished seventh in the Sport Gold race (15th overall) with an impressive 282.660 mph.
Lycoming Thunderbolt engines thrilled the Reno crowd both on and off the racecourse, as Michael Goulian, Lycoming-sponsored aerobatic champion, entertained with his incredible display of precise and perfectly choreographed aerial maneuvers. A Lycoming Thunderbolt IO-580 powers Mike’s familiar Extra 300SHP.| Engines | Parts | How to Buy | Support | News and Events | Company | Merchandise Privacy | Terms & Conditions | Legal | Employee Emergency Information Lycoming Engines is a division of AVCO Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc. |