The 2014 Mojave FAI Records Jamboree
The Idea of a Records Jamboree is Crystalized
It started in January when I was asked to make a pres
of the Felix Baumgartner Edge of Space
parachute jump to the Scaled Composites engineering staff at Mojave. Also accompanying me was
Paulo Iscold from Brazil. Paulo is a professor of
and led the student team in the
development of the CEA 308 aircr that set 5 world records in 2010.
Paulo had been asked to present his experiences with the CEA 308 project which was modelled
German Akaflieg format that has had such a
c influence on sailplane technology.
the
The coordinator of the event for Scaled Composites was Scaled Composites Project Engineer Elliot Seguin.
In addi on to his project engineer
, Elliot is an avid racing pilot,
having built two racing airplanes, one of which was his own design, and
for the last six years has raced in the annual Reno Air Races and
achieved a Gold finish.
While I was there he told me that he was also involved in the planning
for the annual Mojave Experimental Fly-In to be held in April. This is a
very popular event with hundreds of ai
flying in for the event.
Among the
ees were expected to be pilots with high
performance aircr who might be interested in s ng world records.
His idea was to add a “Records Event” to the fly-in. If several pilots
were interested in a emp ng world records in a single coordinated
event, the cost of suppor ng the event could be shared. It sounded like
a good idea to me and NAA headquarters was brought into the
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The 2014 Mojave FAI Records Jamboree
discussion. The NAA agreed to support the concept and the week leading up to the fly -in was set aside
for record
pts. In addi on, the NAA assigned Kris Maynard of the Contest and Records Board to
assist in the Observer tasks dealing with the mul ple pilot/aircra environment. It should be noted that
Mojave and Scaled Composites are no strangers to the avi on world record scene. Who can forget the
9 day, non-stop, around-the-world flight by Richard Rutan and Jeana Jaeger in the Rutan Voyager, or the
non-stop around-the-world flights by Steve
in the Rutan Global Flyer, or the closed course speed
records set in the Rutan Catbird by Richard Rutan and Mike Melvill, or the Rutan SpaceshipOne –
winner of the Ansari X Prize.
The fly-in dates were set for April 19 – 20 with the 16 – 18 set aside for the record
pts.
Four pilots signed up for the a empts:
Tom Aberle with his C-1a class Phantom biplane Reno racer
Lee Behel with his C-1b class GP-5 racer
Mike Patey with his C-1c class Lancair Legacy
Zach Reeder with his C-1c class Rutan Catbird
As it turned out, Lee Behel had a schedule conflict which meant he would be out of the country during
the planned records event. He could make April 11 – 12 so we agreed to make this the first phase of
the jamboree. Unfortunately, Kris would only be available for the later schedule.
Records Selected for Challenge
As can be seen from the chart below, with one exce
n, all of the
records were at least
years old. One of the reasons there had been so li le
with these records was the cost of
observing and v
record performances to be paid by the challenger.
This cost has changed
through the intr
of precision GPS data logging devices that
could accurately measure high speed flights without an observer on board or a large team on the
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The 2014 Mojave FAI Records Jamboree
ground. This was the motivation for the NAA to invest in the Novatel DL-4 GPS equipment. Since the
acquisition of the DL-4 in 2004, this instrument has been the instrument of choice in verifying twenty two
world records. The Aberle Phantom and the Behel GP-5 both would require the DL-4 for record
performance validation. As part of the normal preparation process I forwarded to them the
requirements for installing the DL-4 recorder and dual frequency antenna.
Establishing the Courses
The Google Earth imaging of the earth surface is an excellent tool for evaluating potential courses. No
longer are surveyors required to precisely position start and finish lines or control points. With Google
Earth it is possible to remotely study an area, identify ground reference points and determine the
coordinates and elevation for all points of interest. The final step is to use the FAI Calculator in order to
obtain the precise distance between specified points of interest. The GPS recording of the flight is then
mapped against the points specified.
The most challenging course in terms of precision is the 3km speed course because small errors are
magnified due to the shortness of the course and speed of the aircraft. As I expected, the 3km course
proved to be the one requiring the most work before it met all requirements.
3km Course
In almost every previous record, an airport runway has
been used as the underlying navigational target for the
course. Accordingly, I laid out a course with approaches
and start/finish lines for review by the organizer and
record seeking pilots.
Four passes of the course are required, two in each
direction. Each end is marked by an approach line. The
inner lines are the start/finish lines for the actual speed
measurement. When flying the course the approach
lines are the most critical because the height of the
aircraft over the approach line establishes the critical
height boundaries for the remainder of the pass. The
aircraft cannot descend more than 100 meters after
crossing the approach line without voiding the flight.
The pilot will focus on both altitude and maximum
speed through the entire pass. The post flight data
analysis will monitor flight altitudes and determine the
speed by the elapsed time between the start and finish
lines.
When the course detail was reviewed by the airport
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The 2014 Mojave FAI Records Jamboree
management it was rejected for op
onal reasons including pote
traffic conflicts.
Two altern ves were evaluated, again using Google Earth:
1. A straight s on of railway line to the north of the airport
2. A dirt road to the east of the airport (Mojave 20th Street)
Lee Behel agreed to fly over both courses and evaluate them for pilot preference. His report showed a
preference for the eastern course due to the open approaches while the railroad had telephone lines
and bridges that were pote
hazards in low
level flight. The eastern course would need to
have clear approach markings established by
using vehicles in the road at the approach
point.
Given Lee’s report the decision was made to
use the eastern course as recommended.
A more detailed view of the course was
prepared showing the approaches, start and
finish points and the surounding terrain.
The south end of the course was clearly marked by highway CA58 just south of the approach line and
running east/west. The north end clearly needed to have visible markers in place so it was assumed that
vehicles would be placed at the approximate approach line.
A review by airport management received their approval so this course was selected as the official
course for the record events.
15km Course
California highway 14 running from Mojave to
Inyokern was an excellent candidate for the 15km
course. I found a straight
that ran NNE
from the inte
with Ca58 just north of
Mojave and was just over 15km in length. I was
able to construct reasonable approaches of 5km at
each end with good visual references. The course is
highlighted in blue and the approaches at each end
are highlighted in green. The 15km rules do not
specify course
which provides a lot of
flexibility in
the course layout. The
Mojave airport can be seen in the lower
corner
of the image.
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The 2014 Mojave FAI Records Jamboree
5,000km Course
The long distance (> 25 km) closed speed courses require an out and return layout with the choice of one
or two control points. Mul ple laps are allowed, thus providing a wide range of course
Courses
that require from two to ten laps were evaluated taking into consider
terrain, winds, flight
des, weather and turn point navi
on. The analysis gave the shorter course
more points
due to the smaller
footprint of the flight
and more predictable
weather. This was
especially true
considering that the
flight would probably
last up to sixteen hours.
Zach Reeder elected for
a course following the
White Mountains with
an intermediated turn
point at Inyokern, about
70km from Mojave. This
would result in a lap just
over 500km long and
would, therefore, require
10 laps to complete the
5,000km course
The course is shown on
the le :
Mojave is at the
southern end of the
course and Inyokern
aiport is at the
intermediate control
point.
Zach
mated an
average speed of 200
knots which would
result in a flight me of
about 14 hours.
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The 2014 Mojave FAI Records Jamboree
1,000km, 2,000km Courses
Mike Patey elected for a 1,000km lap which would allow him to cover both the 1,000km and 2,000km
records with one flight. The 1000km attempt would be the first of the two laps required for the 2000km
attempt. The course he selected was an east / west course starting at Palmdale, just south of Mojave and
south of the Edwards restricted flight area with a control point just north of Prescott, Arizona.
By flying just below class A airspace, Mike would not have to deal with IFR flight rules but would be able
to take advantage of a lower air density.
3,000m Time To Climb
This is, perhaps, the simplest course to define. Only two points are required:
The elevation and time of the start of the take-off roll
The time at which the aircraft passes through the height of 3,000m above the starting point
elevation
Sounds simple – yes? Just calculate the elapsed time between these two events and correct to UTC.
Actually it can be quite tricky. Determining the start of the take-off roll is usually by one of three
techniques:
Visual observation of the start of roll with time correlated to UTC time. This requires the
observer to be as close as possible to the aircraft as it starts the take-off role. Airport
restrictions may cause difficulties here due to the inability to be close enough to accurately
detect the beginning of motion.
Using a precision GPS data logger with sufficient accuracy to capture the initial movement of the
aircraft.
With an observer on board who logs both the start of roll and passing through the target altitude.
A video camera in the aircraft can be used to simultaneously record altitude and time from
the instrument panel.
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Since the aircraft involved were single seaters, both of the first two methods were employed. For the
visual observation, this observer used a timepiece that was synchronized to UTC time.
Final Preparations
I arrived on the evening of May 10 and arranged to meet with Elliot the next morning. Lee Behel was
schedule to arrive about mid-afternoon to prep his aircraft for the record attempts on Saturday the
12th.
The first priority was to inspect the 3km
course and insure that it would satisfy
the requirements for navigation and
record observation and validation.
The course is laid out on the Mojave 20th
Street and is only a dirt road. The view
on the left is looking north from the
south approach. Just below the aircraft
at this point is the intersection of
Business highway 58 and highway 58
bypass providing a very visible landmark.
To the left and out of sight is the Mojave
airport. The yellow markers in the
foreground define the approach line; the
yellow marker along the course is the
start point. The red line in the distance
is the finish line.
From the north the approach shown
here is much more difficult to identify so
the decision was made to place at least
two vehicles at the approach point.
Beyond the approach line is the marker
for the start point. Of these two points
the approach line is much more
important from a pilot’s perspective
because crossing the approach line
determines the flight altitude limits
through to the finish line.
We drove the trail to the northern
approach to determine its precise
position. As can be seen in this photo,
apart from a small cleared area there is nothing of any distinction that would be recognizable from the
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air. The task at hand was to mark the spot so the crew with trucks would know where to park them for
the record runs.
Elliot and I scrounged up a few scraps of
wood and planted them in a somewhat
conspicuous spot assuming that they
would be undisturbed pending the
arrival of the north approach crew.
On the way to the north end we had no
ced what appeared to be a
sheepherder’s camp down a side street.
We decided to see if anyone occupied
the camp. As we approached we could
see no sign of life but it did appear to be
in use. Watering troughs were around
the camp – a sure sign that stock
animals may be in the area. We
retraced our steps and looked for signs
of animals. In the distance on another
side street we could see a truck so we
ed. There we found an 81
year old sheepherder named Miguel.
He told us he had a herd of 1,000 sheep
and grazed his herd in this
every year. We told him we would be
flying very low over the area the next
day and didn’t want to cause a problem
for his herd. He understood and said he
would move his sheep away from the
20th street track. He told us that he had
come to this country from Spain when
he was 19 years old, and had pursued
his living just as he had in the old
country ever since. It was a most
pleasant mee ng. Before we knew it
the herd decided to inve
and soon we were surrounded by all 1,000 sheep. This was the last that
we would see of the sheep and Miguel.
Having completed our survey we returned to the airport and met with the airport and tower
management to review our plans and coordinate op
ons. One of our requests was permission to
park my car as a ground
n near the
runway. The DL-4 ground sta on was in my car and
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The 2014 Mojave FAI Records Jamboree
needed to be parked in a location with a clear 360 degree view of the horizon. The staff was very
helpful and we completed the meeting optimistic about our ability to manage the record attempts.
Lee Behel Records
Lee arrived mid-afternoon in his beautiful GP-5 Reno
Racer and parked it in a reserved hangar for pre-flight
preparations. These included:
Installation of the DL-4 and battery
Hooking up to the aircraft static system
Installing the DL-4 antenna
Establishing the gross flight weight
It goes without saying that a racing machine does not
have a surplus of space for extra equipment, but Lee’s
crew was up to the task of finding room for the DL-4
equipment.
Because Observer access is necessary for turning the
unit on and confirming operating status is necessary
before flight, several installation configurations were
tried before one was found that did the job.
The answer for the DL-4 was to mount it under the
front edge of the pilot seat. The antenna was another
challenge. It required cutting a hole in the top of the
fuselage behind the cockpit in order to provide 360
degree coverage of the horizon in flight. After
installation of the DL-4 the aircraft was wheeled
outside the hanger and a 10 minute test run of the GPS
system was completed in order to verify its
operational status. Everything checked out OK.
Before weighing, Lee wanted to remove about 5
gallons of fuel in order to reduce the aircraft weight.
His plan was to fly the 3k Time To Climb task first and
then fly the speed tasks. The weighing process was
uneventful. The scales had been recently calibrated
and the zeroing step was very straightforward. Each
scale was zeroed in turn, and then the scales were summed and checked. The scales measured between
1,925 and 1,927 lbs., well within the class C-1b range of 1,102 – 2,205 lbs.
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By now it was time to go to a scheduled briefing for all hands. The local Mexican restaurant was the
venue for the briefing, which facilitated a relaxing while serious atmosphere.
The Briefing
Elliot conducted the briefing, and it was attended by the ground crews, aircraft crews and NAA, about 30
in all. Much of the discussion revolved around the 3km course and the rules for personnel placement.
The crew for establishing the North approach point was instructed to depart at least 30 minutes before
expected take-off due to the condition of the unpaved road. All those expected to be in the proximity of
the 3km course were advised of the FAA rules requiring at least 500’ separation from the expected flight
path of the aircraft. The sequencing of the various events was also covered as well as rules for moving
about the airport. All hands were asked to be at the airport by 6:00 am to be prepared for an early
launch in order to take advantage of early morning calm. It was a beautiful evening, and spirits were
high for the next day.
April 12, 6:00 am
Driving to the airport, it was clear that there would not be an early start. The wind was howling and
trees were bent over in protest. Low level turbulence was a certainty which would make the 3km run
particularly difficult.
The teams met at the hangar and we were advised that the winds were gusting to 45 knots! It must have
been a local phenomenon because none of the other airports in the valley were reporting strong winds.
Mojave is situated at the mouth of the canyon that leads to Tehachapi and Bakersfield – and that is where
the west wind was coming from. Local knowledge advised that there was a good chance the winds would
die down during the day. The question was when because both Lee and I had early departures
scheduled.
As 9:00 approached, the winds subsided a little – gusts to 35 knots. Lee decided that it was just
below his threshold and so he was ready to go. I had briefed Lee on the rules for both the 3km and
15km speed runs and what to look out for. The 3km course sloped 65’ downhill from the north to the
south. Since the record restricted the vertical flight band to 330’ from approach to finish it would be
easy to misjudge when flying very low levels. Lee elected to start from the north end of the course and
then, if all went well, go immediately to the 15km course and make an attempt before landing. For the
time to climb I told Lee that I wanted him to get into take-off position and then hold for 60 seconds in
order to give the GPS unit time to mark that position then take-off. At the same time I would get a
visual confirmation of his take-off time. Lee decided to
try the time to climb first.
As we had planned, I was escorted to the location for the
ground station between runway 26 and the control
tower. The DL-4 was started and satellite acquisition
confirmed. Lee went back to the hangar to start the
aircraft DL-4 to depart for the runway. He planned to take
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The 2014 Mojave FAI Records Jamboree
his time in order to thoroughly warm up
his engine and engine oil. Lee paused for
the one minute as requested and then
with the wind blowing 35 knots started his
take‐off roll. It was very short and after a
brief level acceleration pause he headed
for the stars. From the ground his climb
appeared to be almost vertical and he was
quickly out of sight. Within three or four
minutes we heard him returning and
entering the landing pattern. His entire flight lasted exactly 8 minutes!
Back at the hangar I retrieved the DL‐4 data cards to determine if we had good data. The data looked OK
but getting the performance numbers is a fairly complex process because the exact altitude reached is
based upon corrected pressure data. The pressure sensors used with the DL‐4’s are extremely accurate
but still require matching with local sounding data to be sure that variations in the local environment are
taken into account for the final result. The nearest weather station with sounding data is Las Vegas –
close enough for our purposes. Sounding balloons are launched twice a day at 00:00Z and
12:00Z. Because the flight takes place between the soundings I had only the 12:00Z data for my initial
analysis. This would provide an approximate result but required the next sounding in order to properly
interpolate between them. My initial reading showed a time of about 120 seconds vs. the current
record of 140 seconds – enough to know that the
official record was about to change! The final
analysis also revealed a small error in entering
runway elevation that slightly affected the result.
The final results are summarized here. Given the
length of time the old record has been in the books
– 15 years it may be a long time again before a
successful challenger appears.
Now for the speed runs.
The GP‐5 was refueled with the fuel that had been removed from the aircraft yesterday. Because the
weight of the added fuel was less than the class weight margin, without taking into consideration the fuel
used, the additional weighing was waved. The DL‐4 data cards were prepped for the next flight and
installed in the aircraft and ground station.
We repeated the base station placement and started the recording process and then started the aircraft
DL‐4. Lee told us that he would loiter for a few minutes after take‐off to insure the engine was ready for
the maximum thrust speed runs. This gave Elliot and me sufficient time to go to the south end of the
course to observe each of the four passes over the course, two in each direction. Shortly after we arrived
we received a radio call that he was beginning his first pass. We could hear him coming but
could not see him finally one of the crew noticed that Lee was flying south one street further to the east
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from the course. He had picked the wrong road to follow from the north – apparently having missed our
ground station. We radioed him right away, and he restarted the first pass again from the north. This
time we had a very good visual on him. It was obvious from the way the plane was bouncing that it was
very rough. On landing Lee remarked that it was the roughest flight he had ever experienced. The Gmeter registered + 5 g’s and he mentioned that he was concerned about the possibility of structural
damage to the aircraft. He was not deterred however, proceeding directly to the 15km course as soon
as he finished the four required 3km passes. The two 15k passes were uneventful and he landed just
over 44 minutes later. For those of us on the ground, the sight and sound of the GP-5 screaming down
the course on the deck was a thrill not to be forgotten. Unfortunately, only a handful of us could share
this experience.
After a record flight there is always tenseness in the area while the data is being analyzed. This was
certainly the case after these torturous runs, and the results looked good.
For the 3km record 605.12km/h (356.4mph) is 5.5% faster than the old record of 573.5km/h and for the
15km record 609.35km/h (378.6mph) is a whopping 25.1% faster than the old record of 487.1km/h!
Three world records were set in two hours and seventeen minutes, not a bad start to the Mojave Record
Jamboree.
Phase Two: April 16 – 18, 2014
I arrived at Mojave early in the evening and after checking into the Mariah Hotel, went into the dining
room for a quick bite. In the corner of the room I saw a large table and recognized Tom Aberle and his
crew. I was immediately invited to join them for dinner, which I gratefully accepted.
Tom is a very experienced Reno racing pilot having set seven speed records winning the Biplane Gold
Championship at least eight times. He is hoping to translate the Phantom’s Reno winning record into
FAI World Records. He is also a very genial man with a dedicated crew headed by his son Jerry.
Because of the DL-4 installation we agreed to start preparations at 6:00 am the next morning.
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April 17
The plan for today is to get all aircraft flight ready in order to accomplish all flights tomorrow. The
planned activities are:
Aberly Phantom
o Install DL-4
o Install static system (the aircraft does not have a static system built-in)
o Weigh aircraft
Patey Lancair Legacy
o Mike Patey is not expected to arrive until mid afternoon
o Set up the Nano flight recorder (see notes on this recorder below)
o Weigh aircraft
o Resolve course coordinates
Reeder Catbird
o Review fuel tanks installation
o Set up the Nano flight recorder
o Weigh aircraft
Nano Flight Recorder
This flight recorder by lxnav is approved by the International Gliding Commission for certifying gliding
records and has some attractive attributes that also make it useful for General Aviation records when
the one second sampling rate is adequate for the speeds and distances being measured. It has the
following general characteristics:
Small physical size: 2.6” x 1.6” x 0.8”
Weighs 2.1 oz
Antenna is integrated into the body
Pressure sensor measuring up to 16,000 meters (52,500’)
Internal lithium-ion battery good for up to 28 hours of operation
2 GB of removable storage (micro SD card)
Built in security system to eliminate tampering with the data
USB interface and Bluetooth communications
These stand-alone characteristics are perfect for simple installation and the long flights of Reeder and
Patey. All that is required is a perch that insures adequate exposure to the sky.
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Phantom
This is a remarkable biplane with an
unblemished Reno racing record. The photo
here was taken at the 2011 Reno Races. Tom is
left on the back row.
Due to the limited space the DL-4 was mounted
on a vertical strut behind the pilot seat. The
antenna was mounted on a special recess
created on the engine cowling.
To solve the static problem, Elliot offered a
miniature static probe that was mounted into
the rear fuselage upper surface and connected
internally to the DL-4 pressure sensor.
By early afternoon the crew was ready for the weighing, and Kris Maynard had arrived to assist in the
preparations.
The scales were zeroed and the Phantom rolled onto the scales. The Class C-1a upper limit is 1,102 lbs.
There was shock on the faces of the crew. This result was not
expected. Now the question was what to do?
Tom suggested that the wheel pants would be a good place to
start. It turns out that the wheel pants also contained a small tank behind the wheel which could be
used for ballast. Tom asked the crew “did we ever empty
these tanks? Let’s see if there is any fuel in there.” Sure
enough both tanks contained fuel that had been used as
ballast and never emptied. The fuel was drained out and the
weighing repeated. Now there was six pounds of margin and
the Phantom was good to go.
Lancair Legacy
About mid-afternoon Mike Patey arrived with his
newly modified and painted Legacy. It is a
beautiful ship with all the latest technology on
board, new winglets, extended landing gear and
dual turbo charged and supercharged Lycoming
780.
The Legacy was quickly wheeled into the hangar
alongside the Phantom, and rolled onto the
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scales. Being a class C‐1c aircraft the maximum
allowed gross weight is 3,858 lbs. (1,750kg).
With Mike on board the scales showed 2,687
lbs. well below the maximum. However Mike
needed to add fuel before the flight the next
day. We agreed to add the fuel weight to the
measured weight. After fueling with 52 gallons of low lead 100 the total weight was 3008.4 lbs.
(1,364.6kg), well below the maximum permitted.
Catbird
Originally designed by Burt Rutan as a possible
replacement for the Beechcraft Bonanza in
1988, the aircraft is an all composite four
passenger high speed aircraft that currently
holds two world records including the 2,000km
closed course speed record that Mike Patey
will attempt to break tomorrow.
Zach Reeder has restored the aircraft and
installed additional fuel cells in the rear
passenger compartment for the 5,000 km
record attempt tomorrow. Since there is no
existing record Zach need only finish in order
to claim the record.
It is late afternoon and the weighing is the last scheduled
event before the scheduled briefing. Kris inspected the
fuel tanks and sealed the fuel caps as we completed the
scales calibration then we rolled the Catbird onto the
scales. Zach donned his flying suit and parachute and
climbed aboard. The scales registered 2,891 lbs. well
within the allowed 3,858 lbs. The Catbird was Good to Go!
The briefing by Elliot was a repeat of last week’s briefing with specific focus on the 3km course and
marking the north approach point. All hands were expected to be at the airport by 6:00am.
Before retiring I set up the Nano flight recorders with pilot names and noted the last recorded data files.
April 18, Flight Day
By the time Kris and I arrived the Catbird was out of the hangar and Zach was in final stages of getting
ready to depart. The Phantom was being wheeled out and soon Mike showed up to prep the Legacy.
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Events were now occurring at high speed:
I installed the Nano flight recorders in the Catbird and Legacy and started them at 6:10 am
Zach started his taxi to the runway at 6:15 am
The ground crew with Kris was dispatched to the 3km north approach at 6:30 am
I installed the DL-4 data cards at 6:35 am and started the ground station at 6:40 am
At 7:00 am Mike Patey taxied to the runway taking off at 7:04 am
I started the Phantom DL-4 at 7:04 am and headed for the 3km course south approach with Elliot
Tom Aberle in the Phantom takes off at 7:08 am for the 3km course
Aberly
Tom had decided to land and re-fuel before
trying the 15km course. This gave me an
opportunity to take a quick look at the 3km
results.
Unfortunately, Tom’s speed was 15 km/h slower
than the current record of 468.8 km/h.
Needless to say, Tom and his crew were very
disappointed. Tom decided not to try for the
15km record since he felt he would not be able
to improve enough to beat the 15k record of
454.8 km/h. He would have to beat it by 3%
or 468.44 km/h. Instead he decided to
attempt to beat the 3k Time to Climb record of
Bohannon at 3:08 minutes. The result
unfortunately was not enough to even match
the old record.
Tom and his crew, in spite of being terribly disappointed, accepted the results as a challenge to do
whatever it takes to improve the Phantom enough to achieve the same supremacy in the FAI record
arena as they had in the Reno Pylon arena.
The lesson learned is that doing well in one does not forecast how one will do in the other.
Patey
Meanwhile, Mike was completing his 1000km and 2000km Closed Course speed runs. Sure enough at
11:15 am the unmistakable growl of the Legacy’s Lycoming 780 could be heard. Mike was obviously
pleased with his flight as he made a crowd pleasing victory pass before touching down. A quick look at
the Nano data indicated a potential problem with one of the turn points. On closer inspection the
problem turned out to be one digit in the turnpoint coordinates that had been entered incorrectly. We
breathed a sigh of relief and went on to score the flight starting with the 2,000km data.
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The final result showed a dramatic
improvement of 24.3% over the current record;
319.63 mph vs. 257.12 mph (514.4 km/h vs.
413.8 km/h). The modifications to the Legacy
have really paid off. There was a close call,
however. The start altitude was 4,423 meters
and the finish altitude was 4,427 meters – only
4 meters above the required minimum for the
record!
Since the 1,000km result is the first pass of the course, establishing the speed should be very simple –
yes? Not so simple! The rules say that the finish line must be crossed, but in rounding the finish point
the path of the aircraft never actually crossed
the finish line. The aircraft actually went
around the finish line. So how do we determine
what the finish time is, if at all? The General
Section of the FAI rules anticipates this issue
and provide for 45 degree extensions of the
ends of the finish line. The task was therefore
to determine when the aircraft crossed the first
45 degree extension to establish the finish time and therefore the course speed. The final speed is
319.85 mph (514.76 km/h), 6.2% faster than the speed set by John Harris in 1975 flying a prototype
Bellanca Skyrocket II.
So, Mike finishes with two records, having decided not to attempt the 500km at this time, saving the
challenge for another occasion.
Reeder
Meanwhile, the Catbird passes over the Mojave airport like clockwork about every 90 minutes flying
above 20,000’ but still visible to the naked eye. Late afternoon saw cumulonimbus clouds developing
over the Sierras and appeared to be moving toward the flight path potentially threatening the flight.
Fortunately, Zach was able to dodge the bullet and continue his quest. As day turned to night the
waiting crowd dwindled until by 9:00 pm only
a few hardy friends were on the watch. By
this time Zach was on his last lap and a big
cheer went up as his navigation lights
appeared overhead heading toward the
finish line. Zach had been airborne for more
than 15 hours. He crossed the finish line and
began a long, slow descent to landing 16
minutes later. As the analysis would later show, every control point had been successfully navigated
and Zach had set a speed record of 207.82 mph (334.44km/h).
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The 2014 Mojave FAI Records Jamboree
There was no time to evaluate the flight that evening, but everyone including Zach knew he had
succeeded in establishing a first time ever record - so the celebration started.
In spite of the long day and late hour, Zach did not show any sign of fatigue – perhaps the adrenalin
surge and emotion of having completed the task was enough to overcome it.
April 19, the Mojave Fly-In
Kris and I finished the preliminary analysis of all the flights, and then went to the airport to enjoy all of
the beautiful aircraft on the ramp. It was a
great time to relax and meet and greet old
friends. Among them was John Parker who
was there with his Thunder Mustang –
holder of three world records. John’s
records were the first records set using the
DL-4 GPS units for performance
measurement and validation.
The day concluded with a banquet attended by many (I don’t have the count) of the fly-in pilots. Mike
Patey and Zach Reeder received Experimenter Awards, and the preliminary results of the world record
attempts were announced.
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The 2014 Mojave FAI Records Jamboree
Thus, ended a very intense but immensely satisfying program of world record flying. My thanks to Elliot
for his organization and support, Kris Maynard for his support in handling and evaluating all the data
records, and finally, my thanks to the pilots and their crews for their sportsmanship and cooperation in
making the observer task as painless as possible.
Finally, as I look back at Mojave I not only think of the airport, Scaled Composites and skilled pilots
pushing sleek aircraft to the limits, but also the indelible visual impact of Mojave’s new role as a major
green power generation center built to satisfy the California elite.
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