Converting Military Aircraft to Civilian Use

[Gary]

With all the Tomcats being retired I got to thinking what would ya do with those airframes.

Well, take out all the secret weapons stuff like the fancy radar, insert a simple civilian one, get all the heavy weapons racks taken off, remove all receivers and warnign gizmos and chaff poop, ditch the carrier bits not reqired for land based operations and splash a dash or three of bright blue paint and a Phizer Viagra logo on the back and lets go to the races.

Ladies and gentlemen here comes number 7, he's coming to the third pylon, and yes, up in a knife edge, he extends his wings, makes the turn and his wings come back in and the burners come back on and  "booooooom" woah, you can feel the power of those big old military after burners from here when they kick in like that.  

[Son of Damian]

I personnaly don't like NASCAR but I would pay to go see an air race. The only problem is that the only air races that I know of are in Reno once a year. It is sort of sad that the age of air races is 'dead' when it is only now that we have some really cool airplanes. I wish there was a racing league that featured Tomcats, Vipers, Fishbed, Farmers, Hornets, Tornados, Jaguars, Flankers, Fulcrums, Mirages, Phantoms, Crusaders, Tigers, Eagles, Foxbats, Floggers, Lightnings, and any others I failed to mention.

I hope that Rokect Racing League takes off and that they will have races closer to here. In case you don't know the rocket racing league is the brian child of the same people who created the X-Prize.

[Iranian F-14A]

They tried to revive air races a number of years back at the Dayton Airshow here.As can be imagined,no one was interested in watching.These weren't warbirds either,looked like modified aerobatics planes.So,while this was going one,everyone,including myself, was checking out the static military planes on the ground.

[GTX]

Hi folks,

There is an attempt underway to revive aircraft racing with The Rocket Racing League.

Now as for racing retired military aircraft, if down at low level so that spectators can see (and have their eardrums blown out), I go for the F-111 over anything else.  Maybe we should plan a group build for the future for Racing What-ifs?

Regards,

Greg

[cthulhu77]

We had air races out here for about three years running, and they were sold out...the reason they stopped having them? Liability insurance became too high for the promoter and the crews...bloody lawyers.
 did see the supercorsair hit the ground...that sucked.

  Like the idea of a group build for this one...lots of colours!

[The Rat]

Here's the link to the Red Bull racing series.

Yeah, the insurance issue sucks, after 9/11 they saw the opportunity to make megabucks on the public perception that aircraft are inherently dangerous, and airshows have been dropping like flies ever since.  

A friend of mine was at the Cleveland race back in '49 when the Mustang went down into a house. The resultant bad publicity finished that. Meanwhile there have been more spectators killed at auto races, but nobody shuts them down.  

[dragon]

Well, you do have a lot of companies sponsoring aerobatic teams.....Perhaps Purina (Catchow), or maybe a kitty litter company, or possibly (considering it is Nevada, only place in the USA where it is legal to have brothels) KIT KAT RANCH.

Don't get me started.... B)  

[Son of Damian]

Meanwhile there have been more spectators killed at auto races, but nobody shuts them down.

Especially those rally car races, I think that the name, that they have over in Europe. Every body stands on the side of the rode with not protection, if you look around break.com or compfused.com you'll see what I talking about/

I really think though that if they used civilianized modern warbirds that air races could be successful. Especially with lots of cameras, in the cockpit, and various points on the plane and the ground, because how many people actually watch NASCAR in the stadium compared to TV.

[Lord Darth Beavis]

There is a airrace somewhere over in this neck of the woods (Tucano MS IIRC?), I'd luv to go out to that or Reno or even the Red Bull circuit in Europe (better yet, fly in one of the above )


Shas B)

Shas,

You do know that one of the champion racing teams was based out of Lakefront Airport down in N'Awlins, right?

If you get down there, check out the Weddell-Williams hangar.  Once upon a time, when it was Shusan Airport, Jimmie Weddell ran a helluva program out of there.

[B777LR]

Mig 25 and SR-71/A-12 for air races? Must be a large round before they are worth using! (neither of them are good turners)  

[Shasper]

You do know that one of the champion racing teams was based out of Lakefront Airport down in N'Awlins, right?

If you get down there, check out the Weddell-Williams hangar.  Once upon a time, when it was Shusan Airport, Jimmie Weddell ran a helluva program out of there.

No I didnt know that, but if I ever do make it down there ever again (the whole Katrina mold thing), I'll look it up.


A few years ago I flew down to Williams mem. field in Patterson La. where Weddell & Williams built their racers, got to see the little museum they have down there. Very interesting what went down in da bayou back in the day    


Shas B)

[Archibald]

I've got another idea for using the retired tomcats.
Take a F-14, scrapp all the internal and military equipments. All internal  space free is filled by oxygen and hydrogen tanks. Then, add two RL-10 or HM-7B rocket engines in the place of the TF-30...
Put one pilot and one tourist in the cockpit, loan a 747, and put the Tomcat on top of it.
Take off, climb to 35000fts and release the Tomcat in shallow dive. Light the two rocket motors and you have...
a X-prize competitor!!  

[jcf]

Contrary to what y'all seem to think modern Air Racing is more than warbirds, the ex-military Unlimited Class is a post-WWII development and only one class...Formula One is the actual heir to American Air Racing of the Golden Age. The relatively new Sport Class is gaining in popularity.

As to racing big-jets such as F-14s...aint' gonna happen anywhere close to a population center, if anywhere. The operating costs would be grotesque.

The Rocket Racing League? Gimme a break.

As to a modified F-14 being an X-Prize competitor...too late the contest is over.

Jon

[B777LR]

I saw something about The Rocket Racing League on the news a few weeks ago. Modified Rutan Long EZs, a bit like that X-prize contender who tested his rocket engine on one! The track will be projected as boxes onto the helmet of the pilot, like on the JSF.

[Archibald]

not to late my friend! Now there's the X-prize cup in New Mexico... but this was pure whatif, just for the fun. Rocket engines have enormous fuel consumption so this rocket tomcat would not fly very high .
Maybe the VG wing could be useful for the return in the atmosphere, as the feathers in SS1 ?