'Unleashed' Finishes Sixth In The Sport Bronze

by ANN Associate Editor Mark Sletten

A happy sixth-place finisher at Reno? Yup. It may seem strange, but Scott Germain -- Scotty G -- IS happy, and he DID come in sixth.

ANN spoke with Scotty G, the owner and pilot of Unleashed, a modified Lancair 360. This is the second year at Reno for the Unleased team, and they placed sixth overall in the Sport Class Bronze.

Now why would we be doing a story about a team and airplane that placed sixth? Well, actually, the story is about the engine.

Earlier this year, just before Sun-n-Fun in fact, Superior Air Parts, approached Scotty and asked if he'd be interested in a new engine for Unleashed. When they told him about an idea for a new 400-cubic inch barn burner, Scotty said, uh, YEAH!

Superior's XP-400 is very similar in external dimensions to the Lycoming 360 series engines Scotty's Lancair is designed for, so the installation, while not a cakewalk, was doable with modifications to the cowling and intake system.

So what, you ask, what's so special about the engine? You remember I said Superior approached Scotty with an IDEA for an engine? Well, that's all they had, an idea. Between Sun-n-fun and Reno, Superior, with a little help from parent company Thielert turned that idea into an engine.

I know, I know... You still don't see what's so special, hold on, I'm getting there!

Last year, Unleashed finished last place in the Sport Class Bronze at an average speed of 233 miles per hour. This year, it finished sixth, with an average speed of 259 miles per hour! The only change to the aircraft, then to now, is the engine.

Scotty stressed that his is the only aircraft racing in the Sport Class Bronze with a four-cylinder engine. And with a four-cylinder engine, he edged out two others to take sixth -- the first year with a new engine, designed, built, and installed in less than six months. I'd say that's worth talking about!

Scotty said the engine performed flawlessly, never missing a beat during any of the qualifying heats or the final Bronze race.

Scotty told ANN when people ask him how the engine is running he always feels a little self-concious talking about how great it is. "I'm being sponsored, so I'm supposed to say it's great. It would be obvious if it wasn't because we wouldn't be racing. But I wish someone had taken a picture of my face the first time I started it, because this engine is very different from my previous one. It's smooth, quiet and powerful of the box. I'm very impressed with this engine... and I'm not being paid to say that!"

For now, Superior is holding details close to the vest. For instance, they won't say how much horsepower Scotty's engine is producing. In a press release, Superior says the stock XP-400 is to be rated at 220 horsepower, but they acknowledge this engine isn't stock.

Designated the XP-400 SRE, for Superior Racing Engine, among other enhancements, it sports ten-to-one compression ratio cylinders and a reworked camshaft profile.

The engine was built and tested by Superior's parent company Thielert in Germany. Thielert's background is all about racing -- they started out as a boutique engine builder for European racers.

And that's fine by us. We say let's have some of that Teutonic magic for everyone!

(Aero-News thanks Chris Luvara of Stick And Rudder Aviation Photography for the use of his photos of Scotty G in action at Reno.)

FMI: www.unleasedairracing.com