Jon Sharp Takes the Gold in Sport Class Race

Lycoming is doing a bit of boasting these days. Especially after Jon Sharp, a Lycoming-sponsored racer in his Nemesis NXT design, won the 2007 Reno Air Races in the Super Sport Class division Gold Race on September 16, 2007. Also impressive was Kevin Eldridge, who placed second in the same race. Both pilots were flying the NXT design aircraft with new turbo-charged Lycoming Thunderbolt engines.

It was an exciting finish after a week of competition at the 44th National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada. Six different classes of aircraft competed, including the T-6 class, Jets, Unlimiteds, Bi-planes, Formula One, and the Sport class. Each day, different racing heats were held.

"This is the first time a Lycoming engine has won first and second in the Gold Super Sport class division at Reno," stated 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, which has grown in popularity due to a variety of new aircraft designs, was founded in 1998. Jon Sharp's kit aircraft, the NemesisNXT, is a composite-design based on the engineering expertise of Jon and Patricia Sharp's team. A Lycoming Thunderbolt TIO-540-NXT engine powers the Nemesis NXT, modified only to increase reliability when using higher boost and rpm than a stock engine.

Reno Air Race Results

Jon Sharp qualified in first position out of 25 qualifiers with a new record speed of 385.650 mph in his NXT. In fact, this set a new course record; Sharp was 15.605 mph faster than Jon Parker's 370.045 mph record set in a Thunder Mustang in 2006.

Kevin Eldredge qualified in second position with a speed of 378.289 in his NXT Relentless. Eldredge uses a Lycoming TIO-540-NXT and finished second overall in the Super Sport Gold race with a speed of 383.134 mph.

Mike Jones qualified in eight position with a speed of 298.525 mph in his Glasair III. Jones' Lycoming Thunderbolt IO-580 engine with roller tappets, LFC fuel system and high compression pistons demonstrated the fastest naturally aspirated (Non-Turbocharged) engine. He finished seventh in the Sport Gold race (15th overall) with a speed of 282.660 mph.

"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." Lycoming Engines power almost half of the planes in the Sport Class race category and 100 percent of all the Bi-planes in the 2007 Reno Air Races.

FMI: www.lycoming.com