DAVIDHOOVER'S
AR-6 ENDEAVOR
P/ologw- Mtk amoa a'?dth.aR-s
O n A u g u s t3 0 , 1 9 9 2 ,M i k €A f n o l do t
Pinole,ca shocksdth€ l6chnicalsid.ol
th€ aviationwodd whsn he s€t a new lhB
kilomst€rstraightline wodd'ssp€€d rocord
ovd an NAA/FAI3up6ruised courssn€ar
Davis,CA. vsry shortly,wo d Enowned
a€rodynanacisrs such as Bruc6camicha€l
a n d l r v C u l v 6 rw a r o€ i l h e rk n o c k i n ga t
Mik€'sdoor oroth6Mis€ contactinghim
lor infofmalion on how h6 had accom-
Whvsucha hubbub?ln th€ cont6xtol
tho lim€, 1992, Mik63 lourway avorag€
s P e € do l 2 1 3 . 1 8m i l 6 sp 6 r h o u rp a l s di n
comparison wilh lhe stand.rdsol ths day:
tho Mach2 atmosohericso66dsol con-
t e m p o r a r yj 6 t i a g h l € r sa n d l h 6 o s c . p e
v€locityrockoG rcutin6lyachisvedas th6y
blast€dofi into out6rspac6. whar grabb€d
th6 alionrionol aerodynamicBts was rhs
facl that Mik€ had s€r th€ n6w rocord in a
littls alrplanoh€ had d€signsdand buitl
rhat was pow6€d wilh a lwo-srroks Rota(
582 rai6d al 05 hore€pow€i Th6E was no
way that ai plan6cot]ld havegons thal l6t
on lhat smallamountot oow€r,ti€ a6rodv-
namicislsinslanlt €cosniz€d, unlessMik6
had somshowrgduc€dhis toial aidram€
a wINfEF it(fi
draglo an unusualninimum, Th6 prci6-
sionalsw€r€€ven mor6 inrigugd whsn
th€yl6arn€dlhal Mikewas a s6ll-taugit,
strictlyamaia!. aircraltd6sign6r Nsv€r
havangdark€n6dlhe door ot an a€rcn.uti-
carengin€€ring3ch@1,h€ was a fh mak€r
who$ aviarionbackqroundwas limited to
nying as a sport pilol and sorE composits
iabricationexporiencegain€dby ashort
stintantho midrTosworkingwilh Fr€dJi-
ra at his sailplanorcpai.lacility at Moiav6,
Mik6had b€€nan aviation€nthusiastall
his lit6, how6v6r Hs buill mod€ls.r6ad
€vs.ythingh6 couldlay handson - ssp€-
cially aboul World War ll fight€rs - and
droam6dabout som€dayd6signingand
buildinghis own afiordabl€,mini-fi9h16r
H€ was parliculadyd€vot€dto poring ovd
SighardHo€rn€r'sbook,"FtuidDynamic
0t 9," and n was tom lho$ pag€sthat h€
crm6 up with th6 id€athat th€E was more
lo b€ gain€d by Educinq lh6 drag thal d6-
v e l o p sa t t h € i n t € r s 6 c l i o n ost various
airLam6compon€nls lhan wa commonly
supp66d - o( ai lsast, paid a lot of an€n-
tion lo. Th6t wa €sp€cially1ru6,h€ cam6
to bsli€ve,on snall, lightwsightalrplanos
b e c a u s sl h s i r I n l € r s e c l i o n
d r a gw a s a
hiqhe.p6.c€nrol lotal draglhan it was on
Finally,in 1981Mik6 begandosigning
hasown row power,high p€domdco hinl-
iight€r,which h6 nam€dth€ A8-5. lt woutd
bs a shgle plac6,lowwing,all-composilo
monoPlane lust larg66noughlo comtod-
ably accommodatohis n63rsix iooi t ame-
aboutth€ sizeot a MidgolMustang.In its
d€signandconsirucrion, Mll(su3€datlth6
go-tad t€chniqu6sihat wef€ wlthin hi3
budgsl and capabililiB: laminarflow alrloil
setions, lhs smooth3urfac6oossiblewith
comp6itos and light w€lghi - 488 pounds
6mply. Surprisingly,in spit€ ol havinga
fixsd g€arand 6 ralhd blunt, lound cowllnq
( i t l o o k o dl i k € a m l n i a l u 1r6a d i a l € n g i n s
cowD,th€aF-5 had allat plal6oquivat€nr
otju8l.88 squarcr€ei. Tn€flx6d,cto36ty
rairsd main 96a. w.s somewhatunu$al in
lhat the l€gs wor6 moont€dw€ttod on ths
wings- ou! ol ti6 prop wash- and closs
enoughto verticallo b€ v€ry nsar th6 id6al
angl€lor low6l ints6ciion drag.
wh€rc Mlks w€nl oif on his own, bae€d
on hasintarprglalionol Ho€.n6r5 Es€arch,
was in his €fiorts ro rsduc6tho wing-lo-
iusglag€ int€rseiion drag. Fi|6l, h€ mad€
h i s t u s € l a g os l d 6 sr u n p a r a l l € l t r o m
th6
h a g h 6 spt o i n to l t h 6 w i n g6 i r l o i t s € c r i o n
backtolh6wing's trailing€d96. Ssond,
 lf H ,, A!.!1,ri ML:i Lr', , S C
rjA Frr.li,.. ., !,rr..! irr r! A.,.rl

. .i
\ ' l ; IJ

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AF-5lasl and a good dog t9hl6r wefe lhe
same asihose needed lof a realy lasl For
mula One racer Thal realzal on was slllon
h i s m i n d w h e n h e m e l F o . m u l aO n e p l o t
T r o y C h a n n i n ga l O s h k o s h n 1 9 9 3 . T r o y
was one ol lhe compelitoB in theAeroshell
Speed Oash. Mike says lhal Troy nsp fed
hrm lo extrapolaleh s AR-5 design into the
AR 6, a ConrinenrarO-20p 0 o w e r e dF o r
m 0 l a o n e r a c e f .a n d . o n c e b a c k h o m e r n
calfofnia. he began work on the n.w air-
plane. ncludinglhe constrlcl on ol a model
w r t h w h c h t o b e t t e rv i s u a l r z el h e v a r i o u s
design elemenrs. Sadly. however, before
M ke gol very laralong n ihe process,Troy
Channingdred in lhecrash ot a Moslang ll-
w h c h l e f i M i k e w i r h o u tt h e h e a . t l o c o n
He dld, however, w.te a second, more
delarled article lor the May 1997 issue ol
Sport Av alion. which incllded photos ol
lheAR 6 modeL.The same teaiuresused n
the AF-s wef€ rncuded in rhe AR 6 lhe
p a r a l e f u s e l a g es i d e s ,e i p a n d r n gr a d r u s
wing rootianrngs,posirionn9 ol rhe h ghesl
point oi the canopy direclly over ihe lrarling
€dge ol lhe wrnq and lhe
smooth exlenor surlaces oi the
a rifame. On the AR 6 model.
tVike ia red the att porlions ot
the eng ne cowlinglnlo lhe luse-
lage sides (an area ol pos tive
p r e s s 0 r e )a b o v e l h e l e a d i n g
edge ol the wng (nsgalve Pres
sure).and simi!any aligned lhe
all po^ion ol lhe wheelpanls
(positive pressu.e) w h the ung
lead nq edge - In both nslancos
io reduce Intersecliondrag, es-
pec allyin h gh G 1!rns whe.e
lhe drag increasesdramalically.
He a!somovedlhe horizontal
la I lorward so ris alt porlron
( p o s r t r v ep r e s s u r e )w o u l d b e
arignedwrh the loea.d ponron
(negal ve press!.e)or the vertl
c a t a I T h e w r n g ,o l c o u r s e ,
would have a h th aspoct faiio and wo!ld
employ an ai.loi seclion designed lor lhe
racer by Hairy Ribblell. who unde.stood
and a9reed wilh Mike s rnte.section drag
That. ostensibly,was the beginningand
end ol lheAF 6 orso I appeared n 1997.
Mik6 subtirledthe parr olthe spon AvEion
art cle on rhe race. as TheAR-6 TheAir
plane That Never Was." Th6ro was,
howeve.,a paralle slream of life and avia-
I o n I n v o l v o m 6 nl h a l w o ! l d s o o n m e . g e
with Mikes to make lhe AF-6 a realily.
OAVID HOOVEFI AND fHE AF.6
An racer David Hoover was born n Dal-
las, TX in 1963 and grew up there rn an
aviarionlamily. H s ialher owned a cha.ler
servce based ai Love Field,oporaling DC-
3s and light twins. Oavid learned to lly al
t h € b u s y a n p o r t ,w h . h w a s r h € p r i n c p a l
Dallas/FonWonh arline atpod pno.to lhe
o p e n i n go l O F W H e l l e w P i p s r W a d o r s
and A.che.s untilleavrng home lo enrollat
okahoma star6 in srillwarer,oK. The.e.he
jo n€d a h versllylly ng cllb and learnedlo
handleraidraggeB n rhecLubs Cilabias.
Davld eafned a degree n businsss and
met h s wile, Stacy,al Oklahomaslale Al-
ler gradualion and lheir mariiage, lhe
Hoov6r's moved to lhe San Francisco Bay
area and have lived In FosterCity €v€r
s i n c e O a v r dw o r k e d I n l i n a n c et o r m a n y
years.bll operateshis own businesstoday.
Conrinuingro fly, oavid boughr a chrs-
l € n E a g l ep r o j e c l i n 1 9 8 8 a n d s p e n t t h e
lollowingrwo yea6competng it. That ce
ated a need lor a hangar,whch is a scarce
conmod ly in lhe Bay area. Fonunalely,a
i/isnd introduced him lo race pilot Oave
Morss whowas willng to reni hai of h s
hanga.ar lhe nearbySan CanosAirpon.
''That was when I starled getl n9 nler
ested in Formula Ones." Dav d .ecalls. I
slarled crewing fo. Oave and aler bolghl
one ot lwo race.s he had in the hangar He
had a rearryworn our, tned old cassutr he
ca red theVdso Cassult and I bolghl il n
1992. lbasicallythrew away eveMhrng ex-
cepl lhe rudderand lhe luselagelrame and
€bui r ir In i alry.it was a srabwing c4sutr
and I began racrng it at R€no in 1994 - my
r o o k i € y e a r . E v e r yy e a r I s h o w e d u p a l
Rono il was d tferenl. I pul on a lapered
w i n g a n d m a d e o t h e r r m p r o v e m e n l s s, o
every year il wsnl lastsr. The tirst year, I
q u a l i l i e di i a i 2 0 4 m p h a n d t h e l a s l y e a . ,
1999, I qualifiedal244. At lhat poinl lwas
n the lop fo!r ot lhe Fo.mula On€s, but I
wanted 1o be more compslitive. I lholght
rhe Cassln was as lasl as it was ever going
to be, so lsold itto scony cBndemtre and
h s b € g a n r a c i n gi r i n 2 0 0 0 . T h e a i r p r a n e
was named 'Frenzy whrleIownedil. Scotty
put a wild new painl job on it and renamed
it 'oulrageo!s . He s srill racing it.
For a racor who wanled lo win rather
rhan simply compete. oavid had had ths
mislortune ol srading his FormulaOne ca-
reerjust afte.the begi.ning of lhe amding
st.ing olnn€ conseutive RenoGold cham-
pionships by Jon Sharp and his Invincible
Nemesis. so rotally dominant was Nsm€
sis, lrom 1991 unn t was r€tned afior lhe
1 9 9 9 R e n o r a c e s ,t h a l m o s l o l l h e o l h e r
Fonlla One compolilors semed rsigned
lo battling lor second place - bui nol Oavid
H o o v e r . a y 1 9 9 9 h e w a s a r e a d yd e t e r
mined to bu d a new racsr th.t could
compete wilh and, hopslully,outrun Neme-
es. a s w e l a s l h e n e w N e m 6 i s N X TJ o n
Sharp had on the draw ng boa.d.
As events transpned, both Oavid and
J o n s p a n s e i l h e rc h a n g s do r l o o k m l c h
longeflhan eilhsr anricipatedin 1999. Atte.
r e t i r n g N € m 6 s i sa n d d o n a l i n g I t o t h e
S m i t h s o n l a ns N a l i o n a lA i f & S p a c e M u
s e u m , J o n a n d T r i c r aS h a r p d € c i d o d l o
abandon lhe r Form!La Ono Nomesis NXT
p@Fcl and, insr€ad,usethar namelor aio-
tally now racer lor lhe Sport class. 8y ihrs
t i m e D a v i dh a d m e l M r k eA . n o l d , l e a r n o d
about rhe AR-6 and had dscided lo build il
- but he had no dea il would lak€ tiveyea6
lo constuct t and gel il ready lo race. lt
was cerrainlyro b€ a busy tive years. David
would serve a lerm as president ol the In
ternationa Formula On€ Pylon Air Racing
A s s o c i a l i o na n d w o u l d k e e p h i s h a n d i n
compglition by racing lhe $96 Grove GR-7
in 2000 and sreve Senegals Cassull in
2 0 0 4 . O l g r e a l e f s r g n i l i c a n c s h, o w e v e r ,
Davrdand slacy b/ought lwo sons inio lhe
world during the t me the AR-6 was berng
buill Slowart in 2000 and Phrlipin 2003.
BUILDINC THE AF.6
A numbor ol people wou d have a hand
in lh6 constructlon ol the AB-6. Mike
Arnold was, ol course,thedssrgn€f and he
alsobuiltths maslerplugior th6 comFlosile
tusslage,plls a ssparata,verysturdyptug
ror the canopy. Davidsent the tusotage
p l u gl o C o m p o s i r s sU n l i m i t 6 di n S c a p -
pooseO , R w h 6 r ei t w a s u s 6 dt o m a k sa
moldand,fromit, th6 tusstagoskins. Most
ol th6skinswsreaut@lavodprs,pregcar
bon lib€rwilh a honevcombcors,but th€
cowlrn9parts w6relLrsljour ptiesot ore-
prog carbonribo. Th€ canopyptug was
ssntlo AircratrWindshi6td at Toranc6.CA
wher€lwo shoked canopiosw€rsdrap6-
rom6d overit - borhtuming out with p€rtet
Usingrh€s€conpGirs parts, Davidbuil
!p lhs lus6la9€,b€ginning wnh$6 ticwa ,
whichwouldconsistoi a qlarlsinch thick
coE of birch plr*ood, laced trcnt and back
with sev6ralcompositoDli€s,th6n with a
1/8" layerof Fib€rlraxand a sheathot srain-
l6ss stssl on the lront sid6. Fiv€ engin6
mounnngpointswerebuittintorh€fi.ewa.
e 6 c hw l h a d d i t i o n a t o t i sasl o Dt h € mf o r
add€d strongth, Frcmthoss points, stifi€.,
ers wore exrsnd€d back about tive fest
alongth€ jnsidowallsot the tus€tageto dis-
triblte the toadsimposedby the engine
ThoAF-6 is a pu€ racd, and as such r€-
q ! r r s s a q r o ! n d c r 6 w t o b r i n gi t t o t h s
staninglin€iora race. Thecanooyand its
skirt,lof inslance,tift comDt€totvofi the
iuselageto allowlhe pitotto ctimbintothe
cockpit,alter whichthe crswm€nroptac€
tho canopyandths pitotseclrssit in ptac€
wlh rhre€sp.ingloadsdtockingpins. Nor-
mally,ar rheconctusion ota race,the pilot
r€lsas6srh6 pins and the crsa .smov6srhe
canopy,bur In ac€ordancowith Formuta
One tulss,th6 pitot do€s h6veth€ caDabititv
ol r€l6asingth6 canopyin ltightso hs can
RadiosaE rsquirodin FomulaOn6rac,
eB al Rsno,so boththe do.stand vent.al
p a r t so r r h e v e r t i c a l t a ihl a v 6t i b e r g t a s s
skinsto allowlh6 coh antsnnahountedin-
sids lo luncion prop€.ty. The A8-6 rudder,
hoh2ontalstabilizerand et€vatolsconsist ot
blu6loam solid cor€s with two otv tib6r
g l a s ss k i n s , L i k et h s B u t a na n c r a f i , l h e
sparsa6 bond€din p.iof to th6 skin tavuDs.
Alllh€ conlrolsurtaces,inctudinglh€ rud,
dd, are 100% balanc€d. lh6 rudde. h6 an
arm thar exlonds torward inside the att
luselaqe,wirh a cono-shap€dteadcount6r-
wsight allachsdlo the end.The 6t6vator
coonlerw6i9htsars on arms mount€don
th6iroutsideends,and th6 ait€ronwoiqhts
a€ bu,ied in th6ir nosss ah6adof the hing6
Oaviddesign€d.fabncat€dand insraled
hrsown cont.olsystsm,inctlding the to€
Th€fus€lageis so
"rhat th@ is no way toskinny,' Oavidsays,
put a c€nt€rstick in
il, so I dssigneda side stick controt. t,m
nol an engin@r,so I hav6to do thjngsin a
hands-ontashion.I took6 shoebox snd a
bunchof lirtlsroundsticksand b!i[ scate
mod€leol how I thoughr$s contrct systern
shourdwork. Thsn I scatedit up to fu| sizs
usingPVCpipeand tap€d it insidsth6 tu$-
lag6. Whenlwas surc ev€rythingworked
proporly,I built th6 pushrodsand tinkag€s
oul ot m€lalandinslrlladrh.m"
Th€ AF-6 s modsrat6tytapsrsd,one-
0iec6,24 4" wing was dosiqnedby Harry
Fibbbn and burllby CraigCa o. H€rrys
airfoilis a narurallaminarftowsectionwirh
a slighrd@p h rh€ badng €dg€ -to get rid
ol someol lh6 burtrl€lhe winggs|sal ovd
lhr66.nd a hall Gs,"Oavidsavs. Them6in
spa. - acluallyths trontthird o. so oflh€
wing - is a D-ssctionwith sevento 6i9ht
Plbto t'y Gol.la Cor
plj€sol cafbontib€.that s,(t6ndlrom ths
top ol th€ spar forwardand back aroundto
lh6 bottom ol rhe spai Bohindth€ naan
3pa./D-s€ction,the wing h6s a €ru€d foam
cor6that is coveredwnh tib€.gtass.This
was don6ro allowth6 wingto lt€x a bir in
highG lumsand in turbut€ncs-
Davidsats that wh€nh€ had CfaigCatto
buildrhe composri€raoergdwino for hrs
Cassun.Frsnzy,on6 poundd€nsiivwh €
r o a mw a s u s s d a s t h 6 c o . s . A t i h o u o h
skinn€dwilh lwo oli6sol cabo. jib€r ti6
undorlying roamwas so soft ihar th€ out€r
skin would d€nt wh6nbump€d. Tharwoutd
be unacc6ptablo in a naturalt6ninarftow
wing, so wh€nCrargburhth€ AR-6w'no,
Davidhad him us€ two Doundd€n$tv toam.
wrrha quarl6. inch laysr ol three oound
loam alop rhat. On6 gtass€d,that aft Dor,
lion otlh6 wing is inmuns to d6ntsirom
6lbows,dmpp€d rools.Etc.,Davidsrys.
Mik€Arnold! AR.5hassh@kabsolbhg
maing€arslruls olth€ typ6 originalyde-
sign6dby GsoE€ Percira.TheAF-6main
gearis ngid, howwor rhe non-n€{no t€os.
madeby RobbyGrov€,ar6atumin; a;d
ar6 gun drilledlor passag6of hydrautic
iluid to ths brak6s.Th€tsgs616rigidtyal-
rachedlo the mainsparandwh€nviswsd
rromlhe lronr otth€ airptans,ar€ atignod
v 6 r t c a l l y , I h i s i n v o l v € ss o m s p r 6 c i s €
gsh.try Th6 wing has fiv6 d€gre€sof di-
h€dcl, so, acluallt the gearl€qs ar€ cant€d
live d6g@s tom p€.p€ndicutarto th6 main
spaf,and th6 arl€s, which€xt€ndinward
lrcn rh€ gsa. tegs,are b€nt tiv€ d€gr€€se
lhe wh6slsar€ v6.tical.5:00x5Ct€vetand
wh66lsand brakosarc used.with towpro-
fil€ Lambtir6 installod. P.6ssu€ r6ov€ry
wh6€lpanb that lair up onlo ths 966rt6gs
sFpFTsrrArv
anor rt
a r ef i l t e da n d ,a s p r e v i o u s l n y o t e d ,a r e
alignedverticallywilh th€ leadingedqeof
lhs wing to pan positivoand n€gativepres-
sur€gradientsto, in atfect,cancel€ach
olh€roui lo someextenland therebyr€
duceinleEection drag.
TheAR-6s fixedtailwh€€lisjust a liny
rollermountedin rhebortomofrhsvent.al
lin. Ons ol the accompanyinp ghotos
showshow ths airplaneis movedabour on
rhegrolnd. Again,this is a p!re race( not
a darlyuse sporlplane,so suchan other
wiseimpracticallailwh€slcan bsjustilied
on the basisof low drag. Fo.mulaOnes
a r el o w e dt o l h e s t a r t i n 9 l i n 6a n d b a c k
agan lo the ramp aite. €ces.
TheContinenral O,200initiattyinstattod
in the AR-6 and faced at Fsno tast Sep-
temberwaslhe saho on6 Davidracedin
F r s n z yi n l h e 1 9 9 0 s .W h e nh o s o l dt h s
racerro scolly crandlemire,he kspi ths
6n9ineand raced it in 2000 in lhe GR-7.
E v e n l ! a l l yi n s r a l l € di n t h € 4 B - 6 , i t w a s
usedtorallthegblnd running.highsFed
tari and tlighttestingof rh6 nsw d€sign,
t h e nr a c e da l R e n o2 0 0 5 . F o r m u l a Ons
rac ng 6ngines,al leastthose of lhe lop
c o m p e n t o i sa, r o n o r m a r ruys e do n l yf o r
r a c i n ga n d a r el o r n d o w nd u r i n gt h e o i f
seasonand .ebuih.Veryoft€nthal means
th€y90 jlsl a lew hou.sbetweentoralrs,
"Thisengin€hasnol beenpulledapart
in closero six years, Oavldsaid ai Reno
last Seplembe.."Th€ cyl nd€rsws/e re-
d o n € i n 1 9 9 9a n d r h e b o r o m 6 n d w a s
donein 2000. 8y an racesiandards,it s a
worn-outengne,bLrws smprydrdnt have
line to completerheairframeand alsore-
buid th€ enginein timelof Feno."
All lhis, ol couse. the consequ€nca ol
runningan engine,designedto havea fed
lineo12,700rpm.al ov€r4.000€vsl
T h eA B - 6h a sa d r y s u m po i l s y s t e m .
w i t hl h e o r l t a n kl o c a l e do n l h e l i r s w a l l .
Theoil coole/ s built inrorhe botrompo/
r i o no l r h e c o w l i n gw , ilh its owntotally
ndependenl air supply.An enlersthrouqh
12 WN|ER M
a s m a l l i n l e t i u sbt6 l o wt h e s p i n n s rg, o e s Mosi ol ths AR-6'sltighl tosringrook
thfougha plenun to the coolor,rhenout placelasl summsrat Btron, CA,
lhroughan exit plgnumand a lour sqLrars "lt was hol, around100 d€g.oes,so I
inch oullelon lhs bohomrighl side ol th€ did my tlight lsts al 6,000f€et lo try lo du-
cowlinq.HosestunningloandLomthe oil plrcatslhe conditionsat Fono. This was
coolgrhaveracecar quict disconnoctill- boforsth€ anpbn€ was painteddd before
l i n g ss o l h s l o w o fc o w l i n gc a n b s € a s i t y lclosed the coolingan inl€tsdown a bit.
r e m o v € da n d . € p l a c e d W . h 6 nt h o l o w e r Thecylinderheadtempswsrsloo c@lin
cowlis emov€d,lhs hosesa€ pluggedto- lhosssarlyt6sts,blr rh6oiltempwasjust
geths to p.eventa loss ot oil, pertscl. ln lact, at Fenoa crsw member
Likewise, eachbankol cylindorshasits h a d l o h o l da r a g i n l h 6 o i l c o o l o ro u i l s t
own s€alsdplenum.Th€coolingan 6xils whil6wo wamed up to get lh6 oilto hear.
o u l o l l h s b o l t o mo l t h e c o w l l n g a , long It stilll@k a lapanda halllo g€t il to coh6
wilh tho fou.inlo-onetunedexhaostsys,
tem. Tho carburstorhas its own air inteton "Running theen9in6at Byronwithstock
the bonomot the cowling. rrming,lhsairplan€tru6dout b€rween290
A StoveHill all-carbonracingpropgttef a n d2 9 5m p ha t 6 , 0 0 0 1 6 t .l t @ k i t d o w n
i s u s s d ,m o u n t e do n r h 6 f r o n t€ n d o l a to 3,000toet and saw a lru6 o1310mph.
10.75inch €xlgnsionto keepit as farout Formulaones lik€warmair. lkn6w thos6
i n t o c l e a na i r a s f s a s i b l e .( Y o ul o o k a t spsedsw6r6fastorrhanl d sse in cool€r
lheselongexlonsions and wonderhow vi- tsmporaluresat Fenoin S6pl€mber. bul I
b r a t i o nc a n p o s s i b l yb € a v o i d e d l )l h e was rearrypr€asodthal th6 airplanewas
cowlingrsso streamlin6drharjusr a tittte tharfast- withmyold engine."
eighlinchdiamelercarbon fiberspinnsris with th€ tighr resringsatistadontycom-
a l l l h a t s n o o d e dt o b r i n gl h 6 a i r p l a n es pleted, Oavidsp6nr th. snrir€ monlh ol
Augusl2005painting the .ac6r
Again.in k€epingwirhits sols purpose ' O l l h s 3 1 d a y s ,t p u t i n a r l s a s r1 0
as a racingairplane,the AF-6 has a luel houF a day ior 29 oi th€m, I paint€dit my-
capacityof only5,4qallons.Th€rankis lo- sell and sand.d il and butt€d it 6nd b!fied
cal6d aheadoflhe instruhenlpaneland it and waxed ir - it was a real eifort to g6t it
fuel makesits way lo lhe carbu.etorvia finishedin tim6 lor R6no"
gravityilou The insrrumsntsand engin6 PPGConceptpaintwas us6d- Scan€t
conlrolsarealso kepl to a minimum- ai- R6don rhstuselag€and PUEWhh6onrhs
speed, allim6ter.oil pr6ssur€and rest ol the airtrame. Not all th6 Fomuta
lemperalo16, cylinderheadtemperature. Onss at Ronoa€ show planss,bul Oavids
tachometer, skidball.G-melsr,th.otlleand AFI-6has a lit and tinishof GfandCham-
m i x l u r e . T h e r e l w o i n d i v i d u a lm a g pion€lib€r by anyone!srandards.
Af AENO
FIRS' FUGH|
Jusl gettinglhe racer,whichhad besn
n a m € dE n d 6 a v o r , l r o m SanFrancisco
Davidllew theAF-6for rhetirsrtimeon acro$ lhs Si€ras to FenowE yer anorher
M a r c h1 1 , 2 0 0 5- a n di r w a sr h ef n $ t i m € challenge.Lik€mosl FormulaOnes,it is
he hadevertlowna sid€stick. trail€redto rac6, blt wirh th€ maintanding
''| had someapprehgnsion, ' he says, I gsar mountodon th€ on6-pi€cewing rathtr
lhoughtit miqhrbe waypilchsonsitive, bui lhanon lh€ luselage, dishanllinglhsAR-6
it reallyworked olt nic6ly. rcqurcssomesp€cial€quipment and pro-
cedlr€s. Fnst,th6 taitwh@tis
pracodon a standthal is atElt
thre teertall,th€nthscowling
i s r e m o v e da n d a h o i s l i s
moved inlo posiiion and
hooksd ro the sngine. Nexr,
lhe 6ntireai|plan€is liftodsone
threel@l ofith€ Iround and a
lour whe€ldollyis plshsd un-
d e r n 6 a t hi t . T h ed o t t yh a sa
cradlerhatfits th6 airloat shapo
of the bonom ot the winq - and
l h e a i f p l a n €i s t h e nl o w e r € d
intoit. Atrhispoinr,thewingis
unboh€dtrcm lhe fu$lags and
rsmarnsin lhe dollysc.adl6as
ih6 flsslageis againraisedby
the en9in6hoisl.Atl€rlh€ wing
i s r o l l e do u t f r o m u n d e rt h s
iLrs€lag€,a sp6cialtransport
landingg€arisatt.chedto the
lu$lag€, usingthe wingatiach
lihings. Finally,bolh ths winq
dolly and the lu$lag€ arerollsd
into a trail€r- and th6 airplane
i s r e a d yl o r t h s h i g h w a y .l r
takesrwo p€oprejust ov6. an
h o ! r l o a c c o m p l i s thh € l a s k .
Davidsays,and,ot colrs€,ths
proc€sshasro b6 dons in r€vsrsoonceat
lhs racesite. TheseFormolaOneguysa€
nolhingif nol d€dicaledl
Forlhoss of you who havesubsdibsd
srnceour Fall2005issue,whichcontained
€omplstecoverageot lhs Reno.aces, Gary
HublerolCaldwell,lDhasbs€ndominaling
the FormulaOneclasssinc€2002in hista-
p e . w i n 9C a s s ! l l . M a . i a h . H e w a s r o p
q u a l l i e ra g a i nl h i sy s a r ,a t 2 5 7 . 0 9 7m p h i
won bolhhis hearracesiandwon the Gold
championshia p r r h e c o n c l u s i o no l t h e
w@k. Thisysarhe had compotition, how-
eve. DavidHooverqualifieda somowhat
d r s t a nsl e c o n da i 2 4 9 . 8 1 5m p h .b u t w a s
/ighton Gary! tailfearh6.sin 6achof the
h6atracssand in the champio.ship.ace -
eachtime at s ghl ap averagospe€dsin
lhe 250 mph rang€,whichwas fasterthan
''Thatwas wirh me havinglsss than20
l a p s o nl h s r a c e c o u . s ei n t h € a i / p t a n e , "
Davidsaidal RenolastSeptember"lwas
stillkind ol loarninglhe best way th s an
planewanledro b€ nownout the.ewiththis
long wing. ll was reallyphenomenal to b6
a b l el o r u nt h a t c l o s 6 l oG a r yi n o u r l i r s t
year Nexl ysar,oi course,we €rpscl to
comebackto F€nowth a tllly d€veloped
raceengine.Th€rehasbs€na tot of stuit,
l6chnologywise,ro com€alongsrncemy
enginowaslast.ebuihtharwo caninco.po-
rate,and I may havslo try a new prop. This
y e a rI w a s l s i n g a 5 4 " x 6 a ' p r o p . T h e r e
ars cu(ently only two FormulaOnesthat
can r!n lhal muchpitch and that'smysotf
and Gary Hub er lt takesa lot ol horse-
p o w e rl o f u n l h a l m u c hp i l c h . W i t hm y
enginelpgraded.I may haveto try a litile
mo€ prtch,however, l wolldn'l wantto turn
any higherrpm. The proptip speedis at-
mosr at .9 Mach now, so thats the
'Ths olherlhingrhat has rsarlypteas€d
he lhis yearis thal th6 airplanshas been
totallymainl€nanceiree. Wejustgo€cing,
comebackand popths cowl,pok€around.
cleanoii the blgs and w€ re readyfor th€
Since il is a brand n6w design,Oavid
was askedaboutihe AR-6s handlingchac
"Thegroundhandlingis awesomeb6
caussot lhe wide landin9g€ar, I makes
lh6 landingsv€rynice. My app.oachspeed
and landingsp€sda.€the exactsams. I'm
overthe fenceat 90, Ol cours6,with this
longwingit wanrsto glidsa tittt€moErhan
l h s C a s s u l t sI v e l l o w n . I w o u l ds a yt h e
rudder|s morssensitivethanthosson the
Cassutts.h's got a lantybrge nrdder.ptus
il's balanc6d,so it takesl€sslo.c6 on ths
ruddsrpedals. Rolland pitch are almost
pod€ctly balanced,as tar as harfiony is
concehed. 8o I rate is probablyavorage
l o . a l o n gw i n g F o r m u l aO n e- p r o b a b l y
a b o u l 8 0 d e g r s e sp s r s e c o n d . l t s n o l
spsctacular, but on the racecoursein tur
bulsnc€its reallyEsponsive in rcll,whichis
whal you want in a rac6r Pirch,lthink, is
comparabl€ to mosloi the FormulaOn€s.
"Anorherthing thatworksas inrondsdis
l h s l o n gw i n g . T h e a n p l a n e j u sdto 6 s nt
loss spsed aroundrhe pylons. This and
M i k €A r n o l d ' st h e o f i e sa b o u t h o w t h 6
canopy,the widepointof th6loselagsand
l h e t . a i l i n go d g eo f t h e w i n gs h o ! l d b s
aiign€dseemro b6 working.tthink he has
''Thisis by iar the mostcomtortabte
FoF
mulaOneIv€ flown, Youtesiftingiairlylar
r€€lined, and youve 9ol a lull armfest that
lhs srdeslickis mounrsdto. so you.armis
nor s!spended and afl6ctsd by G toads.
Euo byc.rdr cor
Wilha c€nlsrnount€dsrick,you ar€actu,
ally physicallyworking. On this, attI do is
move hy wnsr and I m g6ttin9ih6 same
kind ot cont.olrosponss.Th€cockpitis a
lot long6r'iore and afi, lhan il lookstrom
rh€oursid6.I'm 6 2" andif l'm not weanng
ny paachul€. I can b6Ely Each rhs rudd€r
' E v e r y b o d y s e ews h a lt h € y t h i n ki s a
headrsslwith a holdod ind€ntalion ior hy
holmsl,bul that'sacrually rhsrollovsrstruc-
t!re - it s 95% K€vlarand is integralwith
the s6ai backbulkh€ad,In llight,my head
ls w6llloRard oflhat structu.e- und6rthe
lallestparl ot the canopy.Visibilityout of
lhe canopyis 6w€som6.Youcan actuatty
rotalo your h€adaroundand s whersth€
.ace t.allic is. Th€ cockpit is v€ry,very
roomyand v€.y comlortabl€,
' ' A s o p p o s e dt o m y C a s s u t t w
, h i c hI
changedsvsry y€ar,this airplanswill n6vs
look difierentthan il does now. The onty
thingthatwillev€rchang6is lh6 dgin€ and
mayb€th6coolingan inletswillb€ smaller,
bul, physically, I will nsvsrchangethis at-
pran€.I rookal it and I don't thinkth€r€is
antthmg thal can be done ro maks it b€ter
thanil is now. Thal's,nyopinion.ltwould
havebeennic6it ir had b€€na titttBtightsr
rt wsighsaround600 pounds,but a lol ot
lhal was in tho composil€wingwhorsyou
hav6lo d€signlor toEionalrigidityas w6tl
astor bondingloads,and,on this airplans,
a iot ot b@ling up whsr€ th€ gea. is bolt€d
on, |n ev€ryca*, we rsan€dtoward sfety,
s o I m h a p p yw i t h t h 6 w a y t h € a i r p t a n €
tu.nedout and I'm.eallylookinglorward
sPoFrsnAN ptLof t3