The Red Baron competed unstreamlined - without it's fairing - for the final event of the 2021 season in the Modified, Pushrod Blown Gas (M-PBG) class. Smitty and The Red Baron had already set the record in this class at 108.476 mph in May 2018. The goal was to break the record, hopefully going around … Continue reading Nov. 2021: El Mirage *New Record*
Oct. 2021: El Mirage *New Record*
Competition Class: 350-cc MPS-PBGModified Partially-Streamlined ChassisPushrod Blown Gasoline EngineStarting Number: 47 (Group 2)First event with family! RUN OBJECTIVE: BREAK THE REOCRD The Red Baron was tuned up after September 2021, since the cylinder head temps were nice 'n' cool with new engine ducting providing ram-air cooling evenly to the front and rear cylinders. A thinner head gasket upped … Continue reading Oct. 2021: El Mirage *New Record*
Sept. 2021: El Mirage
The run wasn't perfect, but still reached a speed of 120.996 MPH, my personal fastest run ever!
A season of mileage in a day
The El Mirage July race event was cancelled last weekend due to excessive heat, but we made lemonade out of that lemon by still having our own testing day.
Jun. 2021: El Mirage *Rookie Runs*
Last weekend was my rookie event as a rider at El Mirage Dry Lake, after 7 seasons as crew chief! The goal for the day was not top speed, but rather (1) break in the engine after getting the cylinders replated and installing new rings, and (2) evaluate the ergonomics of a new seat and … Continue reading Jun. 2021: El Mirage *Rookie Runs*
The Red Baron is back at El Mirage!
It was a successful, fun, and exhausting day of practice at El Mirage! Smitty and I were "back home" at El Mirage Dry Lake with The Red Baron today! We had the nearly-pristine lakebed to ourselves, and there was a gusty cross-wind that rose with the heat. It was above 90-F by the time we … Continue reading The Red Baron is back at El Mirage!
Performance Testing with a Power-Absorber
After the reverse-shift pattern dynamometer disaster and rebuild efforts we decided to conduct future performance testing ourselves. Smitty created a power-absorbing unit that uses a spare rear wheel attached to a large brake assembly. To gather engine performance data, the operator needs to balance the force of The Red Baron powering the rear wheel with … Continue reading Performance Testing with a Power-Absorber
Practice at El Mirage with the Mighty Mouse
Now that Smitty has achieved his land speed record at Bonneville, he is looking forward to being a crew chief as I become the primary rider for The Red Baron. It's my turn to wear a leather racing suit in the heat! We drove out to El Mirage Dry Lake on Monday with Smitty's other … Continue reading Practice at El Mirage with the Mighty Mouse
El Mirage Record Run – July 2017
The Red Baron achieved its first land speed record at El Mirage! The instrument panel of The Red Baron shows the engine performance throughout a race run. In this record run, The Red Baron exhibited partial detonation in the rear cylinder, shown by the cylinder head temperature (C.H.T.) spiking from 400-degF to near 600-degF in … Continue reading El Mirage Record Run – July 2017