94SUN60

1994 SUN 60 RACE RESULTS

AIRCRAFT	PILOT	HP	SPEED (MPH)
1. SF260B	Robert Gandt	260	240
2. SF260	Neil Bird	260	236
3. Beech V-35B	Wayne Collins	300	236
4. Twin Bonanza	Bill Schutzler	590	223
5. 260 Comanche GTO	Curt LoPresti	260	220
6. Twin Bonanza	Kenneth Oddy	590	216
7. Swift	Charlie Nelson	210	216
8. Cessna 185	Tommy Rose	300	216
9. Mooney M-20E	Jerry Chasteen	200	212
10. Twin Bonanza	Richard O'Brien	550	209
11. Mooney 201	John Keating	200	206
12. 250 Comanche	Paul Nunn	250	206
13. 250 Comanche	Lee Hussey	250	202
14. Bellanca Viking	Vince Lyons	300	199
15. Cessna 182	Donald Cory	230	196
16. Swift	Don Duke	180	193
17. Swift	Murry Wilson	180	185
18. Grumman AA5B	Carolyn Skaggs	180	185
19. Cessna 182	Jack Johnson	265	182
20. Cessna 182Q	Todd Huvard	230	180
21. Piper PA28-140	Art Mattson	150*	173 *
22. Piper PA28-180	Russel Revis	180*	168 *
23. Piper PA28-151	Jean Callis	160**	166*
24. Piper PA28R	Torello Tacchi	180	162
25. Piper PA28-160	Richard King	160*	162*
26. Piper PA28-140	Henry Gubler	150*	*158 L.F.**
27. Yankee AA1	Hank Austin	108	152
28. Cessna 182	Wood Fair	230	150
29. Luscombe 8A	Robert Franklin	65	128
30. 260 Comanche	John Harper	260	DNF

* Cherokee models

** 170hp Victor Engine

RACE RESULTS ANALYZED

The SUN 60 RACE is a timed race that starts from a dead stop on the run way. The racers start one at a time at the drop of the starting flag every 20 sec. with a flying finish. The race coarse is approx. 64 mile triangle. The 1994 race was calculated by the race officials to represent the top speed of the airplane during the straight-aways.

ALL AIRPLANES ARE GIVEN A RACE NUMBER. THIS # HAS TO BE ONE FOOT HIGH, USING 2-INCH WIDE TAPE AND PLACED ON THE AIRPLANE SO THAT IT CAN BE SEEN BY THE OBSERVERS PLACED AT EACH TURN. AS EACH CONTESTANT APPROACHES EACH TURN, HE MUST, BY RADIO CONTACT, CALL OUT HIS RACE # AND TURN #. IF YOU ARE OBSERVED CUTTING A TURN YOU ARE DOCKED A MINIMUM OF ONE MINUTE(approx. 6 mph). IF YOU ARE NOT SEEN AT ALL, YOU ARE DISQUALIFIED. YOU MUST BE SEEN AT ALL TURNS. ANYBODY THAT HAS BEEN IN THE RACE KNOWS THIS!! YOU CAN BE SURE THAT ANY UNUSUAL RESULTS ARE THOROUGHLY CHECKED OUT!!

This year was an excellent year to show the benefits of horsepower vs. aerodynamic modifications. To do this we have to make one assumption, that the Victor engine in the PA28-151** was actually capable of putting out 170 hp as inferred by Victor Engines. This is quite possible. Assuming this we now have 150hp, 160hp, 170hp, and 180hp PA28's to compare. Starting with the 150hp, there is a 4 mph difference to 160hp, a 4 mph difference to 170hp, a 2mph difference to 180hp. This comparison is unique because of the unusual 10hp increments

Now, we look at my airplane with 150hp, which I claim is aerodynamically cleaner than the others.

At 150hp it is 5mph faster (173mph) than the 180hp PA28 and 15mph faster than the other 150hp PA28. Keep in mind that all of these airplanes have performance modifications done to them and they are fast PA28's

FROM MY POINT OF VIEW THESE RESULTS CLEARLY SHOW THAT AERODYNAMIC MODIFICATIONS ARE A LOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN ADDING HORSE POWER TO YOUR AIRPLANE!!!

Even if I had the normal clean up mods on my airplane it would take over 200 hp to achieve 173 mph, based on the above hp increments verses speed increase. Now if you go to the Piper Manual on the PA28-235 (235hp) you will see that Piper only claimed a top speed of 166mph out of a stock 235hp PA28.