A pilot in the US has set a new speed record in a homebuilt Thunder Mustang.
Pilot/owner/builder John Parker, a Formula One air race champion and holder of several speed records at shorter distances in his earlier Thunder Mustang (named ‘Blue Thunder’), took his successor machine, (‘Blue Thunder II’), to record speeds over a long course set up at the Golden West Fly-In last weekend in Marysville, California, reports generalaviationews.com.
Recording speeds of 361mph on the Saturday and 363.9mph on the Sunday, Parker blitzed the previous record of 330 mph. Parker’s class, C1c, is for piston-powered landplanes between 2,200 and 3,850 pounds. The record runs were made in accordance with international rules and were officially observed by Brian Utley, a representative of the National Aeronautics Association, the US arm of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the international organisation of record.
Though the record is for a distance of 100 kilometers, the course was laid out at a total distance of 142km and stretched out and back around an observer’s waypoint, with the average speed over the course counting for the record.
The Thunder Mustang is a modern replica of the P-51 Mustang, originally manufactured by North American Aviation, in ¾ scale and built with composite materials. Blue Thunder II is powered by a Falconer V-12 engine of 600 cubic inches and 640 horsepower. The fuel Parker ran the aircraft on was 115 octane ERC racing gasoline, with nitrous oxide also used during a portion of each run.
Parker and his Blue Thunder II will be attending AirVenture in Oshkosh in late July, and he’ll also be competing in the SuperSport class in the Reno Air Races in September, in case you’re lucky enough to be getting along to either of these major events.
To view details of Parker's record on the FAI website click here.
Image credit: W J Pearce.
