Sharp Nemesis NXT

Sharp Nemesis NXT
Sharp Nemesis NXT at Mojave
Role Racing aircraft
Manufacturer Sharp Air Racing
Designer Jon Sharp
First flight July 10, 2004
Variants Sharp Nemesis
A Nemesis NXT built by Dan Wright of Santa Barbara taxis at Mojave

The Sharp Nemesis NXT (which stands for "Neoteric eXperimental Technology"[1]) is a sport-class kit-built aircraft designed for air racing. It was designed by Nemesis Air Racing's president Jon Sharp, as a follow-on to the highly successful Sharp Nemesis. It is a two place, single engine, low wing, retractable gear kit aircraft. As designed, the aircraft is powered by a Lycoming TIO-540-NXT "Thunderbolt" six-cylinder engine.[2][3]

Racing history

The prototype Nemesis NXT, race number 3x (N333XT), flown by Jon Sharp, won the 2008 Reno Air Races Sport Class championship, setting a new race record speed of 392 mph. During the ten-day event, Sharp also set a heat record of 393 mph and during the qualifying set a record of 409.297 mph (355.67 kn), the first time a racer in this class broke the 400 mph speed barrier (speeds of over 400 mph are usually only turned in by Unlimited Class racing aircraft).[2] A second NXT, race number 42 fielded by Relentless Racing, finished fifth with an average speed in the gold race of 336.526 mph.[4]

Records

On July 30, 2008, Sharp set an FAI class C1b world record for speed over a straight 3 km course at 573.46 km/h (356.33 mph).[5] On September 20, 2009, Sharp won the Super Sport Gold race at Reno with a speed of 407.061 mph.[6] On Wednesday, September 16, 2009, Sharp qualified first with a speed of 412.554 mph for the top spot in the Super Sport class at Reno.[6] On Thursday, September 17, 2009, Sharp set a Super Sport race record of 383.292 mph. On Friday, September 18, 2009, Sharp beat the previous day's record with a speed of 399.336 mph. On Saturday, September 19, 2009, Sharp set another record with a speed of 406.051 mph. This is the first homebuilt aircraft ever to exceed 400 mph average race speed on the Reno course. On Sunday, September 20, 2009 Sharp set yet another record by winning the Super Sport Gold race at a speed of 407.061 mph. He also earned his 15th National Championship which was also a record thus completing the "Record a Day and Two on Sunday" Reno campaign of 2009. Jon Sharp announced his retirement from Pylon Racing on August 3, 2011 as the winningest pilot in history.

Photo by David Hackett

Specifications

Wing span 24 ft (7.32 m)
Wing area 70 sq ft (6.5 m2)
Length 23 ft (7.01 m)
Stall speed 79 kn (145 km/h, 91 mph)
Cruise speed 280 kn (520 km/h, 325 mph )
Maximum speed 350 kn (650 km/h, 405 mph)
Range 1462 mi (2340 km)
Engine Lycoming TIO-540NXT 350 hp
Empty weight 1600 lb (726 kg)
MTOW 2597 lb (1179 kg)
Climb rate 3200 fpm (16 m/s)
Tank capacity 90 US gallons (340 liters)
Fuel consumption 20 GPH (76 l/h)
Endurance 4.5 h

References

  1. ↑ Relentless Air Racing website
  2. 1 2 "History Made at Reno by Jon Sharp and Lycoming", Lycoming News
  3. ↑ Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al.: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 113. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
  4. ↑ Reno 2008 race results database, Reno Air Racing Association
  5. ↑ FAI world record database
  6. 1 2 Racing results, Reno Air Racing Association
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