Cassutt Sport Racer- Anybody Fly/Flown one?

[RyanB]

Looks like they’d be a blast to fly!

 

[JCranford]

That looks like fun!

 

[wilkersk]

I really want to build a IIIM with the new wing and go race at Reno. Just need a qualifying speed better than 200kts and a safety check to get into PRS (I think). And, the entrance fee of course! ;-)

 

[ChemGuy]

Ive been looking at these for years...want so bad. No way i could fly one yet. With a race wing your downwind at ~140-150 mph...fast planes...

There's a thread on homebuiltairplanes with a lot of old timers that built and raced these in the 60's and up.

 

[tawood]

Looks like they’d be a blast to fly!
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I always wanted one...but then, I always wanted a Pitts too. Then I once stood at the side of a turf runway when a Pitts landed, and watching it land scared me (my only tw experience is in slow Taylorcrafts). I think this would probably scare me too.

 

[steingar]

I see them for sale every so often, not even for that much money. Some day...

 

[DaleB]

A friend of mine had one. It did look like it was a blast to fly. You definitely do not, however, want to land one off airport. Think plowed field, small wheels, high stall speed... pretty sure way to have a bad day.

 

[wilkersk]

I always wanted one...but then, I always wanted a Pitts too. Then I once stood at the side of a turf runway when a Pitts landed, and watching it land scared me (my only tw experience is in slow Taylorcrafts). I think this would probably scare me too.

View attachment 60036

Landing the Sonerai is pretty exciting, compared to the Citabria I got my TW endorsement in. Out of nearly 100 landings in the 30 hours I’ve got in her, I remember only 2 where I exactly nailed the landing with no fish tailing on rollout.

If you stay on speed for the whole final, you won’t see the runway. So, I keep the speed up on the downwind and make a lazy curving turn to final and I don’t slow down to 70 till short final. I can make the first turn off most times. But if I’m high at all on final, I know I’m gonna have a long taxi back to the hangar.

 

[ChemGuy]

Here is a video from Reno with some data. Nice speeds.... But look at that take off and landing speed...eek.

 

[2Airtime2]

Here's my grandpa. He raced all over the country in the 60's and 70's including Reno.

 

[Tarheelpilot]

Landing the Sonerai is pretty exciting, compared to the Citabria I got my TW endorsement in. Out of nearly 100 landings in the 30 hours I’ve got in her, I remember only 2 where I exactly nailed the landing with no fish tailing on rollout.

If you stay on speed for the whole final, you won’t see the runway. So, I keep the speed up on the downwind and make a lazy curving turn to final and I don’t slow down to 70 till short final. I can make the first turn off most times. But if I’m high at all on final, I know I’m gonna have a long taxi back to the hangar.

On the sonerai I fly we took the spring chains off the tail wheel and replaced with a solid steering rod. Made it much more behaved on the ground.

 

[wilkersk]

On the sonerai I fly we took the spring chains off the tail wheel and replaced with a solid steering rod. Made it much more behaved on the ground.

I have a solid steering link on mine as well. I suspect there’s too much slop in the tail wheel castor. I have a new one. But, I haven’t installed it yet.