Throw another unlimited on the Barbie

[sponsonhead]

For any of you who watched the unlimited race on line yesterday, This is Kevin Aylesworth and the U-21 yesterday. The boat got pretty well toasted. Kevin (see the white helmet in front of the boat) was ok, other than banging his knee on the way out of the boat. This happened right in front of the boat I was on in the infield of turn 2.

R-19

[seanp3]

I was amazed at how difficult it was to put that fire out. They just about had to sink the boat

[David_L6]

This happened right in front of the boat I was on in the infield of turn 2.

R-19

You lucky devil!

Just so you know next time...... Dan and I like to watch the Unlimiteds too.

[Brew56]

Pat,

Very good pic...best one I've seen of the fire. I was glued to my monitor for yesterday's races. You're brave to be out there, especially after the Oberto at Madison.. Hey, I noticed one thing...it seemed like Kevin's jacket did not float him very well in the water. Any idea why?

Too bad about JW. He really did well there. Looked like he was just trying to hold it right to the outside of Jean's spray but it got a little loose hooking up initially in the corner. I think he'll win in San Diego to close out the year.

Brew56
JDub Fan

[Abbott Racing]

it is optional to wear a lifejacket in the capsule boats.........

Not my idea of a good time though!

[Cameraboy]

You lucky devil!

Just so you know next time...... Dan and I like to watch the Unlimiteds too.

You guys need to come out for Stock Nationals next year - come a couple of days early, watch the unlimiteds in Seattle, then head to Moses Lake (or for a two week trip, you could catch both Tri-Cities and Seattle plus Nats). Dan could be our Internet media guy for Stock Nationals next year. We can put you out in a kicker boat with a camera for some racing shots.

[pro350hydro]

it is optional to wear a lifejacket in the capsule boats.........

Not my idea of a good time though!

Correct! If you are wearing a life jacket in a capsule boat, you could have difficulty getting out of the capsule due to the bouyancy of the life jacket. Most capsule guys do not wear them.

Mike

[sponsonhead]

You guys need to come out for Stock Nationals next year - come a couple of days early, watch the unlimiteds in Seattle, then head to Moses Lake (or for a two week trip, you could catch both Tri-Cities and Seattle plus Nats). Dan could be our Internet media guy for Stock Nationals next year. We can put you out in a kicker boat with a camera for some racing shots.

Thanks, glad you liked the shot. The real interesting thing (to me) is that if you look very closely at the left side of the canard wing in this shot, you can see his airhose. For some reason he was not able to easily detach his hose from the helmet when he exited the boat. I'm not sure what the cause of that was, but I'm sure that will be looked at.

R-19

[pro350hydro]

I saw the interview of Kevin on tv. He said he pulled the pin on the fire system and it didn't even phase the fire. He also said flames were making their way into the cockpit and he had to get out asap. He twisted his knee on exit.

[Cameraboy]

His crew also said he got out so fast that he didn't get all of the switches shut off, so it was still pumping fuel/oil and the electrical system was on. The fire suppression effort became a comedy of errors. The first fire boats on scene didn't have foam. Water on JP4 (jet) fuel and a burning motor with magnesium case halves isn't a good combination for knocking out flames.

When the City of Seattle's brand new fire boat arrived on scene a couple of minutes later, they found that their foam pump didn't work. More minutes passed, and the older city fireboat got there and dumped foam for several minutes. Even after the fire was out, there was still fuel coming out of the boat. Two fireboats escorted the tow back to the pits, with a firefighter on the deck of the hydro watching for a re-ignition. How'd you like to be that tow boat driver?

[sponsonhead]

The best of the photos now posted

Hi all,

I just posted the best of the collection of photos I took of the U-21 fire at Seattle
this weekend. You can view them at

http://community.webshots.com/user/sponsonhead

It's the first album on my page.

More racing photos from Seattle and Tri Cities will be posted when I
get time to,

Enjoy,

R-19

[WebinfoAPBA]

it is optional to wear a lifejacket in the capsule boats.........

OPC racers learned decades ago that when a driver is upsidedown in a capsule seat, with a full-type life jacket on (or even in just a ski-vest), it's nearly impossible to pull him down to get him out. The flotation works against the rescue.

So, since impact material isn't needed either, the jackets were redesigned to better suit a capsule situation.

The approved "Capsule Jackets" have basically no impact protection since the capsule will protect the driver from an impact, and it will only have very minimal flotation (about an inch of foam in the chest area only). The orange/yellow color helps rescue find you in murky waters. There are handles built into the shoulders to make it easy for rescue teams to yank you out.

This is from Lifeline's website:


NOTE: Race boats equipped with capsule and restraint systems require a special Racing Jacket with less flotation, while retaining the attention to quality and strength incorporated in all LIFELINE Racing Jacket designs.

WARNING: LIFELINE CAPSULE PANTS/JACKET and FLOTATION SUITS are to be used only in boats equipped with an Approved Capsule and Restraint System.

[Dave M]

Legal in Mod/Stock ?

I know of a few people that only wear capsule suit to race kneeldown. They said they were capsule suits, so can I assume the ones that wear these are not meeting the rules for Mod & Stock in APBA ?

[David_L6]

I know of a few people that only wear capsule suit to race kneeldown. They said they were capsule suits, so can I assume the ones that wear these are not meeting the rules for Mod & Stock in APBA ?

I've seen that too, and wondered the same thing.

[sponsonhead]

Capsule suit vs Torso suit

Funny you should mention that, because this very issue came up last week at Wakefield.

I was asked by the officials what the difference was between a Capsule suit vs a Torso suit lifejacket (it's the thickness of the padding in SRP jackets: Capsule suits have about 1/2" to 1" thick of padding in them vs a Torso suit which has 1-1/2 to 2"+ thick padding in it). When I explained it to them, I was asked by the referee to go down to a boat in inspection and look at the driver's lifejacket and determine which it was.

It turns out that the lifejacket in question as not an SRP jacket, but it was my feeling that the thickness of flotation in this jacket was adequate to float the driver. The way the rules stand in SO at present, there is no spec rating for thickness and ultimately, the race officials can request that the driver demonstrate the ability of his jacket to float and turn him.

I understand Wartinger and company are working on reviewing all the specs for safety equipment. My recommendation would be that lifejackets carry a letter rating system for each category so that when you have a capsule suit and a torso suit (which look identical from about 10 feet away), a simple peek at the label in the jacket can assure that the driver is wearing the correct jacket for their category.

R-19