TONY LEVIER'S RACING P-38 LIGHTNING

Spec Cast announces the production of Tony LeVier's Racing P-38 Lightning! This new plane features a 10.7 inch wing span (1:58 scale), metal die-cast, spinning props and wheels, authentic graphics and markings and limited edition production!

Historical Note:    Tony LeVier was a veteran of prewar pylon racing who couldn't wait to get back in the saddle at the 1946 Cleveland meet.  He didn't have any big money sponsor, and funds were limited, so he had to go racing in the simplest, most economical way possible.

This need to economize led him to the twin engine Lockheed P-38 configuration.  But it was not just that P-38s were cheap and plentiful on the surplus market.  LeVier liked the good power-to-weight ratio and reasonable wing loading for tight turning and hard acceleration off the turns.  He liked the opposite rotating propellers that canceled torque effects and helped stability in tight turns.  It's also not generally know that LeVier had intended that his pylon racer would double for complex stunting demonstrations at various air shows--and the P-38 was ideal for that.

LeVier didn't make radical modifications on the $1,000 P-38L model he bought in the summer of 1946.  It was mostly a matter of stripping out every ounce of unneeded hardware: guns, ammunition racks, armor plate, some instruments, the engine' turbo-chargers, and intercoolers, and so on.  In all, he dumped some 2,300 lb., dropping the empty weight of his plane to 11,400 lb.  Doesn't sound like much reduction on a percentage basis, but stripping out over 2,000 lb. took some doing on any World War II fighter plane.  LeVier also added two small, light-weight gas tanks that allow him to run a very rich fuel mixture for the 300 miles.

The basic F series Allison engines in the P-38L model had 8:8:1 turbo-charger gear ratios and could deliver about 1,700 hp each at 3200 rpm on 70 in. manifold pressure with full throttle on 115/145 grade fuel.  Admittedly, the engines suffered detonation, but the extra rich fuel-air mixture helped.  LeVier did not attempt to fit water injection.

As for aerodynamic cleanup, LeVier was careful to give the plane a high-gloss paint finish--fire engine red, incidentally--and the night before the 1946 Thompson, the and his crew spent hours using rolls of Scotch® tape to seal over every seam between aluminum sheets on the outer skin.  This stuff began peeling off from aerodynamic pressures during the race, making a gooey mess after the race.  And the benefit was questionable.  LeVier never tried the tape-over routine again.

But the plan was a reasonably good performer, considering its size and weight.  Sea level top speed at full throttle and 3200 rpm (3,400 hp total) was between 390 and 400 mph, suggesting an equivalent parasite area of 6.5 sq. ft.  That was a shade better than a stock P-38L.

And no one can argue with results.  Tony took second place in the 1946 Thompson, fifth in the 1947 race--and he won the 1947 Sohio Trophy race for P-38s only.  His total prize winnings paid for the plan and modifications several times over.  Add to this his fees for stunting exhibitions; LeVier was one of the few who made racing pay.

Item Number: AA41014

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