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The
Sharp DR 90 Nemesis
is a Formula One racing
aircraft designed by Jon
Sharp and built at the
Mojave Airport by the
Nemesis Air Racing Team.
The Nemesis originated as an
attempt by Jon Sharp to
build a Shoestring racer,
with composite skins over a
steel frame. Along the way,
Dan Bond convinced him to
use an airfoil with
extensive laminar flow and
finally, Steve Ericson
helped Jon design a sleeker,
all composite airframe. All
that remains of the original
“plastic Shoestring” is the
horizontal tail. The steel
space frame was sold to Dan
Gilbert and became the guts
of his Shadow Formula One
air racer. Although Shadow
looks much like Nemesis it
is fabricated differently
and has a completely
different wing.
The success of the aircraft
led Jon Sharp to design a
follow-on type, the Nemesis
NXT.
The most successful aircraft in air racing
history, Nemesis dominated its competition,
winning 45 of its 48 contests from 1991
until its retirement in 1999. Flown by pilot
and designer Jon Sharp, it won nine
consecutive Reno Gold National Championships
and 16 world speed records for its class.
Nemesis was the International Formula
One points champion every year from 1994 to
1998. In 1991 it won the George Owl Trophy
for design excellence. In 1993, '96, and
'98, it won the Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale's Louis Blèriot Medal for the
greatest achievement in speed. In 1993, '94,
'95, and '99, Nemesis won the Pulitzer
Trophy for air racing speed records. The
airplane is built of pressure-molded
graphite epoxy foam core sandwich.
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Manufacturer: |
Nemesis Air Racing
Team |
Date: Circa 1990s
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 6.25 m (20 ft 6 in)
Length: 5.6
m (18 ft 6 in)
Height 2.2 meters (7 feet
5 inches)
Weight, gross: 236 kg (520 lb)
Top speed: 467 km/h (290 mph)
Engine:
Continental O-200 air-cooled engine, 100 hp
Source:
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
& Wikipedia
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