Air racing legend announces retirement
August 9, 2011, 02:51 pm
The Experimental Aircraft Association reports that the famed air racing pilot, Jon Sharp, has announced his retirement. After 32 years of racing, Sharp has more victories in air competitions than any other pilot.
Sharp is the team leader of Nemesis Air Racing and holds numerous records, such as speed records on every course he flew on in both the Formula 1 Nemesis and NemesisNXT. His team won a record 15 titles at the Reno Air Racing National Championships. Between 1991 and 1999, Nemesis Air Racing won 33 out of the 36 Reno National Air Races in which it competed, and ended up with nine Formula 1 Class titles.
The Formula 1 Nemesis was retired in 1999, and the aircraft found a home in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. As a result of the aircraft winning 47 out of 50 of the races in which it competed, the museum dubbed it "the most successful aircraft in air racing history."
Sharp's team's next plane, the NemesisNXT, initially debuted at the 2004 Reno Air Races, but the plane was forced to withdraw that year and the next due to mechanical issues. In 2006, the aircraft began a run of four consecutive Sport/Super Sport Class championships in Reno.
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