Jon Sharp and his Nemesis NXT have broken a speed record that endured 19 years in a run down Runway 36/18 at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh on Wednesday. The tricked-out racer with a Lycoming Thunderbolt engine shattered the old record of 331 mph in the 3Km C1-b Speed Blast category by covering three kilometers in 18.75 seconds for a speed of 356 mph, according to the preliminary measurements. Although the final numbers may change, it seems unlikely they’ll vary enough to knock Sharp out of the record books.
The speed run took place in front of thousands of people lining the runway and was a prelude to what is hoped to be an even faster run on Saturday. For Wednesday’s flight, Nemesis had to be lean and light to fit the weight category. Saturday’s flight won’t have those restrictions and the team intends to hang every speed modification they can on the aircraft.
