Scaled Composites Pond Racer

The Scaled Composites Pond Racer, company Model 158, was a twin-engine, twin-boom racing aircraft that Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites developed for Bob Pond. Pond wanted a modern aircraft that could compete in the Unlimited Class at the Reno air races against vintage warbirds, so that fewer historic aircraft and engines would be lost. The airframe was built of carbon fibre and Kevlar and was powered by two Electramotive 3 litre V-6 engines based on the Nissan VG30, turbocharged and intended to make 1,000 horsepower each but never achieving more than about 600. It made its debut at the 1991 Reno races and qualified at 400 miles per hour in the Silver class. On September 14, 1993, during qualifying, an oil leak and engine failure led to a crash that killed pilot Rick Brickert, and the aircraft was lost.