Rare Bear September Fury

[mmu2]

Any news for us round motor fans ???

[GRNDP51]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

Any news for us round motor fans ???

Lewis' site says both are coming and La Patrona as well

[ArmyMP]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

Maybe we should ask the NSA. I am sure the site is on the watch list since Rare Bears armament is a thermo..........wait! I hear choppers.......leaves blowing around.....they are h

[Hawker Driver]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

Two questions on the Bear. When did it go from the R-2800 to the R-3350 and what year did it have a scoop??

[Dialtapper]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

Two questions on the Bear. When did it go from the R-2800 to the R-3350 and what year did it have a scoop??

I believe about 1969 is when Lyle bought the wreck, he converted it to a 3350.

It's never had a scoop, talk is it might be getting one in Texas about now.

[Big_Jim]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

It's never had a scoop, talk is it might be getting one in Texas about now.

It did at Mojave 1976. Bill Statler, Sr. installed a down-draft system with a rather flimsy scoop on top. Unfortunately, that was the when the engine seized in the qualifying run and Lyle bellied the plane in...sidelining it for four years. When they finally got it back together it was back to the stock carb system.

[Idaho_cowpony]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

Now....on the Bear, would a scoop of sorts today, actually be for intake, or simply more airflow around the heads?

[supercub]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

Will Rare Bear fly back to Reno or will they truck it there? I never did get the story straight on why they took it to Texas?

Brian

[GRNDP51]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

Will Rare Bear fly back to Reno or will they truck it there? I never did get the story straight on why they took it to Texas?

Brian

Pretty sure it was so Rod could have it near him in Texas? Reno was too far for him so he wouldn't be able to supervise it all the time... Something like that I remember hearing.

[flyingjibus]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

because this place is not in Stead

http://www.ezellaviation.com/

[Dialtapper]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

It did at Mojave 1976. Bill Statler, Sr. installed a down-draft system with a rather flimsy scoop on top. Unfortunately, that was the when the engine seized in the qualifying run and Lyle bellied the plane in...sidelining it for four years. When they finally got it back together it was back to the stock carb system.

I stand corrected.

I would guess it went back to leading edge inlet (stock) when Mr. Cornell came on board. Critical Mass was converted for the same reason.

[Big_Jim]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

I stand corrected.

I would guess it went back to leading edge inlet (stock) when Mr. Cornell came on board. Critical Mass was converted for the same reason.

It was rather rushed and not very well constructed. Several crew members were worried that it woud have blown off at speed if Lyle had been actuall able to race it. Everything about that year was rushed...even the paint was still tacky when he showed up for qualifying.

[ChrisMX105]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

Did it hurt visibility?

I also noticed in the pics that there was no change to the wing root inlets. Was all of the air routed through the cooler or just blocked off?

[Big_Jim]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

Did it hurt visibility?

I also noticed in the pics that there was no change to the wing root inlets. Was all of the air routed through the cooler or just blocked off?

I honestly don't know. Maybe BCIV would have a different perspective.

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Rare Bear September Fury

I honestly don't know. Maybe BCIV would have a different perspective.

The scoop on top was horribly "engineered" Lyle said visibility was affected in the take off and landing modes of operation. There was also a significant rumble from the air flow through the scoop. The limited use that the scoop had was enough to cause severe cracking. All of the wing root airflow was redirected to the oil cooler.

At the time Cornell started volunteering on the Bearcat he really didn't know much about airplanes, in the ensuing 33 years he has learned and developed a lot. Lyle was very involved in the Bearcats engineering but had been quite busy during the design of the ill fated Statler (Race Aircraft Configuration Engineering was the official name of their group, also the design team behind the "Wildfire" project.) After the 4 year hiatus Lyle remained very involved with all the aspects of the operations.

BTW Grumman gave us some information regarding the placement of both the wing root inlets, and the lack of a scoop on the top of the Bearcat design after our adventure, seems they had tested that also. While it would appear that a scoop on top of the nose is a good thing for the Bearcat there is a reason Ma' Grumman did not do that. Closing off the wing root inlets ala Conquest 1 was specifically mentioned as a no-no. It has a detrimental effect on the operating characteristics of the airplane.