Bear Cave News?

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Bear Cave News?

Betty,

Years ago, when I owned a 914, I joined the Porche club... first, simply so I could get their REALLY world class magazine.. (later, so I could thrash my little car on PIR)

I sort of 'pitched' the concept of a really first class ink&paper NagRag a while back, then, also pitched the concept of a website of "similar" name... (remember the domain I own that I "deeded" to NAG a while back?)

Similarly, I got the same response that Speedy is talking about.

I sincerely think that MUCH could be done here, given a large enough membership to initially fund something of the I&P nature....

Just thoughts from the peanut galley mind you..

We gonna meet up in Kelso, is it this weekend????

Got a new lens I need to get some practice with!

Wayner

[jarrodeu]

Re: Bear Cave News?

This is turning into one of those great threads again. Thanks Everybody!

Jarrod

[ShermB]

Re: Bear Cave News?

AGAIN, SORRY ABOUT THAT, GUYS and GALS.

Yes I will be at Kelso. I heard that the Military Vehicle Collectors
Club is supposed to have a TANK, maybe even a Sherman, and would love to have my pix taken at the controls.
Betty

[ShermB]

Re: Bear Cave News?

Hey Missy
Check your PM and get back to me, please.
Betty

[Skyracer]

Re: Bear Cave News?

AGAIN, SORRY ABOUT THAT, GUYS and GALS.

Yes I will be at Kelso. I heard that the Military Vehicle Collectors
Club is supposed to have a TANK, maybe even a Sherman, and would love to have my pix taken at the controls.
Betty

Kelso!!! Hey, I'll be in Kelso too. See you there.

[Shawn Aro]

Re: Bear Cave News?

By my Dad . It WAS A HARD FIGHT!

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Bear Cave News?

By my Dad . It WAS A HARD FIGHT!

Shawn,
Great picture of my dad, thanks for posting it. A couple of points, all week long after the heat races when you approached the Bearcat it smelled of hot oil, and hot metal, but after the Sunday races it was a different smell it smelled like burnt oil and burnt metal. That beast was spent! The second point was Lyle was spent also after those races, but when it was a win the adrenaline rush re-awakened, and renewed him. First place was what it was all about, second place is just the first loser. Great racing, with all this talk earlier about the Mojave race in 1975 I guess I'll have to watch that with my daughter this Saturday morning.

[speeddemon]

Re: Bear Cave News?

Great racing, with all this talk earlier about the Mojave race in 1975 I guess I'll have to watch that with my daughter this Saturday morning.

Someone posted something earlier about that....and for the record, the film is called "The Super Race". It is a wonderful time capsule for the good old days of racing. Has Sundancer and Sorceress going at each other in the Bipes, Gotcha!! showing everyone the short way around the course, and Shoestring just before she got suspended. But the Unlimited stuff is just wonderful--including some rare footage of the RB-51 in her debut race with the 'short' tail and the stubby ventral fin. I think there's even a short scene in there with a Clydesdale 'towing' Conquest 1 out of the pits. Shows you how windy it was out there that day too, when you see all the crap blowing across the ramp.

[Shawn Aro]

Re: Bear Cave News?

John glad you like the pic i enjoyed hering about the 1974 race my Dada told me too that wide would of sports pulled out that year because of everything that happen even thought they coverd the race they couldnt determed on a winner. So they did show it some time. Shawn my dad has a movie of that race too.

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Bear Cave News?

Mojave and Reno 1975 were the last highlights of the dark years that were ahead for ourselves and the Bear fans. Yes we didn't win at Mojave, Cliff took the win, BUT, we beat Darryl! So we won. Reno 1975 the Lyle brought the Bear home with the win.

Then the belly landing at Mojave in 1976. The utter despair that followed that event, the beginning of the sad years.
Lyle was finally able in 1979 to begin to build a new crew, and George Byard at Aircraft Cylinder and Turbine came across with a new engine for the plane, all we had to do was build it. 1980 saw some very late nights just trying to make the show.

The trip to Reno with the truck was both long and tiring as well as confusing. Chris Wood and I drove the truck up there but continued to stop and call Van Nuys, because we we were not sure of whether the plane was coming or not. It arrived at the end of the day and we were finally able to start to set up the pit. Chris and I had pulled in and started to set up the pit, people would come by and ask who we were there with, we wouldn't tell them. We figured if one of the phone calls told us the plane wasn't coming we would wait until everybody else left their pits for the day and just load the truck up and leave.

1980 we chased a lot of little problems that ARE being addressed in advance by Dave Cornell and the guys, I talk with dave regularly as my memory brings something up. In 1980 the week started off busy while we managed to qualify 4th we followed that up with hydraulic leaks on Friday leading to a no finish, followed by catastrophy on Saturday as the engine damage that had begun to show during the thrash at Van Nuys. The front cam timing was off, we didn't know it at the time but that damaged the blower drive bushings. The damage reared it's ugly head, it was a race we should have in retrospect just sat out. on startup the radio was dead, on takeoff the gear wouldn't retract right away causing Lyle to not make the start formation. Lyle made a big circuit off to the side to intersect the racers as they came down the hill joining from the outside and safely from well behind he started the race. He was flying magnificently as he started to move through the pack the wounded Wright gave up the ghost for the year. Lyle got her down and 1980 was in the books.

Rebuilding continued for the 1981 year Thanks to George Byard at Aircraft Cylinder, and going to Reno in a little better shape, Lyle qualified the airplane in sixth place just outside the then locked in top five. Clay Klabo in Fat Cat told mew he was relieved, the bear would be fast enough and he wouldn't have to worry about making Sunday's race.

Friday was what we all had worked for but it was just a tease not the the shift of fate we all were hoping for. Lyle settled onto the course and the plane responded well, the power was up, everything was a go and he passed Skip Holm in Jeannie at speed! (something no other Rare Bear pilot has done, pass Skip) but alas, when Saturday came around we burnt a piston due to a servicing mistake. all night thrash, Sunday ended the same DNF Burnt piston.

We trudged through too much to do in 1982 to get ready, so passing on that we came back in 1983, still not great this was one of the last years we would run the old style style blower drive, it was the beginning of seeing the light, we identified part of the problem but not quite the fix. Qualifying in 5th, was a start but falling behind with a 3rd on Friday a DNF on Saturday and then at the lowest point in actual Rare Bear Racing history we DNF'd in Sunday's Bronze. We met Lyle with our truck at the end of the runway and he went back in the other truck to the pits to debrief. I rode the brakes in the airplane as it made the long haul back to the pits.

As we went back to the pits with the plane some of the fans in the stands started calling out to Lyle to wave. I sat there in the cockpit doing nothing with Carl Schutte sitting on the wing root, as we moved along some fans still called out to Lyle who had already left, to wave. Carl looked over his shoulder, and asked me "why don't you wave?" I told Carl "I'm not Lyle." He said "this far out they can't tell, and they probably don't care." So I waved. Two people, two rows, four rows, a section, another section, soon almost the entire stands were standing and cheering for Lyle and the plane. suddenly even though we were at our lowest performance there was light.

The going got hard 1984 marked the first year that Dave Cornell took over as Crew Chief, and wisely that year dave evaluated the condition of the airplane and told Lyle, Sorry man it can't be done and be safe. tempers flared but Dave was on a mission and the big blower drive was part of the deal. I'd like to say it happened overnight but a very hard working crew took an additional four more years to get the Bearcat ready for what was to become the Domination that was to follow.

What it all boiled down to was the moment at Hamilton in 1988, Lyle had had another brilliant qualifying lap, to be followed by ignition problems on Saturday, they didn't stop us but they were concerning. Lyle's flying gloves had been stolen early in the day on Sunday, and Lyle is very particular about his gloves. While congratulating John Maloney on his run in the race earlier in the day I noticed that he had the same gloves on that Lyle liked. I asked John if he had another pair, he said Lyle can have these they were brand new this morning.

So with gloves in hand later that day we strapped Lyle into the beast. First there was no sign that anything was really different, Lyle took the start but Tiger took the lead. Lyle missed a floating pylon and started out across the bay but soon noticed that Tiger had turned. So coming back around and now slightly mad at himself for giving up that much he added the power necessary to catch up with "the Tige" I'm sure as Lyle closed in on Tiger (we have this on video at home) and Lyle told Tiger that he was making a pass, when Tiger replied "right" in his little voice of his own, I'm sure past performances were going through Tiger's head and visions danced in his mind of the Bear blood that was soon to be covering his canopy as the Bear would surely let go. But Lyle moved by, Tiger made him earn it but he went by, settled into his groove and with that move the domination for the next few years began. Few realized it then but the bear was ready. It had been thirteen years but the Bearcat was truly ready.

So all that was so I could say Dave Cornell will not be afraid to tell Rod Lewis "sorry man it just isn't ready", and when it is ready, I hope two things, I truly hope Mike Brown and Kerch are ready that would be a great show and I hope that Tiger has a bullet so he can be in the hunt for 2008. 2007 will be Ok but my money is on 2008 for the big one.

[speeddemon]

Re: Bear Cave News?

Are they copies available someplace. DVD? MPEG?

Anything is available for the right price......

Feiny or Teeny's dorito shavings, perhaps? Or one of their 'tea bags'?

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Bear Cave News?

Are they copies available someplace. DVD? MPEG?

Mom worked for a company that did Video post production work, and at one point had a lot of the stuff put on video, stuff I don't have but would like "Man for the record" and the "wide world of sports coverage over the years", I don't own the rights to any of it. So it was just for archives.

[Shawn Aro]

Re: Bear Cave News?

Don Ryder and Jack Sweeney purchased the Super Raced from Penizoil to promote the Lincoln Races dont know were that copy is my dad got to broower it to take it to show my class at school over the years . Shawn

[Deadstickdan]

Re: Bear Cave News?

BellCobraIV,

1980 was the first year I was at Reno and remember very well that particular race where Lyle started way behind. At the time he entered the course I was amazed at the speed he was going. I never knew then for sure and wonder if anybody still has any record of what his lap speed was during that race?


Dan

[sierra fox]

Re: Bear Cave News?

Mom worked for a company that did Video post production work, and at one point had a lot of the stuff put on video, stuff I don't have but would like "Man for the record" and the "wide world of sports coverage over the years", I don't own the rights to any of it. So it was just for archives.

Hi John, check your PM's

Anthony