Unlimited Updates???

[tjyak50]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

Man, sure is cutting it close.

But I suppose in the long run, it sounds like they have taken care of some older issues that will serve the airplane for years to come (firewall, tail, etc.).

I can't remember a more promising year.
Some big guns ready to run this year.
Very cool.

[DWYER]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

Just in hopes of better understanding the Bear's 3-blade.... The 3-blade was used for several years for racing at reno with success. Or so I remember. Why did they leave it on for so long if it was found to race better with a 4-blade? Did it just take that long for experimentation and development? Just curious... Can't help but love the sound of it. But all in all, go with whats fastest and safest.

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

Just in hopes of better understanding the Bear's 3-blade.... The 3-blade was used for several years for racing at reno with success. Or so I remember. Why did they leave it on for so long if it was found to race better with a 4-blade? Did it just take that long for experimentation and development? Just curious... Can't help but love the sound of it. But all in all, go with whats fastest and safest.

Part of it was simply lack of $$. The "old" four blade needed an overhaul and they really didn't have it available until after a "lend lease" agreement with Critical Mass... where Tom Dwelle and crew got the prop, overhauled it, used it one year and then gave it back in good repair..

[Embdad]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

Mustang Fan asked about the pink motor for Voodoo. That had a case problem they discovered on the test stand and had to send it to the machine shop to repair. We should have it for next year along with at least one of the the other modifications Bob has talked about

Dan

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

Hey MMPerk or anybody else that can chime in,

Those wheels are not the original Bearcat wheels or even wheels that Rare Bear used to have in older pics that I have seen. Not sure when they switched to these but could someone tell me what aircraft they were originally used on? They look almost like an F-102/106 wheel. I'm doing some research for a model of Rare Bear and would like to know if anyone knows the origin of these wheels. Thanks for any help and I can't wait to see the Bear in a new coat! It would be really awesome to see the big 3 blade prop back on but as I understand it, the 4 blade flies better.

See you in Reno!

Lyle landed the Bear at Watsonville in 1997 and complained about running out of brakes before the airplane stopping. Brakes had been a concern on Rare Bear always and many many nights were spent on the ramps at Mojave, Reno, Miami, and Cape May changing the brakes out two to three times an event. It was one of the jobs that was a real manpower and parts monster. So with a healthy engine early in the year 1997, Lyle asked me to figure the brake modification out. I made the prototype part and after making the parts Bill Hickle did the structural calculations on them and we had a winner. Unfortuantely, it had not had a chance to fly on the new brakes so they had to be done with the restriction that no permanent modification would be done to the airplane. The day before leaving for Reno 1997, Lyle asked if they were a go for testing, Greg Shaw said that if they could be on the airplane in the morning for the last test flight then he would go along with testing. Lyle took off tested the airplane and on landing as the airplane came to settle on all three points Lyle gave it enough brake to pull the tailwheel off the ground. Something the old brakes never did consistently, mission accomplished. Lyle always wanted enough brake to put the plane on it's nose if surving a short runway landing made that necessary for survival, (ie. cliff at the end of Steads runway) He finally had that capability. The brakes are modified T-33 Dual disc assemblies with modified wheels and specialized bracketry. Dave Cornell when he took the airplane over after Rod Lewis bought it said that was the best thing that had been added to the airplane.

[MustangFan]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

Mustang Fan asked about the pink motor for Voodoo. That had a case problem they discovered on the test stand and had to send it to the machine shop to repair. We should have it for next year along with at least one of the the other modifications Bob has talked about

Dan

Thanks very much for the update Dan. Sorry to hear about the case issues, but that's what test stands are for, eh?
Best of luck to the Voodoo team and the Green Monster motor. Hope to see them in the Gold Final on Sunday.

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

John,

Thanks for the brake story! You and I have talked several times about the modifications you'd done in this area of the Bear and I hoped you'd chime in with a first person account of the grafting of the better system onto the exsiting struts.

[wrbrdmech]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

Hey John,

Thanks very much for the skinny on the brakes and wheels. Is that a one piece wheel or does is split? If it splits, is the outer part of the wheel (with the spokes) also from a T-33? If I can't find that wheel in 1/32 scale on another kit, I'm going to have to make one. Doing a model of The Bear. But I love the tech answers on here cause I wrench on them too.

Thanks,
wrbrdmech

[Inverted]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

IM curious about the P-3 prop on Bear in the first place. What was the reasoning for choosing it? If it is counter productive why are other teams using it? Or did the other teams go another route as well?

[MMPerk]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

Hey John,

Thanks very much for the skinny on the brakes and wheels. Is that a one piece wheel or does is split? If it splits, is the outer part of the wheel (with the spokes) also from a T-33? If I can't find that wheel in 1/32 scale on another kit, I'm going to have to make one. Doing a model of The Bear. But I love the tech answers on here cause I wrench on them too.

Thanks,
wrbrdmech

A big thanks to John for the history behind the brakes.

And the wheels do split.

I made another quick visit to Stead today and the prop is on, and the painting is coming along. I'll have a couple of pictues up soon.

LP

LP

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

I made another quick visit to Stead today and the prop is on, and the painting is coming along. I'll have a couple of pictues up soon.

Cool Lonnie! Those people are amazing! A couple weeks ago, we were all scratching our heads....

Now look at her!!!

Just updated http://rarebear.com/ with a selection of your current photos.. send on what else you have and we can keep that updated as well..

Nice to have Lonnie where he is ey!!

THREE CHEERS FOR STEADMAN!!!

[Jeff E]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

So.. this may seem like an ignorant question... but As i was looking at those awesome pics.. (thanks) Have they or will they actually fly her soon ? Or is it that they have had her part so many times that they already know how she will fly? Does that crew look at it as a given?

Thanks

Jeff

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

So.. this may seem like an ignorant question... but As i was looking at those awesome pics.. (thanks) Have they or will they actually fly her soon ? Or is it that they have had her part so many times that they already know how she will fly? Does that crew look at it as a given?

Hey Jeff, not an ignorant question at all. The Bear guys have literally been in the trenches with that airplane since about 2002 (current batch) In the early days with this current core group, the lack of material resources had to be and was made up with just pure effort and mechanical smarts... "get 'er done" attitude many many long nights.

Last year and this year was really more "polishing", going back and doing some things that had been thought of but either for lack of time or $$ in the past, had not been truly considered. Plus there really a complete inspection of the entire airframe to take care of whatever was needed to keep the Bear in the Air for years to come.

It's always an unknown whenever you take any machine apart, make changes and put it back together but if you do your stuff right and the gods are with you... it all works out..

I think, as far as how she'll fly, they really didn't do anything that radical that would change the flight characteristics. For the most part, they went after some nagging issues, not complex, not aero, just hard work...

Looks like the "got 'er done'!

[BellCobraIV]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

Did RCH just delete all of his posts? There was good stuff there.

[Lance]

Re: Unlimited Updates???

Did RCH just delete all of his posts? There was good stuff there.

Whoever RCH was they seemed to be quite knowledgeable about what was going on in Shafter and elsewhere, not mention being a serious Strega supporter. Can anybody confirm what RCH said about Czechmate's wings? I guess we will know soon enough.