'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

[bulldawg66]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

Yes it has that raw look of mean, Kinda like the junkyard cat about to go eat some Doberman.

Or maybe gnaw on the nose of a certain breed of horse.....

Godspeed, Lyle.

[hattend]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

OT: BullDawg66, What's going on in your avatar picture?


Don

[Big_Jim]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

OT: BullDawg66, What's going on in your avatar picture?


Don

Looks like Bossman and Yeller to me.

[Leo]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

I have a bunch of shots of those two tofgether. Looked like they were glued together at times.
I'm looking at one of my photo's of RB that Lyle signed and a thought crossed, I should get a more recent one signed. Then I realized I could not...
Treasure those around us. Life is not forever

[hattend]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

Looks like Bossman and Yeller to me.

Ah, okay. I was looking at the prop and thinking it was a V-tail.

Boy, do I feel stupid!

Never post from a blackberry

Don

[MerlinV12]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

Sad to hear that he has passed away

[MMPerk]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

Thank you John...this means so much. Please continue to share those rare and special memories.

LP

In a twist of irony on Today, Tuesday June 15th Lyle would have turned 77 years old. In his honor I'd like to share a picture Pete Behenna took just prior to the as yet unnamed Bearcat taking it's first flight from Orange County to Chino.

[bulldawg66]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

Yep, Bossman and Yeller. Sorry for the delay - been vacationing in Destin before the tarballs arrive.

BTW - just read on another post that Mr. Lewis may race - great news! What of his other planes does he have at PRS besides the Bear? Did he do as I begged and pleaded and bring Big Bossman back???

[taglialavore]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

AAH, Wayne.. I have millions of great memories of my life and almost all of them would not have happened without Lyle and his influence. He took over the job when I was 6 years old, and in my opinion he did it well. He was a hell of a Granddad, too. Someday we'll get back to stories, but not yet.

I always enjoy a lot reading about Lyle Shelton.
Please John, keep on telling us more memories, feed our desire to know more about the best unlimited class race pilot. Thank you.

[BellCobraIV]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

1969 First Year for the "Able Cat" Lyle and the Original crew finished a marathon less than one year from wreck to racer program. They finished it in grand style really, they finished 5th in the Gold the first time out.

The name Able Cat was a take on the fact that the Skyraiders (AD) were called the Able Dog by their pilots and here the airplane had an R-3350-26WD actually a used engine that George Byard one of the owners of Aircraft Cylinder and Turbine, gave to Lyle for the racer. That was the beginning of the famous "well as long as it's fun, and nobody gets hurt, we'll supply the parts you supply the labor engine program that lasted for 90 percent of the Rare Bear program. Ultimately George Byard ended up with the only picture of Lyle and Darryl's Bearcats at Mojave 1975 that was signed by both pilots.

The propeller was from a DC-7, because they were really cheap and it fit well. Bill Hickle had made the engine mount for the R-3350/Bearcat combination. and Cliff Punam had done the exhaust as well as too many other thing to mention, Cliff was the only person that Lyle ever let own any of the Bearcat, he had done so much work that Lyle gave him a small partial ownership in the airplane, but Lyle converted back to 100 percent owner by the following year by buying Cliff out. george Williamson was a Navy Mechanic out of Los Alamitos Naval Air Station, hence the somewhat modern apearance of the first instument panel in the Bearcat on it's first outing as "loaner" instruments filled the little holes in the empty panel.

In 1971 or 1972 while the oxygen was being serviced the high pressure line broke and was flipping away on the oil covered ground and banging and popping like it was about to explode inside the oil soaked fuselage, as everybody else turned and ran away, including Austin Cranston who ran over picked me up and ran me away from the pit area. George Williamson jumped into the hell hole and shut the valve off before the airplane exploded and destroyed amajor chunk of Reno pit area real estate. In all probability if George had not acted so quickly there would have been no more Able Cat and some spectators could have been injured. There were no big trucks and trailers back then to contain the damage.

So here left to right back row - Bill Kientz, Bill Hickle, Lyle, Cliff Putnam, Harry Smith.

Seated left to right - Austin Cranston, Randy Difani, Dennis Buehn, George Williamson, and the photographer Pete Behenna.

The original crew also had Mel Gregoire as a new member, but it was a year or so before he made his first race trip with the team.

[Red]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

Great post John, I love the inside scoop stories.

[Big_Jim]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

So here left to right back row - Bill Kientz, Bill Hickle, Lyle, Cliff Putnam, Harry Smith.

Seated left to right - Austin Cranston, Randy Difani, Dennis Buehn, George Williamson, and the photographer Pete Behenna.

A couple of National Champion race pilots in their own right on that list there as well...

[BuckyD]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

My memory's getting a bit fuzzy on the edges, but here's one Lyle Shelton recollection I thought I'd share. I'm not sure of which Reno year it was exactly, but I do recall it wasn't long after our first meeting at the April '77 USARA Mojave Air Racing Clinic & Symposium. (At first thought it might have been his Reno '80 arrival, but maybe not.)

Anyway, my buddy Kim Spohn & I (who was also with me when I met Lyle at Mojave) were hangin' out at Stead Field after a day of shooting Unlimited arrivals. The sun had gone down, and darkness was settling in. I'm pretty sure that 'civil twilight conditions' were just about over, and the blue runway lights were on at the time.

We didn't have our scanners on, -figuring the day was done & it was time to go find some grub & then make camp to throw our bags down to turn-in, when we heard a big single-engine radial coming in on final approach for the main runway. I don't recall us seeing any landing lights in that direction at all.

We heard the plane's tires screech as they touched the pavement, and as the plane came taxiing-in towards the ramp, the sound of the motor & windmilling prop became familiar to us. It was Lyle Shelton & #77 Rare Bear! This particular landing must've been as routine as any of his many carrier night landings executed during Lyle's Navy military flying career.

Think some of Lyle's crew were on hand, but only a few as I recall, and The Bear soon got a tow to slip her over into #77's assigned pit stall. Kim & I decided to go check-out the Bearcat closeup before leaving to go eat at The Bonanza. This was before they installed all the great ramp lighting we have in-place now at Stead, and it was dark as the ace of spades in the pits.

When we walked up to the Bear pit, we ran into a shadowy figure carrying a flashlight in one hand and one of those red shop rags in the palm of his other hand. It was Lyle. We called-out a hello to announce our presence, while identifying ourselves & we were flattered when realizing Lyle instantly remembered us from our initial meeting at Mojave.

Lyle then said- "Hey you guys, come on over here & check this out. We just dropped the oil to check the screens, and come take a look at this..." (-while shining his flashlight onto the open rag in his hand, to reveal an impressive small mound of silver metal shavings glistening under the spot beam of light). He then asked one of us to take-over holding the flashlight, and proceeded to scrutinize the shavings while moving them around w/his index finger.

Kim & I responded to Lyle's direction & we just about had our noses in the oily mess as we stared closeup. Lyle then exclaimed in total deadpan- "Man alive, -looks like a cotter pin there! Ya know, I think I can even read part of a part number on that chunk there!" Tongue-in-cheek I'm sure now, Shelton had us squinting all the harder in amazement w/our jaws dropped open. Even though what we were seeing was evidence of some potentially-serious issues going on w/Rare Bear's race motor, Lyle still managed to maintain his great sense of humor, while entertaining his fans.

Here's some vintage shots from Reno '83 NCAR (the 20th-Anniversary), which might be the year of the afore-mentioned anecdote. It was yet another tough year for Lyle & his loyal Race #77 Rare Bear team.

Photos (L-R):

1. Mon. 9/12/83-Qualifying & Practice- Lyle Shelton's in Rare Bear's cockpit & son John Slack stands on the towbar, as N777L gets moved back towards her pit stall.

2. Tue. 9/13/83-Qualifying & Practice- Shelton & Race#77 go roaring-by the pylon & manage to log a speed of 432.047-mph for the 5th-fastest slot @ Reno '83.

3. Fri. 9/16/83- Rare Bear rests in her pit stall at night the day Lyle & #77 finished 3rd in Friday's UNL Gold Heat #1 @ 415.736-av/mph, behind leader Rick Brickert in #4 Dago Red (420.226) & Neil Anderson in #8 Dreadnought (418.225).

4. Sat. 9/17/83- #77 gets a tow back to the pits following another 3rd-place finish in Saturday's UNL Gold Heat #2 @ 432.339-av/mph, w/Neil Anderson & Dreadnought winning this heat (435.584) & Rick Brickert & Dago Red coming in second (433.889). Per air racing historian Gary Williams, it was the first time in air race history, that the top three Unlimiteds all exceeded 430-mph. I believe that's crew chief-Dave Cornell up on the wing, w/fellow crewman- John Slack riding up in the cockpit.

5. Sun. 9/18/83- #77 Rare Bear is seen parked in front of the grandstands immediately following the end of Sunday's 8-lap Reno '83 UNL Gold Championship final race & Lyle's last-place finish.

I'll now take the liberty of quoting from my friend-Gary Williams' book, which accurately best sums-up Rare Bear's disappointing showing in the Reno '83 Gold Race:

"Lyle had his problems in this Championship Race. First, he was having trim problems that necessitated his flying high which caused him to cut a pylon on the Pace Lap. Then he experienced a rough engine caused by bad plugs and possibly a faulty water system. He fought the problems until he had to pull out on the last lap and declare a Mayday while running 3rd. He landed hot on Runway 14 and, with his right wheel in the dirt, he blew a tire but rolled-out safely. On top of all this, while coping with his problems, he cut the Race Deadline and thus, in the final analysis, was disqualified."

Once again foiled, but undaunted, Lyle would be back w/#77 Rare Bear the following May/June for the '85 Bakersfield National Air Races & another go at Reno '85 w/John Penney piloting the Rare Bear f/Lyle...

DBD

('Special Thanks' to author/historian- Gary Williams, for your outstanding books- the best ref. available anywhere for air racing results!)

[BuckyD]

Re: 'Fly FASTEST!'- Remembering LYLE SHELTON

A pure & simple photo gallery tribute to Lyle & company...

DBD