The last Rare Bear® update from Marc Weir and myself was sent out in February in our "Bear Facts" newsletter.

This message will go out by e-mail and on the Rare Bear® website. We will also have some ordinary mailings to people who cannot be e-mailed. If you get this message and are not presently on our e-mail list and would like to be on the list, let us know at rarebear@barnstormer1.com or fansponsor@rarebear.com, and we will put you on.

In addition to information in this message, we are including a letter (click here for letter) from Fan Sponsor Director Sharon Coates to National Air Racing Group (NAG) President John Clark and some others, summarizing much of our Rare Bear® effort. Also, we are including a report and interview that was conducted at Stead Airport recently by reporter Mark Daniels for www.aafo.com and its manager/owner Wayne Sagar (Interview at: http://www.aafo.com/racing/2002/rarebear2/). All this information should give interested readers a good sense of our program status.

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This is the key task for Rare Bear in 2002. Our object is to run a totally new power section with new condition crankshaft, rods, pistons, and cylinders, all assembled to the highest, tightest, specs and highest possible quality assurance (QA).

We needed  money for parts of highest quality. Crewman John Slack has been locating and selecting many needed parts, and old friend Tony Dodge of Dodge Brothers Auto shop in Granada Hills has been putting up the money to buy them. Most engine components have been transported to Aircraft Cylinder & Turbine Co near Burbank Airport. Work on building up the new power section for our R-3350 18 cylinder racing engine is underway as of this week. Owner-President Wayne Jones, supervisor Keith Dayton, and our long-time supercharger expert Mel Gregoire are determined  that this engine will be of the highest quality possible.

The new power section should be finished in about four weeks, depending on contract bearing re-plating, etc. The power section will then be mated with the inspected (and repaired) nose gear reduction section and rear supercharger (or blower) section. This 4,000 H.P. plus "porcupine" will then be hauled to our Van Nuys hangar where pistons, cylinders, and final assembly will be done. The engine will go on our engine mount, accessories will be attached to make a QEC (quick engine change) assembly.

The engine will probably be tested with preliminary break-in time on A/C Cylinder's truck-mounted test stand. The engine, when tested as satisfactory, will then be trucked to Reno-Stead Airport where the airframe is located.

Crew chief Greg Shaw and his Van Nuys mechanic crew will be very busy getting all this done during spare time, mostly at night and on weekends.

The engine should get to Stead by June 1st. The engine assembly will be installed on the Rare Bear firewall, run on the ground, and then tested with more engine break-in time in the air.

We then plan to fly the Rare Bear to Van Nuys for more work and preparation for the ' 02 race in September. A lot of this work will be done at the hangar in 95 to 105 degree humid conditions in Van Nuys during July and August! Do you still want to crew on a racing airplane?

The key to all the work above is cash-- money for the engine and other work, materials, supplies, tools and overhead expenses. Tony Dodge and Brothers have caused the engine project to start and they will continue to help. Our other present source of operating money is starting to come in from the "fansponsor" program run by team member Sharon Coates. We need a lot more "fansponsors", so read about it on the Bear website and spread the word to other friends and potential "fansponsors". Sharon's program has been very successful — especially considering the limited number of people contacted and aware of it. So, we need to contact more knowledgeable and dedicated air race fans — the "hardcore" — who come to every air race and competitive aviation event they can!

Airframe Project

Airframe work is presently being done by Reno volunteers at our Stead Airport hangar every other weekend. Don Dull is the Reno crew boss with Craig Boyer, Marc Weir (PR and web site guy also),  T.C. Williams, Matt Williams, and engineer Eric Ahlstom currently involved. With few drag reduction and other modifications slated for this year, we are not time constrained for airframe preparation at this time. We hope to get Ph.D. aerodynamicist Richard Tracy involved once more, if he can get subsonic again!

Fansponsor Program

This program, where the individual and family Rare Bear fans and boosters can become legitimate sponsors, is going very well. As I indicated previously, we are starting to fill orders for fansponsor jackets and credentials and have about 35 people pledged at this time. We think this activity will be rewarding and a lot of fun for full time team members as well as the fansponsors and their families.

The fansponsor concept is the idea of Sharon Coates of Payette, Idaho. Sharon has been coordinator-organizer for the Reno Nationals announcement stand for many years, as well as doing officiating and other tasks. She is creating a sizeable sponsorship for Rare Bear in the name and memory of her husband Doug, who passed away last October. So, as Sharon would say, she puts her "money where her mouth is" and Doug would be, and probably is, very proud of her.

So, Sharon's fansponsor program and Doug's sponsorship are positive sources of inspiration and "Let's get it done now" energy and activity.

You can review the fansponsor program by clicking here and by referring to Sharon's attached letter.

Major Sponsor Search

Rare Bear pilot and UAL captain and test pilot John Penney has been working with several potential major sponsors in the recent past. John and I are presently talking to three organizations that are interested in our Rare Bear Program as a  promotional/public relations/advertising entity for their purposes. This would be done by competing in the Reno races, flying demos at airshows and other suitable public events, and also static displays at various sites and public happenings. We could also set selected aircraft speed and performance records in our travels for a little extra attention. Then there are always Hollywood people talking up an air racing movie, but it never seems to happen.             .

I won't go into any detail about these possible sponsor companies, but there are some good chances for very compatible and beneficial business agreements.

Bill Neuman and his super-tug will be towing us again this season.

Air and Space Museum will be presenting an article about Rare Bear in an upcoming issue. Additionally, there will be a book on racing Bearcats which will have quite a bit about Rare Bear and will be available at the September races. Additionally, a TV production crew from the bay area will be coming out to finish some filming for a cable channel production they're working on.

For some additional information, there is an interview with myself by Mark Daniels conducted last week in the hangar at Reno Stead Airport. Check www.aafo.com. Also check with www.pylon1.com . This site has a lot of air racing information and they have been very good to Rare Bear.

In our next update we will list crew and team members, all the fansponsors, and other involved individuals and organizations.

Thanks for your time, interest, and dedication,
Lyle Shelton
529 mph!

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