Dear "Rare Bear Fan Sponsors,

This note is to express our sincerest appreciation for your sponsorship of the "Rare Bear" Air Racing Team for this year's Reno Air Races. Even though we didn't quite make it into the show, we wouldn't have been able to make it as far as we did without your support and sponsorship. And Lyle and I were most pleased to meet some of you and would have liked to spend more time visiting with you and showing you the ins and outs of the "Bear". For those of you who we were able to get up into the cockpit, I hope your cockpit checkout was informative and enjoyable.

Please be assured that when we accepted your financial support, we realistically expected to be qualified early in the race week and competitive in the Gold race. Unforseen circumstances dictated otherwise.

As you may have been aware, we came within hours of getting airborne and qualified. We ran into a glitch with the landing gear doors when a stripped gear prevented closing the "pocket doors". Even after that was resolved, we discovered during Wednesday evening's engine run that both of our alternators had failed. The gear issue was resolved just after the last qualification period closed, but we are still repairing the alternator circuit. We anticipate having the "Bear" ready for flight early next week, and hope to be one of the star attractions at the Nellis AFB, Nevada airshow on October 5th and 6th.

Without the dedicated support of our "Rare Bear" Sponsors we wouldn't have even had an engine at Reno this year and wouldn't have been able to make the noise that we did on the ramp on a daily basis. You should know that when I taxied the "Rare Bear" in front of the stands on Sunday while the Gold Race competitors were taking off, my juices were flowing and there was the strongest desire to just take off and join the other racers! Also be assured, however, that our better judgement will never allow us to jeopardize your investment in our ability to compete and race to win.

As we continue our operational testing and envelope expansion of the plane and engine, we will keep you informed of the progress and plans for next year's airshow season, and the 2003 races.

Again, your support was and is most appreciated. Since we didn't compete this year, your sponsorship and consideration as a member of the "Rare Bear" Air Racing Team will be forwarded on to next year's race. Knowing what we know about the plane, the engine, and the new race course, there's more than an even chance that you will be a part of the first air racing team to break the 500 mph barrier at Reno!

So' keep watching our web site. And, if any of you have specific questions about the plane and our team, please ask me at my new e-mail address: penneyjs@aol.com.

So, fly low and fast and keep the "Gs" up in your left turns!

John C. Penney,
Race Pilot
"Rare Bear" Air Racing Team