Rear Bear has special importance to me. My best friend from childhood, Lyle, picked most of the plane ( crashed) up, on a trailer and drove to my home where it sat for a week. The plane was rebuilt by a wonderful group of mostly volunteers, to eventually become Rare Bear, and speed record holder ! Lyle passed away at age 77….the number Rare Bear carried.
Reno is at ground level, but WW2 fighters like the Bearcat were designed to fly their fastest at about 30,000 feet, for dogfighting and to escort bombers. So what top speed would Rare Bear be able to reach at 30,000 feet, a/ if no adjustments were made to its current engine and b/ if it were adjusted to give its best at 30,000 feet?
Every enthusiast needs to witness this bird fly in person. The sound will send chills up and down your spine, the giant motor combined with the unique sound of propellor tips breaking the sound barrier, it's an experience you'll never forget. Make the trip! Hopefully Mr Bear will fly at the next Reno race.
Propeller tips do not break the sound barrier on props or helicopters. There was only one plane that occurred on. It was the F-84 Thunderstreak, it had a counter rotating turboprop it was one of the loudest planes. Called it the thunder screech.
@@davidefland1985 100% bullshit. Every T6 racer spins it's prop fast enough that the tips go SS. F1 racers do the same. Some if the sports and even some unlimited racer do this.
@@davidefland1985 I am the leading mechanic at Viking Air, I have done extensive work on radials, especially the Wasp Junior Radial, I can assure you that on take off, the prop tips on the beaver are spinning faster than the speed of sound. Trust me I know.
Congratulations........ Best Reno videos I have seen. No rock music, no commentary, just airplane sounds and damn good camera work. Great quality. Thanks!
My dad worked on this plane when I was a boy. I got to see it in the hanger at Compton airport several times and sit in it once. I remember my dad talking with Lyle Shelton and hearing some of the stories about this plane. My dad lived his whole life around planes and called the Rare Bears hanger his home, literally. He passed his love of aircraft down to me and my brother’s.
@@TinfoilHatWearer From Wikim:Rare Bear has set many performance records for piston-driven aircraft, including the 3 km World Speed Record of 528.33 mph (850.26 km/h) set August 21, 1989, which still stands in this class, and a new time-to-climb record (3,000 meters in 91.9 seconds set in 1972 (9842.4 ft - 6,426 fpm), breaking a 1946 record set in a stock Bearca
I just love Rare Bear. I've been going to the Reno races on and off for a log time and have always enjoyed looking at the beautiful bird. Best of luck to the crew.
I was lucky enough to be there. It was one of the last races that most of the big name Unlimiteds attended before they were retired, restored to stock or fell to calamity. It was awesome!
With all the time passed it really seemed like that was the last of the great radial vs Mustang races. Sad I missed the voodoo Strega years of the late 2010s
My Great Uncle is John Penney, never got to see him too much, but always kept track of what he was doing on the Bear in Reno, unfortunately the chance to go to the Races in Reno never were in the cards, but always had admiration for his love for the skies. I took to the love of things on rails
I know very little about aero engines, but the staccato exhaust sound at idle on this machine tells me that I like it! I have been employed for over 25 years in the automobile/motorcycle industry, and am fairly caught up in the performance end of things. So, to hear that plane's engine is very enjoyable to me!
Love the Rare Bear! Lyle Shelton, quite a hero he is. He's buried here in my little town. My daddy's name was Shelton. His girl/partner hung herself here. God Bless their souls. Chick Clark used to run largest flying (spraying) service in the world at one time. He knew Lyle also.
I am happy to see the 'Bear' is alive and well? I am ancient history, was on the 1985 effort. We did the flap 'removal' and other things, lots and lots of memories and pictures. Great time, first shot for 'John Penny', etc., etc. Never forget it!
what a piece of history...growing up in socal and flying in and out of VanNuys airport..i used to walk by Rare Bear sitting at a tie down near the cessna FBO....the airframe wasn't modified like it is now..had the original engine in it..painted white with the bear on the vertical stab
Pure engine sound and stuff thats happening at the time of the flight.... just how it should be!!! Thanks for leaving it raw!! Also who the hell in the right mind would thumbs down this video???? It makes no sense.... because the video is awesome!!!!
Great Hi-Def-Video of my favorite Prop-Driven Racer and keep up the Great Work. I changed from being a Mustang-Fan,to a Bearcat-Fan when I saw Bill Fornof 's Copper-Colored-F8F-2 Bearcat perform for the Navy-Relief-Fund, while I was in the Navy years ago.
Beautiful plane. May it fly forever! I just noticed, the tailwheel retracts, too! If I squint, it reminds me a bit of the T-28 I flew in the Navy - that wonderful radial sound.
ctbram0627 It definitely sounded amazing with that prop on her, here's a video of her I posted awhile back, enjoy!! th-cam.com/video/ljUgK3RdEpo/w-d-xo.html
It is now 8/25/2024. I went to the "Last Reno Air Race". Had been going to the Reno Racer for about 30 years just wonderful , a big Rare Bare fan & supporter. Such amazing airplanes in there race configeration. I'm 81 now waiting for the new Air Race site to be ready. Might be next year, I will be there !! Bruce W
I had the honor to be Lyle’s copilot many times, at TWA, on the MD-80. He was a great stick, but I had to help him on which buttons and knobs to use🤪. The MCP mode control panel was complex.
He was such a great race pilot! He made a very difficult plane to fly around the course, look easy! He and a lot of the air racing greats are very missed. I’m fortunate to have been able see him race in person.
Yes cooling drag is a problem solved by P-51. The vSpits were SUPPOSED to have a lo-drag system but did not. The later wing by Supermarine was not as sucessful as Mitchells orriginal . It had large amounts of washout to keep the ailerons lively near a stall BUT washout added drag to a really good wing as well.
I've never had the honor of working a radial before. My father sure did. 22 years Navy. Ww2. I remember him talking of triple compounding the Pratt and Whitney 9 cylinders.
I saw the new engine once after they had just installed it. It was a machinists dream. Just a work of art. A real hot rod. This is supposed to be the baddest plane out there.
Holy crap I didn’t know this didn’t have flaps. Of everything about the plane that honestly seems the most incredible. It really sacrifices all for speed
Reno is at ground level, but WW2 fighters like the Bearcat were designed to fly their fastest at about 30,000 feet, for dogfighting and to escort bombers. So what top speed would Rare Bear be able to reach at 30,000 feet, a/ if no adjustments were made to its current engine and b/ if it were adjusted to give its best at 30,000 feet?
Roll over Beethoven,tell Tchaikovsky the news,there's a better song going 'round,and it's played by a r-3350,conducted by Stewart Dawson.Sweet,sweet music.Keep it coming Voodoo-1650.Well done sir.
That Is JUST Fucking SICK Thanks A Million..! Once AGAIN YOUR Da Best.. It's YOUR Videos SPREAD OUT Throughout The YEAR, That Get US ALL Through The WAIT For NEXT YEAR..!
+soaringtractor Neither Bearcat or Mustang were the fastest (piston engine) WW2 planes. The Tigercat (460mph) and DO335 (475 mph) were both faster. A few later variants of the P47 were faster. The XP47J apparently hit 505 mph in 1944 (but it never reached production). They're all great planes though.
soaringtractor Same old lines Wilbur. Heard them all before. Posting irrelevant and unsubstantiated crap won't make you a pillar of wisdom no matter how hard you try. I'm going to mute the comments here so we don't have to listen to you.
A bit of historical info. JohnPenny told me he would 'actually' lose 5 pounds during the race. The 'firewall' on the 'bear' is only a sheet of aluminum, and 18 cylinders pumping out over 4000 HP generates a lot of heat! Part of the reason for wearing the Mask, along with the possibility of asphyxiation. The radios were encased with a pocket to hold ice, to keep them cool enough to keep working! Fun stuff! GO 'BEAR'!
Interesting to me that the new owner decided to ditch the shorter but much-wider-bladed screw from a Lockheed Elektra in favor of what =appears= to a 16' 7" Ham Stan from a B-29 or B-50. I get that they match up well with the design specs of the 3350, but wonder why he didn't go for the wide-blade, Aero Products 13' 6" off a late AD-5 / A-1E SPAD. The latter would produce a lot less potential balance problems and shove more air without inducing the sound barrier problems at the prop tips. Did the old prop cause problems? The Elektra prop gave the plane an utterly unique, "wop, wop, wop" sound as it flew past.
WMS 1 You are correct, they both do use air cooled engines, this one is air cooled as well, the team has relocated the oil coolers from the leading edge of the wings (lots of drag), and they have submerged it into a tank of methanol which then boils off the heat.
That is water vapor/steam from the boil off cooling system. To get rid of excess drag the team sealed up the carb and oil cooler inlets at the leading edge of the wings. They put a custom oil cooler that is in a tank of coolant in the fuselage, and the heat is transferred into steam and dumped overboard.
473 fore the lap, so the straight line air speed must be over 500mph..... that sure is fast. The prop is huge, nearly half the wing span... I wonder how much power they have managed to get out of that big engine.... amazing....
so is this still the fastest prop engine plane? could we make a faster propr engine plane today if we wanted, or is this the pinnacle of prop engine planes? and i'm not talking about turboprops, i'm talking about old fashion props
Actually, the unlimited racer Voodoo just broke the 3km world speed record last August. Rare Bear's record was an average speed of 528 mph, and Voodoo had an average speed of just over 531 mph with a failing engine. Check out these two links for more info on the record run!! vintageaviationecho.com/voodoo-speed-record/ www.roadkill.com/mustang-550-mph-p-51-now-fastest-piston-engined-airplane-ever/
At high speeds where it uses max power the gap between the prop hub and cowling is calculated to give enough cooling and minimum drag. A bigger gap would not give any benefit at high speeds where the air pressure of a small gap is enough to cool the engine, a bigger gap just means higher drag and lower top speed.
And yes an F8F with a R3350 would have been an state of the art for prop carrier fighter aircraft. Would look closer to a regular F8F than to Rare Bear tho. The F8F-1, F8F-2, F4U-4 and F4U-5 already were state of the art. There also exists the Seafang which looks a lot like an unlimited reno racer and would be an state of the art carrier prop fighter too.
Several people have tried to build smaller aircraft with large engines to compete with the unlimited class of aircraft, but nobody has been able to stand up against shear cubic inch displacement.
That smoke you’re seeing is steam dumping overboard from the boil off oil cooling system. The team sealed off the oil cooler and carburetor intakes that are normally in the leading edge of the wing to cut down on drag. There is a custom oil cooler that is submerged in a tank of coolant inside the rear of the fuselage, the heat is then boiled off into steam and dumped out the back.
The Rare Bear should have kept that monstrous 3 bladed prop!Well, I guess Rare Bear's racing days are over! The new owner has her in a special hangar and appears to have retired the Bear! I guess this plane was so popular, and won so many Reno Golds as well as a lot of other races that is it fitting she be allowed to rest on peace! I certainly wouldn't want this plane to have an accident and crash and be gomne forever so I guess this retirement is for the good of the Sport of Air Racing.
Rear Bear has special importance to me. My best friend from childhood, Lyle, picked most of the plane ( crashed) up, on a trailer and drove to my home where it sat for a week. The plane was rebuilt by a wonderful group of mostly volunteers, to eventually become Rare Bear, and speed record holder ! Lyle
passed away at age 77….the number Rare Bear carried.
Reno is at ground level, but WW2 fighters like the Bearcat were designed to fly their fastest at about 30,000 feet, for dogfighting and to escort bombers. So what top speed would Rare Bear be able to reach at 30,000 feet, a/ if no adjustments were made to its current engine and b/ if it were adjusted to give its best at 30,000 feet?
Every enthusiast needs to witness this bird fly in person. The sound will send chills up and down your spine, the giant motor combined with the unique sound of propellor tips breaking the sound barrier, it's an experience you'll never forget. Make the trip! Hopefully Mr Bear will fly at the next Reno race.
Propeller tips do not break the sound barrier on props or helicopters. There was only one plane that occurred on. It was the F-84 Thunderstreak, it had a counter rotating turboprop it was one of the loudest planes. Called it the thunder screech.
@@davidefland1985 100% bullshit. Every T6 racer spins it's prop fast enough that the tips go SS. F1 racers do the same. Some if the sports and even some unlimited racer do this.
@@BobFeiring l work on Navy aircraft l know
@@davidefland1985 I am the leading mechanic at Viking Air, I have done extensive work on radials, especially the Wasp Junior Radial, I can assure you that on take off, the prop tips on the beaver are spinning faster than the speed of sound. Trust me I know.
@@davidefland1985 apparently you dont know because you are 100% wrong on this... lots of planes that have prop tips break the sound barrier...
Congratulations........ Best Reno videos I have seen. No rock music, no commentary, just airplane sounds and damn good camera work. Great quality. Thanks!
19sloper ii
19sl
LMFAO try saying this in the sh9ite year 2024 kid! You had NO IDEA how good we had it, (we)
My dad worked on this plane when I was a boy. I got to see it in the hanger at Compton airport several times and sit in it once. I remember my dad talking with Lyle Shelton and hearing some of the stories about this plane. My dad lived his whole life around planes and called the Rare Bears hanger his home, literally. He passed his love of aircraft down to me and my brother’s.
Great man!
The big R-3350's sound is simply astonishing!
Should be a R2800.
There's No Replacement for Displacement which is why they went with the B-29 engine.
Thought it was powered by a 28 cylinder 4360
@@gruntabro1 it is
Why astonishing?
hahah, the Bearcat is honestly more prop than it is plane. What a spectacular beast!
DossKat, probably how it goes over 400mph. I was thinking they put a turbo in it.
it’s an engine that has wings
It looked a lot different when they got it for sure. Kinda looks like a cartoon plane now.
@@johnkranig2054the top speed of this plane (Rare Bare) is actually 497MPH or 800+KPH. Its the fastest piston powered plane in the world I believe
@@TinfoilHatWearer From Wikim:Rare Bear has set many performance records for piston-driven aircraft, including the 3 km World Speed Record of 528.33 mph (850.26 km/h) set August 21, 1989, which still stands in this class, and a new time-to-climb record (3,000 meters in 91.9 seconds set in 1972 (9842.4 ft - 6,426 fpm), breaking a 1946 record set in a stock Bearca
I just love Rare Bear. I've been going to the Reno races on and off for a log time and have always enjoyed looking at the beautiful bird. Best of luck to the crew.
That sputtering sound is so satisfying
I was lucky enough to be there. It was one of the last races that most of the big name Unlimiteds attended before they were retired, restored to stock or fell to calamity. It was awesome!
With all the time passed it really seemed like that was the last of the great radial vs Mustang races. Sad I missed the voodoo Strega years of the late 2010s
I was there too & you're right, one of the last races of the real unlimited Reno racers.
Thank you. No jockrock BS. Just pure, real sound.
That paint job makes her look 60 years younger!!
I love it! 😍
My Great Uncle is John Penney, never got to see him too much, but always kept track of what he was doing on the Bear in Reno, unfortunately the chance to go to the Races in Reno never were in the cards, but always had admiration for his love for the skies. I took to the love of things on rails
I know very little about aero engines, but the staccato exhaust sound at idle on this machine tells me that I like it! I have been employed for over 25 years in the automobile/motorcycle industry, and am fairly caught up in the performance end of things. So, to hear that plane's engine is very enjoyable to me!
Great video - just the real goods in steady high def and great sound - no music, no bad zooms, no jiggles - perfect - do some more!
That idle is to die for!!! crank up the volume :-)
no it is not to die for! STFU!
I absolutely love these planes to start with and this particular one is OUTSTANDING! tremendous job building this one. Hats off to you! Well done 👏
Love the Rare Bear! Lyle Shelton, quite a hero he is. He's buried here in my little town. My daddy's name was Shelton. His girl/partner hung herself here. God Bless their souls. Chick Clark used to run largest flying (spraying) service in the world at one time. He knew Lyle also.
I am happy to see the 'Bear' is alive and well? I am ancient history, was on the 1985 effort. We did the flap 'removal' and other things, lots and lots of memories and pictures. Great time, first shot for 'John Penny', etc., etc. Never forget it!
This probably the best sounding THING ever
It’s a rebuilt F8 Bearcat with the engine from an A1 Skyraider.
I have been most fortunate to see the Bear race in years,past. Great historic air racer of its time.
I was watching this bird when Lyle Shelton ( If I spelled the name right) Was the pilot. Love the sound. Distinctive.
what a piece of history...growing up in socal and flying in and out of VanNuys airport..i used to walk by Rare Bear sitting at a tie down near the cessna FBO....the airframe wasn't modified like it is now..had the original engine in it..painted white with the bear on the vertical stab
I never get tired of hearing the roar of that Double wasp engine. Its awesome.
Wright Duplex Cyclone in place of the Double Wasp. Twice the power...when not cranky :-P
Michael Hux Wright R3350 from a Skyraider.
Pure engine sound and stuff thats happening at the time of the flight.... just how it should be!!! Thanks for leaving it raw!! Also who the hell in the right mind would thumbs down this video???? It makes no sense.... because the video is awesome!!!!
And another awesome portrait of an Reno-Racer. Keep up the good work !
The Bearcat was always one of my favorite aircraft after seeing this bird perform at air shows!
Looks like a prop from an Osprey! That thing is massive! Love the video.
It's from a P3 Orion, (Sub killer), a 4 engine turbo prop.
What a wonderful sound, beast.
Great Hi-Def-Video of my favorite Prop-Driven Racer and keep up the Great Work. I changed from being a Mustang-Fan,to a Bearcat-Fan when I saw Bill Fornof 's Copper-Colored-F8F-2 Bearcat perform for the Navy-Relief-Fund, while I was in the Navy years ago.
Thats how you do a video with the Bear......no gd music Awesome camera and sound sir.
Beautiful plane. May it fly forever!
I just noticed, the tailwheel retracts, too!
If I squint, it reminds me a bit of the T-28 I flew in the Navy - that wonderful radial sound.
What a magnificent airplane, gosh darn she’s beautiful
Cool footage, thanks! I like how you can see the alternating cylinders firing at 5:45
And you can clearly hear it too with a "prrr prrr prrr prrr prrr" sound
It is a beautiful airplane. I saw it at Reno when it had the P3 orion propeller and the sound it made as it flew by was chilling!
ctbram0627 It definitely sounded amazing with that prop on her, here's a video of her I posted awhile back, enjoy!! th-cam.com/video/ljUgK3RdEpo/w-d-xo.html
I went to the Reno Air Races back in 1988 and Rare Bear was one of my faves! We had Pit Passes so we got up close to all of the aircraft.
It is now 8/25/2024. I went to the "Last Reno Air Race". Had been going to the Reno Racer for about 30 years just wonderful , a big Rare Bare fan & supporter. Such amazing airplanes in there race configeration. I'm 81 now waiting for the new Air Race site to be ready. Might be next year, I will be there !! Bruce W
Thanx for yet another great and perfectly done video...
Cripes, that 1st lap wuz QUICK!
cheers
Wow! Beautifully done, Jason! As always!
The sound of that airplane is pure poetry.
Le Rear Bear! Mon préféré même avec ces nouvelles couleurs et son moteur surpuissant il est de plus en plus magnifique! Merci pour cette vidéo
I had the honor to be Lyle’s copilot many times, at TWA, on the MD-80. He was a great stick, but I had to help him on which buttons and knobs to use🤪. The MCP mode control panel was complex.
He was such a great race pilot! He made a very difficult plane to fly around the course, look easy! He and a lot of the air racing greats are very missed. I’m fortunate to have been able see him race in person.
Yes cooling drag is a problem solved by P-51. The vSpits were SUPPOSED to have a lo-drag system but did not. The later wing by Supermarine was not as sucessful as Mitchells orriginal . It had large amounts of washout to keep the ailerons lively near a stall BUT washout added drag to a really good wing as well.
I've never had the honor of working a radial before. My father sure did. 22 years Navy. Ww2. I remember him talking of triple compounding the Pratt and Whitney 9 cylinders.
I wanna see more rare bear. that thing's as sweet as it gets. I want it!
Awesome machine. 471 mph lap time is a vast improvement over the stock warbird, but shows the excellence of both the engine and aircraft design.
I saw the new engine once after they had just installed it. It was a machinists dream. Just a work of art. A real hot rod. This is supposed to be the baddest plane out there.
Anyone who is learning to fly watching this should take note of the rudder during take-off, and immediately after the wheels leave the ground.
Holy crap I didn’t know this didn’t have flaps. Of everything about the plane that honestly seems the most incredible. It really sacrifices all for speed
This also helps with attitude when landing, keeping the prop clear of the ground.
Lovely bearcat video,my favorite Grumman aircraft ,must go to reno oneday ☺
Beautiful! The sound was always awesome. She hauled butt.. if the engine held together.
Reno is at ground level, but WW2 fighters like the Bearcat were designed to fly their fastest at about 30,000 feet, for dogfighting and to escort bombers. So what top speed would Rare Bear be able to reach at 30,000 feet, a/ if no adjustments were made to its current engine and b/ if it were adjusted to give its best at 30,000 feet?
Such a cool looking aircraft.
Roll over Beethoven,tell Tchaikovsky the news,there's a better song going 'round,and it's played by a r-3350,conducted by Stewart Dawson.Sweet,sweet music.Keep it coming Voodoo-1650.Well done sir.
staccatoPOP - absolutely the most fitting comment for the most thrilling video of the ultimate air racing hot rod!
Now this is the "Sound of Music", great video, without any crappy, porn, background music to ruin it. Thanks for posting this, Rare Bear, RULES!.
That Is JUST Fucking SICK Thanks A Million..! Once AGAIN YOUR Da Best..
It's YOUR Videos SPREAD OUT Throughout The YEAR, That Get US ALL Through The WAIT For NEXT YEAR..!
CAPS..LOCK
Love the Rare Bear!
TH-cam should have a heart icon next to the thumbs.
I really miss this plane. It’s not the same anymore.
God what a sound.
TheThirdMan nice sound but still not as nice as a merlin
crotchrocket00 _"nearly 200 mph faster than the original"_
Either a typo or a slight exaggeration...
+soaringtractor
Neither Bearcat or Mustang were the fastest (piston engine) WW2 planes. The Tigercat (460mph) and DO335 (475 mph) were both faster. A few later variants of the P47 were faster. The XP47J apparently hit 505 mph in 1944 (but it never reached production).
They're all great planes though.
robert allen Just ignore soaringtractor. He's a troll.
soaringtractor Same old lines Wilbur. Heard them all before. Posting irrelevant and unsubstantiated crap won't make you a pillar of wisdom no matter how hard you try. I'm going to mute the comments here so we don't have to listen to you.
UNREAL the sound of the P&W .
You don't see many American radials with a spinner ?? This installation is super-neat , SeaFury Like , love it !!
I saw this plane back in the mid 90s at the air races in Mesa Arizona. It smoked the field. I think it had a 3 bladed prop back then.
That sound!!!!
what i didn't know until we got there in 2007 is that they run NOS. holed pistons happen.
OMG the sound!
Once Upon a Time, an engine was born with a plane stuck at it. What a brutal sound!
i love seeing these old warbirds being used for something cool
The Hellcat at !:55 is love at first sight!
Andy Solis I saw that too, nice assembly of warbirds there.
My Dad flew Hellcats in the Pacific.
No flaps, wow what is the landing speed of this thing?
Fast....
that start-up though
A bit of historical info. JohnPenny told me he would 'actually' lose 5 pounds during the race. The 'firewall' on the 'bear' is only a sheet of aluminum, and 18 cylinders pumping out over 4000 HP generates a lot of heat! Part of the reason for wearing the Mask, along with the possibility of asphyxiation. The radios were encased with a pocket to hold ice, to keep them cool enough to keep working! Fun stuff! GO 'BEAR'!
GREAT !!! Thanks for sharing !
Interesting to me that the new owner decided to ditch the shorter but much-wider-bladed screw from a Lockheed Elektra in favor of what =appears= to a 16' 7" Ham Stan from a B-29 or B-50. I get that they match up well with the design specs of the 3350, but wonder why he didn't go for the wide-blade, Aero Products 13' 6" off a late AD-5 / A-1E SPAD. The latter would produce a lot less potential balance problems and shove more air without inducing the sound barrier problems at the prop tips. Did the old prop cause problems? The Elektra prop gave the plane an utterly unique, "wop, wop, wop" sound as it flew past.
4:50 Anyone know what's coming from the tail cone behind the rudder? Is that engine exhaust or some kind of evaporative cooling duct?
Yes, it is the exit ducts for the boil off cooling system.
Voodoo1650 Gotcha. Thanks :-)
@@Voodoo1650 I know I am 4 years late but I thought F8s and F4 had air-cooled P&W 2800s.
Didn't know about any liquid cooling.
WMS 1 You are correct, they both do use air cooled engines, this one is air cooled as well, the team has relocated the oil coolers from the leading edge of the wings (lots of drag), and they have submerged it into a tank of methanol which then boils off the heat.
I love Rare Bear.
That airplane has no wing!! I remember seeing Levitz with the conra rotating prop in a P51 fuse. and the lear wings break up, in front of the stands
DAMN that Bear can sing!
I'm curios as to why this airplane wasn't significantly faster (if at all?) with boil-off and maybe a new induction scoop atop the cowl?
At idle is sounds like my cammed ls. Fantastic!
The sexiest unlimited racer of all time, bar none.
What a beast!
Why is exhaust coming from the tail section?
That is water vapor/steam from the boil off cooling system. To get rid of excess drag the team sealed up the carb and oil cooler inlets at the leading edge of the wings. They put a custom oil cooler that is in a tank of coolant in the fuselage, and the heat is transferred into steam and dumped overboard.
So, he has to do a 3 point takeoff and landing because of that bloody huge prop? What is that thing, 15 feet?
473 fore the lap, so the straight line air speed must be over 500mph..... that sure is fast. The prop is huge, nearly half the wing span... I wonder how much power they have managed to get out of that big engine.... amazing....
@@KathrynLiz1 Rare Bear had an engine that was over 4,000hp
How does the enclosed engine stay cool. ? 😊
so is this still the fastest prop engine plane? could we make a faster propr engine plane today if we wanted, or is this the pinnacle of prop engine planes? and i'm not talking about turboprops, i'm talking about old fashion props
Actually, the unlimited racer Voodoo just broke the 3km world speed record last August. Rare Bear's record was an average speed of 528 mph, and Voodoo had an average speed of just over 531 mph with a failing engine. Check out these two links for more info on the record run!!
vintageaviationecho.com/voodoo-speed-record/
www.roadkill.com/mustang-550-mph-p-51-now-fastest-piston-engined-airplane-ever/
Was the wingspan altered? She looks a bit stubby....
How does it get enough cooling with such a large prop hub ?
Would this plane have been the state of the art for prop carrier aircraft ?
Water cooled
It was built as an interceptor
At high speeds where it uses max power the gap between the prop hub and cowling is calculated to give enough cooling and minimum drag.
A bigger gap would not give any benefit at high speeds where the air pressure of a small gap is enough to cool the engine, a bigger gap just means higher drag and lower top speed.
And yes an F8F with a R3350 would have been an state of the art for prop carrier fighter aircraft. Would look closer to a regular F8F than to Rare Bear tho.
The F8F-1, F8F-2, F4U-4 and F4U-5 already were state of the art.
There also exists the Seafang which looks a lot like an unlimited reno racer and would be an state of the art carrier prop fighter too.
473 mph wow ;-)
That is SERIOUSLY fast for a prop driven plane!!
Mustangs do 550 MPH
Several people have tried to build smaller aircraft with large engines to compete with the unlimited class of aircraft, but nobody has been able to stand up against shear cubic inch displacement.
What’s the smoke coming out the tail end of the fuselage? Amazing video!!
That smoke you’re seeing is steam dumping overboard from the boil off oil cooling system. The team sealed off the oil cooler and carburetor intakes that are normally in the leading edge of the wing to cut down on drag. There is a custom oil cooler that is submerged in a tank of coolant inside the rear of the fuselage, the heat is then boiled off into steam and dumped out the back.
So beautiful! Какой красивый!
That was the LAP speed!!!
beautiful aircraft. great sounding engine. tiny ailerons. must have taken skills to fly.
Seen this Bad MFr n Van Nuys, always the most distant airplane in the Valley
is there room in cockpit for a camera screen for an under nose camera to assist with taxi?
As awesome as this race Bearcat is, I can say watching and hearing a stock late war P51, P47, P38, F4U, F6F or Spitfire really does for me.
The Rare Bear should have kept that monstrous 3 bladed prop!Well, I guess Rare Bear's racing days are over! The new owner has her in a special hangar and appears to have retired the Bear! I guess this plane was so popular, and won so many Reno Golds as well as a lot of other races that is it fitting she be allowed to rest on peace! I certainly wouldn't want this plane to have an accident and crash and be gomne forever so I guess this retirement is for the good of the Sport of Air Racing.
Beautiful video indeed - thank you for sharing this with us.
Man the size of the wing can it be any smaller ?