Howard Pardues Bearcat

[Paynts]

when i attended Reno for the first time in 08 Mr Pardue and his Bearcat posted some very impressive laps for a "stock " Bearcat
Does anyone here know whether the motor really is stock and what if any airframe mods it might have?

[Bob]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

Its just a fresh motor, maintained with the best of care in a box stock airframe. Oh and an uber talented pilot behind the stick.

[pt17av8r]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

Ah yes...... the pilot

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

Bearcats (the stock ones) were pretty hot machines for their day...

[Whiteside]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

That engine was built by a friend and sponsor of ours Ray Anderson of Anderson Aeromotive. You'd be suprised at how many round race engines are his. I sure would like that much HP in 33!
I'm curious how Howards times equate to Daryls and Lyles times factoring in the change in the timing and length of the course.
WW

[wingman]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

He is most definitely going faster than any stock airframe Bearcat has ever gone in the past. I'm quite certain that calling that motor "stock" is stretching the definition a bit...

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

I'm curious how Howards times equate to Daryls and Lyles times factoring in the change in the timing and length of the course.

Will, there's an equation out there to factor that in, I don't have it but wager someone on the board does. I still wish that change had never taken place. It *may* well be a more accurate measurement of the course, but it was not how it was ever done in the past and just added an element of confusion and watered down some really significant previous records.

[split-s]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

I understand the torque was pretty fierce, with just a 2800, until they made the vert taller in later mods.

$

[Whiteside]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

Yes, the point of my comment was to get a studious AAFOer to figure it out and report back their findings!

[Red]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

Will,

If I recall the conversion is about 2%. So if you take Conquest 1's fastest time of 414.630 in '69, then add 2% you get nearly 422.922. Howard went 418.925 qual time in '09.

Hopefully Mike will pop in and correct me if I'm wrong.

[DWYER]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

Just noticed the name on the cowlings. Anybody know who Kimberly Brooke is? It this the actual name of the Howard's bearcat??

[Mluvara]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

Will,

If I recall the conversion is about 2%. So if you take Conquest 1's fastest time of 414.630 in '69, then add 2% you get nearly 422.922. Howard went 418.925 qual time in '09.

Hopefully Mike will pop in and correct me if I'm wrong.

It's about 2%. The issue is that if you go back to the older courses, the location of the pylons and geometry have changed significantly, so I am not sure how it can be an apple to apple comparison. When the change was made prior to the races in 2003, I'm pretty sure the pylons stayed the same, but the calculation of the path around them changed.

Michael

[BuckyD]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

To quote from my friend & colleague- noted air racing historian/author Gary Williams' outstanding ref. book- "UNLIMITED CLASS Air Racing Results-Volume III (1995-2009):

"This year (2003) the Reno Air Racing Assn. changed the way they time the racers. Without changing the courses they tried to assign a distance that the racers actually flew. That turned the 8.2688 miles of the Unlimited course into 8.4803 miles for the purposes of timing the racers. Starting in 2003 the speeds cannot be compared to prior years without reducing current speeds by 2.56%."

DBD

[airtj]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

It's named after his daughter

[steve D]

Re: Howard Pardues Bearcat

It's named after his daughter

Who was killed in a Chipmunk shortly after acquiring the Bearcat.