CoolPix - Air Racer: 3 Blade Rare Bear At The Phoenix 500 In 1995! (+ Video)

(click pic for hi-res) John Penney in the 3 Blade Rare Bear at the 1995 Phoenix 500

 Race permit & insurance in place... tickets are on sale now for Reno 2012: Sept. 12-16

 If there was one event I could make you go to this year it would be the Reno Air Races. And while this CoolPix is actually an old film image of Rare Bear I captured at the 1995 Phoenix 500 air race, I've posted it now to point to the fascinating race history an airplane like Rare Bear has. At Reno this year there will be a mix of aircraft that have years and years of race experience along with some airplanes (and pilots) that are experiencing air racing for their first time ever. But interestingly, the most important thing to be at Reno in 2012 will be the fans. Without the fans supporting Reno style air racing in a big way this year, it'll run the risk of simply going away. Given the challenges the event has faced since last year's tragedy, the support that comes from fans buying tickets and participating in the local Reno economy are more important than they have ever been.

 Please, go to the official Reno Air Races website, airrace.org, and buy some tickets to support the event... even if you won't be able to attend (better yet, buy some tickets and show up!) - take my word for it that this sport both needs your help and is worthy of your support!

 As for the pic of the awesome Grumman F8F Bearcat named Rare Bear above from the second and last attempt at having air racing in Phoenix (back in 1995), I must say that the 3 blade prop was the most awesome propeller I think I've ever seen on an airplane. Massive blades snagged from a P-3 Orion, modified and mounted in a 3 blade hub, this polished prop also put out a fabulous sound. I wish the airplane was still spinning just 3 blades, but for detailed reasons I don't know, they switched back to 4 blades in 2004. Regardless of the number of blades tho, I'm still a Rare Bear fan at heart and I'll be hoping that this is the year that Strega might finally see a serious round engine challenge for the big trophy!

 Mostly tho, I want you you and me both to be there to show our support for the fastest motorsport in the world!

Desktop Downloads: Rare Bear at the Phoenix 500 in 1995

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3 blade Rare Bear at Reno in 2003 - wow! (youtube video from metalmelvin)

CoolPix: Blue Angels Over Baltimore Last week (Now With Desktop Sizes!)

(click pic for hi-res)

 I've been bringing you what I call CoolPix images for a long time now, and I've always intended that you would use them as desktop backgrounds. But I imagine a lot of folks don't have the easy means to resize or crop an image to best fit their specific screen size. So I decided I'd give you some help, starting with this AWESOME Blue Angels image captured last Friday over Baltimore.

 This beautiful image is in the standard CoolPix size of 1600 pixels wide above (when you click the pic) and then below I have links to several of the most popular sizes for screen resolution. If I get some positive feedback on making the cropped and resized images available (for free!) then I'll see if I can make it regular part of CoolPix images in the future. So download and then gimme some feedback!

Blue Angels over Baltimore on 6-15-12:

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 Lastly, here's the description of this pic from the US Navy website:

 BALTIMORE (June 15, 2012) Capt. Brandon Cordill, left wingman of the U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, flies an F/A-18 Hornet over Baltimore during the Star Spangled Sailabration, which coincides with Baltimore Fleet Week 2012 and commemorates the War of 1812 and the writing of the "Star Spangled Banner." (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrew Johnson/Released)