Bud's Life Experience
With fifty years of experience with building and troubleshooting engines
and equipment, and qualifications including his A & P
license, Bud Warren is a highly qualified builder of aircraft
components. Born in Springfield, MO in 1940, Bud always loved things that
go fast-and worked on fast cars even as a child and up through his
teenage years. As a young man he knew he needed to get to a place where
he could learn more and have more opportunity-so in 1958 he moved to
Houston Texas. Bud worked in the oilfield and aerospace industry in
problem solving for a NASA subcontractor for Boeing Aircraft. Bud
was instrumental in the development and perfecting of control
instrumentation, and even built the valves that charged the fuel rockets
for the Gemini Space Program. Bud is a master machinist and
knowledgeable metallurgist having operated his own job machine
shop for almost thirty years. During this time, Bud received his
certification as an aircraft welder.
Since the later 1950's, Bud has been on the cutting edge of the drag
racing industry developing new ways to go fast and in a more safe race
car. His passion led him to obtain his SEMA licensed as a builder
and inspector of top fuel, funny car, and other classes of NHRA, IHRA
and AHRA drag cars. Safety has always been his concern.
Bud was also a very accomplished and well known driver, and held
his top fuel and
funny car license for twenty years.
He also engineered and built
top fuel and top alcohol racing engines for drag strip,
drag boats, and circle track cars.
How to apply the power to the wheels and get to the finish before the
other guy was the whole point in auto racing. Minute little changes in
set up could mean the difference between making the round without
blowing the engine, or the difference between winning or losing. Bud had
an intimate understanding of engines, clutches and transferring torque
into forward motion. In 1980, Bud purchased his first
airplane,
a
Mooney,
so that he could attend more drag races! This started his love of
aviation that burns brightly still today.
Bud was a devoted Colonel of the Confederate Air Force (now the
Commemorative Air Force) and member of the
Tora Tora Tora
Squadron. There were no aircraft for him to take over and sponsor
at the time, so he decided he would add one to the organization by
finding a project and building one. After some time he found a BT-13
stuck in a muddy field in Galveston County, Texas, made the deal on the
airplane and set out to try to get it home. After several days of
working on it, he literally flew this old BT-13 out of the muddy field
where it had sat stuck in the mud for years. He then totally
rebuilt into a replica of a Val that is still flying
today. This airplane is now a
representative of the
Commemorative Air Force and still
shows
Mr.
Warren's name as master craftsman. With
all of his hands-on experience one can see the position of knowledge and
credibility which has been the basis for all his PSRU and engine
designs.
In 1992, a friend approached Bud
about the possibility of using a small block Chevrolet in his homebuilt
Wheeler Express. Bud was fascinated, saw a challenge, and set about to
design and put together an engine and drive combination that would be
safe and dependable. As a licensed A&P Mechanic, he was intrigued with
the idea that an automobile engine could be successfully installed and
used in experimental aircraft. The weak link in this assembly proved to
be the propeller speed reduction unit. After months spent researching
the PSRU's that were on the market and available at the time, decided
there must be a better way. With his experience with automotive engines
and transmissions, he set out to design a redrive that would engineer
out the typical problems that arise with the use of an automobile engine
in an airplane. After years of research and development, trouble
shooting, and many hours of test flying, Bud has succeeded in
engineering out all of the inherent problems associated with such an
application.
Bud purchased the Wheeler that he started helping his friend build in
1992 prior to it's maiden flight, and it is still powered by the same
Chevrolet engine and prototype PSRU that Bud designed and built for it.
He often takes his friends and family for sight seeing trips and cross
country travel in this aircraft. Bud is passionate about his convictions
and his mechanical knowledge of the experimental aircraft industry, and
firmly believes in this redrive and engine combination as evidenced in
the fact that he flies it himself.
Today, you will can meet Bud at Sun 'n Fun and Oshkosh each year where
he can be found in his exhibit area, speaking at the educational Forums,
or at the engine run up area demonstrating his amazing firewall forward
engine packages and PSRU's. Be sure and stop by to meet Bud
when you have time. You will find him to be interesting,
sincere, and a wealth of common sense logic regarding experimental
aviation.
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