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Greetings One and All, time for the Friday Flyby. Contining with last weekends them tonight we again feature from the Grumman Iron Works the F8F Bearcat. The Bearcat was the last of Grumman's piston engined fighters. Using a more powerfull version of the ol reilable Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine and wieghing in over 2000 pounds less than the Hellcat the Bearcat was one scootin fighter.

A modified Bearcat also holds the recored for the worlds fastest piston powered aircraft at 528.33mph. Now thats movin :-)

Just over 1200 F8Fs were built and the Bearcat also served with the French Armee de Aire and the Roayl Thai Airforce. About 10 F8F are still flying.

On with the Pics

The usual head on pic :-)

A VERY nice F8F owned by Howard Perdue makes a flyby for the camera ship.

This Bearcat is on the European Airshow circuit IIRC.

A pic from the late 1940s I think, the legend on the nose reads "Beetle Bomb". This plane was used in the early Blue Angles shows. It was suppose to be an "Enemy Aircraft". Trgaically the plane crashed while attempting to do a roll after take off in April of 1950.

The CAFs Bearcat overflys the USS Carl Vinson and The USS Inchon, I think.

A Bearcat peeling off after some inaginary unsuspecting quarry.

Y'all have a great weekend.

And remember, if a pig had wings it would be a pigeon!!!

Regards

alfa6 ;>}