blue angels aircraft (Bearcat)
- Thread starter sunny91
- Start date
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cheddar cheese
Major General
Great pics! 8) Dont worry about the English, its fine. You speak English better than I speak French! 
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
hey very unusual pics, i never new the blue angels used them.........
Nonskimmer
Captain
Pretty cool. 
evangilder
"Shooter"
The second Blue Angels plane, the first was the Hellcat. I didn't know anyone had created a restored version. Very nice! I have an old rare black and white shot of the Hellcat Blue Angels somewhere.
BlackWolf3945
Banned
Those shots are from an airshow in Galveston last weekend (23-24 April 05).
Here's a shot of an original Blues Bearcat...
Blue Angels/USN Photo
And here's 'Beetle Bomb'...
Image source/credit: unknown web
Fade to Black...
Here's a shot of an original Blues Bearcat...
Blue Angels/USN Photo
And here's 'Beetle Bomb'...
Image source/credit: unknown web
Fade to Black...
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
beetle bomb??
evangilder
"Shooter"
Very nice! 8)
cheddar cheese
Major General
the lancaster kicks ass said:
My guess as to the name of the plane.
Nonskimmer
Captain
Interesting colour scheme. I think the painters got the directions screwed up.
cheddar cheese
Major General
I think it looks pretty cool! 8)
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
no but i thought there might be some reason for the name.........
evangilder
"Shooter"
There is an old Spike Jones song called "Beetle Bomb" about a horse race. I wonder if it is somehow related. That's real similar to the color scheme they used on the SNJ. Maybe a training aircraft of some sort?
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
possibly the flight's continuation/conversion trainer??
BlackWolf3945
Banned
When the Blues used the Bearcat as their main display bird they had an
SNJ which was painted up to look like a Zero, hence the number '0' on
the tail. 'Twas yellow overall and had the red meatballs...
The SNJ was used as part of a dogfight routine. At the end of the routine
the 'Zero' would trail smoke, a dummy pilot with parachute was thrown
outta the rear cockpit and the plane would probably disappear behind
some trees or some such. Just like Hollywood...
Anyhoo, at some point a yellow Bearcat replaced the SNJ. The meatballs
were gone, replaced by the 'US Navy' in blue and the dummy pilot was
carried under the belly of the plane in a pod.
I dunno the origin of the name 'Beetle Bomb' but the Spike Jones tune
providing inspiration is probable.
When the team switched to jets I believe they kept this routine for a while
but eventually dropped it. Perhaps they discontinued it after the team was
reformed following the Korean War... I really dunno.
The Bearcat was the team narrator's mount and its use continued after
the dogfight routine was dropped, eventually being replaced by a TV
Sea Star.
Fade to Black...
SNJ which was painted up to look like a Zero, hence the number '0' on
the tail. 'Twas yellow overall and had the red meatballs...
The SNJ was used as part of a dogfight routine. At the end of the routine
the 'Zero' would trail smoke, a dummy pilot with parachute was thrown
outta the rear cockpit and the plane would probably disappear behind
some trees or some such. Just like Hollywood...
Anyhoo, at some point a yellow Bearcat replaced the SNJ. The meatballs
were gone, replaced by the 'US Navy' in blue and the dummy pilot was
carried under the belly of the plane in a pod.
I dunno the origin of the name 'Beetle Bomb' but the Spike Jones tune
providing inspiration is probable.
When the team switched to jets I believe they kept this routine for a while
but eventually dropped it. Perhaps they discontinued it after the team was
reformed following the Korean War... I really dunno.
The Bearcat was the team narrator's mount and its use continued after
the dogfight routine was dropped, eventually being replaced by a TV
Sea Star.
Fade to Black...
evangilder
"Shooter"
Wow, a piece of Blue Angels history! That's pretty interesting. Could you imagine trying to throw a dummy from a Hornet now?!
R Leonard
Staff Sergeant
Here's another F8F-1, bureau number 94880, assigned to NATC in 1946. This particular airplane set a climb to time record, from a standing stop to 10000 feet, of 100 seconds at the Cleveland Air Races on November 22, 1946. Here's a funny little triva question: How long did that record stand?
Rich
Rich
the lancaster kicks ass
Major General
- 19,937
- Dec 20, 2003
really??
because i was gonna say until the lightening beat it.......
because i was gonna say until the lightening beat it.......
http://www.orgsites.com/ca/cafsocalphoto/_pgg4.php3
The Bearcat holds the piston-powered world record for it's time to climb. That record is 91 seconds from brake release at sea level to 10,000 feet. It is said to have held this record for almost three decades until finally beaten by the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/lightning/memories.html
Considering the age difference, the Lightning's performance was totally outstanding when introduced into service, and when it finally bowed out, it could still out-climb most of its successors. Its initial rate of climb was 50,000 ft per minute. The Mirage IIIE climbed initially at 30,000 ft per minute; the Phantom F-4M managed 32,000 ft per minute; the MiG-21 could only manage 36,090 ft per minute; the F-16A's initial rate was 40,000 ft per minute, and the Tornado F.3's 43,000 ft per minute. So the Lightning reigned supreme. Only later was it surpassed; the F-15 Eagle, and the MiG-25 both have initial climb rates as good or better. The Lightning's time to FL 360 in re-heat was 2.5 minutes, in this respect the Eagle produced a similar figure, though this could vary depending upon its configuration.
The Bearcat holds the piston-powered world record for it's time to climb. That record is 91 seconds from brake release at sea level to 10,000 feet. It is said to have held this record for almost three decades until finally beaten by the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/lightning/memories.html
Considering the age difference, the Lightning's performance was totally outstanding when introduced into service, and when it finally bowed out, it could still out-climb most of its successors. Its initial rate of climb was 50,000 ft per minute. The Mirage IIIE climbed initially at 30,000 ft per minute; the Phantom F-4M managed 32,000 ft per minute; the MiG-21 could only manage 36,090 ft per minute; the F-16A's initial rate was 40,000 ft per minute, and the Tornado F.3's 43,000 ft per minute. So the Lightning reigned supreme. Only later was it surpassed; the F-15 Eagle, and the MiG-25 both have initial climb rates as good or better. The Lightning's time to FL 360 in re-heat was 2.5 minutes, in this respect the Eagle produced a similar figure, though this could vary depending upon its configuration.
