New Baby Bearcat at Planes of Fame

Here's a video of the new Bearcat that Steve and the Fighter Rebuilders crew have been working on for some years off and on between other jobs.


This airframe was substantially the old Gulfhawk and should be flying soon now that it is running.

Congratulations Steve, John, Rob, Kevin, and all the guys who worked so hard on it for years. Hope to see it fly soon and definitely in next year's airshow.

Nice video, interesting commentary and gorgeous sound from the engine. Love that smell of burnt oil wafting from a hot engine...

GregP said:

This airframe was substantially the old Gulfhawk and should be flying soon now that it is running.

Click to expand...

What colours are they gonna paint it? Orange again? The tail is already blue, I noticed.

It's alive!

This bird belongs to a small group of guys who likely do not wish to be named in a forum. I do not know how they will paint it, but I'd kind of expect dark blue Navy colors given what I know about the owners.

I could easily be wrong and I suppose we'll see soon enough. When it gets finished I'll get some pics. I can probably post exterior pics, but not likely cockpit pics, per owner preference. In any case, a new baby Bearcat is a good thing! It's just personal but, when I think of a "WWII Fighter," I think of the lines of the Zero or the Bearcat ... radials. I love the liquid-cooled inlines, too, but definitely like the lines of a radial fighter. I like to watch the articulated landing gear legs retract ... what a creative solution to long gear legs!

The Bearcat has great performance anyway, but flying one without armor, armament, and all the standard military systems involved should be quite a lively due to very light weight with respect to a stock Bearcat in military configuration. There is no need for wiring drop switches, guns, etc. Maybe I can get an empty weight when the CG gets calculated. We'll see ... even if I can get that, the owners might not want that published. The rate of climb should be outstanding since the Gulfhawk never had military gear installed anyway ... it was always a civil Bearcat from delivery. One of two of them, if I recall correctly.

Good one!

Well, it flew last Friday.

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=0f58f56dbbc8c37b129191aedaf45774&oe=5EE5A026

So, I'm guessing it'll get painted very soon.

I would assume that most of the Warbirds flying today are more lively than they were when delivered from the factory and flown in combat. Although there are some restorations so complete they might include armor, armaments, ammunition and original radio equipment, most have done away with these items and the attendant weight.

Grumman is the only manufacturer I am aware of that produced a civilian version(s) of their Fighter aircraft. A civilian version of the F3F known as the G-22 was built before the war. This aircraft was owned by Gulf Oil Company and flown as a demonstration aircraft with the name Gulfhawk II. After the war, Grumman built two civilian Bearcats under the designation G-56A, since they did not include military equipment. I have also seen sources which list the second example as G-56B. The first G-56 was built for Gulf Oil Company and was flown under the banner Gulfhawk IV. The second G-56 was built for Grumman's own use, and flown by the head of their maintenance division. It included a fixed centerline fuel tank that was used as a flying tool box.

I believe the Bearcat at the Palm Springs Air Museum is the second G-56A(B), and supposedly this newly airworthy is the first G-56A.
If this Bearcat is indeed a G-56A rather than an F8F, it left the factory without the armor and armaments. Based on my research to this point it should have also left the factory without a tail hook. And yet during the POF video of the full power engine run, it appears there is a tail hook in the stowed position inside the tail...

It would be interesting to know if the Palm Springs Bearcat has the tail hook. If not, that would lead me to the conclusion that this is not a G-56, but just another F8F-2

The Grumman at Chino is actually an F8F-2 (BuNo. 121707) since the original G-58 (G-58A) was destroyed in a fire in 1949 (maingear failure on landing and subsequent fire).
The G-58B at Palm Springs is the only original civil Grumman that remains.