Comments on: 21 August 1944

By: Matthew Merrell

Matthew Merrell — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 16:27:54 +0000

In reply to Bryan Swopes. No worries. I hate cigars! But I'm happy to be enlightened! ;) But it would have been a cool story if it were true.

By: Bryan Swopes

Bryan Swopes — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 13:09:07 +0000

In reply to Matthew Merrell. Matthew, TDiA often hears this kind of myth. The facts are easily checked, and this is another one debunked. The Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat could climb from Sea Level to 10,000 feet in 3.70 minutes. The McDonnell F4B Phantom II, in exactly the same 3.70 minutes, could climb to 40,000 feet. The F8F-2's rate of climb at Sea Level, with one 150-gallon centerline fuel tank, is 4,465 feet per minute at Sea Level. The F4B, carrying four AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, had a rate of climb of 12,170 feet per minute at Sea Level. . . Sorry. No cigar.

By: Matthew Merrell

Matthew Merrell — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 17:28:37 +0000

This is completely anecdotal (I heard it from a guy who heard it from YouTube), but I once heard that a slick Bearcat, from a standing start, could out climb a F-4 Phantom II up to a certain altitude (I want to say 10,000 feet AGL).

By: 21 August 1944 – Muskegon Area RC

21 August 1944 – Muskegon Area RC — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 06:11:49 +0000

[…] post 21 August 1944 appeared first on This Day in […]

By: Bryan Swopes

Bryan Swopes — Sun, 21 Aug 2016 16:17:42 +0000

In reply to Gary Edwards. OK, that makes sense.

By: Gary Edwards

Gary Edwards — Sun, 21 Aug 2016 16:01:25 +0000

Great airplane. It wasn’t 50 mph faster because it was 20% lighter than the Hellcat. That’s not how airplane performance works. It was faster because it was smaller and cleaner. The improvement in climb performance is directly attributable to the reduced weight.

By: Bryan Swopes

Bryan Swopes — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 02:55:52 +0000

In reply to Bill Doran. I would speculate that there weren't too many test pilots named Robert Hall working for Grumman at the time. Good chance he's your guy! I have not been able to locate any photographs, however. . . I knew a man who was a USN acceptance pilot at Grumman, checking out new F8Fs. He could tell some stories! Thank you for visiting the blog, Bill.

By: Bill Doran

Bill Doran — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 12:28:47 +0000

Had an aeronautics teacher around 1946-1947 while a student at Brooklyn Tech H.S. in New York and his name was Mr. Robert Hall. He was a serous no nonsense aviator that demanded our respect. In my later years I discovered that a Robert Hall had worked for the Granville Brothers (Gee Bee) fame and left their employ to design and build the Hall Bull Dog racer. Over the years I also discovered that Mr. Hall was a WW2 test pilot for Grumman. I am puzzled about the possibility that the Mr. Robert Hall that you present in your Aviation History just might be the same man that I had as a teacher. I have tried to connect the dots before, but, the trail went cold. Any other info that you have about Mr. Hall would be a serious present to me.