Would have voted for the F8F Bearcat, but it didn't see combat in WWII. Fw190 was just the best plane, even though my personal favorite was probably the Razorback/Thunderbolt. Always liked the look of the P-38, but it couldn't turn for shit
Both the Hawker Sea Fury and Bearcat had greater performance than the P-51 but neither made it into the war, of course.
Would have voted for the F8F Bearcat, but it didn't see combat in WWII. Fw190 was just the best plane, even though my personal favorite was probably the Razorback/Thunderbolt. Always liked the look of the P-38, but it couldn't turn for shit
Both the Hawker Sea Fury and Bearcat had greater performance than the P-51 but neither made it into the war, of course.
Would have voted for the F8F Bearcat, but it didn't see combat in WWII. Fw190 was just the best plane, even though my personal favorite was probably the Razorback/Thunderbolt. Always liked the look of the P-38, but it couldn't turn for shit
Both the Hawker Sea Fury and Bearcat had greater performance than the P-51 but neither made it into the war, of course.
Would have voted for the F8F Bearcat, but it didn't see combat in WWII. Fw190 was just the best plane, even though my personal favorite was probably the Razorback/Thunderbolt. Always liked the look of the P-38, but it couldn't turn for shit
Dick Bong apparently thought the P-38 had a decent turn radius. So did the 40 pilots he shot down.
The P-51 is the king of kills, with the Grumman F6F Hellcat just behind it. The Corsair only had 2140 claimed kills, but only 189 were lost in combat.
I had a chance to fly in a P-51 years ago and didn't do it. I often look back and think about what a faggot I was.
Would have voted for the F8F Bearcat, but it didn't see combat in WWII. Fw190 was just the best plane, even though my personal favorite was probably the Razorback/Thunderbolt. Always liked the look of the P-38, but it couldn't turn for shit
Dick Bong apparently thought the P-38 had a decent turn radius. So did the 40 pilots he shot down.
The P-51 is the king of kills, with the Grumman F6F Hellcat just behind it. The Corsair only had 2140 claimed kills, but only 189 were lost in combat.
I had a chance to fly in a P-51 years ago and didn't do it. I often look back and think about what a faggot I was.
Dick Bong also flew against a lot of pilots who didn't have the experience that he had, and who flew planes that didn't have the armor to withstand the .50cal and 20mm he could throw at them. You could ask him, I suppose, but he'd probably tell you that most aerial combat kills are made by surprise. The P-38 just wasn't very maneuverable. Powerful and well-armed, yes, but not particularly maneuverable.
There's a local guy who has recently started flying his Bearcat out of the Watsonville Airport and buzzing the beaches between La Selva and New Brighton. Fun to watch the aerobatics, and even more fun to hear that engine.
Would have voted for the F8F Bearcat, but it didn't see combat in WWII. Fw190 was just the best plane, even though my personal favorite was probably the Razorback/Thunderbolt. Always liked the look of the P-38, but it couldn't turn for shit
Dick Bong apparently thought the P-38 had a decent turn radius. So did the 40 pilots he shot down.
The P-51 is the king of kills, with the Grumman F6F Hellcat just behind it. The Corsair only had 2140 claimed kills, but only 189 were lost in combat.
I had a chance to fly in a P-51 years ago and didn't do it. I often look back and think about what a faggot I was.
Dick Bong also flew against a lot of pilots who didn't have the experience that he had, and who flew planes that didn't have the armor to withstand the .50cal and 20mm he could throw at them. You could ask him, I suppose, but he'd probably tell you that most aerial combat kills are made by surprise. The P-38 just wasn't very maneuverable. Powerful and well-armed, yes, but not particularly maneuverable.
There's a local guy who has recently started flying his Bearcat out of the Watsonville Airport and buzzing the beaches between La Selva and New Brighton. Fun to watch the aerobatics, and even more fun to hear that engine.
Good points here. Shitty pilot training / replacement was just one of many reasons the Japanese got turkey shooted.
Would have voted for the F8F Bearcat, but it didn't see combat in WWII. Fw190 was just the best plane, even though my personal favorite was probably the Razorback/Thunderbolt. Always liked the look of the P-38, but it couldn't turn for shit
Dick Bong apparently thought the P-38 had a decent turn radius. So did the 40 pilots he shot down.
The P-51 is the king of kills, with the Grumman F6F Hellcat just behind it. The Corsair only had 2140 claimed kills, but only 189 were lost in combat.
I had a chance to fly in a P-51 years ago and didn't do it. I often look back and think about what a faggot I was.
Dick Bong also flew against a lot of pilots who didn't have the experience that he had, and who flew planes that didn't have the armor to withstand the .50cal and 20mm he could throw at them. You could ask him, I suppose, but he'd probably tell you that most aerial combat kills are made by surprise. The P-38 just wasn't very maneuverable. Powerful and well-armed, yes, but not particularly maneuverable.
There's a local guy who has recently started flying his Bearcat out of the Watsonville Airport and buzzing the beaches between La Selva and New Brighton. Fun to watch the aerobatics, and even more fun to hear that engine.
No argument here.
I've seen the Bearcat "Rare Bear" race at Reno a couple times, and that thing is a screaming monster. Nothing sounds like those engines do.
Would have voted for the F8F Bearcat, but it didn't see combat in WWII. Fw190 was just the best plane, even though my personal favorite was probably the Razorback/Thunderbolt. Always liked the look of the P-38, but it couldn't turn for shit
Both the Hawker Sea Fury and Bearcat had greater performance than the P-51 but neither made it into the war, of course.
Rare Bear is truly an incredible airplane. I think it still holds the short distance speed record for piston engine aircraft at almost 530 mph. As @dflea describes it, it is a screaming monster.
Kelly Johnson's most impressive project has to be on the list too. He pulled this off with an historically small team at Lockheed and through outstanding management of subcontractors including key contributors 3M and Pratt & Whitney. Together they developed a slew of highly advanced technologies in materials and material processing, low observables, propulsion, fuels, ... etc, and they did so in an amazingly short period of time, just a few short years. These days, projects of this stature receive an overwhelming amount of artery clogging bureaucracy and risk aversion that slow their development to geological time scales. Damn shame.
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https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/the-bear-is-back-136220946/
The P-51 is the king of kills, with the Grumman F6F Hellcat just behind it. The Corsair only had 2140 claimed kills, but only 189 were lost in combat.
I had a chance to fly in a P-51 years ago and didn't do it. I often look back and think about what a faggot I was.
It also killed Yamamoto. Remember Pearl Harbor!
There's a local guy who has recently started flying his Bearcat out of the Watsonville Airport and buzzing the beaches between La Selva and New Brighton. Fun to watch the aerobatics, and even more fun to hear that engine.
I've seen the Bearcat "Rare Bear" race at Reno a couple times, and that thing is a screaming monster. Nothing sounds like those engines do.
If we're changing the rules, gotta include the F22 in the cool plane category.
Kelly Johnson's most impressive project has to be on the list too. He pulled this off with an historically small team at Lockheed and through outstanding management of subcontractors including key contributors 3M and Pratt & Whitney. Together they developed a slew of highly advanced technologies in materials and material processing, low observables, propulsion, fuels, ... etc, and they did so in an amazingly short period of time, just a few short years. These days, projects of this stature receive an overwhelming amount of artery clogging bureaucracy and risk aversion that slow their development to geological time scales. Damn shame.