Flight of the Grumman Cats- F8F Bearcat, F7F Tigercat, F6F Hellcat, F4F Wildcat, F-14 Tomcat

[@LuvBorderCollies]

I did see a flyby at Oshkosh in the 80's that included the Wildcat. The F14 could barely maintaining control while the old grampa Wildcat was puffing to keep up. Great show!

[@2ZZGE100]

F-14 was being flown by the best Tomcat pilot ever. Even with wings fully swept back manually at 120 - 150 knots, he was doing just fine and all maneuvers were very smooth.

[@dougkubash8673]

The Kalamazoo Air Zoo used to fly their Wildcat, Hellcat Tigercat, Bearcat and other planes during the' flight of the day' during summer months . I tried to make it as often as possible. What a awesome sight and I sure do miss it!!

[@shawnmaramorrison2503]

Those daily flights would come out as far as 14th St near West E. Ave in Cooper and the turn back was over the field next to my parents' house. Always loved seeing and hearing the Corsair, AT6 and the Cats zipping around. As a teen I was a member of the Air Zoo. Still wear the A2 I purchased when I was 16.

[@curtisjordan5303]

F-14 using the lifting body design to maintain slow speeds with wings at full sweep. Great handling and technique by the pilot.

[@flyurway]

Seeing as you mention it, Snodgrass is the worlds' highest time -14 pilot.

[@bigtrucklittlerv7969]

Almost stall in that wing configuration

[@davej3781]

yeah, I was thinking the same thing, that tomcat has to be just about falling out of the sky in full sweep at that speed. check the side view at 7:45, high alpha. but damn, it does look good

[@kittehboiDJ]

In real life this display is truly awe-inspiring. The skill of the F14 pilot was not lost on me.

[@stijnvandamme76]

@@davej3781 Ain't no pilot or airshow safety officer would risk going to near stall speed with wings swept, in a formation There's not enough control there. and clearly lack of control wasn't an issue here. IT is really nowhere near High Alpha or stall. the slowest one of that formation planes has a slick top speed of about 340 knots Let's say a bit of margin, and they were going 280 knots Tomcat stall speed is 150 knots wings swept That it's attitude is a bit nose up as just a function of CG, and pilot input/trim

[@whooziss]

The most incredible feat I ever saw at an airshow was a while back here in Cleveland, a duet between an F-7F and an F-14. What was so awesome was a slow speed pass with the two wingtip to wingtip, and I mean SLOW! I have no idea how that Navy Captain managed to keep the thing in the air plugging along at next to nothing airspeed. Shows what an incredible plane the Tomcat was.

[@kittehboiDJ]

Saw Flight of the Grumman Cats at Willow Grove NAS many years ago. The F14 had to stand on its tail to keep from stalling. Impressive!

[@RazgrizF14]

Such an awesome display, it sucks that there will never be another Grumman “Cat” for the Navy

[@ethanmcfarland8240]

Why?

[@RazgrizF14]

@@ethanmcfarland8240 because Grumman was bought out by Northrop and haven’t made any new aircraft for the navy with a Cat name.

[@ron5935]

Early 1980`s I was at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo while they were preparing a photo op with all the Grumman cats . Most memorable was a lively grey haired with a crew cut who came out to fly F4F, an airplane type he flew in the war. A B25 was photo plane with rear guns and glass removed for camera. It was a memorable experience and I will never ever forget.

[@jaimibingley6056]

My 2 favourites of these fighter aircraft are the F7F Tigercat and the F-14 Tomcat. These are the twin-engine Grumman Cats. I will love both of these 4ever. Especially the F-14 Tomcat of course. 😁🤗🤑✈

[@xtrjackson624]

Hellcat, Tigercat, Bearcat, Tomcat... Wait a second... Hey, you! Corsair! You know you're not a Grumman plane right? Don't you dare disguise as a Wildcat! Now tell me where is it?

[@mickaleneduczech8373]

Yeah, I was promised a Wildcat.

[@crimsoncosmonaut9734]

Amogus bobby

[@LipitzanerStallion29]

For engines of warfare these aircraft are absolute utter works of art of which there is no equal!

[@jaimibingley6056]

My favourite of these aircraft will forever be the F-14 Tomcat. The last of the Grumman cats.

[@GAONMUSIC]

Grumman Cat family Airshow... wow they are all legends... I'm Really Impressed!

[@robertthurston5171]

I was stationed at NAS Paxriver and got to see the "CAT" flight at the air show in 1973 !!

[@giovannibaffo8161]

Great Video....the last part is Touching! Thanks!

[@xcasmithx]

I was so fortunate to see this awesome performance of U.S. engineering performance to grace the skies! God bless our airman, soldiers and troop's who risked their lives for us!

[@xcasmithx]

These airplanes are fantastic! HellCat all the way! God Bless the U.S.A. !

[@Snuusnuu69]

I can't believe I just met the f6f hellcat pilot in this video, Thom Austin. He is a very nice person. We somehow started talking about aviation, he lit up when he discovered that I am an aviation enthusiast. He showed me a longer version of the 1993 airshow, which this video has some of, in it. His personal video includes his own cockpit helmet camera perspective, and the practice runs they did before the actual air show. There was also a F9F panther flying with them. Their routine had 5 aircraft, a hellcat, bearcat, tigercat, thomcat, and a panther, He said the bearcat had to leave for some reason. and so they nicknamed the courseair a "coursecat" lol. I asked him if the video was on KZbin, he said "no", so I was trying to convince Thom to upload his video to KZbin, to make sure it is not lost to history. I am so glad this video is posted, but his video was 1:47.00 not 10 minutes. I am so glad we somehow started talking about aviation and aircraft. It was an honor to meet Thom, shake his hand and get a behind the scene view of his performance in the 1993 airshow, he also had footage of the last flight of that Thomcat before it was stripped of its engines and internal components, in order to become a set piece to the museum. Incredible stuff. in the end I may have convinced him to upload it! We exchanged contact information, so I hope we can get his footage uploaded as well!

[@jaimibingley6056]

The 1986 film Top Gun has the F-14 Tomcat as the main plane. I have Top Gun on DVD.

[@topturretgunner]

One cannot here Taps played and watch as the “Missing Man Formation “ is performed and not be moved emotionally. Really enjoyed watching the Gruman Cats formation. Gruman has built some incredibly good aircraft over the decades and those exhibited here are just a sample.

[@joevicmeneses8918]

well they don't call Grumman the "Iron works" for nothing

[@brucewelty7684]

Anybody else see the flyby in person? Many a guy had tears in their eyes when I saw it. And, yeah, the one I was at had the F4F in it.

[@MissKay1994]

From left to right the aircraft are Bearcat, Tomcat, Tigercat, Wildcat, and Hellcat. I like Hellcats. Would love to have one.

[@moonboundPiglet]

+gcwcab1994 I think you meen Bearcat, Tomcat, Tigercat, Hellcat, and Corsair. There is no F4F Wildcat here.

[@TheOoKevin]

A shame that we won't see the Tomcat fly again.

[@stephencannon3140]

One of the highlights of any Tomcat demo is the two ship. They would both come screaming by show center about 500-1000 feet....After the carrier break the lead would proceed with a simulated carrier landing with the full narration as the -2 would take a extremely long downwind. About the time the narrator finished talking about the leads demo the -2 would scream by again and the lead would apply max power, clean up and both aircraft into a max profile full burner climb..

[@ahmadtheaviationlover1937]

I loooove the F7F tigercat and the F14 tomcat, these aircraft are my favourite but I love every single one of these amazing aircraft

[@johnfarley4364]

I saw the flight of the cats that included a reproduction F3F also, at Oshkosh many years ago.

[@longrider42]

A sky full of Cats, how incredible! MEOW! Love them all. Even the Tomcat :) We can ignore the Corsair, even though I like the Bearcat and the Tigercat more :) I bet the Bearcat and Tigercat had know problems flying with Tomcat. Don't know the op speed of the Hellcat.

[@71superbee39]

The Corsair said, "Is this a private party?...The cats replied, 'Form up, bud."

[@markmorris5880]

Great stuff, cool to see Howard Pardue in there at the beginning, still miss him....unfortunate that Kalamazoo grounded all their flying stuff but now we have a new flying museum here in CO called The National museum of WWII aviation and we have TWO Tigercats, and an F3A Corsair!

[@markmorris2207]

This is good narration.

[@ftgrat1]

A Grumman air show for the ages!

[@firemedic5100]

My eyes always start sweating when the wingman pulls up in a formation, regardless of whether they are all cats, or Mustangs, or B 17s.

[@ron5935]

I saw all the cats fly in the early 1980`s, but no Tomcat . There was a B25 going up for a photo oportunity , no rear guns but there was a camera there. The best was a jaunty old man who flew the F4 here and in WW2. Still have the photos.

[@anim8torfiddler871]

I hesitate to confess the feelings of profound... um... admiration... Yeah, that works... the Admiration I feel for these stunningly gorgeous machines. The lines approach the ultimate expression of sculptural subtlety, while the functionality and grace seem to define the upper limit of piston-driven possibilities. Thanks to all who spend their lives lavishing their care on these astounding aircraft. My dad was an Aviation Chief Ordnanceman's Mate on the Hornet CV-8 when she launched the Doolittle raid, stayed with her through the last day, fighting fires below decks. Received a Commission & Black Widow Navy Cross for that day's work, and his next assignment (I assume after training) was a couple of years as bombardier on a PB2Y Coronado, a lot of long-range bombing missions against Japanese Island installations and anchorages. Growing up on air stations as a Navy brat, I learned to love the throaty roar of Navy aircraft just warming up. I could replay these videos all day! Thanks for sharing.

[@EfponlineNetwork]

Thank you for sharing

[@davidluqueskywalker527]

It's good that the Tomcat didn't go into a spin ...

[@lufwaffeaircraft]

Nothing beats the pinochle of prop performance! The F7F and F8F are absolutely sexy!

[@bobdyer422]

Sorry no Wildcat in that formation. The "Bentwing " bird on the right coming at you in the final line - up, is and always will be the F4U4 Corsair. "Whistling Death" as the Japanese called them.

[@markmaki4460]

Mike Foster - the empennage of the leftmost bird confirms it is indeed a Corsair. The relative forward position of the vertical stabilizer is as characteristic as the gull wing.

[@markmorris5880]

@Mike Foster Look closer....it has bent wings, it IS a Corsair!!

[@lannlann]

@Phantom Phlier you can see first off, the rounded wing tips of a corsair.

[@TheSirjohn2012]

It's too bad that the F-14 was retired from active service by the year of 2007 but keeping it preserved is most important to not only those who maintain it but for us the general public too as well.

[@janis317]

Didn't have much of a choice since Congress defunded the F-14D and X projects. With the planes over 30 years old they were developing cracks in the wings and fuselage.

[@flyurway]

The absolute worst thing was that since we'd sold about 80 or so Tomcats to Iran, Congress decided we needed to keep them from getting any parts...and the only "solution" they had was to destroy all the "parts". So with the exception of stripped down museum pieces they ground every single one of those incredible birds into little pieces! Sickening!

[@mafiosomemer3730]

You can blame Iran for it. They wanted every airframe parts of the advanced Tomcats after being sanctioned.

[@delten-eleven1910]

I witnessed the special Grumman formation at Mirimar NAS back in the early 90's.

[@ryankc3631]

The Tomcat is still the sexiest fighter plane ever.

[@domthefamilymantoretto]

RyanKC i 100000000% agree.

[@Adrielokil]

Don't forget the Russian flankers

[@robertmantell1700]

What?? Incredulous...get that bent wing bird outta there!!! There is no such thing as a Grumman Corsair-cat ;-)

[@yourhandlehere1]

It's a Navy Catfish.

[@sirboomsalot4902]

The Corsair wasn’t made by Grumman either

[@zorankalina6100]

Wought ???

[@zorankalina6100]

@John Buick Ah...yes But am from Croatia...probably was writen...something similar...but wrong Sory....👍😊

[@zorankalina6100]

@John Buick Lapsus ........should be;Vought

[@flyurway]

I was there! And at about 7:54 is when I snapped the shutter and that 8x10 has been hanging in my living room ever since! That was also the day that during the F-14 demo "Snort" Snodgrass "modified" the regs for a second and actually came in and did an unprecedented touch and go. It was unexpected (think I heard that Dale got a little talking-to over that...and I'm sure he gave a shit!) and the crowd went crazy. And I was right near the flight line! I panned and snapped off as many pics as I could - most of them the AF couldn't lock on - and right at the perfect angle, just as he lifted off again, what would be the killer shot of the day, the AF finally locked...and some dumbass in front of me stands up! I still have this pic of a blurry back of some moron's hat with perfectly focused Tomcat wings sticking out of it! F**k!

[@EfponlineNetwork]

:-( It was a great show

[@flyurway]

It sure was! Those were the days! I probably attended over 90% of all the shows they put on starting back in '81 right through the Batavia shows and finally the big move to Elmira, those Batavia shows, at least to me, were probably the epitome. They were moving up, the shows were getting big, things were looking good. After the move to Elmira they got enormous - maybe too big - and it all lost its luster before finally falling apart completely. Today they're still trying to find their roots in Geneseo (which was a great series of shows thru the 80's!!) but it just isn't working.

[@flyurway]

Even though in Geneseo several years ago I did get to meet and get my pic taken with Dale "Snort" Snodgrass himself with his beautiful P-51, "Excaliber". It's a crime to think that beautiful Tomcat today is all ground up into little pieces! :(

[@Phoenix_Of_Fury]

Beautiful ending!! 😯🤯😭😭

[@andrewhapp8776]

So sad that we lost Howard and his beautiful Bearcat a couple of years ago. Also, all of the Air Zoo aircraft have been grounded due to the expense of insurance. I remember seeing the first formation of all the 'cats at Kalamazoo in the '80.

[@Chocomare]

:(

[@johno9507]

5:15 You very rarely see the 'glove vanes' deployed on the F14, I believe they were eventually locked closed.

[@Mike-01234]

Many zero pilots made the mistake of thinking the hellcat was a wildcat which could not climb as well as the zero and the wildcat would stall out leaving easy target for the zero but when they tried that with a hellcat it didn't stall it kept climbing with it's much bigger engine.

[@EnterpriseXI]

its not a Grumman cat formation if there's a Corsair flying in there

[@TheOoKevin]

I noticed that as well. No wildcat..

[@danielmendoza355]

There's no wildcat flying in this video being shown and the Plane powered by the Pratt and Whitney R2800 Double wasp engine is the F4u1a Corsair Fighter from WW2 operated by the USAAF and the us navy and the us marines corps same engine used in the F8F Bearsat F6F Hellcat b26 marauder the a26 invader and then the p47d thunderbolt!

[@MooreFishing-ky3wq]

@@danielmendoza355 the USAAF never used the Vought F4U Corsair . The only fighters that the USAAF operated with the P&W R-2800 was the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and the Northrop P-61 Black Widow .

[@danielmendoza355]

@@MooreFishing-ky3wq oh ok so the navy used the F4u 1a corsair ?

[@MooreFishing-ky3wq]

@@danielmendoza355 yes the first Navy squadron was VF-17 was to operate aboard the U.S.S. Bunker Hill , however the Navy still deemed the F4U as unsuitable for carrier use . As a result they were attached to land based Navy and USMC squadrons .

[@jonnycomfort9271]

The flight of the Cats was originally done for a Pratt & Whitney anniversary airshow in CT, cannot remember which year it was but they did a 70th and a 75th if I recall right. My dad worked there and we went to see the shows at Renschler Field in East Hartford. Those times they had the actual Cats, not a Corsair standing in for the Wildcat, and as far as I know this was the first time it was ever done. Talk about a beautiful formation.... Here is a photo from that event: www.flickr.com/photos/global-jet/46997677

[@zahraecihhasanchanne5461]

Beautiful 👍

[@CharlieGordonRailfan]

I loved the missing man peel off.

[@ronnelson7828]

Was the missing man the F4F?

[@30AndHatingIt]

"Yooooo Corsair, you ain't a Grumman... but you're still cool as hell, so you can roll with us."

[@Chocomare]

Goosebumps

[@margaretroselle8610]

Fan-tas-tic!! Thanks!

[@boakyeduan563]

wish they had any F9F Panther (or Cougar) and F-11F Tiger that were able to fly...😞

[@brianjschumer]

What a beautiful video..I always wanted to see a side by side comparison I know that when the US Navy switched from Wildcat to Hellcat..The war was over for Japanese pilots, their old altitude engine stall trick made them the prey not the predator..

[@johnosbourn4312]

There was a Corsair in that flight, instead of the Wildcat, so,it couldn't be a true "Flight of The Grumman Cats", now, could it.

[@zorankalina6100]

Like all those Grumman's cats 😊🏅👍🔝🙌

[@EfponlineNetwork]

Me too!

[@kenclark9888]

Yeah I’m sure Grumman said that about the F8F

[@AphexTwinII]

That corsair, "It's been five years and they haven't noticed I'm not a cat yet"

[@delten-eleven1910]

Where was the F4F Wildcat?...guess the Corsair was a stand in.

[@frankmcnab522]

The f7f tiger cat is the best looking aircraft right behind a p38 lightning

[@kukuri007]

How did I know the 14 would be the one that would do the breakaway at the end? LOL

[@stonerayven2455]

Maybe because the Tomcat was starboard slot. That the breakaway spot in Missimg man if its done right

[@flyhossD]

Umm... There wasn't an F4F Wildcat in that formation at the end of the video. It was an F6F, F-14, F7F, F8F and a Corsair.

[@77zachery91]

ya i say that too

[@janis317]

Looks like an F4F to me, the Corsair had a gull wing and is very distinctive. Other than that and the more powerful PW2800 Double Wasp engine, the Corsair is very similar to the F4F

[@FWDoraDora13]

It's definitely a corsair

[@jackfuller8960]

janis317 the aircraft on the far right clearly has the gull wing design, not to mention it is considerably larger than the bearcat, which the wildcat is not. It is definitely a corsair. My bet is that the wildcat couldn't be flown on the day.

[@73Trident]

@@janis317 No it's not.

[@ronmartin3755]

I see an F4 Corsair in this Cat Formation! I do not see the F4 Wild Cat!

[@-Kameron-]

Wow at 6:30 you can see the amount the wings are bending from the gs lol

[@windwardhaven]

Hellcat was a great plane; however, by the time the F6F was operational in late 1943, USN increasing numerical superiority and Japan's loss of experienced pilots significantly contributed to that 19:1 k/d ratio.

[@marcguidry5744]

You don't have all the Grumman cats there. There are also the F9F Panther, and the F9F Cougar.

[@dutchflats]

Instead of the F4U shouldn't there have been an F4F flying in the formation?

[@Luigi-pk8mk]

The Pride of Bethpage and Calverton Long Island.....

[@andrewcavett5691]

I'm guessing there aren't any F9F Panther/Cougars in flying condition. Or the F-11 for that matter

[@peterson7082]

There's one in Canada if I recall

[@marcodifruscio3707]

Why is the coursair in the flight of the cats

[@bigtrucklittlerv7969]

Cool

[@johnraguso4910]

What's that F4U Corsair doing in the Grumman cat lineup?

[@laukseler359]

Cougar anyone?

[@Aonvarr]

beautiful. but there was a Corsair there. brilliant plane, but not a Grumman. and the poor Wildcat, which stood the worst phases of war where was?

[@gibbyharambe7413]

Andrea Lupo Sinclair The Wildcat ships definitely be there. It's disrespectful to not have that plane in the formation. That plane was the reason the US could manage against the Japanese in 1942.

[@gibbyharambe7413]

should*

[@margraveofgadsden8997]

Is there even a air worthy wildcat in existence?

[@StephensCustomModels]

@@margraveofgadsden8997 Hi Mark. Yes a couple are flying. Kermit Weeks has one at Fantasy of Flight in Florida. Look up the Kermit Weeks channel on YT, he has a few videos, including an in-cockpit flight.

[@robertf3479]

@@margraveofgadsden8997 Yes. The Military Aviation Museum here in VA Beach has one along with a Hellcat and Avenger torpedo bomber. Most of allied and axis aircraft in the collection are maintained in flightworthy condition.

[@mckeeboys8929]

Where’s the F11F

[@wlewisiii]

Pity they didn't have one of the flying F3Fs there too!

[@rajpawar9343]

Why Grumman added cat to their aircrafts' name? I think they like cats.

[@kempmt1]

Shame. There will never be another Grumman cat to serve the Navy again. The F-14 Tomcat was the last of them.

[@dave-d-grunt]

No Wildcat! Somebody snuck a Corsair in!

[@jacobhoffman927]

Corsair's like nobody's guna know

[@jsmcguireIII]

On the F6F Hellcats, how were the wings folded and unfolded? Were crew members using hand cranks or powered tools?

[@savageduck2213]

but the f4 u is in the formation?

[@onacit]

Is this the 'House of Cats'?

[@be6322]

RIP Dale

[@jkorshak]

Internet and its cat videos...

[@JohnELow]

No f9f?

[@jaimibingley6056]

What is the name of the song in this video about the Grumman Cats?

[@zorankalina6100]

Mijaauuuu.....🏅🏅🏅

[@EfponlineNetwork]

Greatest! - Thank you

[@zorankalina6100]

@@EfponlineNetwork Afther all....all other plains of that era...become mauses....when some of those cats apire.Simply by the look....bearcat is my favorite.The wildcate keeps the ground and hellcat brings the hell to zeros &Co.Take care...be helthy, all the best from Croatia😊👍🍀🙌

[@zorankalina6100]

@@EfponlineNetwork Allso the Tomcat /F 14....have all features of all 2 motor FAB whic come afther...does no meter...USA, SSSR , EUROPE...From variable wing geometry...toward general apiriance...F14 was real steping stone...from F4, Mig 21 ,and similar...toward..F15, 16, 18...Mig 23, 25 29....Suhoj 27...etc...etc...great plains in all 😊👍🙌

[@Lel_1st]

ah Yes all F Planes Flying

[@mike104740]

Were there any F9Fs flying by 1995? I highly doubt it.

[@intercommerce]

Shouldn't they have had an F-11 Tiger in there? It's a Grumman cat.

[@vincentbearinger2242]

Out f****** standing

[@ILSRWY4]

flight of the Grumman Cats... and a Corsair! there is NO Wildcat in this formation.

[@rickmorgan3930]

A little false advertising with the Corsair standing in for the Wildcat....

[@sinicodaniel]

Could someone tell me the name of that hymn in the end of the video, please? Thank you!

[@EfponlineNetwork]

Daniel Sinico www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/l/g/g/lggmwfly.htm - Check this out and let me know if this is the hymn you are asking about.

[@sinicodaniel]

Oh affermative!! Thank you, sir!!

[@ded1333]

random corsair hey guys. whats going on?

[@MrBioniclefan1]

I don't know

[@michaelwallbrown3726]

never saw a wildcat

[@rollingstopp]

the hellcat would be the last to mechanically fail

[@mafiosomemer3730]

The Navy wanted the CATS but Congress gave them a BUG!

[@F-15E]

Retirement

[@cbrew8794]

*you ever notice things that don’t belong*