Grumman F8F Bearcat - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia

Carter Teeters takes the Grumman F8F Bearcat out for a "leisurely" check flight. The Bearcat was the follow-on to the famed Grumman F6F Hellcat. It features the same Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine capable of producing over2,000hp, but was 20% lighter. During Navy trials, the Bearcat set a time-to-climb record going from sea-level to 10,000 feet in 94 seconds, a record that no other piston engined aircraft has beat. Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong said the Bearcat was his plane of choice during hi