Randsburg, California...

Mining Ruins- Randsburg, CA.

Photo by Scott Schwartz

I'll publish more information about the town of Randsburg in upcoming posts.

Whistling Death...

A Corsair banks steeply at the Planes of Fame Airshow, a few years ago.
Photo by Scott Schwartz

Known by the Japanese as the Whistling Death, the Vought Corsair's distinctive inverted gull-wings were necessary so that the large propeller would clear the ground.  The Corsair first flew in 1940.  Since the aircraft was designed to be an interceptor, the prototype was equipped with small bomb-bays in each wing.  The idea was to drop small bombs on to attacking enemy aircraft.  Production models were simply flying gun, bomb, and rocket platforms- the bombs and rockets being mounted externally.

The example shown in the photograph is either an F4U-1 (built by Vought), or an FG-1(built by Goodyear).  Corsairs saw service through the end of the Korean War, and the aircraft was the last piston-engine fighter to be produced in the United States.  The final Corsair (an F4U-7) rolled off the assembly line in 1953.

More about Freeman's Station...

Robber's Roost"
Photo by Scott Schwartz

The Raymonds had a rather unwelcome visitor in February of 1874.  Former San Quentin inmate and all-around bad guy Tiburcio Vasquez and his gang arrived at Freeman's Station at 11 AM on February 25.  The outlaws spent a lovely day robbing the stage-stops patrons- even shooting one recalcitrant fellow in the leg for his failure to comply with the gangs' demands-before departing at 6 PM (with several of Freeman's horses).

Vasquez and his men are believed to have spent several days camped at the oddly-shaped rock formation now known as "Robber's Roost", while he cased Freeman's Station, which was only a few miles away.

Ultimately, things did not end well for Tiburcio Vasquez, for he was captured by a posse in May of 1874.  In  March of the following year, after nearly a year of notoriety while imprisoned (he sold photographs of himself  in order to raise money for his legal defense), Vasquez was executed by hanging.

Ghost of an old stage stop...Freeman's Station.

The SandNSky Cherokee parked near the site of Freeman's Station.
Photo by Scott Schwartz

Former stage coach driver Freeman Raymond settled at this spot in 1873; today, traffic roars past on the nearby 14 freeway.  But, in Raymond's day, the spot was near the intersection of two stage routes, and he built a way station that provided food, water, and supplies to dusty travelers and their horses.

Today, only a rusted pipe remains where Freeman Raymond and his wife once
operated their stage stop.  The place burned down in 1915.
Photo by Scott Schwarrtz

                                                                           

Timeless El Paso Mountains...

Ancient Americans once roamed here.

Photo by Scott Schwartz.

Cerro Gordo Ruins...

Cerro Gordo ghost town.
Photo by Scott Schwartz

Low Clouds In The El Paso's...

Only with four wheel drive, could I have come across this scene.
Photo by Scott Schwartz

Wildcat clone......

FM-2 Wildcat at the Planes of Fame Chino air show, 2008.
Photo by Scott Schwartz

Can anyone tell me what differentiates the FM-2 from the F4F Wildcat?

El Paso Mountains- Miner's dug-out. Bonanza Gulch.

Shades of forgotten lives exist here.
Photo by Scott Schwartz

Focke-Wulf - Inspired Lightweight: The Grumman F8F Bearcat

By

Scott Schwartz

Intending to build a replacement for the F6F Hellcat, the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation planned to create a small, light fighter that would be highly maneuverable and fast.  In other words, the new airplane had to be more nimble than the Mitsubishi Zero.  Specifically, an interceptor was needed in order to combat the Kamikaze attacks on U.S. ships.  Although not as fast as late-model U.S. aircraft, such as the Hellcat and Corsair, a Zero flown by an experienced pilot (of which there were few, by 1944) could still turn the tables on an American fighter in a twisting-turning dog fight. 

Not surprisingly, Grumman engineers attempted to build a smaller airplane around the same engine that powered the Hellcat; the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 eighteen cylinder radial.

Ironically, 1943 saw Grumman test pilots flying a captured FW-190 in England.  The report written by one of them, Bob Hall, was sent directly to Leroy Grumman himself.  Mr. Grumman, who personally wrote the specifications for the new light weight fighter, incorporated some of the German design elements into what became known as “Design 58”. 

Unfortunately, it proved impossible to make Design 58 as light as the FW-190, because the Grumman airplane had be tough enough to handle repeated carrier landings.  So, Grumman designers came up with a uniquely 1940’s solution to this problem.  The airplane’s wing tips would simply detach if 7.5 g’s were exceeded during any maneuver.  Sans wingtips, the airplane was still flyable and could still land on an aircraft carrier!  While this idea was successful under test conditions, using hand made prototype aircraft which were not subjected to the daily stresses of carrier landings, operational aircraft occasionally suffered complete wing failure during simulated attack runs and combat maneuvers.  Engineers then tried using explosive charges to blow the wing tips off during high “g” maneuvers.  However, the explosives could detonate accidentally, and actually did so on one occasion, killing a worker.  Eventually, wings were beefed up structurally, and a 4.5 g limit was placed on the aircraft. 

With the first prototypes flying in August, 1944, the F8F arrived in squadron service too late for World War Two.

However, it saw extensive service as a post-war “interim” fighter.  This was during a time when jet fighters barely out performed piston types.  It was even used by the Blue Angels from 1946 until 1950 – when the Korean War caused the team to be temporarily disbanded. 

In 1946, a “time to climb” record was set by an F8F, which, after a take-off run of only 115 feet, reached 10,000 feet in 94 seconds!

By the mid-1950’s, the F8F was largely retired from U.S.  first-line service. Although it never saw combat with U.S. forces, the French used the Bearcat during their war in Indochina.

The Royal Thai Air Force kept its Bearcats in service until 1960. 

A number of Bearcats found their way into civilian hands, and were flown as air racers.  One of these, “Rare Bear”, set the world speed record for piston – engine aircraft, after hitting 528.33 mph in 1989.  Of course, Rare Bear is highly modified, and is powered by a Wright R-3350 engine that generates over 4,000 horsepower! 

Still, the Bearcat - in its stock form – is considered by many to be one of the best-handling fighters ever built. 

Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat specifications:

Length:  28 feet, 3 inches.

Wingspan:  35 feet, 10 inches.

Empty Weight:  7070 lbs.

Maximum take off weight: 12,947 lbs.

Engine:  One Pratt & Whitney R-2800, eighteen cylinder radial, 2100 horsepower.

Top Speed:  421 mph.

Range: 1105 miles.

Service Ceiling:  38,700 feet.

Armament:  (4) .50 cal. machine guns, under-wing rockets, up to 1,000 lbs of bombs.

An F8F Bearcat, parked at March Air Reserve Base, Moreno Valley, CA.
Photo by Scott Schwartz

Red Rock Canyon State Park- California.

Red Rock Canyon State Park.

Photo by Scott Schwartz

Antonov AN-2

The big Antonov at the 2012 Cable Air Faire (that's how they spell it).
Photo by Scott Schwartz,

Same airplane, same air show.
Photo by Scott Schwartz.