Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: Beefcake on April 04, 2000, 11:55:00 AM

Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Beefcake on April 04, 2000, 11:55:00 AM
Hey HiTech Pyro, is the Hellcat on the list? heheheh I love that plane. Oh well, I was just wondering.

The Beefster
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Mox on April 04, 2000, 01:09:00 PM
Beef,  Did you give up on being a full time bomber pilot?  I rarely fly them anymore myself.

I'm hoping the new version will bring back the strat to the game.

Mox
The Wrecking Crew
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: skernsk on April 04, 2000, 02:30:00 PM
Put in my vote for the Hellcat (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/smile.gif)

.....................
Skernsk
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: daddog on April 04, 2000, 02:50:00 PM
Hellcat should only enter along side the A6M5.  (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/wink.gif)



------------------
daddog C.O.
332nd Flying Mongrels (http://www.ropescourse.org/flying.htm)
Where men become friends and friends become brothers.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: popeye on April 04, 2000, 03:34:00 PM
Bring on the Cat!   (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/smile.gif)

popeye
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: nonoht on April 04, 2000, 04:45:00 PM
stop with american planes....
pfffff...
what about fairey battle t-68 ?
Fokker TV ?
Fokker G1 ?
Northrop 8A-3N ?
Stuka ?

 (http://www.multimania.com/alsacenono/no.jpg)  

GC III/2 "Alsace" (http://www.multimania.com/alsacenono)

[This message has been edited by nonoht (edited 04-04-2000).]
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Tern on April 04, 2000, 11:37:00 PM
 
Quote
Originally posted by nonoht:
stop with american planes....
pfffff...
what about fairey battle t-68 ?
Fokker TV ?
Fokker G1 ?
Northrop 8A-3N ?
Stuka ?

[This message has been edited by nonoht (edited 04-04-2000).]
Yeah, let's have some more cannon armed planes.  (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/tongue.gif)  What am I saying!?  (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/tongue.gif)


------------------
Tern
"Live to Fly!  Fly to Fight!  Fight to Live!"
========================
"There I was, inverted at 50 feet and 120 kts. and the only thing running was the radio."
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Pongo on April 05, 2000, 09:21:00 AM
The american fighters are hardly over represented. They are by any measure some of the most signifigant planes of the war, and how and why they were successfull is far more interesting to me then the fairly battle.
Hellcat! Hellcat! Hellcat!...
and its moving airstrip too please....
and the Zero....


------------------
Pongo
The Wrecking Crew
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Sundog on April 05, 2000, 10:15:00 PM
I agree. I love the Hellcat! Hopefully HTC will add the Zero and the Hellcat at the same time  (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/smile.gif). BTW, Historic Wings website has Hellcat wallpaper for this months calender.
 www.historicwings.com (http://www.historicwings.com)


[This message has been edited by Sundog (edited 04-05-2000).]
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: eye on April 07, 2000, 12:15:00 AM
I hope they add some british planes first.Some japenese too to even out the country sets. When they add a f6 i hope i get my 2 20 mm cannon not just 6 50's. The f6 is just the antidote to the spit fever we have here. A f6 + a 38 that can turn with flaps makes life alot tougher on a spit dweeb like myself.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: air_spro on April 08, 2000, 11:27:00 PM
Thanks Sundog , I got the wallpaper .

Hellcat has always been my favorite .

Did you know that in that plane there was more ace's made than any other in WW2 ?


 
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Hristo on April 10, 2000, 12:18:00 AM
 
Quote
Originally posted by air_spro:

Did you know that in that plane there was more ace's made than any other in WW2 ?


 

By 5 victories criteria ? How many aces ?

I believe 109s shot more planes than any other plane, so I guess 109s had more aces than Hellcat.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: air_spro on April 10, 2000, 03:52:00 PM
The book was  "Aircraft of World War 11"

A visual encyclopedia
By Michael Sharpe , Jerry Scutts , and Dan March

Here's the quote
 "At least 306 pilots achieved ace status while flying F6F's with US Navy squadrons during the war , a larger figure than for any other air_craft type. And the Hellcat obtained a better kill-to-loss ration of 19:1- a figure unrivalled by any other type --- for its Navy and Marine pilots were credited with 5,156 victories for hte loss of just 270 F6F's."

Now maybe they were talking about just for the US Navy or just US in all . I really didn't think of that when I wrote the first post. It really doesn't say that though .

[This message has been edited by air_spro (edited 04-14-2000).]

[This message has been edited by air_spro (edited 04-14-2000).]
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Pongo on April 10, 2000, 05:58:00 PM
Toliver says there are over 5000 LW aces.
How many do you think flew the 109...probably more than 300

------------------
Pongo
The Wrecking Crew
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: skippy on April 10, 2000, 06:40:00 PM
Ohhh  yeah..  f6f or f4  they look 2 kool.  Gots my vote (worth 2cents if you already have 1) !
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Citabria on April 11, 2000, 01:19:00 AM
Um I hate to burst any bubbles here but if they model an f6f it will behave like a slow f4u1 corsair it's heavier w same engine.
it wont climb as well among other things.

in short if your thinking its gonna be like WB's hellcat when they do make one... fact is thats fiction  (http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/Smileys/default/smile.gif)
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Waxer on April 11, 2000, 01:38:00 AM
Sturmoviks!
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: humble on April 14, 2000, 12:07:00 PM
5000 LW aces??...I'm certainly not close to being an expert on LW history but I'd have to question that. The germans suffered from tremendous attrition on all fronts after 1942. My understanding is that an overwelming percentage (on the order of 70%) of all new LW pilots on all fronts were killed without recording a kill. I do know that the number of experten certainly numbered in the 100's (20 kills??) but I believe scoring fell thru the floor after ther top 500 or so...
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: funked on April 14, 2000, 01:39:00 PM
Hellcats are neat, but it doesn't do anything the F4U can't already do.  There are a lot more significant holes in the plane set to fill.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: SgtPappy on March 23, 2006, 08:38:01 PM
im pretty sure the F6F's are easier to fly, are more stable, and are a bit structurally tougher than the F4U. plus they turn tighter, have equal to better handling at every speed, especially low, and actually climb better than corsairs that had the same engine. they also have a much lower stall speed and (though not very significant, but somewhat of an advantage in emergencies, especially against japanese planes) the Hellcat carried 50 more bullets. also, which is considered the most important thing in war is that they were easier to maintain and build. even so, i do believe that the F4U is an overall better plane, but im stickin with the Hellcat.. unless some1 convinces me other wise  :)
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: KTM520guy on March 23, 2006, 08:54:30 PM
Holy dig up an old thread, batman!

:lol
:rolleyes:
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: SgtPappy on March 23, 2006, 08:55:24 PM
haha i know! i just needed to say that!! :lol
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: the Lazy ace on March 23, 2006, 09:56:16 PM
since wer're on the subject, Eric Hartmann scored 352 comfirmed ariel victories in his ME-109. Those russians sure had a crappy air force, lol.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: F4UDOA on March 23, 2006, 11:00:42 PM
(http://www.enchantingdelights.com/FritzClass_1-16-05/KC%20Workshop%20March%2004/troll%20outside.jpg)

TROLL
Title: Re: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: joeblogs on March 24, 2006, 10:34:40 AM
What list?

Quote
Originally posted by Beefcake
Hey HiTech Pyro, is the Hellcat on the list? heheheh I love that plane. Oh well, I was just wondering.

The Beefster
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Debonair on March 24, 2006, 02:00:11 PM
Do I need an EGA monitor to view the list?
Title: you mean cannon armed Hellcats?
Post by: joeblogs on March 24, 2006, 06:07:08 PM
Those were pretty darn rare, mostly on the night fighters.

-Blogs


Quote
Originally posted by joeblogs
What list?
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Masherbrum on March 24, 2006, 06:17:38 PM
Quote
Originally posted by the Lazy ace
since wer're on the subject, Eric Hartmann scored 352 comfirmed ariel victories in his ME-109. Those russians sure had a crappy air force, lol.


Hooked on Phonics Graduate?

Karaya
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Widewing on March 24, 2006, 06:58:39 PM
Quote
Originally posted by F4UDOA
(http://www.enchantingdelights.com/FritzClass_1-16-05/KC%20Workshop%20March%2004/troll%20outside.jpg)

TROLL


Whoa.... Does Silat know you guys are posting vacation photos of his girlfriend?

My regards,

Widewing
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: 38ruk on March 25, 2006, 07:05:52 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Widewing
Whoa.... Does Silat know you guys are posting vacation photos of his girlfriend?

My regards,

Widewing



LOL
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Pongo on March 25, 2006, 11:24:32 PM
Man the wrecking crew..that was a while back.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: RTSigma on March 26, 2006, 11:39:17 PM
2000? Jeez It would have been almost another year before I saw a naked woman at a strip joint.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Bodhi on April 01, 2006, 08:47:30 PM
Quote
Originally posted by SgtPappy
im pretty sure the F6F's are easier to fly, are more stable, and are a bit structurally tougher than the F4U. plus they turn tighter, have equal to better handling at every speed, especially low, and actually climb better than corsairs that had the same engine. they also have a much lower stall speed and (though not very significant, but somewhat of an advantage in emergencies, especially against japanese planes) the Hellcat carried 50 more bullets. also, which is considered the most important thing in war is that they were easier to maintain and build. even so, i do believe that the F4U is an overall better plane, but im stickin with the Hellcat.. unless some1 convinces me other wise  :)


The Hellcat did not have the same engine as the Corsair.

Differences were minute, as performance is listed as the same, but the early F4u's had a R2800-8 and the F4u-4 an R2800-18W or a R2800-42W (mostly the B's).  The Hellcat series through the -5 carried R2800-10W.

The differences are in carburetor mounting, top on the Hellcat and F4u-4 and bottom on the early F4u's.  Also, the case designs differ owing to different design requirements.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Shuckins on April 03, 2006, 10:35:42 PM
In an earlier post about the Hellcat, one responder (wish I could remember who it was) stated that the British replaced two of the .50 caliber machine guns with .20mm cannon.

This makes sense to me because the Brits tended to place cannon on all the fighter types that they operated.

Does anybody have any information about this, or remember who it was that posted that information?

Regards, Shuckins
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Bodhi on April 04, 2006, 08:45:17 AM
We did it too... in fact the wing on the -5's was designed to take one cannon and 2 .50's, or the the standard load out.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Silat on April 04, 2006, 11:21:41 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Widewing
Whoa.... Does Silat know you guys are posting vacation photos of his girlfriend?

My regards,

Widewing


Trolls make the best lovers............
Title: Egnines
Post by: joeblogs on April 04, 2006, 11:49:56 AM
You are right there is little difference between the -8 and -10 models. The -18 however is a "C" block engine as opposed to the "B" blocks of the -8 and -10. It has a bit more power and few less bugs (e.g. the supercharger).

-Blogs


Quote
Originally posted by Bodhi
The Hellcat did not have the same engine as the Corsair.

Differences were minute, as performance is listed as the same, but the early F4u's had a R2800-8 and the F4u-4 an R2800-18W or a R2800-42W (mostly the B's).  The Hellcat series through the -5 carried R2800-10W.

The differences are in carburetor mounting, top on the Hellcat and F4u-4 and bottom on the early F4u's.  Also, the case designs differ owing to different design requirements.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Squire on April 04, 2006, 01:03:37 PM
"In an earlier post about the Hellcat, one responder (wish I could remember who it was) stated that the British replaced two of the .50 caliber machine guns with .20mm cannon."

The Fleet Air Arm (Royal Navy) never operated any F6Fs with 20mm.

The 20mm was an armament varient on the F6F-5N Night Fighter. Most served in USN and USMC units in 1945. Some land based, some ship based. Only some of the F6F Night Fighters had the 2 x 20mm 4 x 50cal set, most did not.

Most accounts I have read indicate the pilots didnt think the 20mm added that much vs the Japanese a/c they were engaged with, since they tended to go down to 6x 50s pretty quick as it was.
Title: Re: Egnines
Post by: Bodhi on April 04, 2006, 05:55:21 PM
Quote
Originally posted by joeblogs
You are right there is little difference between the -8 and -10 models. The -18 however is a "C" block engine as opposed to the "B" blocks of the -8 and -10. It has a bit more power and few less bugs (e.g. the supercharger).

-Blogs


The only real difference between the -10W and the -18W is the "C series" power section.  The "C series" power section enabled 100 more hp at Max military, and 25 more hp at normal settings.   It is also 80 pounds heavier, and burns fuel faster.  All in all, I am a much bigger fan of the B series engines than the C series.  Unless we start talking the CB series.  The CB's are the easiest to maintain, and they definitely are the smarter choice if historical accuracy is not the aim.  As the 18W having fewer bugs, I'd have to disagree.  The 18W turned at higher RPM's then the 10W and in fact has a higher wear rate than does the 10W.  The only benefit the 18W has over the 10W is the blower ratio, and that is where you are finding the "issues" which, if properly maintained, it is not an issue.
Title: Re: Re: Engines
Post by: joeblogs on April 05, 2006, 09:44:12 AM
One issue with the earlier engines was supercharger surging when changing from low to high blower and back. Worst case, You could blow parts off the engine or start a good fire.

I am not saying the A & B series were bad engines. I don't think there was a more reliable engine of that power range. The only one close might be a Bristol sleeve-valve.

The C series also had a redesigned crank case - stiffer and the oil cooling paths were improved.

The 18W is rated at a slightly higher RPM under high MAP precisely becuase it was a stronger engine. It would not be at all suprising to find greater wear if the engines are run at max RPM as the stresses increase with the cube of RPM. Still these engines had a time between overhaul that were multiples of nearly all axis high powered engines.

Fixed blower ratios are always a comprimise as you are basically picking one or more critical altitudes and hoping that is where the plane will do most of the fighting.

There is a mystery about the specific fuel consumption of all these engines through the war. It's clearly due to the carburetors but I've never been able to sort out the conflicting materials. Ironically, in commercial use after the war, these were efficient engines.

Did the CB series even make the war?

-Blogs


Quote
Originally posted by Bodhi
The only real difference between the -10W and the -18W is the "C series" power section.  The "C series" power section enabled 100 more hp at Max military, and 25 more hp at normal settings.   It is also 80 pounds heavier, and burns fuel faster.  All in all, I am a much bigger fan of the B series engines than the C series.  Unless we start talking the CB series.  The CB's are the easiest to maintain, and they definitely are the smarter choice if historical accuracy is not the aim.  As the 18W having fewer bugs, I'd have to disagree.  The 18W turned at higher RPM's then the 10W and in fact has a higher wear rate than does the 10W.  The only benefit the 18W has over the 10W is the blower ratio, and that is where you are finding the "issues" which, if properly maintained, it is not an issue.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Bodhi on April 05, 2006, 11:30:42 PM
CB's never made the war as far as I know.  We just use them now in "flyers" (aircraft that are close but not 100% historically accurate) as the parts are fairly affordable and still readily available.  Plus the maintenance is a breeze compared to earlier stuff.  The CB3 has a single stage blower which makes it far simpler than the two stage stuff.

I buy cylinders all the time.  We have a lot of 2800's in our collection, so it is always a good idea to have the parts in stock.  By comparison, late model stuff like the C series cyclinders are fairly available, and a "stud assembly" just a plain jane cylinder with no piston, rings or valves runs about a $100.00.  A B series front cylinder is about $2500.00 and a rear about $1200.00.  Complete B fronts run about $3000.00 if you can find them.  Start doing the math and it gets very expensive, very quick!
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: F4UDOA on April 06, 2006, 08:07:46 AM
Bodhi,

What do you do??

I have always though the C series superior to the B because you could run it at higher MAP rating without predetination. The P-47 was cleared to run 150 octane fuel with the "C" block at 65"MAP without ADI and up to 75" MAP with ADI.

The highest MAP approved for F6F or F4U with the B block was 60" although the F4U could ooverboost in the main blower. Not sure about the F6F.

Do you know if PW did any testing at higher MAP's in the B series?
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: gripen on April 06, 2006, 09:07:13 AM
It's claimed in the White's book that the B-series R-2800 was pushed up to 100" during bench tests. That was with max amount of ADI + special cooling.

Generally the later C-series (and E-series etc.) and civil versions of the R-2800 are completely redesigned engines (specially the head cooling was improved).

gripen
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Bodhi on April 06, 2006, 09:12:20 AM
The difference Gripen is saying about the late C's and CB's heads was changing the underlying structure below the fins to a more aerodynamically designed set up that better allowed air flow through the fins.  That and the increase in the number of fins by making the thinner specifically on the barrel.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: F4UDOA on April 06, 2006, 11:06:33 AM
Gripen/Bodhi,

Do you know the max MAP allowed for 100 octane fuel with ADI on the B block.

I have a book that list some Cleveland AirRace results and the HP of each engine. The B block got up to about 2400HP on Lucky Gallon (FG-1) in 1946 but the C could reach close to 3,000 in the F4U-5 or AU-1. Much better cooling apparently. I don't know if there is a ratio of MAP to HP but I figure 2400HP was about 65" MAP on the R-2800B-8W.

Do you know if the B block cleared for 150 octane fuel?
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: HoHun on April 06, 2006, 12:25:48 PM
Hi F4UDOA,

>I don't know if there is a ratio of MAP to HP but I figure 2400HP was about 65" MAP on the R-2800B-8W.

The ratio of boost pressure to power per cylinder is linear.

However, in practice you get increased charge heating with a migher boost pressure, and you're mostly interested in crankshaft power, which means you'd have to deduce the power required to drive the supercharger, so as usual, the devil is lurking in the details :-)

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: F4UDOA on April 06, 2006, 04:25:42 PM
Indeed,

The early R2800B-8 produced 2000HP at SL.

Later the addition of ADI increased HP to 2135HP at SL. Quickly followed by rating increases to 2250HP and then 2300HP in service A/C. However this was done at MAP rating never increasing and never reaching the limit of 60" MAP at sea level. In fact the 2300HP comes at 57.5"MAP.

Go figure.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: gripen on April 07, 2006, 03:08:19 AM
F4UDOA,
The limits of the B-series R-2800 have been discused here several times and I don't have anything new to say. But to summarize:

With the grade 100/130 fuel and ADI, the B-series R-2800 was rated at 56" in the beginning and later raised up to 64" in the USAF service and up to 59" or 60" in the Navy. High ratings tended to cause overheating problems during the climb.

With the grade 100/150 fuel and ADI, the B-series R-2800 was at least tested up to 70" or higher  but the service ratings are a bit unclear. Probably in the 8th AF quite high ratings were used with the grade 100/150.

gripen
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: F4UDOA on April 07, 2006, 07:27:07 AM
Gripen,

Can you reccomend a good book on the subject? Or should I say what is the best in your opinion?
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: Bodhi on April 07, 2006, 09:13:47 AM
buy R2800 - Pratt and Whitney's Dependable Masterpiece.  by Graham White.
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: gripen on April 07, 2006, 01:57:07 PM
Yep, White's book is the best book on R-2800. There is not much about the ratings or power curves but otherwise it's good, particularly the installations to the airframes are presented well.

gripen
Title: these might help
Post by: joeblogs on April 07, 2006, 02:50:32 PM
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze479py/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/doublewasp.pdf

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze479py/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/doublewasp2.pdf


Quote
Originally posted by F4UDOA
Gripen,

Can you reccomend a good book on the subject? Or should I say what is the best in your opinion?
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: SgtPappy on April 07, 2006, 05:15:26 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Bodhi
The Hellcat did not have the same engine as the Corsair.

Differences were minute, as performance is listed as the same, but the early F4u's had a R2800-8 and the F4u-4 an R2800-18W or a R2800-42W (mostly the B's).  The Hellcat series through the -5 carried R2800-10W.

The differences are in carburetor mounting, top on the Hellcat and F4u-4 and bottom on the early F4u's.  Also, the case designs differ owing to different design requirements.


woops.. sorry bout that. i should have specified that the engines had the same type of performance.. didnt actually mean they were the exact same identical engine
Title: This time in pictures
Post by: joeblogs on April 13, 2006, 02:08:24 PM
(http://mysite.verizon.net/vze479py/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/doublewasp.gif)

(http://mysite.verizon.net/vze479py/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/doublewasp2.gif)
Title: The F6F Hellcat
Post by: F4UDOA on April 13, 2006, 02:23:50 PM
Joe B,

It seems as if there could only be two choices for the F4U-1 and F6F-3/5 and that would be the 2SB-G and SSB-G.

I am curious as two which one was it though. It is possible that they used different engines however it would be hard to determine exactly which one since the critical altitudes don't exactly match.
Title: P&W numbering
Post by: joeblogs on April 13, 2006, 02:36:37 PM
According to another P&W document, the R2800-10 is an SSB2-G

The R2800-18 is an SSC22-G

The B or C stands for the B or C series, respectively. The double 'S' stands for a 2 stage, 2 speed supercharger

Trouble is, some of Wilkinson's notation does not appear to be P&W's, especially for the later volumes. It might be a later military or a postwar designation.

-Blogs

Quote
Originally posted by F4UDOA
Joe B,

It seems as if there could only be two choices for the F4U-1 and F6F-3/5 and that would be the 2SB-G and SSB-G.

I am curious as two which one was it though. It is possible that they used different engines however it would be hard to determine exactly which one since the critical altitudes don't exactly match.