The BATP pays tribute to Blue Angel Al Taddeo, 6/6/1919 - 8/17/2013. Al was one of the original Blue Angels pilots, serving with Butch Voris in 1946. This video was played during Als service. In a November, 2011 interview with The Florida Times-Union, Al remembered the Bearcat: “We started out flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat, but in August of 1946, we traded them in for factory fresh F8F Bearcats.” Compared to the Hellcat, the Bearcat was 20 percent lighter, had a 30 percent better rate of climb, was 50 mph faster and had twice the roll rate. (That means in the time it took the Hellcat to complete one roll, the Bearcat could complete two.) Taddeo recalled, “With its large, four-blade propeller, the Bearcat was a flying hotrod that defined the word ‘thrilling.’ The pilot became part of the airplane – so you just strap it on and go – which made it a lot of fun to fly. It was overall quicker and more responsive than the Hellcat. At that time, the team flew only three planes and all our maneuvers were flown no higher than 200 feet. The Bearcat had a lot of power and would do anything you wanted. Some people say that it was the best propeller-driven fighter in the world –and I wouldn’t argue with that.” Blue Skies, Al... https://youtube/watch?v=RnMZQATbenM&feature=youtu.be
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 11:47:37 +0000
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