Bearcat for MSFS?

Hi Dave,

That model that Jankees showed is a private conversion/port. No Bearcat for MSFS available to the public just yet.

Cheers,

Priller
 
The "Beercat" never got the fame it deserved as a genius aircraft design due to timing. That and it's too late for the war stablemate, the Tigercat. Apparently Leroy Grumman, a legitimate test pilot in his own right, flew a captured FW190 in England and said "this is the plane we should have built". The Bearcat was designed to produce a carrier plane of about the same size and weight with superior performance. Wrap the smallest possible plane around the ubiquitous R2800 C series.

With the Tigercat the navy's chief test pilot wrung it out and lands and catalogues all its faults, then says "best damn fighter I ever flew". Speed, climb, 4 50 cal and 4 20 mm! One of my favorite projects for Milton Shupe!
 
It is said that Leroy Grumman flew a captured Focke-Wulf Fw-190 during the war and stated this is the plane we need to build. Thus we got the Bearcat.

Cazzie
 
I'd love to see a new and accurately-simulated Bearcat for MSFS. Every pilot who has flown one will tell you that it's the pinnacle of piston-powered aircraft. The Bearcat was engineered to such perfection, that all of the trim dials are set to 0 for takeoff. It's also described as one of the easiest of all warbirds to fly.
 
I remember doing flight dynamics for one back in FS9 or FSX. I was able to replicate the 90 second climb to 12,000' from a standing start. It had some very innovative engineering to achieve the required G limit (9?) with break away wing tips such that the whole plane didn't have to have as heavy a structure. To get a carrier plane with the same weight and more HP than the FW 190 was a real accomplishment. The C series R2800 was probably the best piston engine ever built. Here in Alaska it is very common to see them still flying on the C46 and DC6 in the guise of the CB16.
 
fliger747 said:
I remember doing flight dynamics for one back in FS9 or FSX. I was able to replicate the 90 second climb to 12,000' from a standing start. It had some very innovative engineering to achieve the required G limit (9?) with break away wing tips such that the whole plane didn't have to have as heavy a structure. To get a carrier plane with the same weight and more HP than the FW 190 was a real accomplishment. The C series R2800 was probably the best piston engine ever built. Here in Alaska it is very common to see them still flying on the C46 and DC6 in the guise of the CB16.
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What always amazed me, was that the Kriegsmarine selected a reworked Bf109T variant for the Graf Zeppelin carrier and not a version of the FW190.
Most pilots who flew both types categorically say just the undercarriage alone makes the 190 the better plane. Not to mention all the other inventions incorporated, like the single lever power control etc etc. And the Finnish Air Force lost almost as many pilots training in the 109 as they did fighting the Russian Air Forces before they switched sides again.
But the Bearcat is just such a gorgeous aircraft and from what I gathered while spending time at POF and WestPac she was a real sweetheart to fly for a warbird.

So I second that a FS2024 version would be desperately needed.
 
Perhaps after the Dauntless ...

In order to create a restored version like this:

Cockpit_Exp_B.jpg

If I remember correctly, I started studying it in 2015 after the release of the FS9 model reviewed by Milthon Shupe and while browsing on the Internet I even found a "fairly clean" POH: Pilot's Handbook for Navy Models F8F1 / F8F-1B / F8F-1N / F8F-2 / F8F-2N / F8F-2P (Dated from Dec 1949 - AN 01-85FD-1)
1753978253515.png
This week, I have found on FaceBook, some pictures edited by AIR ZOO (www.airzoo.org) where they are restoring a Dauntless but they have also a Bearcat if I don't make a mistake.
Nevertheless I found other interesting photos on this site :
=> https://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29523
 
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It is amazing how many successful American WWII aircraft used the venerable R2800, Fighters, bomber and transports and probably the only WWII engine still used in daily commercial service. The "C" series was the most successful with improvements in cylinders and cooling and significantly in the oil scavenging system which could result in a reduction in HP loss of up to 400 HP. The crank and rods swirling around in the case used a lot of energy splashing oil all over the place. An engine which has stood the test of time like no other.
 
Neil Armstrong, who immediately and assuredly replied "Bearcat" when asked what his favorite aircraft was, received his advanced training certification from the Navy at 19 years old on this type of aircraft.
Compared to the Hellcat, the Bearcat was 20% lighter, "climbed" 30% faster and was 80 km/h faster!

A perfect candidate for a FS20 model ...
 
MSFS 2020 and 2024 have greatly expanded the modeling possibilities for lifelike aircraft. However that has come at the cost of increased complexity and almost a requirement for a development team and long germination times. No longer will any studio produce the wonderful and often little known aircraft as Milton Shupe did in the FS9 and FSX heydays.
 
fliger747 said:
No longer will any studio produce the wonderful and often little known aircraft as Milton Shupe did in the FS9 and FSX heydays.
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That's a shame. While waiting for M$ to get their 2024 act together, I got into Skyrim. This game was released in 2014. By game standards, it is my age. However, the modding community have produced mods (all free) that makes it look and play like a 2025 game. This was what it was like during the F9 and FSX era.
 
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