Subject: Re: Blue Angels Grumman F-9F-8T
From: "Steve Bamford" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 09:34:53 -0800

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2000 6:44 AM
Subject: Blue Angels Grumman F-9F-8T

> Here is my write up -- and photos are attached.  Please feel free to edit
> and/or use any part, all, or none of the enclosed.  I'm sorry, but I have
no
> photos of inside the cockpit.  Just never occurred to me while I was
there.
>
> That is me on top of the wing, and John Melita, the aircraft restorer on
the
> USS Lexington, that I am shaking hands with on one photo.
>
> For further reference, there are more photos, and an entire article
written
> by LCDR. Scotty Ross about the Cougar on the Blue Angels Alumni
Association
> Website.
>
> Len Mozey, BAAA Webmaster
> -----------------------
> As stated by LCDR. Scotty Ross, Maintenance Officer of the Blue Angels
from
> 1963-1965, "In my opinion, Navy 7 was the most important aircraft the Navy
> owned."  This was for two reasons: 1) The team got eighty-five percent of
its
> publicity from work by Navy 7, and 2) Navy 7 served as "parts runner" to
> maintain the six show planes since in the Tiger era, as with previous
years,
> there were no spare airplanes.
>
> The Blue Angels had two F9F-8's.  The first one (BuNo 147404) crashed in
> Colorado Springs on April 10, 1960, killing the pilot and plane captain.
The
> second one  (BuNo 142470) is now on the USS Lexington Museum Ship in
Corpus
> Christi, Texas.
>
> John Melita , the aircraft restorer, did a great job with the "Coug."  The
> basic differences: a refueling probe is missing and the ejection seat as
> changed from a Grumman to a Martin-Baker Seat.  The third difference
became a
> trivia question on the Blue Angel Alumni Site (www.blueangels.org) as it
> would probably only be spotted by a Blue or someone who knows them Team
well.
>  The Blue Angel crest changes each time the Team changes show aircraft,
> reflecting the type of plane currently being used.  John had put a
"Cougar"
> crest on the Cougar, but since is served with the Tiger show aircraft,
should
> have sported a "Tiger Crest." instead.
>
> The refueling probe was taken off when the Coug was asigned to the
Training
> Command.  To a modeler, this aircraft is an interesting subject by the
fact
> that there were so many different paint schemes used during the season --
> from putting a "0" on the tail when it first got to the Blues to a "7"
when
> it left the Blues.  Also, the BA Crest, the "U.S. Navy" and the "Blue
Angels"
> script changed positions on the aircraft depending on what year it was in
> service.  This aircraft actually had three drop tanks.  Two were for fuel,
> and one was made for carrying cargo, such as spare parts for the F-11's.
>
> It also was used to pick up personnel as the need arose.  Grumman Aircraft
> overhauled and painted the F-11's, so whenever one was ready, the "Coug"
> would fly the pilot to pick up his airplane at Bethpage, NY (Grumman).  As
> far as I know, it never flew in any airshow, but Lt. Bob Cowles had me put
> red and blue dye in the wing tanks so we could fly over his hometown and
> "show off."
>
>
>