FHC's Hellcat rumbles to life today...

Chappie · **Joined:** Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:40 am **Posts:** 987

Is this the F6F that used to carry the '00' and Jimmy Flatley's name? If so I fueled that airplane up in Delaware before she was flown west. My boss at the FBO got a couple shots of me kneeling on the wing with the fuel hose. It spent the night on the ramp with the canopy unlocked.......and yes I admit it...I sat in the cockpit for about 30 minutes that night all alone at the airport and imagined myself taking part in the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.

Chappie

alang · **Joined:** Mon Jun 14, 2010 6:08 pm **Posts:** 87

That is the same plane that had 00 and Flatley's name. Bud Tordoff's memory wasn't that good, if you watch the video of him being re-united with his plane he was asked if the paint job was correct and he didn't remember Upupa Epops wether it was in yellow lettering or something else, in the video the lettering is yellow, the pilot who ferried it to Sweden was the one who informed FHC it should be red.

Fight2FlyPhoto · **Posted:** Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:03 pm

Warbird Kid wrote:

Fight2FlyPhoto wrote:

These engine runs will be so much more fun once the construction is done! No more annoying tractor noises, or construction workers just walking right in front of the airplane as the pilot yells "CLEAR!" :shock:

Any shots on the progress of the hangar ?

I don't have any, but if you check out this article, the top right corner shows the construction and the green wall. Right now they've got the roof, all the sides done, and the main hangar doors all hung. You can see a bunch of lights and stuff already hung inside, and all the repaving outside is done.

http://flyingheritage.com/Content/Docs/ ... ellcat.pdf

Makes a difference, I guess, when I include the link. :-)

JohnCFord · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:53 pm

This is fantastic news!! This is my favorite fighter of all time. Two questions: Where are you guys from, and did you draw straws to see who sits in the cockpit to do the start-up?

Mega congratulations to all who helped make this a reality. :supz:

~J~

Mudge · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 1:05 pm

OK...Time to educate Mudge again. What is the purpose of the little flap on top of the wing that kept flipping up?

Mudge the curious :roll:

Noha307 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 4:19 pm

Mudge wrote:

OK...Time to educate Mudge again. What is the purpose of the little flap on top of the wing that kept flipping up?

Mudge the curious :roll:

What exactly are you referring to? The flap just forward of the cockpit that opens up at 3:36?

blurrkup · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 4:23 pm

I think its just one of the inspection covers that hasn't been secured properly.

Noha307 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 4:48 pm

blurrkup wrote:

I think its just one of the inspection covers that hasn't been secured properly.

Yea, that's what I figured was happening at the point in the video I mentioned. But he said "on top of the wing", and that part is on the fuselage, so I wasn't sure. I guessed that he intended to write "above the wing", and so I made an assumption that's what he was talking about.

cooper9411 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:33 pm

blurrkup wrote:

I think its just one of the inspection covers that hasn't been secured properly.

I agree, just an access cover not secured. :drink3:

Fight2FlyPhoto · **Posted:** Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:00 am

JohnCFord wrote:

This is fantastic news!! This is my favorite fighter of all time. Two questions: Where are you guys from, and did you draw straws to see who sits in the cockpit to do the start-up?

Mega congratulations to all who helped make this a reality. :supz:

~J~

FHC is up in Everett, Washington. No straws to draw, since it's still being restored, the honor goes to the man in charge of restorations, Jim Martinelli. :-)

Not sure who the crew chief will be.

blurrkup · **Posted:** Thu Jan 31, 2013 1:26 pm

Noha307 wrote:

blurrkup wrote:

I think its just one of the inspection covers that hasn't been secured properly.

Yea, that's what I figured was happening at the point in the video I mentioned. But he said "on top of the wing", and that part is on the fuselage, so I wasn't sure. I guessed that he intended to write "above the wing", and so I made an assumption that's what he was talking about.

There is the one flapping when the aircraft is being filmed from the front on the side of the fuselage, but later in the video when the aircraft is facing the other way one of the covers on the wing is dancing around.

Fight2FlyPhoto · **Posted:** Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:30 pm

blurrkup wrote:

Noha307 wrote:

blurrkup wrote:

I think its just one of the inspection covers that hasn't been secured properly.

Yea, that's what I figured was happening at the point in the video I mentioned. But he said "on top of the wing", and that part is on the fuselage, so I wasn't sure. I guessed that he intended to write "above the wing", and so I made an assumption that's what he was talking about.

There is the one flapping when the aircraft is being filmed from the front on the side of the fuselage, but later in the video when the aircraft is facing the other way one of the covers on the wing is dancing around.

Yeah, just an inspection panel. She's still got some work to finish. Almost there. :-)

Mudge · **Posted:** Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:36 am

Well...at least I started a discussion. :roll:

I'm talking about the small panel about 18" wide that's about 2 feet outboard of the white walkway. It starts flipping up when the RPMs are increased. It's at 7.42-7.50 of the video.

Mudge the specific

Fight2FlyPhoto · **Posted:** Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:44 pm

Went up for a quick flight with a friend on Saturday and snapped this shot, just for you guys. :-)

Here is how FHC looks these days. New hangar has the doors hung and work has now moved inside. For those who may not be familiar, the two hangars in the lower left (with white signs on the front) belong to Legend Flyers. The parking lot on the right was just finished during the last part of the flying season to make up for the space lost from the new building.

image by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr

The Inspector · **Posted:** Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:25 pm

And now, since the Enlisted chow hall /E club that did sit there has been paved over the Snohomish County Sheriffs Deputies have had to find a new place to avoid being on the streets.

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FHC's Hellcat rumbles to life today...

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