Mr. Hellcats wild ride

Scott Rose · **Posted:** Thu Feb 20, 2020 9:18 am

A drone Hellcat has a less than smooth take-off.

I'm guessing that the technology of the time had some lag in the RC controls.

Source: Unknown

Michel Lemieux · **Posted:** Thu Feb 20, 2020 9:29 am

Now that's one sketchy takeoff!!!!!!

RyanShort1 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 20, 2020 9:41 am

No one safe in the vicinity!

AG pilot · **Joined:** Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:13 am **Posts:** 553

Pretty incredible with those attitudes it made it.

StangStung · **Posted:** Thu Feb 20, 2020 10:38 am

AG pilot wrote:

Pretty incredible with those attitudes it made it.

This. Not to mention "flying" (in quotes because, is it really flying if you aren't in control?) just on the tail end of the power curve. Lottery winning pilot right there.

This is the video definition of "more a$$ than class."

Matt Gunsch · **Posted:** Thu Feb 20, 2020 11:14 am

StangStung wrote:

AG pilot wrote:

Pretty incredible with those attitudes it made it.

This. Not to mention "flying" (in quotes because, is it really flying if you aren't in control?) just on the tail end of the power curve. Lottery winning pilot right there.

This is the video definition of "more a$$ than class."

Yes a very lucky pilot, had the plane crashed, he might have missed his dinner at the O-club that evening because of the paperwork. (It was a Drone, there was no pilot on board)

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

Pretty much every R/C aircraft flight I've ever made looked just like that.

steve dickey · **Posted:** Thu Feb 20, 2020 4:08 pm

The "pilot" was a camera! I'd like to see that view!! :shock:

Rick65 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 20, 2020 7:20 pm

How good is the Hellcat to not fall out of the sky when mishandled like that.
You can see why they were initially preferred as carrier plane to the Corsair.

p51 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 20, 2020 7:23 pm

Makes you wonder what kind of reaming he got from his CO afterward...

Rick65 wrote:

How good is the Hellcat to not fall out of the sky when mishandled like that.
You can see why they were initially preferred as carrier plane to the Corsair.

Good point. If you'd described this to me without me seeing it, and told me it stayed in the air, I would have been hard-pressed to believe that.

mike furline · **Joined:** Wed May 05, 2004 3:45 pm **Posts:** 2635

Some of the above comments come across as if they think a pilot was inside this aircraft. If so, there wasn't. This was a late 1940's R/C takeoff.
Sorry for any confusion.

A couple more F6F Drone & Controllers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEKHiuFYzFo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AafMAUlRc0I Starts at 1:28 minute mark. Controller F6F nose cowls painted to match Drone cowls.

Spitty · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:04 am

Hold my beer Sgt..I got this...... :drink3:

DH82EH · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:36 am

I recall a quote from an article that went something like this

"Leroy Grumman designed the Hellcat, so that a two hundred hour pilot would have a reasonable chance, of taking off from a carrier, at night, engaging with the enemy then getting it back on board the ship"

This video certainly backs that up.

Can any of you guys lend me your Hellcat so that I can give it a go? :mrgreen:

old iron · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 8:33 am

I guess the next question was be: Did this successfully land? (or maybe it was shot down to protect the neighborhhod)

Scott Rose · **Posted:** Fri Feb 21, 2020 8:53 am

old iron wrote:

I guess the next question was be: Did this successfully land? (or maybe it was shot down to protect the neighborhhod)

I would assume it was shot down, as that is what they were primarily used for. Aerial targets.

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