We’re LIVE for History Up Close series with LtGen Duane Thiessen, USMC (Ret.) President & CEO of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation as he spotlights Grumman F3F.
Great video on a very interesting airplane. When I was a teenager in high school I sometimes was able to hang around with an older fellow who was an artist and his wife. I remember him showing me many paintings and etchings of various aircraft that he did, but the ones that always caught my eye were the US biplane fighters from right before WWII. I truly enjoyed his stories of life as a naval aviator before, during, and after WWII and wish I had written some of them down. I remember him telling me laughingly that he was the last US Navy biplane fighter pilot. He was a great mentor and a good friend. This video brought back a lot of memories. Thanks!
I took my family to the museum several years back and I believe this is one the finest museum I have ever been to! Since then I’ve been blessed with another son and personally can’t wait to be able to take him. Keep up the great work and hope to see you soon!
Yeah, Grummans just have character. And they are effective Navy planes. Aircraft are about more than just their paper stats. And 1930s planes are just the coolest.
I've only ever encountered this plane in a simulator game. Where it was an absolute blast to fly, because it is so maneuverable and has a good complement of weapons. That and I have a soft spot for fabric wings. Many years ago I trained as a aircraft mechanic, and there was something so satisfying about the art of attaching, stitching and doping fabric. A skill I never used again, but remember fondly.
@@Rogdog692002 Or make a short video on how it's done. You don't have to be perfect to show the principle. People are interested and RUclips is a great forum to do deep dives on specialist skills.
Do you live within traveling distance of Old Rhinebeck, New York ? It was about 1969,but I remember being fascinated watching a man stitch a patch on a biplane. With a genuine Bleriot hung up on a shed wall beside him. And the smell of aviation dope was unforgettable. Cole Palen himself took me up in an old Grumman mailplane. Betcha the skills return quickly with people who do it regularly right in front of you. Just a thought.
Okay, bro, the DC-3 and F4F used the P&W R-1830, not the Wright R-1820. They are totally different engines. The DC-2 used the 1820. The FM-2 Wildcat used the 1820. But the standard was the 1830. One is a single row 9 cylinder, the other is a twin row 14 cylinder.
I agree, the F3F is very cool and very fun, but the last generation was even cooler. That Boeing P-12 in the background is my baby. But the fat Grummans are cool to. And so is the Buffalo, whatever anyone says about it. It is like an attempt to make an even more modern I-16.
I was amazed , I got to read the Log book and helped disassemble the aircraft , captain Nimitz was the officer that wrote the aircraft off. The pilot didn’t like flying with his revolver on so the weapon was still in the cockpit.
So weird to think that the "obsolete" planes that were in US service at Pearl Harbor were actually the brand new tires they had just adopted that year. The best one was the F4F, easily. And the SBD. Everyone thinks of the P-38, P-39 and P-40 as "inferior" aircraft, but they were very modern and high tech compared to the P-35 and P-36. The F4F was okay but it was a navy plane. The British were the same. They only just adopted the Battle, the Blenheim, the Hampden, the Whitley, these were the super modern aircraft. The Hurricane and Spitfire with _eight _ machine guns (unheard of!) were the top of the line, the F-22 or Typhoon of the day. Yet a year later they were obsolete and now everyone thinks of the Hurricane and Mk I Spitfire as quaint antiques compared to the P-51D or later Spitfires. But less than five years separated them. Anyway, the F3F was not so antique as it looks. It is directly related to the F4F and F6F, which sounds be obvious at a glance.
I watched Marion Cole, a stunt pilot and Barn Stormer place one of these into a 60 degree power dive from an altitude of about 5,000 ft. We could hear him over a speaker. The plane was painted black and gold and was owned by an aircraft collector in Illinois. The noise this engine made when taking off from the grass runway could be heard downtown - about a mile away.
love the information my only issue is can you record in at least 720p? most people have 1080p or better TVs now and the video is very low quality on a 1080p tv, plus I would really like to see all of the fine details of the plane.
Ouch! Talk about a faux pax! I would have thought the president/CEO of the museum would know history a little better. Still, an interesting presentation of a beautiful aircraft.
The only surviving Buffalo is a Finnish BW-239 recovered from a lake. It was displayed in the US for a time after recovery. There are also a couple of partial aircraft and two full-size replicas.
As a VF & VP Aviation Ordnancemen “AO1 NAC” how was the 10 gauge shotgun shell actuated? Was it by a mechanical trigger by the pilot or plane captain or was it electricity charge.
I have been wandering what if the F3F fight against a Japanese Zero. I know these are 2 different generations, but could be interesting to compare. The zero was famous for its maneuverability due to low wing load and good power to weight ratio, however the bi plane F3F have a even lower wing load, also F3F is lighter, it’s 950hp engines make it have better power to weight ratio than zero. So there is chance for the F3F to wine in a dog fight, although the zero is almost 60 MPH faster. In China, British made Gladiators lose the fight to zero, however, at the time, China only have a few Gladiators.
If that was really the case, why didn't they just put the crank in the other side? I wonder. I also don't think it would be that hard. Anyone who drinks coffee and drives a manual and adjusts the radio would be accustomed to it.
I cannot explain how sad I am that you didn’t give a 5 min cockpit view of all the instruments….. this plane just released on MSFS and I have some questions about the three lights on the gauge panel. Red blue and green respectively.
red light on instrument panel is the oil pressure warning light, and green light means gear down and locked, pilots used the lights to determine what the status the landing gear is in, if you lower the gear and don't get a green your gear are not locked and may fail apon landing.
It's a little more complex than that so you mentioned Microsoft simulator they added some things that were not on the original aircraft there were no blue or green indicator lights on the original instrument panel I'm looking at an actual photo from 1933 and there is only a red oil pressure warning light so the game added those two other lights to make it more user friendly it's not original equipment
So there was no green or blue light for landing gear on this plane the landing gear on this plane you had to manually crank down and manually Crank It Up the crank is on the right hand side of the cockpit the locking mechanism is a switch on the left hand side that has a safety bolt that goes through it so when you pull locking lever down into the locked position there's a little safety bolt that you then push through the switch and that tells you that the gears are down and locked and it's the reverse for up and locked in place but there is no green or blue indicator light on this aircraft Microsoft added that for better game play
So This Plane had no hydraulic or electric landing gear systems it was a series of gears and pulleys the gear were raised or lowered manually by the pilot So This Plane had a very high work load for the pilot after taking off and when you get a couple hundred feet in the air the pilot would reach over with his left hand and remove the safety pin from the gear locked switch this would allow him to move that liver from locked to unlock when he move that lever that lever ran a pushrod and removed the securing Bolt down in the landing gear strut that then allowed him to grab the joystick with his left hand and with his right hand would crank landing gear crank 28 revolutions bringing the gear up into the belly of the plane then he would with his right hand again grab the yolk freeing his left hand and with the left hand would go back to that locking switch and move the switch into gear up lock and then push the safety pin back in place that locked the gear secured them into the fuselage he also had to do this procedure reverse when he wanted to land so you can see it was a high demand for the pilot to operate the gear system on this plane so so there were no lights or electronic verification system it was all manual and all mechanical on this plane this is demonstrated in the video if you watch the video where they're demonstrating in that simulated cockpit she had to crank the gear crank 28 times and that simulated what the pilot had to do every time he wanted to raise the gear or lower the landing gear
I look forward to the F4B video!😊
Beautiful plane. As I understand it, the Navy Pilots loved it for it maneuverability
What a gorgeous bird this is. My absolute favorite yellow wings fighter.
Beautifully restored example of a Grumman F3F-2.
I've been to this museum, it is incredible!
Great video on a very interesting airplane. When I was a teenager in high school I sometimes was able to hang around with an older fellow who was an artist and his wife. I remember him showing me many paintings and etchings of various aircraft that he did, but the ones that always caught my eye were the US biplane fighters from right before WWII. I truly enjoyed his stories of life as a naval aviator before, during, and after WWII and wish I had written some of them down. I remember him telling me laughingly that he was the last US Navy biplane fighter pilot. He was a great mentor and a good friend. This video brought back a lot of memories. Thanks!
One of my favorite biplanes! Thanks for the great video. Would love to possibly see one done on the Boeing F4B or the Curtiss Goshawk
The biplane was the one that experimented in college 🤣
Everyone knew the truth.
Mine to!
Wonderful presentation. 👍
I took my family to the museum several years back and I believe this is one the finest museum I have ever been to! Since then I’ve been blessed with another son and personally can’t wait to be able to take him. Keep up the great work and hope to see you soon!
I'm a huge Grumman fan...this was very informative for this Hellcat-ophile. Thanks for making these!!
Yeah, Grummans just have character. And they are effective Navy planes. Aircraft are about more than just their paper stats. And 1930s planes are just the coolest.
I believe Butch's last name was O'Hare, not O'Hara.
This guy never heard of Chicago/O'Hare?
Yikes! That’s a rather basic error. I’d have thought better by the president/ceo of the museum.
I love this teaching the general does, very informative. Being a av8 pilot in the 70s, means he is an exceptional pilot.
Nice work , please keep at it.
Excellent presentation. You answered all my questions. I would love to see a video on the engine.
Fantastic museum to visit. I learned something new about this aircraft,one of my favourites of the pre war era. Thank you.
I've only ever encountered this plane in a simulator game. Where it was an absolute blast to fly, because it is so maneuverable and has a good complement of weapons. That and I have a soft spot for fabric wings. Many years ago I trained as a aircraft mechanic, and there was something so satisfying about the art of attaching, stitching and doping fabric. A skill I never used again, but remember fondly.
Get thee to a museum and teach that skill to a youngster while restoring an aircraft.
@@johnthomas9257 while I remember the skill fondly, my instructors at the time might argue I shouldn't be teaching anyone! :)
@@Rogdog692002 Or make a short video on how it's done. You don't have to be perfect to show the principle. People are interested and RUclips is a great forum to do deep dives on specialist skills.
Do you live within traveling distance of Old Rhinebeck, New York ? It was about 1969,but I remember being fascinated watching a man stitch a patch on a biplane. With a genuine Bleriot hung up on a shed wall beside him. And the smell of aviation dope was unforgettable. Cole Palen himself took me up in an old Grumman mailplane. Betcha the skills return quickly with people who do it regularly right in front of you.
Just a thought.
Great episode!
Very well done and informative, thank you.
Excellent presentation. Keep them coming!
Amazing! I was unaware that there were any surviving examples of this plane left, so seeing one still intact is a welcome surprise!
There are 4 F3F-2s, Al William's Gulfhawk II, and a replica G-32a two-seater.
Okay, bro, the DC-3 and F4F used the P&W R-1830, not the Wright R-1820. They are totally different engines. The DC-2 used the 1820. The FM-2 Wildcat used the 1820. But the standard was the 1830. One is a single row 9 cylinder, the other is a twin row 14 cylinder.
I agree, the F3F is very cool and very fun, but the last generation was even cooler. That Boeing P-12 in the background is my baby. But the fat Grummans are cool to. And so is the Buffalo, whatever anyone says about it. It is like an attempt to make an even more modern I-16.
Please publish all videos in greater resolution.. Its a shame its not a HD
I lewrned about Butch O'Hare from comic books. He flew off the Big E.
I was amazed , I got to read the Log book and helped disassemble the aircraft , captain Nimitz was the officer that wrote the aircraft off. The pilot didn’t like flying with his revolver on so the weapon was still in the cockpit.
You remind me of my professor in calculus in college. He was very deliberate in explaining things but very strict no generous in giving grades.
So weird to think that the "obsolete" planes that were in US service at Pearl Harbor were actually the brand new tires they had just adopted that year. The best one was the F4F, easily. And the SBD. Everyone thinks of the P-38, P-39 and P-40 as "inferior" aircraft, but they were very modern and high tech compared to the P-35 and P-36. The F4F was okay but it was a navy plane. The British were the same. They only just adopted the Battle, the Blenheim, the Hampden, the Whitley, these were the super modern aircraft. The Hurricane and Spitfire with _eight _ machine guns (unheard of!) were the top of the line, the F-22 or Typhoon of the day. Yet a year later they were obsolete and now everyone thinks of the Hurricane and Mk I Spitfire as quaint antiques compared to the P-51D or later Spitfires. But less than five years separated them. Anyway, the F3F was not so antique as it looks. It is directly related to the F4F and F6F, which sounds be obvious at a glance.
The F4F had a P&W 1830 until production switched to general moters and it became the FM 1 fitted with a wright 1820
French contract aircraft had Cyclones before the FM-2. FM-1s were Eastern Aircraft (GM) built F4F-4s with Twin Wasps.
I take it the machine guns were timed to the prop to shoot through it. Nice presentation!!
Yep. Fokker designed the interruptor gear in WWI and captured German aircraft allowed the Allies to copy it.
To shoot through the propeller arc, not through the propeller obviously.
Great sight reminds me of the tank museum.
The first 4 aircraft of the Grumman Cat series were all called the Wildcat (FF1 [F1F], F2F, F3F, and F4F). A blank was used to start the F3F and F4F.
The FF wasn’t called a Wildcat. It was either a FiFi (US service) or Goblin (Canadian service).
Guys, you need a lapel microphone. Nice job, though, I really enjoyed it!
I watched Marion Cole, a stunt pilot and Barn Stormer place one of these into a 60 degree power dive from an altitude of about 5,000 ft. We could hear him over a speaker. The plane was painted black and gold and was owned by an aircraft collector in Illinois. The noise this engine made when taking off from the grass runway could be heard downtown - about a mile away.
A Canadian on the Sunshine Coast north of Vancouver has an F2F on a single float.
love the information my only issue is can you record in at least 720p? most people have 1080p or better TVs now and the video is very low quality on a 1080p tv, plus I would really like to see all of the fine details of the plane.
15:16 Was that a Chicken? WTF🤣
I noticed that when the girl grabbed the control stick and when he pointed to the control stick in the cockpit.
Got the house fictional characters delver !
Surprised this was used so late 1937-1941
I don't understand where the speed of 310 MPH is documented. The fastest speed for this aircraft I can find is 264 mph. The G-32A maybe?
Never underestimate a biplane with cannons especially if it’s American
If you are in Virginia Beach VA you can see WW1 and 2 aircraft that do fly. Military Aviation Museum
"Butch" O'Hare won the Medal of Honor for defending the USS Lexington during her abortive attempt to attack Rabaul in early 42, not at Coral Sea.
Ouch! Talk about a faux pax! I would have thought the president/CEO of the museum would know history a little better. Still, an interesting presentation of a beautiful aircraft.
Do you have a Brewster Buffalo? The were at Wake and Midway I think.
The only surviving Buffalo is a Finnish BW-239 recovered from a lake. It was displayed in the US for a time after recovery. There are also a couple of partial aircraft and two full-size replicas.
As a VF & VP Aviation Ordnancemen “AO1 NAC” how was the 10 gauge shotgun shell actuated? Was it by a mechanical trigger by the pilot or plane captain or was it electricity charge.
It's a powder charge, that said it was electricly actuated.
@@michaelmckinnon1591 Some were electrically fired but most were impact fired.
Got this bird at Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 👍
31:17 chicken sound from the game Heretic
I have been wandering what if the F3F fight against a Japanese Zero. I know these are 2 different generations, but could be interesting to compare. The zero was famous for its maneuverability due to low wing load and good power to weight ratio, however the bi plane F3F have a even lower wing load, also F3F is lighter, it’s 950hp engines make it have better power to weight ratio than zero. So there is chance for the F3F to wine in a dog fight, although the zero is almost 60 MPH faster. In China, British made Gladiators lose the fight to zero, however, at the time, China only have a few Gladiators.
Thank you for the work, BUT........INVEST IN A 4K CAMERA!!!!!!
If that was really the case, why didn't they just put the crank in the other side? I wonder. I also don't think it would be that hard. Anyone who drinks coffee and drives a manual and adjusts the radio would be accustomed to it.
I cannot explain how sad I am that you didn’t give a 5 min cockpit view of all the instruments….. this plane just released on MSFS and I have some questions about the three lights on the gauge panel. Red blue and green respectively.
red light on instrument panel is the oil pressure warning light, and green light means gear down and locked, pilots used the lights to determine what the status the landing gear is in, if you lower the gear and don't get a green your gear are not locked and may fail apon landing.
@@nathanbond8165 understand all thanks 🙏🏾
It's a little more complex than that so you mentioned Microsoft simulator they added some things that were not on the original aircraft there were no blue or green indicator lights on the original instrument panel I'm looking at an actual photo from 1933 and there is only a red oil pressure warning light so the game added those two other lights to make it more user friendly it's not original equipment
So there was no green or blue light for landing gear on this plane the landing gear on this plane you had to manually crank down and manually Crank It Up the crank is on the right hand side of the cockpit the locking mechanism is a switch on the left hand side that has a safety bolt that goes through it so when you pull locking lever down into the locked position there's a little safety bolt that you then push through the switch and that tells you that the gears are down and locked and it's the reverse for up and locked in place but there is no green or blue indicator light on this aircraft Microsoft added that for better game play
So This Plane had no hydraulic or electric landing gear systems it was a series of gears and pulleys the gear were raised or lowered manually by the pilot So This Plane had a very high work load for the pilot after taking off and when you get a couple hundred feet in the air the pilot would reach over with his left hand and remove the safety pin from the gear locked switch this would allow him to move that liver from locked to unlock when he move that lever that lever ran a pushrod and removed the securing Bolt down in the landing gear strut that then allowed him to grab the joystick with his left hand and with his right hand would crank landing gear crank 28 revolutions bringing the gear up into the belly of the plane then he would with his right hand again grab the yolk freeing his left hand and with the left hand would go back to that locking switch and move the switch into gear up lock and then push the safety pin back in place that locked the gear secured them into the fuselage he also had to do this procedure reverse when he wanted to land so you can see it was a high demand for the pilot to operate the gear system on this plane so so there were no lights or electronic verification system it was all manual and all mechanical on this plane this is demonstrated in the video if you watch the video where they're demonstrating in that simulated cockpit she had to crank the gear crank 28 times and that simulated what the pilot had to do every time he wanted to raise the gear or lower the landing gear
Just love those yellow wing inter war U S.N. planes.
360p? Sorry my dear museum but this is the twenty FIRST century. 1980s VHS had better resolution :-(
Can you let go of the gear crank before fully up without the gear falling back down and the gear crank beat you up!
Good question.
10:29 God job America just in time for WW2.
This is why everyone who does actual work hates engineers. No communication between the user and the designer.
O'Hare, NOT O'Hara. Not a high point in museum curation.
Some one should tell he there are other countries in the world.
👍👍always 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸!!!
Nope
Can you call a combat aircraft "cute"? That's what I would call this flying barrel.
“O’hare” is pronounced: Oh-hare, not O’Hara.
Invest in a wireless lapel mic.
whistling voice is annoying