"Reading histories of fighters like the Bf / Me 109 and Spitfire - that was all about the most powerful (& reliable) engines on the smallest airframes."

They all got bigger, and heavier, and more complex, _including_, interestingly, the FW-190. What was intersting about the Bearcat was that it, like, the F-5, was an attempt to go 180 degrees in the other direction.

Just a reminder what a beautiful aircraft this thread is referring to:
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r...NG010-B084.jpg

No - This is beautiful.
http://www.warbirdregistry.org/furyr...wj288-main.jpg

......and is a timely reminder that the need to make smaller fighters was not recognised only by Grumman. The Fury began life as the 'Tempest Light Fighter'.

It has been a recurring theme that designers suddenly seem to realise that fighters are getting too big. The F-5 has been mentioned, there was also the Gnat, and most recently the Eurofighter single engine studies borne of Germany's misplaced desire to reduce costs by developing a completely new version of the Typhoon.

Even before the Fury and Bearcat there were attempts to 'simplify and add lightness' in types like the Martin Baker MB2 and Miles M20, but the Bearcat and Fury are undoubtedly the best examples from the pre jet age.

ZH875....:=


That one doesn't even have a Centaurus!

and don't get me started on that hood :\

Funny, I just got off the phone with Steve Hinton, who of course has flown them all, and he talked of the Fury as in many ways being the polar opposite of the Bearcat. "Nice airplane, but you have to remember it's as big as a bomber." A bit of hyperbole, of course, but he hardly thinks of it as a lightweight.

Well it wasn't THAT much smaller than the Tempest in the final execution, but its the thought that counts ;)

Navalizing it would have piled a few pounds on, it not being initially designed for carriers like the Bearcat was.

I just noticed the Sea Fury in the pic also only has a 4 blade prop, still lovely though, if unauthentic.

Hawker Fury inspired by FW-190?
 

Just how many aircraft did this captured FW-190 "influence and inspire?"

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3995/96590671.jpg

Well it inspired the Spitfire Mk IX. And the Spitfire 'inspired' the FW190...

Hi Graeme, it wasn't that the Fury itself was inspired by th Fw190, only the manner of its Centaurus radial being cowled. I think the best, or perhaps I should say prettiest, version of the Fury was the one with the Napier Sabre in it.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a94...r/IMG_0038.jpg

I thought Hawker got the idea of using a comparatively small wing for the fuselage size from the FW190.

The Spitfire IX was a response to the FW190 but was basically a re engined Mk V. From what I read the FW190 was partly inspired by the Bf109 in the sense that it was a deliberate attempt to avoid the bad points. Hence the wide wheeltrack and all round visibility.

Grumman Bearcat inspired by FW-190?
 

Well, I've had a few hours in the F8, and conclude that the its resemblance to the FW 190 is striking. Whether the 190 had any influence on the F8 may be left to the researchers, I would think. There must have been some real live thoughts buzzing between the German and Grumman engineers-- never mind, both great aircraft. JD Williams, Lcdr USNR

As not having heard about this before, my initial thoughts is why Grumman would take notice of the German lightweighting when they obviously didn't do it around the primary opponent to the Grummans: The Zero?!
Grummans response to the dominance of the Zero was a bigger engine into a similar airframe wich finally became 55% heavier. Though lightweighting isn't the major quality of the traditional american industry, it seems straightforward to try minimize the weight on the upcoming design after the F6F - Even without the presence of the Butcher Bird.

Just my 0.05$

anyone asked Winkle?

Black Sword, with 3/4 main spar, do you mean spanwise? Did the spar not run from tip to tip? Seems strange to me for an aircraft with such large an engine. The countertorque you need at lower speeds would probably require a full strength wing, with spars running from tip to tip.

This thread started, long ago, with examination of the idea that the F8F was inspired by the FW-190 towards the idea of putting the largest engine in lightest airframe. I just found the following quote from Kurt Tank:

From Wikipedia, but it's sourced. It's also said in that entry that Tank was provoked into using a radial by the example of US Navy aircraft.
All of which suggests that if there was any FW-190 in the F8F, it was definitely a case of what goes around comes around.

The F8F has folding wings, so no continuous spar. Wasn't it also planned to have the wingtips jettisonable?

They were designed to fail at the hinge line at 7.5G as a weight-saving measure