Grumman F8F-2, Bearcat, "Conquest I"

The speed and competition of air racing drew test pilot Darryl G. Greenamyer to the National Championship Air Races, held every September near Reno, Nevada, beginning in 1964. Greenamyer and a team of fellow Lockheed Skunk Works employees used their engineering creativity to modify a Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat into a purpose-built air racer. Grumman designed the Bearcat late in World War II as a replacement for the F6F Hellcat Navy fighter. Conquest 1 featured a shorter wingspan than the production Bearcat, a special small bubble canopy, a larger propeller taken from a Douglas A-1 Skyraider, and a propeller spinner from a North American P-51H Mustang. Highlighted in this image is the cockpit of the Bearcat "Conquest I" Grumman F8F-2.