The NFDT Blue Angels flew the two seat Grumman F9F-8T Cougar during the 2016 Season as the evolution from the TF-9J that was originally used by the squadron in 2015, early 2016. In the absence of the single seat version used in real life by the demonstration team, the 8T remained in service pending development of the F9F-6 that would arrive in December that year and was officially introduced as the front line Blue Angels aircraft at the Homecoming Air Show, NAS Miramar, January 27, 28, 2017.
Despite its size and the extra seat, the 8T Cougar was a joy to fly in the demo role and all the pilots who were fortunate to serve with the squadron in 2016 miss her dearly. The 8T would remain in service throughout 2017 as Angel 7, used both as the VIP ride aircraft and in the training role, helping to get new Blue Angels pilots into shape. It was phased out and placed in reserve status with the arrival of the Boeing F/A-18D Hornet to the squadron in January, 2018.
Real life notes:
The F9F Cougar is the swept wing version of its forerunner, the F9F Panther - Grumman's first jet fighter plane. As MiG-15s tangled with the slower, less agile Panthers and McDonnell Banshees over Korea, the Navy requested a swept wing F9F design from Grumman. The first Cougars were delivered in November of 1951, a year after the debut of the MiG-15 and never saw combat in Korea. But the Cougar, built as a stop-gap, became a successful design with 1,988 built. The last Cougar, an advanced trainer version, was phased out in 1974.
For a brief period in late 1954, the Blues operated their first swept-wing aircraft, the F9F-6 Cougar, essentially a Panther with swept wings. Its cockpit was nearly identical to the Panther’s, making transition easy, and the “dash six” Cougar actually had better carrier handling characteristics than the Panther. But the F9F-6 had been rushed into service and early examples had a variety of minor technical issues, including poor latitudinal and longitudinal control. A modification to control surfaces solved the problem in the fleet, but the Blue Angels reverted to the F9F-5 Panther briefly and in December 1954, began flying the much-modified and more robust F9F-8 version of the swept-wing Cougar. In 1957, the team made the transition to the F11F-1 Tiger.
CAPT. Asra "Cougar" Kron
NASMCO / TFCOM
