heber valley airshow '06 FM-2 Pilot

Comments appreciated! Thanks!

You identified this aircraft correctly as an FM dash two, and not as an F4F as most people would. That alone says something Daniel. Something I really like about this particular shot is how you captured the genuinely portly lines of the design. Looks like a flying beer keg.

To tell the truth, I'm not sure I would have known had it not had a small stencil with FM-2 on the rudder. I even did a large report on FM-2 and F4F pilots and I don't remember if there was really anything to distinguish the aircraft from just looking on the outside. I just know that F4F is Grummen and FM-2 is General Motors... so, what's the trick? If I crop this a little aft of the cockpit and lower the wing just a touch don't you think it could almost look like a mini "Jug", as in the P47... again, just because of the way its framed.

So what's the difference, other than manufacturer? OK Dan, it doesn't show in this photo, but it does in your earlier one where she is pulling up her gear. The vertical stabilizer (the tail) on a FM2 appears taller and narrower than it would look on a true Grumman-built F4F.

oooh... that does sound familiar now. Is it because it just needed it all along? or did GM put in a better engine with more torque that had to be countered? Hope you don't mind giving me a little history lesson... I should probably look it up myself, but hey, I can be lazy sometimes...like now. :-) Thanks Andre.