Following a 12-year restoration, Grumman F8F Bearcat BuNo 122120 of the Tango Historical Squadron made its first flight at Don Muang airport in Thailand on December 18. At the controls for the brief 4min trip was Group Captain Virayut Dityasarin of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), who is also president of the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of Thai Aircraft, the organisation which recovered the fighter from the gate at Lop Buri AFB back in 1991.In December 1994 the aircraft went back to its birthplace at Bethpage, New York, where volunteers from the Northrop Grumman Retirees group worked their magic on the tired airframe over the next eight years. It was despatched back to Thailand in February 2003 for completion.
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