style Despite his innate shyness, Grumman's management style included a "hands-on" approach where he could talk comfortably with both executives and factory floor workers. His relationship with Swirbul was unusual. They resolved early in their partnership to work out of one office; both men further pledged that any problems or conflicts that arose between them would not fester, and that neither man would leave the office until they came to an understanding. During an unusually hectic period in the summer of 1944, Grumman sought a release from tension in a unique manner. Seeking out company test pilot Selden "Connie" Converse, he asked for a check out in a "hot ship": the front line F6F Hellcat. After a 10-minute cockpit check, Grumman waved Converse away, started the engine and was soon taxiing down the runway and into the air on a half-hour joy ride. Even though he hadn't flown for years, like he had in the past, when things built up, he would "take his troubles upstairs and leave them there." The factory test pilots observed that Grumman had the flaps down as he taxied back to the flight line, and insisted that he pay the standard $1.00 fine for a flight infraction. Grumman stuffed a five-dollar bill into the party fund container, confiding that it was to make up "for things he'd done in the air that they hadn't seen." World War II By 1939, as World War II began, Grumman's struggling company could hardly be considered an industrial giant, with all of its property relying on the services of a single security guard, yet the company was obtaining important civil and military contracts. However, the next year saw dramatic changes in the company's fortunes as the war in Europe prompted France and Britain to order F4F Wildcats, Grumman's first monoplane fighter design, still bearing his original signature design element, the retractable undercarriage that had been created in 1932. Beginning with the Wildcat and then with the F6F Hellcat fighters, Grumman and Swirbul remained the key figures in the design office. As the war progressed, the pair continued to advance new projects, including the largest single-engine aircraft of World War II, the TBF Avenger torpedo bomber and F7F Tigercat and F8F Bearcat fighter aircraft. Near the end of the war, Grumman was given a penicillin injection to combat pneumonia, resulting in a severe reaction that affected his eyesight. Although he