Does the USAF fly any single engine prop-driven aircraft currently? I saw one taking off from Keeser AFB the other day that looked - and sounded 
- similar to a Grumman F8 Bearcat. It was mostly polished aluminum though, so I couldn't get that good of a look at the details due to glare.
It is common for modern militaries to use propeller planes for primary flight instruction. Basically, teaching pilots just how to fly before teaching people how to fly jets or how to fly big cargo planes.
Googling "USAF Primary Trainers" it looks like they still use:
Beechcraft T-6 Texan II
Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
Neither of these should sound like an F8 since neither are radial engine.
No USA Aircraft are polished aluminum. An natural metal Airforce plane will have taken on a dull silver. The original T-6 has long since been retired. The new T-6 Texan II is a turboprop.
I've seen some Pilatus around in USAF markings. Not polished though. They are turboprop of course with the fantastic PT6 up front.
Was there an airshow? Then it could have been damn near anything.
Did it look like this:
I'm not aware of the USAF flying anything radial engined since the Vietnam war, and you certainly wouldn't mistake a Skyraider for a Bearcat.
Probably going to be a Texan. The T28s and Skyraiders were never polished aluminum AFAIK.
In reply to spitfirebill:
There are some out there in polished alum.
It definitely wasn't a T6 or T34. It was similar to the one Bob posted...it's possible it could have been white, not polished, and I think it had some red/orange too...except the tail looked different. Instead of the 2-angle leading edge on Bob's example, this looked like a curved radius.
I'm no aircraft expert, but it definitely wasn't a turboprop - the C130 hurricane hunters fly over our house almost daily, and this sounded more like a radial. The engine shroud was larger like a radial too.
No airshows that I know of, and definitely none on base. I'd have heard that from the house & gone outside looking for the action!
We do have Coast Guard, Navy, and Reservists who fly out of Gulfport, but that's 6-miles away, and this bird was definitely taking off from Keesler. It was on the same trajectory as the C130s, leaving the southwest end of the runway & climing, less than 1/2-mile from the runway end.
If it sounded like a flying Harley, it was probably a T-28. They have uneven pipes. 5 out one side, 4 out the other (not counting the 7 cylinder A model.) Gives it a noticeable staccato.
Trivia: The T-28 was the last radial-engined plane in US military service. Retired in the mid 80s.
Because of the holiday, it was likely some sort of historic memorial flight / visit, so likely not an active inventory plane.
As noted, the T-28 has a very distinctive deep thumping sound. It sounds a lot "meaner" than it really is. The only reason it would likely be in silver though is if it was a recent restoration and had not been painted (the Air Force has been pretty good about keeping their planes painted since the 70's or so)
In reply to Appleseed:
I don't think "flying Harley" ever crossed my mind, but it definitely had a rumble to it. It sounds like the T-28 certainly is the most likely option. Thanks!!!
The T-28 sure has a nice rumble. 
In reply to RealMiniParker:
That sounded more like an ACVW than Harley to me. 
Will wrote: Trivia: The T-28 was the last radial-engined plane in US military service. Retired in the mid 80s.
There were radial engined Caribou flying in the Air Force or NG as late as 1985 when I lived in Montgomery, AL.
A visual might help. Can you point it out to us on this chart?
In reply to Hungary Bill:
Ah, yes - it was a weather baloon! Should have known... 
Maybe it was a Cessna 337?
OK, yeah, you probably would have noticed the twin props and double-boom tail. Nevermind.
I flew in a T-28B last Independence Day. Thay one had a 1,500 hp (1,400 hp stock) Wright 9 cylinder radial. It has a very distinctive sound, even for a radial. It is very responsive and easy to fly. We had a low ceiling and never got more than 900' above ground level. The low altitude (< 15,000 ft) performance is very similar to a P-51 Mustang.
I've ridden back seat in a T-28 (my ex-neighbor's airplane). Flew high enough to need oxygen until we were over my parents' house in rural Maryland, then laid it over on its back and dove straight down the chimney from about 15,000 feet. Watching 14,800 feet of altitude unwind from inside that giant bubble was pretty intense. Then he did some other aerobatics, and flew up the C&D canal low enough to leave a wake. I flew a little, but not much. Seemed like a fun aircraft.
In reply to Duke:
They are impressive, we flew along the Mississippi River in Iowa at low level 250 knots and pulling 3g turns. I only flew it from the backseat, as I do not hold a current medical certificate.
pilotbraden wrote: I flew in a T-28B last Independence Day. Thay one had a 1,500 hp (1,400 hp stock) Wright 9 cylinder radial. It has a very distinctive sound, even for a radial.
They sure do. I live off just off the approach for the Spartanburg Airport and we always seem to have a few warbirds or old classics coming in and out. The T-28 sounds like the engine is barely turning.
In reply to spitfirebill:
Sounds a little bit like an old 2 cylinder John Deere
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