USMC F-8K Plane Captain 1973-75. Best thing was the huge storage space available where the gun ammo cans were when they were not installed. Back in those days Coors beer had a mythical existence in the East because it wasn't sold East of the Mississippi; furthest east military base where it could be found was Tinker AFB in Oklahoma. We used to send weekend cross-country flights there and back, sending the pilot(s) with a fist full of cash. As I recall you could actually get 22 cases of beer in those compartments, up top just aft of the cockpit. And, of course, it showed up ice cold. Great memories.
As a 18 year old in 1966 I was a plane captain on one of these babies what a kick in the pants. Our squadron was eventual sent to Vietnam as a backup squadron. Growing up in the muscle car area and working on this fast ass machine, ya all can't imagine. 👍👍😁 still puts a smile on my face
I might have seen you there. I was the good looking USMC issue Parachute Rigger working in the IMA Paraloft '74-75. I left a few months before they transitioned to F-4s.
I got to fly the F-8 after I left active duty from the Marine Corps. I left the F-4 and joined an F-8 squadron as a reservist. It was like going back in time after flying the F-4. However, it was much more responsive and nimble than the old Phantom. The instruments were old school and the models that the reserves had were A and B models and the warning lights were just colored covers, the writing had burned off, and the pilot had to look up on his kneeboard chart to see what the light meant. It took a little time to get used to the wing because you think that you are raising or lowering the wing but in the air, you are raising or lowering the fuselage. One of its drawbacks from that era was the canopy, like the F-4, that blended into the fuselage instead of rising above it like all modern fighters and like the P-51 Mustang and other WWII fighters evolved into. Why the manufacturers forgot this I do not know. My one wish was that the F-8 would be refitted with the GE J-79 engine that the F-4 used. It was a magnificent engine that was lighter and had much more thrust than the J-57. It also had almost no delay from idle, unlike the J-57. The F-8 was a true fighter of old-school thinking with no future in the electronic world of today. Everyone who flew it loved it and will always cherish the memories of flying it.
I did some engineering work on F-8s in 1966-70. What a sturdy airplane! On the wall i have mounted a rudder pedal with "VOUGHT" in big letters. It shows some boot wear from being used a lot.
My Dad Flew the F-8's, last of the Gun Fighters, VF201&VF202 Were the last fighter Squadron's in the Navy, ALL the others were photo but birds, this was a very good plan 4 20 mm guns, oh what Fun, Outstanding video
That's unfortunately not possible for either. There were two F-8s that were intended to be restored to flyable condition, but the money just wasn't there. They've been sold for static display. The F-105 (and all ex-USAF planes) had a spike driven through the engine, as well as the wing spars cut.
Titanium and magnesium. Forgot to mention balsa wood. Note: the part number stamped into the hookpoint started with "VS," for "Vought Sikorsky." I guess someone didn't get the memo. F-8s Forever.
@@larryviolette7808 Same as F4Us. The F6U was made of the stuff almost completely abd still couldn't get out of its own way. Assume the F5U and F7U had plenty of Metalite, too.
landing one of these things must of been a hell of a struggle planes are heavy due to there construction comprising of metal so that means the fall fast and landing on a aircraft carrier would of even been more crazy.
The Crusader was indeed a hard plane to land. The variable-incidence wing kept the cockpit level with the flight deck, so the pilot had greater visibility upon landing. Later variants, namely the F-8J and F-8E (FN) featured a boundary-layer control system, which generated more lift of the wings. This gave it a lower landing speed, but weighed down the aircraft.
The last gunfighter. A very capable fighter for its day. I'd imagine, it could of been upgraded to been even more capable like the fly by wire A7 they made in the 70s
Crusader III was cancelled because the Navy did not have enough money to buy both the F-8U-3 and the F-4 which was a dual purpose plane (fighter & attack).
Also, McNamara was pushing the shared plane for all services. It really makes sense - yes, you get a slightly suboptimal plane with compromises rather than a focused goal, but the simplicity in logistics is immense and the flexibility of being able to reassign airplanes is no joke.
