tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848437078181345610.post310408111659978732..comments2024-03-08T16:42:41.614-08:00Comments on Tailhook Topics: Photo GatorTailspinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17837863895661437038noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848437078181345610.post-12409733303423882892023-11-29T06:33:43.205-08:002023-11-29T06:33:43.205-08:00Sword just came to the rescue with two seperate bo...Sword just came to the rescue with two seperate boxings for both the RF-8A and RF-8G. Only differences are the instruction sheets and decals. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848437078181345610.post-41158690824022026612023-01-27T08:45:00.980-08:002023-01-27T08:45:00.980-08:00From 1975-1977, I was one of the tiny group of eng...From 1975-1977, I was one of the tiny group of engineers responsible for the last 30 or so RF-8Gs at the Naval Air Rework Facility in Norfolk. A lot of things stick in my mind, probably of no interest to anyone these days. You mention the ECM antennas, from memory the last ones I personally saw were Airframe Changes 598 and 599. I don't think any two of the aircraft that came into our shop ever had identical antenna configurations, and we'd incorporate everything they had missed along with the latest stuff, so theoretically they'd leave our line all with the same equipment. That didn't apply to the cameras though. There were different numbers and locations of windows on the various airplanes, and we couldn't do much about that. One odd thing about the F-8 series' wings was that occasionally we needed to remove the upper skins to check for corrosion on the spars and ribs inside, which involved drilling out the fasteners and stacking the upper skins off to one side. When it came time to put the skins back on, it could be challenging to get the holes lined up again, and there was a lot of line-reaming that had to be done. This, and the original drilling-out process, left metal shavings inside the wing fuel tanks that would clog up the fuel filters if left alone, so it was standard practice to pour a thin layer of sealant into the floor of the tanks to glue them down. But the airplanes had been in service for decades and so this process had been done multiple times, so there was eventually a loss of fuel volume as a result. Nothing could be done about it though. We did change entire wings in some cases with ones from "boneyard" F-8s, F-8Ls (I think - it's been a long long time since then) and got increased service life as a result since those fighters had been retired much earlier in their service life than the photo-recce Crusaders, so they had less fatigue life on them. They also had titanium spars, which was a bonus in our minds. You mention a rumor that the RF-series had smaller stabilators than the fighters, but as far as I know that's not the case. I certainly never heard it at the time. One VERY cool thing the F-8 had was something that helped pilots eject with that awful Martin-Baker seat. The pilot could push a button that would activate a pneumatic piston, driving a horn-shaped piece down over a matching piece on the stabilator pivots that would lock the stabilators firmly in place, at a position that gave the F-8 a slight nose-up pitch attitude. No worries then about the aircraft taking a sudden dive when reaching for the ejection handles. One of the most famous F-8 ejection photos shows the locked position: https://theaviationgeekclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VF-154-F-8-Ejection.jpgOldGeezerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00635762932320101571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848437078181345610.post-19592619280140789952020-05-31T14:09:03.305-07:002020-05-31T14:09:03.305-07:00Hi Tommy
Another great post. Tom Weindel's po...Hi Tommy<br /><br />Another great post. Tom Weindel's post can now be found here; https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/have-any-of-you-read-blue-moon-over-cuba-thanks-ge-t485033-s10.htmlNicholas Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16323353264938130801noreply@blogger.com