[MOC] Vought F-8E Crusader II

[Juliusz D]

The F-8 Crusader has a legendary status among both pilots and aviation fans, gaining the reputation of a “MiG killer” over Vietnam. With a 19:3 kill ratio it was the most successful US type of war, and its retirement was the end of an era, as it was the last US-made jet fighter designed with guns as primary weapons, earning it a nickname of “the last gunfighter”.

 

About the aircraft

 

The F-8, or F8U Crusader, was designed in 1952, as an answer to the Navy’s search for a supersonic carrier-based fighter. The conflicting requirements of high performance and low-speed carrier approach capability led to rather unorthodox construction, including the use of a unique variable-incidence wing feature, which allowed for lowering of the approach speed without compromising the visibility of a pilot. The first flight of the Crusader took place on 25 March 1955, and the F-8A (F8U-1) type became operational in 1957, becoming the mainstay of the US Navy of late 50’. Designed as a rather simple and unsophisticated fighter, over the years, the Crusader started to become an increasingly effective system, with the introduction of radar(F-8B/F8U-1E), AIM-9 Sidewinder (F-8C/F8U-2), more powerful engine (F-8D/F8U-2N), and limited air-to-ground capability (F-8E/F8U-2NE). However, in the early 1960s everything indicated that the Crusader’s career will not be a particularly long one, with the superior F-4 Phantom II already becoming the Navy’s preferred type. And then the Vietnam War began. As USA was rushing its carrier assets, the Essex-class carriers, scheduled for a replacement, were given a second life, and the only supersonic fighter capable to operate from their relatively small desks was the Crusader. As a result, most of the remaining Crusader fleet underwent a modification program, leading to the development of F-8H (upgraded F-8D), F-8J (upgraded F-8E), F-8K (upgraded F-8C), and F-8L (upgraded F-8B) variants. As a consequence, the fighter versions of Crusaders served until 1976, nearly a decade later than originally planned.

 

About the building process

 

I have always liked Crusader, even though it was never one of my absolute favorites. But a few months ago I came across an excellent F-8 model by kh.bricks (https://www.instagram.com/p/CXFSIf1r357/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) >, and I just loved the appearance of the thing. I started to play around with the front section and was so pleased with the results that I decided to give it a try. The build was quite a challenge, as despite the seemingly simple shape, the F-8 Crusader is far from a simple plane. The tapering of the fuselage was an absolute headache, the wings with their 47 degree angle took me a few weeks to figure out, the landing gear took forever to make it strong enough to support the weight of the plane, and the variable incidence wing mechanism was a real nightmare to sort out. And after I was almost done, I found out that I made a mistake in my calculations and the whole thing is one plate too high...Fortunately, it wasn’t a dealbreaker and after some additional work the model was finished.

 

About the plane

The model represents Vought F-8E Crusader II in a 1/33 scale. The camouflage represents the BuNo 150349 NF 205 aircraft from the VF-53 “Iron Angels”. This particular plane, with LCDR Guy Cane behind the stick, was responsible for the 16^th Crusader’s kill in the Vietnam War, shooting down MiG-17 with AIM-9D on July 27^th 1968. Here, it is presented with 2 AIM-9D missiles and a full load of 12 Mk.82 bombs. The model has a number of features, including detailed and openable cockpit, working landing gear, deployable air brake, working flaps, as well as vertical and horizontal tail surfaces, and last but not least, a fully working variable incidence, foldable wing (the access to the mechanism is through the airbrake hatch).  

For more photos check my Flickr gallery