F8 Crusader Variable Incidence Wing

I flew the F-8D out of Miramar in 1965 when Tooter Teague and I talked our
respective C.Os (VF-121 and VF-124) into cross training. The F-8 exceeded
the F-4 in one in-flight characteristic only. It had a superb roll rate. It
was a joy to fly when cleaned up. But with the gear down and the wing up, it
was a truck. It was terrible. And that explained the high F-8 accident rate
among carrier pilots in those days.

The problem in landing the F-8 wasn't so much due to the variable incidence
wing. It was the power plant. On my first touch-and-go everything was great
at the 180. Then passing the 90 I got slow so I added some power. I got
slower, so I added more power. At the 45 I was suddenly very, very fast. I
damn near pulled the power back to idle. I was driving an unstable truck. I
loved the F8 when the wing was down and the gear up. I hated it when the
gear was down and the wing was up.

I hate to contemplate what the a/c would have been like without the variable
incidence wing.

Cdr John Newlin, USN (Ret.)

wrote in message
...
The Vought F8 Crusader was the only production military aircraft I
know of with a variable incidence wing. This feature was used to
improve pilot visibility on take off and landing, a critically
important thing for a carrier plane; several aircraft such as the
earlier Vought Cutlass and Douglas Skyray had the nose and cockpit
greatly revised in production versions for better visibility.

In operation off land bases, did the variable incidence wing have any
disadvantages? Did the approximately 7 degree wing incidence cause any
noticeable increase in drag during the take off run? In landing, did
the wing produce undesirable continued lift after touch down that
reduced braking action? Was it possible or practical to level the wing
after touch down to kill the lift, similar in effect to extending
spoilers on some aircraft?

Thank you,

Peter Wezeman
anti-social Darwinist

On Aug 14, 2:17*am, "John Randolph" wrote:
I flew the F-8D out of Miramar in 1965 when Tooter Teague and I talked our
respective C.Os (VF-121 and VF-124) into cross training. The F-8 exceeded
the F-4 in one in-flight characteristic only. It had a superb roll rate. It
was a joy to fly when cleaned up. But with the gear down and the wing up, it
was a truck. It was terrible. And that explained the high F-8 accident rate
among carrier pilots in those days.

The problem in landing the F-8 wasn't so much due to the variable incidence
wing. It was the power plant. On my first touch-and-go everything was great
at the 180. Then passing the 90 I got slow so I added some power. I got
slower, so I added more power. At the 45 I was suddenly very, very fast. I
damn near pulled the power back to idle. I was driving an unstable truck. I
loved the F8 when the wing was down and the gear up. I hated it when the
gear was down and the wing was up.

I hate to contemplate what the a/c would have been like without the variable
incidence wing.

Cdr John Newlin, USN (Ret.)

Thank you for your reply.

Judging from photographs of the Crusader with the wing in its high
incidence position, it appears that the rather bluff front of the wing
center section might generate a turbulent wake that could impinge on
the wing with possible adverse effects. Does anything in your
experience support or contradict this? How did handling with the wing
up compare with handling at the same speed and angle of attack with
the wing down?

Thank you again,
Peter Wezeman
anti-social Darwinist