Viking1066
Brigadier General
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21UM Mongol B the net
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My beloved RF-8G! A few years before this photo was taken I was in the engineering office at NARF Norfolk, in the RF-8G group. I was going to see if this one was an airplane I might have been involved with, but no BuNo...On USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) off Western Australia 1981 the net
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I remember one very disturbing incident involving hydraulic fluid during my time at 2 of the NARFs. Before Engineering could sign off on any repair involving the hydraulic system, a clean filter patch had to be shown to us, and on one airplane we saw several that were obviously dirty and we kept turning them down. Then suddenly the shop produced one that wasn't just clean enough to pass, it was pristine out-of-the-can pink. The skulduggery in the shops could be quite something. Robbing parts off of aircraft further down the line so that the one that was up next for release was so much a part of the routine that I've often wondered how in the world the last few RF-8Gs could have ever been "sold" as they called it, when the airplanes were on their way out of the Fleet. A lot of piece parts just weren't being manufactured any more, and the stock at Davis-Monthan had dwindled through scrapping. But by then I had moved on, first to an ejection seat company and then to McDonnell Douglas while Mr Mac was still running the company himself. I'm still waiting for someone to write the history of the downfall of MAC after he died, thanks to nepotism and misplaced priorities...I also have a soft spot for the RF-8's I got the chance to do some minor maintenance on some of the last of them when USMC versions were doing recurrent carrier qualifing with some of the last of them in service. What I remember is that several of them developed hydroulic or fuel leaks after they trapped. I will always remember what my Cheif PO said about it. He complained to the Marine aviators that all Marine fixed wing A/C leaked, as when the USN couldn't repaair the leaks, we gave them to the Marines!
I know I'm late to this post, but, if no one said it, the remains of one are at the National museum of the USAF (Dayton, Ohio). Rescued from a test area IIRC.When was this taken? Don't recall any F-90's still around and it looks near museum.
I believe Anigrand Craftworks is currently selling their 1/72 resin kit of this aircraft for a steep discount.
There is a book about this aircraft, the Boeing YC-14, which definitely seems out of place in the series. I am grateful for it and hope they do the competitor as well.
They used them all up in the Blackhawks and Phantom comic strips ...I know I'm late to this post, but, if no one said it, the remains of one are at the National museum of the USAF (Dayton, Ohio). Rescued from a test area IIRC.
Pictures from their website:View attachment 888373View attachment 888374View attachment 888375