XF-85 Factory and Wind Tunnel Models

Photos of a factory XF-85 model and wind tunnel models.

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Docking an XF-85 Goblin article from Aerospace Projects Review Blog

XF-85 Goblin Wind Tunnel Model Dedicated at Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum

XF-85 Pre-Flight, In-Fight and Post-Flight Photos

Flight test photos of the XF-85 “In action” with pre-flight, In-flight and post-flight represented. Credit: McDonnell Aircraft, Goleta Air and Space Museum and The Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum.

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XF-85 Goblin Photos–Part I

Fifty five photos of the XF-85 from early to final configurations. Credit: McDonnell Aircraft, Goleta Air and Space Museum and The Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum.

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Download all photos in one ZIP file here or here

XF-85 Films

A selection of films that I have collected. Credit: YouTube.

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XF-85 Three-Views, Drawings and Loft Lines

An additional selection of 3-views and drawings that I have gathered over the years.

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Click here for original post

XP-85 Goblin NACA Wind Tunnel Reports

 As a former wind tunnel engineer, I collect any tunnel tests that I can find. Here I have seven NACA XF-85 wind tunnel tests run during 1947 and 1948 using the Ames and Langley facilities. Of limited interest, I know; but, very interesting! Credit NASA Tech Service via The Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum.

Click here or here for folder to download reports in PDF form

Click here to see Scott Lowther's article on docking the XF-85

XF-85 Fighter Development Chronology

A very interesting date by date listing of the XF-85 time line. Compiled by Richard K. Smith. The original document came from the Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum.
Click here to download the chronology in PDF form

XF-85 Print Articles - Part 3

An article from Air Combat magazine titled “McDonnell’s Parasite”.

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XF-85 Print Articles - Part 2

A McDonnell XF-85 article from the October 1948 issue of Model Airplane News.

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XF-85 Print Articles - Part 1

An article from Flying magazine dated April 1949, “Bug on a Trapeze”. Large heading photo taken on the McAir ramp at Lambert Field, MO.

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XF-85 Conventional Tail Proposal

A NACA report dated March 19 1947 on the Langley tests of an XF-85 scale model with a conventional (Single) tail. An interesting report. Credit: The Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum.

Click here to download the report in PDF form

Monstro and the Goblins

Dick Powers expanded and detailed his XF-85 article (Listed below) into a treatise on parasite aircraft for the Fall 1973 issue of the American Aviation Historical Society. Excellent article with great photos and captions. A lot of work went into this article! (Monstro is the name of the Boeing EB-29B that carried the XF-85).

Download here or here (8.1 Megs)

Proposed Mods to the XF-85 and Trapeze

McAir report  number 1086 concerning the Proposed Modifications to the XF-85 Airplane and Trapeze Mechanism Dated February 28 1949.

Click here to download the report in PDF form

McDonnell/Muroc Report of EB-29B Use for XF-85

  McAir and Muroc Air Force Base combined report number 1179 on the use of the specially modified EB-29B in the XF-85 flight test program. This report recommends that the trapeze be revised.

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XF-85 Design and Development Summary

A VERY poor Xerox of a McAir Engineering report from 1 September 1949. on the XF-85 design and development program. As I only have about one half of the report, I hesitated to present it. However, it has a lot of very detailed info and my hope is that someone has a complete copy.

Click here to download summary

XF-85 Profile, Specs and Breakdown

A presentation of characteristics, specifications and 3-view drawing charts that I have collected. Enjoy!

Click here to view specs and charts

XF-85 Loft Sheet and 3-View Drawing

Several versions of the XF-85 Loft Sheet L.S. P85-3 containing fuselage section cuts, 3-view  drawing and specifications.

Click here to view Loft Sheet

The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin

An excellent article by Dick Powers on the overall XF-85 program and aircraft. The photo pages are very poor Xerox copies (with great captions); but, the article has a detailed description of the entire program and specs on the aircraft itself. Also included is the Flight Test log.

Click here to download the article in PDF form

The Story of McDonnell Douglas

An interesting speech made by Sandy McDonnell in May 1990 about the histories of Donald Douglas and James McDonnell and how McDonnell Douglas came to be.

Click here to download the story in PDF formhttps://www.filefactory.com/file/ff7hunh6ej4/The_Story%20of%20McDonnell%20Douglas.pdf

The F-4 Phantom II “Spook” Symbol

“In 1962, MCAIR Technical Artist Anthony "Tony" Wong put pen to paper and created the symbolic spirit of the F-4 Phantom II. Tony’s nameless little figure swiftly and silently stole the hearts and imaginations of everyone who ever had an association with the Phantom II.” Read the whole McAir Product Support article from 1988 here. The last photo is a copy of the Spook done for my Loft Lines engineering department in the late 1960’s. Anyone have others?

Click to view the "Spooks"

F-4, F-14 and F-15 Ferris Schemes

“Aviation artist Keith Ferris developed a number of camouflage schemes for aircraft in the 1970s and 1980s, all based on a splinter scheme and in various shades of grey, that went from a tan-grey to a dark blue-grey. All markings on the aircraft were heavily subdued and basically in a thin outline to not break up the pattern painted on the aircraft.  The effectiveness of the scheme has been debated for quite some time and despite painting several USAF and USN planes with the scheme, none were adopted for overall use. About the closest any came to this was their use on Top Gun and VF-126 Skyhawks and F-5Es in the late 1980s. It was eventually felt that the current greys scheme that is so prevalent on modern aircraft was the way to go. This was partly due to effectiveness and partly due to the lower cost of maintaining the schemes”. Credit: Scott Van Aken at Modeling Madness.

These “Deceptive Paint Schemes” are some of my all time favorite F-4 and F-15 paint patterns. I have also included a wonderful Airfix magazine article by Paul Mercer.

More Ferris schemes here

Click here to view gallery

Historical F-4 Flight Test Program Charts–Part I

Buried inside the 1978 F-4 Program Report A5229 are some very interesting charts concerning the flight test history of the F-4. Charts for the F-4A/B/J and RF-4B. I have pulled them out for your pleasure!

 

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F-4 Phantom II Program Report - 1978

A great overall view of the F-4 Phantom II program progress report MDC A5229, dated Jan 1, 1978.

Click here to view report in page form

Click here to download the report in PDF form

McAir Flight Test Cargo Pod

When traveling, especially for extended times, McAir pilots needed a place to store and transport their gear. For these occasions, a BLU-27 was modified as a distinctive carry pod and mounted on a wing station. The former napalm bomb had it’s fins removed, painted white with a large red stripe down it’s side.

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F-4C,D and E Flight Manual

A copy of the Oct 1970 F-4C, D and E Flight Manual.

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More Eliminate Range Zero (EROS) Photos

  While going through the F-4 slat photos, I found a few more EROS photos under F-4E aircraft.

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Original EROS post is here

RF-101 Striped Voodoos–Part 2

Mark Nankivil sent along a photo of the striped RF-101 I referred to in Part 1. It was taken at an open house on the McAir Flight Ramp on July 4, 1964. Credit to: Robert A. Burgess collection via The Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum.

Original post here

F-15E Strike Eagle Brochure

A small brochure on the F-15E non-stop, unrefueled capabilities as demonstrated on August 24, 1980.

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F-4E Flight Manual

A copy of the Feb 1979 F-4E Flight Manual.

Click here to download in PDF form

F-4E Slat Photos

Photos of the “new” F-4E slat installation.

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