Not even Barret Tillman has written about the almost forgotten Vought XF4U 1& 7/8ths the design that proved the value of the bent wing, which is how most people remember the Corsair..

  
    With landing gear purloined from a Brewster F2A (might have been an F3F; nobody remembers for sure) the "Unbent-wing Bird " used a smaller prop, which limited power and paved the way for the better design.

   
    During its only non-combat appearance atn the Battle of Halfway, stunned enemy pilots were heard exclaiming over monitored radio channels, "With Corsairs like this, who needs Buffaloes?"  Clearly something has been lost in the translation, but we thought it was worth mentioning anyway.

   
     To protray this "prelude to a legend,"  modeler Job Conger chose the worst 1/72 F4U on the market: the early Fujimi -5.       The smaller-llookng propeller was intentionally "shaved" to better depict a prop turning revs. This technique is used throughout the AeroKnow collection on models depicted in flight.

   
    As probably the first glider fighter to be attempted by any combatant, even before the Blohm & Voss BV-40, Grumman's XGF5F Skyrock was equally successful.

   
    The high aspect of the wing is especially apparent in this photograph retouched to scare fish swimming near the surface of the bay off Long Island, N Y.      When asked about landing gear, a Grumman official is rumored to have replied, "We don't think this tub will get off the ground so we're not looking that far into the future."

   
    Though respected for its armament of four .5000 calibre Brownings, the guns were not sufficient to correct the chronic tail-heaviness that doomed any chance for a production order. The lack of a towplane capable of operating from an aricraft carrier deck was also noted int he final report.   Sadly, even the Wright XR-1820 engines introduced to the design failed to win this unique airplane a production contract.

   
    As soon as I opened the box of Academny's excellent 1/48 kit, the clean wing SHOUTEDf the possibilities for a nearly forgotten glider fighter.          These are the only reminder of the project because even I have more sense than to not complete this model by adding the rest of it.

   
     Seldom seen in the sky north of the DMZ, the Vought XFA85C Crusilante flrew on an A-5C wing and a the shortened fuselage of an F-8E.

   
     Built  for the U.S. Air Force, the wings folded down for stabliity in supersonic cruise, which, sadly was beyond the capability of the Crusilante.

   
    Though their example would later be emulated by the General Dynamics F-16's blended delta, which lost out in a competition with the F-15E, the pioneering Crusilante is remembered mostly for its markings which lasted about 18 minutes in the air force, and not much longer aboard big boats.

   
    The model was inspired when I had to rob a Vigi kit for clear parts. At the time I was also building two Hasegawa F-8Es and had several other tail-less 1/72 project at the workbench. All the others were completed to depict aircraft better known to William Green and those other guys.r

   
    Early in the orocess, I removed a portion of fuselage behind the main landing gear doors because I knew there was too much fuselage for the wing. The F-8 wing was cemented to the fuselage where all but the center section was removed. The A-5 wing was added, and the area filled and smoothed. THEN I shortened the fuse forward to better balance the design.

   
    The  McDonnell-Douglas F-18Xtry Horngle was the second type to be be built at the USAF, inspired by a spare but incomplete F-15 and an early Hornet whose wings were damaged during an inverted ribbon pickup at Springfield Air Rendezvous. The pole holders for that act are still getting weekly counselling.

   
     Built before Aviation Week & Space Technology published their news of a "Super Hornet" canard design actually considered by McD-D, F-15 wings were grafted to the rear of an 18 fuselage. The 18's vert stabs were not  modified or repositioned. The elevators of both designs were discarded, and in their place, the vert stabs of the Eagle were selected as forward canards.

   
When these pictures were taken, the Horngle was returning to base after knocking out Iraq's air force. Since there wasn't enough opposition to require a second Sidewinder, it came home with the airplane.

    
     During the refuelling, somewhere, not very high over a blanket of green flannel (NOT metaphorical code, btw)   the pilot flew a little to close and the boom operature used a wide angle lens to include the entire airplane.

    
       The SI tail codes, in fact, are used by the 183d Fighter Wing, based at Capital Airport in Springfield, Illinois, home of AeroKnow and the USAF. They are a terrific aeemblage of talent and dedication, always a fighter unit since they began flying in 1947. In point of fiction, Colonel Dick Eslinger could be talked into trading in his F-16s for a ramp full of Horngles!

An inverted pass. Placement of the canards helped direct air into the intakes during climb and nose-high maeuvers, including final  approach. Nose down or in level flight, drag was minimized by the arrangement, and there was always adequate air for the engines. Low wing placement limited the size of ordinance hung there and contributed to the dssigns failure to capture the internationally redundantly redundant and acclaimfully acclaimed dual designation.

Freshly refuelled, fuel tank expansion at high altitudes gave a bloated appearance, especially at close distances from nervous boom operators.

Coming soon to
a drop zone near you!
More about this  Unusual Strange Airplane Factory design will be shared soon. State uned.

      It's the truth. It's actual.
  Everything is satisfactual.

   
      Heree's a view of a red white and blue (figuratively espeaking) AMERICAN HORNGLE no Syrian, North Korean,   former Iraqi or taxnspend Libra Necromantic fighter pilot  wil  never see!