Academy 1:72 USN F-8E VF-162 The Hunters

Positionable canopy

Positionable wing (designed to be displayed up)

Positionable leading edge flaps

Positionable tail hook

Positionable landing gear

Positionable speed brake

Positionable stabilators

The Vought Corporation developed the F8U Crusader as the Navy's first supersonic fighter (and the world's second supersonic fighter), using the same J57 engine as the F-100 Super Sabre (the first supersonic fighter). First flown in 1955, the F8U employed a unique approach to achieving maximum lift at low airspeeds without the corresponding nose-high attitude - the variable incidence wing. The wing would pop up for take-off and landing, and then lock down into place for normal flight. The discovery of area rule (the coke bottle fuselage shape) to reduce transonic and supersonic drag, thereby improving sustained supersonic flight, was too late for the F8U as its fuselage was more like a boxcar than a coke bottle in shape. The Vought engineers did find an innovative way to retrofit area rule to the F8U by adding the ‘hump’ atop the forward fuselage and wing.

Redesignated as F-8 in 1963, the Crusader was incrementally improved during its production, with the F-8E eventually receiving two underwing pylons for weapons carriage in addition to its improved avionics and powerplant. The F-8E saw extensive combat over Vietnam and accumulated an impressive MiG-kill score before it was replaced by the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II as the Navy’s premier air-to-air fighter. The F-8 is also known as the last Gunfighter since it was the last of the Navy’s fighters to be designed with guns as its primary air-to-air weapons.