F-8 Crusader wing

I’m building Hasegawa’s 1/72 F-8E and I was planning on leaving the wing in the up position. Should I fill and sand the trailing edge of the wing assembly or leave it be since it is in effect a moving part?

Sharkinman,

Could you please expand on your question a litte more. I am not sure I understand what you are asking. You say you will leave the wing in the up position, do you mean wings folded or the raised “high aspect” center section will be lifted. And when you talk about trailing edge could you explain exactly which part of the wing you are asking about. I have 2 of the Hasegawa kits unbuilt, but I have built the Revell kit. I hope I can help.

Hey hows it going? I plan on leaving the wings unfolded with the front of the winf in the extended position, as you would commonly see during take offs. I’m not sure what exactly they call the action of the wing up like that, I think I’ve heard it called wing brake. Anyway when you leave it up, a gap is left where you would glue the trailing edge of the wing assembly to the fuselage. Normally I would fill and sand such an area unless it fell in the realm of panel lines. More of an authenticity thing than anything else…thanks!

The wing raised as a means of maintaining the pilot’s view forward during takeoff and landing, and to avoid the need for long gear struts or extensible nose wheel struts, while still maintaining the optimum angle of attack for maximum lift at low speeds.

Sharkinman,
Are you talking about when the main wing raises from the fuselage?? How is the leading put together?? If its a moving section, than no it should not be filled.
As for the wing folds, they folded due to limited space on carriers. Off the top of my head, cant recall any ref. books on the F-8. But if you were to look at books that pertain to the Navy/Marines, you may see some shots of the F-8. Best of luck and hay your having fun building right. Flaps up, Mike

There is a book published in the 1980s and still available at used book dealers, called MIG MASTER. It deals with the F8U in the Vietnam conflict, and has some photos. Also, National Geographic and newsmagazines from the 60s will have some photos. Many libraries archive this material, and it may be available from the magazines websites.

Sharkinman:

There are several pictures at http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-8.htm that show the wing up (take off and landing).

Man, what an outstanding website. That really takes me back. I grew up in San Diego and the F-8 flew at some of the first Mirimar Air Shows I attended. Even though the new kid on the block, the F-14, was the star along with the Blue Angels, in F-4 Phantoms, the F-8 has always captured my attention. It is a beautiful aircraft and once I heard how much the men who flew it loved it, I liked it even more.

Wow, a picture really is worth a thousand words. I’ve been trying to figure out what you guys were talking about and didn’t have a clue until I saw the pictures on that website that claymore68 posted.

Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer to sharkinman’s original question…

M.

Good enough guys, thanks! Fly low and avoid the radar!! Sharkinman

As I recall, the wing being in the “up” position is simply referred to as being “unlocked”. I remeber reading this is in the U.S. Navy’s Approach magizine years ago. The term for this variable setting is wing incidence. Wing incidence is the angle formed between the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and the chordline of the wing. On most aircraft this is a fixed angle. This would be the exception to that rule.

Darren

The rear part of the wing, where it contacts the fuselage was hinged. You would need to leave a visible panel line in that area. When the wing was in the extended position the flaps and slats were also extended. There was one actuator visible, just back from the leading edge, that you should also include. A very good reference is Detail and Scale book Vol 31 if you can find a copy.

Hi Guys!
This is my first post. The “Migmaster” is one of my favorite
aircraft so, I couldn’t resist. If anyone is looking for photos
or info on the F-8, try a search engine on the web.
It took google.com 0.1 seconds to give me 5320 hits on
“F-8 Crusader” It will work for virtually any aircraft.

When you’re out of F-8’s , You’re out of fighters