Vought RF-8 Crusader project, 2018

DC1973

DC1973

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Hi folks,

Starting this as a new thread as advised for the forthcoming RF-8 project, to which I am now committed to undertaking and very excited about doing so. Many thanks to Navy Chief who has supplied dozens of fabulous photographs today to help get things started. I'll be focused on finishing my two Northrop projects ( Reporter and P-61C Black Widow ) over the next month or so, and will then start work on the RF-8 Crusader. I've learned a lot over the past year so I'll really be able to get my teeth into the new work.

I will share info here about the project as it becomes available. If any "Last Gunfighter" fans would like to contribute knowledge, images or general chat about the project, please do so here. I'll monitor it as often as I can :)
 
Yes! I'll have to go through all of my books and reference documents. Oddly, I think the Crusader I have the best blue prints for with cross sections is the F8U-3 Cursader III, which is an entirely different plane, just saying. But I'll see what I have for the RF-8. :)

I do have an RF-8G manual, that I probably got from that former McDonnell Douglas employee's website; he posts all manner of excellent references.
 
Having been around VF squadrons flying various F-8 versions on a couple of ESSEX Class Carriers, it was obvious why we all called it the "gator". It crawled along virtually on its long belly and short stubby legs, its intake ready to swallow the first careless person who made a wrong move. In the air, its picturesque profile was only rivaled by the RA-5C as far as appeal was concerned. Like most fighters, it was easy to get low on fuel. Passed a lot of fuel to them in my trusty A-4 at various times, especially at night, when go arounds were not unusual.

A great plane though - and deserves to be in anyone's hangar.
 
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Originally Posted by warchild
excellent information TarpsBird.. and very much appreciated..
I cant help but wonder if theres a way Dean and I can make that viewfinder work in P3D??
Pam

(My previous comment from the RFN Crusader thread) I am not familiar with all the wizardry involved in animation, but it would be quite a challenge. For 1950's electro-optical technology the viewfinder was a pretty clever piece of gear. The moving lines of the "traveling grid" were adjusted so they were in sync with the ground movement under the aircraft. That set up your cameras to compensate for the motion of the aircraft when the pictures were snapped. I recall the lines got larger and moved faster as they moved down the viewfinder lens. Cycle rate of the camera was set depending on how much overlap of the images you wanted. Usually it was 60% overlap for good stereoscopic viewing. If it's possible to animate the viewfinder, I know guys who can help. :encouragement:​





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Hi,
I'm glad to see a RF-8 project to set up!
Regarding the difficulties I have to resume my current F-8 project, having a RF-8 project in parallel is really a good thing for all the simmers who would like to fly 'Saders!

I have some materials on RF-8 like flight manuals but I guess it is the same as you already have.
Regarding specific photo's features, C++ dll may help to do some very nice stuff (especially with last P3D simconnect functions), I though about some as I would like (one day) to upgrade my Etendard IVP to current standards... but I have to keep focused on my current projects before starting any new one...
Anyway I'd be pleased to help you sharing materials, codes, ideas, etc...

Regards,
Sylain

PS: the RFN Crusader includes so far a French F-8E(FN), which is a version in between F-8E and F-8J, and a USN F-8E. At this point, I didn't work on wing hard points, bombs, etc... I'm not very familiar with Tacpack or similar tools so I put these stuff into a second step. F-8J should be also part of the scope but after a 1st beta release as it will need some more adjustments (VC, FDE, etc...)
 
sparouty said:
Hi,
I'm glad to see a RF-8 project to set up!
Regarding the difficulties I have to resume my current F-8 project, having a RF-8 project in parallel is really a good thing for all the simmers who would like to fly 'Saders!

I have some materials on RF-8 like flight manuals but I guess it is the same as you already have.
Regarding specific photo's features, C++ dll may help to do some very nice stuff (especially with last P3D simconnect functions), I though about some as I would like (one day) to upgrade my Etendard IVP to current standards... but I have to keep focused on my current projects before starting any new one...
Anyway I'd be pleased to help you sharing materials, codes, ideas, etc...

Regards,
Sylain

PS: the RFN Crusader includes so far a French F-8E(FN), which is a version in between F-8E and F-8J, and a USN F-8E. At this point, I didn't work on wing hard points, bombs, etc... I'm not very familiar with Tacpack or similar tools so I put these stuff into a second step. F-8J should be also part of the scope but after a 1st beta release as it will need some more adjustments (VC, FDE, etc...)
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for letting me know how things are going with your project Sylain! It sounds great that you have so many versions in your project, it'll be very exciting for al simmers when it's released. Thanks also for your kind offer of codes and materials! I'm very new to aircraft design ( one year and counting, my first airplane is to be released next month ) so any help at all would be very much appreciated.

I do have some knowledge of TacPack, having altered some old aircraft to use Tacpack successfully using the TacPack SDK. I'm no expert, but if you need any help with that I should be able to provide some assistance. I hope my RF-8 will live up to the quality of your work at RFN, some of which I've seen before. Can't wait to see lots of high quality Crusaders flying about in the sims - it's been too long! :)

Best wishes,
Dean
 
Good comparison of the two models. Fuselage underneath is extended and squared off and there also is hump shape on top.

RF-8+and+F-8+web.jpg
 
Wow, great shot expat! I was thinking about the fundamental differences between the two types last night. I do have a mesh for the F-8E that I was considering modifying but it might be worthwhile just modelling the RF-8 from scratch. The aircraft is not a complex shape overall so it wouldn't take long. I've grabbed the picture and saved it in my project "Resources" file to refer to when I start work :)
 
That hump forward of the wing was known as the "turtleback" and was basically an avionics compartment for ECM and radio. Lots of fun pulling out the old heavy radio pack, kinda like pulling a TV out of your car's sunroof. :biggrin-new: Just behind the cockpit were the racks for the photo flash bombs for night photo missions. The racks were not normally installed; when they were the access panels were removed so the flares could eject. We did not fly combat night photo after the early days of Vietnam but we occasionally did stateside special projects for the Border Patrol and other agencies.
 
TARPSBird said:
That hump forward of the wing was known as the "turtleback" and was basically an avionics compartment for ECM and radio. Lots of fun pulling out the old heavy radio pack, kinda like pulling a TV out of your car's sunroof. :biggrin-new: Just behind the cockpit were the racks for the photo flash bombs for night photo missions. The racks were not normally installed; when they were the access panels were removed so the flares could eject. We did not fly combat night photo after the early days of Vietnam but we occasionally did stateside special projects for the Border Patrol and other agencies.
Click to expand...

Excellent info TARPSBird! :ernaehrung004:
 
Thread of 2018 - so stoked about this. And I read somewhere that Pam (Warchild) was contributing, or working on her own project? How amazing is that.

From over a decade ago when I worked as Carl (NinjaMouse) Edwards' Alphasim F-8 project as his model checker/beta tester, I longed for the photo bird. Couldn't convince him to do the R, but have enjoyed the Alphasim (and later ported over/FSX-native) models immensely nevertheless, and am pleased to see how well they've held. That said, having a chance to see an FSX native R is almost too good to be true.

DC, all I bring is the experience from an extensive amount of research background as part of that FS9 effort, and a good amount of technical materials. Nowhere near the first-hand experience that Tarps or others have. But such as that insight may be, I’m happy to help in any way possible.

Not a lot of FS time these days with family health issues – but just as the FS9 F-8 contributions were a delightful labour of love, so too would helping with any small bit of reference or other help you might need.

Best regards, and thanks in advance for your effort on the R bird.

dl
 
Thread of 2018 - so stoked about this. And I read somewhere that Pam (Warchild) was contributing, or working on her own project? How amazing is that.
Click to expand...

Thanks DL, any help will be appreciated ( and referenced in the finished article ) and I'll be asking questions here no doubt once work gets underway :) Pam is indeed contributing the FDE for the RF-8, and has done sterling work already on the SoH P-61 and my RF-61C Reporter. My work wouldn't be the same without her!
 
And for our friends at RFN who have worked so hard over the years keeping the F-8 alive to be enjoyed by us all..
Salut..

Vought%20F-8U%20Crusader%20USN%20VF-51%20Blueprint-XL.jpg
 
The Last Gunfighter, by Adm. Paul Gillcrist

BTW, Crusader fans should read this book if you read one book:

http://amzn.to/2pz2SGQ

The story about the recce flight over Cuba during the missile crisis is so memorable.

Super-excited to see you taking on this project!
 
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