Blue Angels, Concluded - Vought F7U Cutlass 02.jpg (1/1)

A very strange looking plane. Why is the nose so high, and wouldnt it impede
the pilots vision?



"Mitchell Holman" wrote in message
...

"Stretch" wrote in
u:

A very strange looking plane. Why is the nose so high, and wouldnt it
impede the pilots vision?



No more so than a Spitfire or Corsair or Mustang
or any other long-nosed taildragger.

The nose gear was almost 13 feet long and you needed a step ladder
to complete your pre-flight, and yes it impeded the pilots vision, as a
matter of fact you couldn't see the deck during the final part of your
approach. That is why the pilots seat was on hydraulic gimbals that
tilted the seat forward and up when the gear was lowered.
Needless to say; the "Gutless Cutlass" didn't last long in the fleet.
It was succeeded by the F8U-1 Crusader, A superlative bird in
every respect


"Mitchell Holman" wrote in message
...
"Stretch" wrote in
u:

A very strange looking plane. Why is the nose so high, and wouldnt it
impede the pilots vision?



No more so than a Spitfire or Corsair or Mustang
or any other long-nosed taildragger.

Not having worked on the machine I have no knowledge as to the
difficulty of maintenance. As for the "Ensign Killer" epitaph, everybody
that I knew who flew them, loved them. Their only bitch was that it
needed about 10,000 pounds more thrust. And yes, it's reputation
was well earned, it killed many ensigns along with any other ranks who
had the audacity to strap it on.
I remember that upon finishing FCLP's (Field Carrier Landing Practice)
and preparing to Qualify on USS Boat, our LSO (Landing signal officer)
showed us a 40 minute movie of nothing but Carrier landing accidents,
everything from early Biplanes to modern (mid 50's) jets. almost all
ended in spectacular fire balls The biggest star of the movie was the
F7U Cutlass, some incentive huh?
When the lights came back on, our LSO said "DOR (Drop On Request)
chits are on the desk by the door on your way out."
Not one was submitted. When you're 19 or 20, you are invincible.



"Richard Goldsberry" wrote in message
...
I joined the Navy in '59. First duty station after Aviation Ordnance "A"
School was NAS Cecil Field, FL.
I remember hearing that the Cutlass was also called the "Ensign Breaker".
That the nose gear would sometimes appear in the cockpit during a hard
landing.
Any truth to that rumor?
Also the 20mm cannons were mounted above the intakes, those must have been
a
bitch to load.
Dick...

"Stretch" wrote in message
u...
A very strange looking plane. Why is the nose so high, and wouldnt it
impede the pilots vision?

Only on the ground but given you're generally launching off the end of the
deck there isn't much to be looking at until you're in the air.

Ok, thanks for the info, I understand that the spit and the other planes
were similar with the noses high, but they had no option as the wheel was at
the back, and when they got speed during take off they would level out. This
is the fist pic I have seen of a jet with the wheel at front that would
remain with the nose up high until airborne. Just curious about the
significance of such a design for the aircraft




"The Raven" wrote in message
u...
"Stretch" wrote in message
u...
A very strange looking plane. Why is the nose so high, and wouldnt it
impede the pilots vision?

Only on the ground but given you're generally launching off the end of the
deck there isn't much to be looking at until you're in the air.

Richard Goldsberry wrote:
I joined the Navy in '59. First duty station after Aviation Ordnance "A"
School was NAS Cecil Field, FL.
I remember hearing that the Cutlass was also called the "Ensign Breaker".
That the nose gear would sometimes appear in the cockpit during a hard
landing.
Any truth to that rumor?
Also the 20mm cannons were mounted above the intakes, those must have been a
bitch to load.
Dick...


I believe the correct term is "Ensign Eliminator".
And IIRC, the location of the cannon above the
intake lead to the engines ingesting smoke and
other interesting things when the cannon were
fired, often resulting in a compressor stall. Or
I may have that confused with another aircraft.
--
Lynn in StLou
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Ok, thanks Mike. Appreciate the info.


"Mike Henley" wrote in message
...

"Stretch" wrote in message
u...
Ok, thanks for the info, I understand that the spit and the other planes
were similar with the noses high, but they had no option as the wheel was
at the back, and when they got speed during take off they would level
out. This is the fist pic I have seen of a jet with the wheel at front
that would remain with the nose up high until airborne. Just curious
about the significance of such a design for the aircraft


The center of gravity of the aircraft required the need for the long nose
gear to give the a/c a high angle of attack for takeoff. The same reason
the F-4 extends its nose gear for takeoff. The F-14 is the opposite, and
lowers its nose gear for takeoff.

Ancient Mariner wrote:
A-10 before the GAU-8 baffle mods..


True, but I find I am partially correct

The twenty millimeter cannons were mounted two to a side, just above the engine air intakes. Both engines had an alarming tendency to

flameout when the guns were fired. Initially, the
problem was thought to be caused by ingestion of
gun gases, but was later proved to be

caused by a pressure resonance phenomena. When
both sets of guns fired simultaneously, a pressure
wave was created at the engine intakes.

This pressure wave caused an organ pipe type
resonance which then traveled to the aft section
of the engine's compressor, creating a stall

condition. The resulting air mass led the
compressor blades to over temp, perhaps causing
the engine to either burnout, or disintegrate.

The problem was later solved by installing
circuits that prevented the left and right pairs
of guns from firing simultaneously, but not before

an number of aircraft and pilots were lost simply
by firing their weapons at a target.

Source...

http://www.dvhaa.org/aircraft/f7u.html


--
Lynn in StLou
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