MIDNJAC said:
.....I'm sure A4's or Catmando have some good stories aout this fine piece of machinery
The best stories come from those that actually flew and fought the machine (I did not). And what is really amazing is half their stories are true! Anyway, here are a couple of my random thoughts:
The ejecting F-8 pilot in the video, Terry Kryway, was later one of my instructors in the F-4 RAG, VF-121. He was an extraordinarily talented pilot.
Probably the most dangerous aircraft to bring aboard a ship, F-8's ironically were also deployed on the smallest decks – the "27 Charlie's. (Therefore, they unfortunately and unsurprisingly, crashed a lot.)
Every fighter pilot of that era wished (openly, not secretly) he could fly one, just once.
Until F-4 tactics were finally changed and improved with Top Gun, the F-8 pilots generally ruled over the newer F-4. (Fortunately, that later changed)
F-8's had an advantage up high (30k); F-4's had the advantage low (10k). To change altitude was to fight the opponent's fight and be disadvantaged. So oftentimes during ACM, we would just fly through, each stubbornly maintaining altitude without ever engaging. (Good for the ego; bad for training.)
A good friend of mine, in an unarmed Photo-Recon RF-8, engaged a MiG over North Vietnam for a few turns. In the debrief, they asked if he was nuts – engaging a MiG defenseless, with nothing to shoot? My friend said he wanted to get a "picture" of the MiG. (True story)
For landing, the "wing didn't raise, it was the fusalage that was lowered."
Great F-8 website, with lots of pics and links:
http://www.cloudnet.com/~djohnson/index.html
Then there was another F-8 legend – and good friend of mine no longer with us – "Bug".
http://www.tailhook.org/bug.htm