F-86 Flies Again!

Register to hide this ad
Neat:
But I question it's status as the oldest jet fighter still flying as I believe there's still a couple of ME262's German fighters from WW II in operable condition.
Jim
 
I remember having a model of one as a kid....thought they were the coolest thing. What model MIGs were they up against in Korea?
 
Very cool.

Someone around here has an F-94 Starfire that flies now and then. I think maybe Boeing owns it or maybe Paul Allen because I see it flying around Paine Fld. here in WA.

That can't compare to this F-86 however. Used in Korea I believe against the MIG 17.
 
Last edited:
italiansport said:
Neat:
But I question it's status as the oldest jet fighter still flying as I believe there's still a couple of ME262's German fighters from WW II in operable condition.
Jim
Click to expand...

They have reproduced that one and several are flying. I've seen them being built at Paine Fld in Everett WA. They use an A-10 engine.
 
Chino, California - Planes of Fame Airshow & Museum.

F-86 is still one of my Favs - no missiles, just guns.
This was taken at the airshow in 2011 - loved it. Five flying P-38's, nine P-51's, F4U's, F6F's, a Focke-Wulf 190, lots of exotic stuff.
Couple pics -

F-86 Sabre


Mig-15


FW-190


Yak-9


Heritage Flight - F-15 & two P-38's
 
I was stationed at Kadena AirPlane Patch, Okinawa from 1984-87. They used F-86s to tow targets for the F-15s. I was standing near a young One-stripe Airman one day when an 86 flew over. He commented to the effect of "look at that old fashioned plane." I took it upon myself to provide him with a lesson in aviation history.
 
I was in grade school during the Korean War. I drew hundreds of dog fights between Sabers and Mig 15s in class rather than what I should have been doing.

Funny though, for every Saber that shot down a Mig, another showed up to shoot down the Saber and another Saber immediately appeared to shoot down the Mig ad infinitum..
 
Beautiful jet. FU-178 flew in European airshows for many years. Lots of great pictures, like this one, out there.

1754142.jpg
 
If any of you get to visit the Pima Air Musuem near Tucson, AZ the 3rd largest air force in the world is sitting on the ground in dead storage adjacent to it. It's an incredible sight from the air and I hope to be able to make a jeep tour of it someday.
Jim
 
italiansport said:
Neat:
But I question it's status as the oldest jet fighter still flying as I believe there's still a couple of ME262's German fighters from WW II in operable condition.
Jim
Click to expand...
The Me-262's you see flying these days are all reproductions. There are a number of original WWII Me-262's in various collections, but none of them fly and they never will. An airplane is really just an engine with a bunch of stuff surrounding it. The engine(s) is the heart of any airplane, and without a supply of WWII German jet engines it will be impossible to ever get an original Me-262 off the ground. Trying to adapt a modern engine to a 70 year old airframe has to many technical challenges, and in the end it wouldn't be a real Me-262 anyway.
 
Kernel Crittenden said:
No it doesn't. The A-10 engine is HUGE, it would dwarf a Me-262. The Me-262 reproductions use the General Electric CJ610, which is a tiny little jet engine, one of the smallest made, originally developed for a single use decoy missile - the Quail.
Click to expand...

My memory fails me. :o It's been a few years since I took the tour at the production site. They had one complete and were trying to get FAA cert. I think it had some problems with a collapsed nose gear on first flight but they got it worked out. The german company that produced the WW2 version (Messerschmitt I think) wanted one and ordered it built. This aircraft was as exact as they could make it using modern technology. I don't know how many were built but at that time they had plans to build six.

Were you involved in the project?
 
Worked on the F-86F and D models at Itazuki (southern Japan) 1955-57. Great birds and easy to work on. These had the leading edge slats to reduce stall problems at low speed. The D model was an interceptor with an underbelly rocket pod and afterburner. A few F models returned with smoked gun ports (6 50s). F-100s were being phased in in late 1957. Transferred to Carswell (Fort Worth, TX) with B-52s being phased in. Worked changing spark plugs on the last B-36 the day before it left for?? scrap yard. Wish I'd had a shot at the P-38 and the Blackbird, but was pleased to deal with the other three. Those were great years
 
It is cool that they can keep those old planes running. The P-38 was one of my favorites, even though it wasn't a great dogfighter. Having 2 engines, I imagine it is hard to keep going. The Spitfire is also a great one.
 
When I was a kid, there was a book in the school library called "Saber Jet Ace," the story of Joseph "Mac" McConnell Jr., the triple jet ace from the Korean war. I read that book over and over and over. The librarian would make me leave it for a week so someone else could read it if they wanted to.

Capt. Joseph McConnell - Top American Ace of the Korean War

I fell in love with the F-86 because of that book. I still am. I still think that is what a fighter plane is supposed to look like.

And Iggy, like you, I spent hours drawing dogfights between Sabers and Migs. :D
 
LostintheOzone said:
Were you involved in the project?
Click to expand...
I was not, but I've followed their progress for many years. One of their greatest challenges was finding a proper engine. Building an exotic airframe from scratch is doable. But building a flyable WWII German jet engine from scratch is an impossible task. It would cost tens of millions.

Modern engines were too big and powerful. They finally settled on the engine they did as a compromise. Sizewise they could make it work, but they had to de-tune it because it was so overpowered it could make the plane go supersonic and if that happened they were afraid the wings would come off.

There's at least one flying in the European air show circuit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
Military collectables, knife, misc
Replies
9
Views
2K
chuck303
C
Blackcloud2
My Memorial Day memories and thoughts
Replies
2
Views
355
Rudi
R
ddeanjohnson
  • Locked
WITHDRAWN. WTS: Collector downsizing-- 26 collector handguns
Replies
10
Views
7K
ddeanjohnson
ddeanjohnson
R
Africa Frolic - Memory Lane
Replies
8
Views
843
Stevens
Stevens
ordnanceguy
"Personal Effects" - An RCAF Spitfire Pilot's Pre-Victory
Replies
17
Views
3K
s3dcor
s3dcor

Latest posts

Back
Top