Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military From: shafer@drynix (Mary Shafer) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: wings-folded flight Message-ID: <8082@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 8 Jul 89 04:35:02 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Lines: 32 Approved: military@att.att.com From: Mary Shafer >From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) >>> BTW did you know that you can successfully launch an F-8 _with_ the >>> wings folded?... >> >>Define "successfully.">Launches occurred. Complete, non-destructive flights >>didn't (that I've ever heard). >There was at least one occasion when a Crusader took off from a runway (no >catapult) with wings folded, and landed safely. I seem to recall that there >have been several such incidents, actually. Remember that only the tips >fold on the Crusader -- the aircraft still has most of its wing available. The wing folds at about half-span, not just the tips, but you do get an endplate effect. >I don't know whether any of the incidents involved catapult launches, though. Yes, there was at least one launched in the Med (I don't remember when or which boat). He figured it out, put the wings down, and landed on shore. As I recall, this was only possible with a clean aircraft. There was an article in Approach a couple of years ago about launching aircraft with folded wings, AGE, etc. -- M F Shafer shafer@elxsi.dfrf.nasa.gov NASA Ames Research Center arpa!elxsi.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer Dryden Flight Research Facility ames!elxsi!shafer Of course I don't speak for NASA DON'T use the drynix address