13 replies to this topic

[warsam71]

I was surfing channels last night and a show called "Unbelievable Flying Objects" caugh my attention. It was on the Smithsonian Channel which is by far one of my favorite channels on TV.  In short, the show featured the top ten most increbible planes/flying objects in history and to be completely honest with you I knew of all the planes they showed but one: the XF-85 Goblin (a.k.a. flying egg). WTH where they thinking? With all respect to engineers, pilots, and the pioneers of aviation...but seriously?!? I understand the vision behind the project, and please don't take me wrong here as I love aviation and its history, espcially the WWII era and beyond. See what really made this plane stick in my head is the "landing" procedure they described. So I thought I'd share with you all to get your thoughts on it. 

 

Here is the link to the official site/full video: http://www.smithsoni...-flying-objects

 

And here is a link to some pics of the plane and the project itself: http://www.air-and-s...com/goblins.htm

 

 

Can you imagine being the pilot of this plane? Say, you're deployed (wait, "dropped") as planned; you successfully manage to defend the bomber that carried you by shooting down say one or two, or even three enemy fighters. Say you're still un-scratched...and now you have to "land" your plane under the belly of the bomber with that hook...and baam, the turbulence caused by the bomber throws you off, you try again, this time you get closer, but starting to run out of fuel, the pressure is on, and out of the blue an enemy fighter attacks the very bomber you're trying to latch on! Now what? You got no landing gear, little fuel, low in ammo and probably flying over enemy territory. Now what? (I'd say "bless your heart Ed Schoch"! for having the courage to get into that cockpit!)

 

 

Final thought, I'm gonna look for a model kit to build, gotta have this one on my desk!

 

 

[VoleInTheHole]

warsam71, on 01 December 2013 - 07:06 PM, said:

Can you imagine being the pilot of this plane? Say, you're deployed (wait, "dropped") as planned; you successfully manage to defend the bomber that carried you by shooting down say one or two, or even three enemy fighters. Say you're still un-scratched...and now you have to "land" your plane under the belly of the bomber with that hook...and baam, the turbulence caused by the bomber throws you off, you try again, this time you get closer, but starting to run out of fuel, the pressure is on, and out of the blue an enemy fighter attacks the very bomber you're trying to latch on! Now what? You got no landing gear, little fuel, low in ammo and probably flying over enemy territory. Now what? (I'd say "bless your heart Ed Schoch"! for having the courage to get into that cockpit!)

 

 

 

 

 

Thats prolly why it was just a prototype.

[An_Average_Jho]

I remember flying the Goblin in Battlefield 1942. It was twitchy as all hell, but it was next to impossible to hit.

[warsam71]

An_Average_Jho, on 01 December 2013 - 07:42 PM, said:

I remember flying the Goblin in Battlefield 1942. It was twitchy as all hell, but it was next to impossible to hit.

Ha Ha! That doesn't surprise me at all...I can imagine . I flew the 1092 in beta for a long time, picked it because of the smaller size and being very agile. Loved it, now grinding it to get it back again

[ironcladtanker]

Looks like that image was squashed in photoshop.

[Cielo]

Excellent, now we have something to compliment the "flying flapjack" for a complete American breakfast!

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Vought_XF5U

[losttwo]

that answers the question which came first the chicken or the egg.

[Bandet]

Crimson Skies anyone?

[dagengster]

Would be cool for a free gift plane or something lol

[Heh]

An_Average_Jho, on 01 December 2013 - 07:42 PM, said:

I remember flying the Goblin in Battlefield 1942. It was twitchy as all hell, but it was next to impossible to hit.

Horribly twitchy, but once you can use it, Go 229s stand no chance except head-on.

[MongGrel]

[Nihtwaco]

Proper inflight refueling ended the need for carrying fighters into battle on other aircraft. Aircraft carriers at sea and base use agreements worldwide have helped provide the coverage we have needed to conduct operations. Not with 100% availablility of fighters when needed but with a far better safety record and fire on target weight than the Goblins could achieve. Still an interesting concept.

 

[warsam71]

Cielo, on 01 December 2013 - 08:16 PM, said:

Excellent, now we have something to compliment the "flying flapjack" for a complete American breakfast!

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Vought_XF5U

Ya! And now we even have Salmon to go with the Egg and Pancake for the perfect, nutritious breakfast! Check it out: http://en.wikipedia....XFV#cite_note-1

 

[warsam71]

dagengster, on 01 December 2013 - 09:12 PM, said:

Would be cool for a free gift plane or something lol

Agreed!