F-8 Landing Gear

There were changes over time to the landing gear, in part due to the increased gross weight, including the wheel hubs.

The original nose landing gear (here, from an E):

All rebuild F-8s (F-8H/J/K/L and RF-8G) got new nose gear struts that were about two inches longer than the original and incorporated the cable deflector horns on the wheel forks that had made their first appearance on the A-7 nose strut.

 Main Landing Gear:


 The A-7 design was based (loosely) on the F-8 so there are certain similarities and a definite family resemblance, but there is little commonality between the two, though the main gear is one commonality, at least in part, and in the reverse direction: from A-7 to F-8. In the rebuild program of the late 60's, the H (ex D) and J (ex E) got A-7 main struts. In spite of what is stated in more than a couple sources, no other version got them at that time, though the RF-8G did get them in the late 70's from the retired H and J aircraft (along with their P420 engines). Only these three models, no others, ever got the A-7 type main struts. The A-7 and F-8 share the same main gear geometry but they differ in details. Look at the main strut (the lower section) on the two types: on the F-8 gear there is a flange at the mid section, which is missing on the A-7 gear.



The A-7 main strut (the lower strut, the upper one is the shock strut, the rear one is the retraction strut) is actually a slightly smaller diameter than the F-8 item, but you can turn the Hasegawa or Academy E gear to a convincing H/J gear by simply removing the flange.

To sum up on F-8 gear: all F-8 models were originally built with the standard F-8 type main gear. The H and J got A-7 style mains in the rebuild program, and the RF-8G was equipped with those struts in the late 70's taken from the now retired H and J fighters. The K (ex C) and L (ex B) main gear were replaced in the rebuild, but with low-cycle (landings, basically) gear taken from D and E models.


Did the F-8H and J receive only the center, main strut of the A-7, or the entire main gear assembly (main, shock, and retraction struts)? Interesting question and I don't know the answer. I never really thought about it and assumed everything was replaced. I know that the main struts were changed and technically it is just the lower forward part that is the main strut, so perhaps that is all that was changed, but I would be inclined to think that the shock strut, at least, was also changed. If you compare them, F-8 to A-7, they are pretty much indistinguishable, so from a modeling standpoint it would be moot, and from a cost standpoint it would be a negligible savings not to replace everything. To sum up, back to the beginning: I don't know. Sorry I can't be more definitive.

Main Landing Wheel Well Details:

 

Where did the accumulator go? Into the speed-brake well.


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