- Yes
- No
- Regular tech tree
- Premium or event
- I said no in the first poll
- 10.3
- 10.7
- 11.0
- I said no in the first poll
Vought F-8J Crusader
The F-8J Crusader was the most capable version of the famed Vietnam-era carrier based fighter jet. It was the main fighter Crusader in Vietnam during 1971 and 1972, the last years of the war.
They were born out of the success of the F-8E in French Aeronavale service, which was known as the
F-8E (FN). Vought began remanufacturing F-8Es up to the FN standard early in 1968.
It featured several improvements, including strengthened wings, improved landing gear and arresting hook up to the A-7 standard and a boundary layer control system, featuring double droop full span leading edge along the wing, which greatly helped in landing the aircraft as it lowered the approach speed. Carried over from the F-8E (FN) was a larger horizontal stabilizer.
Other improvements included a more powerful engine, the P&W J57-P-420, an improved pulse-doppler AN/APQ-124 radar, AN/ASA-63 Missile Acquisition Programmer, ECM bulge near the top of the vertical stabilizer and external wet pylons for additional fuel tanks.
An interesting feature of this aircraft and one of the main reasons it would be interesting to see in the game, is BAT mode, a sort of ACM mode for the radar which the previous Crusaders lack in-game. Here is some information, spoilered below:
Technical data
Engine
Pratt & Whitney J57-P-420, axial flow, afterburning jet engine
Maximum power: 19600lbf
Military power: 12400 lbf
Normal power: 9150 lbf
Fuel and oil
Total usable fuel capacity: 1348 gallons
Fuel grade: JP-5
Oil: 6.1 gallons
Aircraft dimensions
Length: 54 ft, 5.75 in
Height: 15 ft, 9.1 in
Wing span: 35 ft, 8 in
Wing area: 375 sq. ft
Wing loading: 71.45 lbs/sq. ft, clean combat weight
Weights
Empty: 19,815 lb
Combat, field takeoff configuration: 26,792 lb
Combat weight, 60% fuel and 2x Sidewinders: 27408 lb
Combat weight, 60% fuel and 4x Sidewinders: 28115 lb
Normal takeoff, 100% fuel: 30,459 lb
Normal takeoff, 100% fuel with 2x Sidewinders: 31075 lb
Normal takeoff, 100% fuel with 4x Sidewinders: 31728 lb
Max. takeoff weight (MTOW), field: 34,000 lb
Max. landing on carrier: 25,000 lb
Performance
Military power, 30459 lb takeoff weight, clean
Max. speed at sea level: 616 knots, 1140kph
Rate of climb at sea level: 7850 ft/min (39.8 m/s)
Top speeds and rates of climb @ Maximum power, combat weight of 26792 lb, clean
At Sea level: 662 knots, 1226 kph.
At 10,000 ft: ~740 knots, 1370.48 kph
At 20,000 ft: ~837 knots, 1550.12 kph
At 30,000 ft: ~938 knots, 1737.18 kph
At 36,089 ft: 1000 knots, 1852 kph
At 40,000 ft: ~967 knots, 1790.88 kph
At 50,000 ft: ~550 knots, 1018.6 kph
Rates of climb:
At sea level: 22300 ft/min 113.28 m/s
At 10000 ft: ~19700 ft/min 100.08 m/s
At 13000 ft: ~28300 ft/min, 143.76 m/s
At 20000 ft: ~23600 ft/min, 119.89 m/s
At 30000 ft: ~16000 ft/min, 81.28 m/s
At 36000 ft: ~12700 ft/min, 64.52 m/s
At 40000 ft: ~7850 ft/min, 39.88 m/s
Armament
4x Colt Mk.12 Mod 3 20mm cannon (500 total rounds)
Air-to-air missiles:
AIM-9B Sidewinder
AIM-9C Sidewinder
AIM-9D Sidewinder
AIM-9G Sidewinder
EDIT: AIM-9G mentioned in the supplemental flight manual:
Spoiler
Ordnance options:
Pictures
Sources
1- NATOPS Flight Manual Navy Model F-8H and F-8J Aircraft, NAVAIR 01-45HHE-1, 1 May 1974
2- NAVAIR 01-45HHF-1A - Supplemental NATOPS Flight Manual - F-8J - March 1971
3- F-8J Standard Aircraft Characteristics, NAVAIR 00-110AF8-7, March 1973
4- F-8 Crusader in Detail and Scale, by Bert Kinzey
5- Joe Baugher
6- Vought F-8 Crusader - Wikipedia