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X-ray, we seem to be having a “cool hand Luke” moment here, i.e. a “failure to communicate”…..
Regarding your reliance on the quoted quips from Whitey Feightner, Wally Schirra, and John “the wrong stuff” Moore, let’s analyze these.
Feightner at the time of his quip about “I just quit” was the highest time F7U-1 Navy pilot. He conducted most of the NATC testing of the aircraft and performed the only carrier suitability trials of the F7U-1 aboard Midway, which ended with a structural failure caused by increasing high sink trials aboard the ship. The whole purpose of the tests were to ascertain the good and bad points of the design from a shipboard operational standpoint, which he did, and which directly resulted in the furtherance of the design into the F7U-3. Following these tests, Feightner was chosen to join the Blue Angels since he was the highest time F7U pilot and the most qualified to integrate the aircraft into the group. His quip of “I just quit” was totally tongue in cheek, and repeated in his presentations because it garnered a laugh. He didn’t quit, rather performed every show assigned provided the aircraft could be maintained in an “up” status. This was difficult because the Navy had no F7U-1 spares, so Vought had to support the group’s two F7U’s. With only 14 aircraft produced (keep in mind that for all practical purposes, even though these were “production” F7U-1s, they were still experimental models undergoing development. Due to a lack of spare parts and the difficulty of Vought technicians to support the team while simultaneously trying to support the company’s development efforts with the remaining -1’s, the experiment ended shortly thereafter. So….. 1. he didn’t quit. 2. He went on to become engineering officer (and later CO) of VX-3 flying the F7U-3 (and helped solve the vexing engine flameout issue when the cannons were fired along with John Glenn), and continued to fly F7U’s during that tenure. The “I just quit” line was a joke my friend, and one that Whitey used in most of his presentations for comedic effect. I had the pleasure to talk at length with Whitey about his time in the Cutlass, and even have many of his F7U related keepsakes.
Wally Schirra…. Already explained earlier. Wally tailored his responses to his audience for much the same reason as Whitey. Both were master showmen in their later years and Wally savored the attention.
Best takeaway….. he thought it was an incredible aircraft in “his” hands, but too much for a new ensign. Truth of the matter?….. fewer ensigns had problems with the transition and operation than pilots experienced in other jets. Learning requiring de-learning….
Finally John Moore. John had a way with words and could turn the most mundane story into knee-slapping hilarity. It’s funny to read Moore’s NATC reports while he was assigned as a test pilot on the -3 (high sinks) and -3M (carrier suitability). None of the deprecating vitriol we saw later on when such techniques assisted in the humor department. John, if you knew him, would use anything at his disposal for a laugh, especially in print. So let’s take just a couple example from “The wrong stuff”. His friend Johnny Long’s back breaking gear collapse…. Oooh funny stuff the way Moore told the story. Weak nose gear, bad design, blah blah blah…. It sells books right? But he never mentioned that Long landed short of the runway, hit the edge of the concrete, and sheared off all the gear. The accident was attributed by both Chance Vought and BuAer as 100% pilot error!
How about Moore’s wild ride itself. He ends up saying the aircraft had “the wrong stuff”. But what really happened? Well, he was testing a new underwing fuel tank attachment during simulated arrested landings at NATC Patuxant. The newly installed shore-based arresting system was not set properly, and when he snagged the wire it didn’t pay out. In essence he hit a brick wall. Now he very well could have extolled the F7Us ability to grab a non-paying arresting wire without any structural failure of the arresting hook or fuselage structure, but he chose instead to laughingly blame the nose gear. The nose gear was subjected to loads so far in excess of any designed (or BuAer contracted) specifications, that ANY aircraft would have suffered the same collapse. I would posit that had this occurred in any other aircraft (read weaker aircraft- the F7U-3 series structure was virtually “unbreakable “) that he probably would have been killed. It was the strength of his Cutlass, that allowed him to survive a mistake that was no fault of the aircraft. Another classic example of blaming the F7U for the shore based errors, ship based errors, maintenance errors and heaven help us, pilot errors that destroyed countless F7Us. But, relayed with wit and sarcasm the story leads one to believe otherwise, and is ripe for the Wiki-lovers and the research-lazy to grasp onto like titanic flotsam.
Regarding the statistics you mention, I’ve already covered the why, where, and how’s of these “facts” and will not bore everyone with needless repetition. The issue is that you believe what you down deep WANT to believe, and there is seemingly no changing that…. But you are wrong, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not. I don’t profess to know much about most things, but this aircraft is, as pathetic as it may sound to some, my life. I wouldnt steer you wrong, even if I’m not your definition of a “primary source”
Al
_________________ Al Casby Project Cutlass Cutlass Aeronautics, LLC 4863 E. Falcon Drive Mesa, AZ 85215 “Restoring Aviation’s Cutting Edge” ™ Alcasby@projectcutlass.com602-684-9371
Last edited by Cutlass on Tue Jan 17, 2023 5:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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