On 29 June 1953, the company received an order to build two prototype aircraft, designated as XF8U-1, and by February 1955, the first of these was ready to transport aboard an Air Force C-124 Globemaster to the U.S.A.F. Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Beginning in late 1956, prototype XF8U-1s were evaluated by VX-3, during which few problems were noted. Weapons development was conducted at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and a China Lake F8U-1 set a U.S. National speed record in August 1956.

Best known for its F4U Corsair, Chance Vought Aircraft ventured into the postwar jet age with less stellar designs such as the F6U Pirate and F7U Cutlass. The aircraft which become the F8U Crusader emerged from the U.S. Navy’s Day Fighter Program, initiated during the height of the Korean War in 1952.

The first of two prototypes, Chance Vought XF8U-1 Crusader, Bu. No. 138899, has been restored by The Museum of Flight at Paine Field, Seattle, Washington. The Crusader’s variable incidence wing is in the raised take-off/landing position.

XF8U-1的首飞持续了52分钟，并且突破了音障（相当危险的做法，可见海军极力最赶空军的状况），成为世界上第一种超音速舰载战斗机。 科兰德对XF8U-1突破音障时的形容是“平稳、舒适、快速”。 海军对XF8U-1很满意，并将之命名为十字军战士。 后续的试飞工作也超常顺利，XF8U-1原型机进行了100多次试飞，其间发现高空飞行时有偏航的现象，所以F8U-2开始在机尾下加装了双腹鳍。 1955年9月20日，第一架生产型飞机F8U-1出厂试飞了。 1955年底，沃特公司获得了2亿 …

2024年3月25日 · The Chance Vought F8U-1 was nearly identical to the prototype XF8U-1. It was a single-place, single-engine swept-wing fighter designed to operate from the United States Navy’s aircraft carriers. The F8U-1 was 54 feet, 2.75 inches (16.529 meters) long with a wingspan of 35 feet, 8 inches (10.871 meters) and height of 15 feet, 9.1 inches (4.803 ...

XF8U-1 Crusader - Innovative Systems The XF8U-1 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney J57-P11 powerplant, capable of delivering 9,700 pounds of static thrust at sea level, and 14,800 pounds in afterburner.

Six Navy F8U-1P photo planes, flying from Key West, Florida, undertook the first U.S. low-level overflights of Cuba on 23 October 1962—Operation Blue Moon. As they began their photo runs over Cuba, the planes flew at speeds of 400 mph at altitudes of a few hundred feet. 3.

2015年3月24日 · The XF8U-1 aircraft was airborne for 52 minutes and exceeded 1,000 mph on the first flight. Naval Aviation now had a 1,000 mph carrier based day fighter second to none in performance. The only reported problem during the first flight of the #1 XF8U-1 concerned the yaw and roll stabilization system that would be addressed after further flight ...

2015年3月30日 · As WarbirdsNews mentioned last week, the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington has completed the restoration of their Chance Vought XF8U-1 Crusader. The museum held an unveiling ceremony last Wednesday to commemorate the anniversary of the type’s first flight sixty years previously on March 25th, 1955.