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Something F-86 Sabre But a Bit Different...


Sabrejet

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I'm still deciding whether to do a 1/48 F-86A, E or F and have been looking at some unusual schemes for each. In the course of that I found some F-86A stuff which I gathered a couple of decades ago, and which I'm not going to use for the foreseeable future. So I thought I'd share it here and hope it will be of use/interest. Photos at end are from Dave Menard (first two); unknown newspaper (third one) and NASM (last pic).

 

 

The Wright Patterson Flight Test Division Aerobatic Team

 

The little-known aerobatic team formed within the Flight Test Division at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio was reportedly known as the Acrojests. Unfortunately the surviving members of the team, when interviewed, could not recall if the team even had a name and so the moniker must remain conjectural.

 

The Flight Test Division reported directly to HQ Air Materiel Command and by 1949 was headed by Colonel Albert J Boyd, a noted test pilot and world air speed record holder (Lockheed P-80R, 623.74 mph on 19 June 1947). Beneath him, Boyd had a core of expert officers leading his various sections, with Maj Richard L Johnson in charge of the prestigious Fighter Section. Johnson had gained fame on 15 September 1948 when he too set a new world air speed record, this time in an F-86A (670.84 mph). It was Johnson who began thinking about an aerobatic team, selecting Capt HE Collins, 1/Lt John M Fitzpatrick and 1/Lt John J Knight to join him.

 

According to Fitzpatrick, “In 1949, the Fighter Section, Flight Test Division was led by Dick Johnson, and he decided we would have an acrobatic team. It seemed then that at the drop of a hat we would have to put on a show. These shows involved flybys, two aircraft passes at a time and a lot of solo aerobatics.” It was Fitzpatrick who suggested in a March 1995 interview that the team name Acrojests had been put forward by Capt Raymond Popson (later killed in a Bell X-5); he thought it would be a light-hearted jibe at the similarly-named AcroJets team, which flew the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star out of Williams AFB, Arizona. But whether the name went beyond a suggestion is not known: in view of the short life of Wright-Patterson’s team it is equally likely that no name was agreed upon. Dick Johnson also agreed with Popson’s suggestion, adding that, “We liked Acro-Jests [sic], at least I did anyway. We didn’t take ourselves too seriously.”

 

The team would use Fighter Section F-86A and F-86E aircraft, a number of which had been assigned to the Flight Test Division from the autumn of 1948. Johnson would be team leader with Capt Collins on right wing, Lt Fitzpatrick on left wing and Lt Knight in slot. Practice sessions would be flexible, in part because it was often difficult to put together four Sabres at a time. However this did not deter the young team and according to John Fitzpatrick, “Because the mission of the Flight Test Division was to test new aircraft and modifications to existing ones, the Fighter Section had about two dozen aircraft representing every fighter in the inventory (and some that were not). These aircraft were usually modified for some test purpose [and] it was almost impossible to get four of the same kind available at the end of the work day when we practised. So we just used whatever was available. A typical “formation” might consist of an F-86 in the lead, an F-80 and an F-84 on the wings and an F-94 in the slot. And the next day it would be different”.

 

The practice of using different aircraft types was probably unique for an aerobatic team. But it was not the only unusual aspect of the Wright-Patterson team: because of the need to maintain test integrity it was often the case that heavily-instrumented jets would be used for training sessions. One machine in particular posed issues, though it was still used by the team. John Fitzpatrick again, “We had an F-86A, actually the number one production aircraft [47-605] that had a special nose boom that protruded about 12 feet in front of the aircraft. It was being used for supersonic shock wave studies. Due to this inconvenience, when we used that bird, we never let anyone fly that aircraft in the slot position”.

 

Aside from the more esoteric F-86A programmes such as the study of high-Mach shockwaves done by Richard Johnson in April 1950 (47-605), the Test Division also looked after more mundane Air Force test requirements. One of the latter was the evaluation of high-visibility paints, including fluorescent finishes perfected by Switzer Bros in nearby Cleveland.  Perhaps inevitably these bright paint colours made their way on to the aerobatic team Sabres, though it is impossible to know if the aerobatic requirement drove the application of a paint scheme or if the team just happened to use F-86As that had been painted that way. But for whatever reason, the team aircraft carried extensive areas of ‘blaze orange’ paint, edged in a thin black line. Fuselage and fin areas were scalloped at their rear extremities while the wings and horizontal tail surfaces wore a linear ‘sunburst’ scheme.

 

By 1950, Col Boyd had departed for Edwards AFB in California (where he set up the test pilots school) and was replaced as head of the Flight Test Division by Col FK Paul. It is thought that the team flew its first display that year, likely at a 21 May Open House held at Wright-Patt to mark the first Armed Forces Day commemoration. It has also been reported that the team performed at the 1951 National Air Races in Detroit, held on 18 and 19 August 1951, but contradicting that idea, John Fitzpatrick added that, “I’d say for a three to five month period we were active with the aerobatic team. We only did two or three actual shows that I can remember.” Dick Johnson recalled that a display was flown at Columbus, Ohio with a “3/4 team”, thus using three F-86A/Es rather than four.

 

The display flown by the team was short and simple: John Fitzpatrick described the routine as, “Pretty basic. Formation take-off, fly-by, loops and rolls. We had just gotten started when it was ordered disbanded because there was to be only one “official” team”. That team was to be the Thunderbirds, though for a short period from 1956 thru 1959, the Colorado Air National Guard Minute Men team (flying F-86Fs) also gained official approval. 

 

This short-lived but colourful team was broken up sometime in 1950 (or possibly early 1951). 

 

Wright-Patterson Test Sabres used in the 1948 to 1951 period included XP-86s 45-59597 and 45-59599; F-86As 47-605, 47-607, 47-610, 47-611, 47-616, 47-619, 47-622, 47-633, 47-637, 48-170, 48-209, 48-295, 48-297, 48-298, 48-299, 48-303, 49-1014, 49-1075, 49-1135, 49-1144, 49-1170, 49-1172 and 49-1301; and F-86Es 50-588, 50-599, 50-605 and 50-606.

 

Photos:

 

F-86A-1 47-610 in the typical colour scheme worn by Acrojests F-86s: this machine served at Wright-Patterson from September 1948 as an EF-86A until it was written off in an accident on 21 August 1950.

 

1

 

F-86A-5 49-1301, again in the 'team' scheme, but see text also. '301 was at Wright-Patterson from May 1951 (again designated EF-86A) until 3 November 1955. It survives, preserved at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. 

 

2


A poor but interesting scan from an unknown newspaper showing the team lifting off from Wright-Patterson circa 1950, and showing F-86E-1 50-588 in the lead position and F-86A-5 49-1135 on left wing. By looking at the common dates when both aircraft were assigned to Wright, the date must be between July and October 1951. 

 

3

 

Team leader of the Wright-Patterson Sabre team, Richard L Johnson, in the cockpit of F-86A-1 47-611 at the time of his world air speed record. '611 was another Wright-Patt Sabre.

 

4

 

Final one: scrap view showing fluorescent paint scheme on wing and horizontal tail upper surfaces: from photographic evidence it seems likely that this scheme was not carried on the lower surfaces.

 

Wright Patt

 

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13 minutes ago, Sabrejet said:

I'm still deciding whether to do a 1/48 F-86A, E or F and have been looking at some unusual schemes for each. In the course of that I found some F-86A stuff which I gathered a couple of decades ago, and which I'm not going to use for the foreseeable future. So I thought I'd share it here and hope it will be of use/interest. Photos at end are from Dave Menard (first two); unknown newspaper (third one) and NASM (last pic).

 

 

The Wright Patterson Flight Test Division Aerobatic Team

 

The little-known aerobatic team formed within the Flight Test Division at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio was reportedly known as the Acrojests. Unfortunately the surviving members of the team, when interviewed, could not recall if the team even had a name and so the moniker must remain conjectural.

 

The Flight Test Division reported directly to HQ Air Materiel Command and by 1949 was headed by Colonel Albert J Boyd, a noted test pilot and world air speed record holder (Lockheed P-80R, 623.74 mph on 19 June 1947). Beneath him, Boyd had a core of expert officers leading his various sections, with Maj Richard L Johnson in charge of the prestigious Fighter Section. Johnson had gained fame on 15 September 1948 when he too set a new world air speed record, this time in an F-86A (670.84 mph). It was Johnson who began thinking about an aerobatic team, selecting Capt HE Collins, 1/Lt John M Fitzpatrick and 1/Lt John J Knight to join him.

 

According to Fitzpatrick, “In 1949, the Fighter Section, Flight Test Division was led by Dick Johnson, and he decided we would have an acrobatic team. It seemed then that at the drop of a hat we would have to put on a show. These shows involved flybys, two aircraft passes at a time and a lot of solo aerobatics.” It was Fitzpatrick who suggested in a March 1995 interview that the team name Acrojests had been put forward by Capt Raymond Popson (later killed in a Bell X-5); he thought it would be a light-hearted jibe at the similarly-named AcroJets team, which flew the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star out of Williams AFB, Arizona. But whether the name went beyond a suggestion is not known: in view of the short life of Wright-Patterson’s team it is equally likely that no name was agreed upon. Dick Johnson also agreed with Popson’s suggestion, adding that, “We liked Acro-Jests [sic], at least I did anyway. We didn’t take ourselves too seriously.”

 

The team would use Fighter Section F-86A and F-86E aircraft, a number of which had been assigned to the Flight Test Division from the autumn of 1948. Johnson would be team leader with Capt Collins on right wing, Lt Fitzpatrick on left wing and Lt Knight in slot. Practice sessions would be flexible, in part because it was often difficult to put together four Sabres at a time. However this did not deter the young team and according to John Fitzpatrick, “Because the mission of the Flight Test Division was to test new aircraft and modifications to existing ones, the Fighter Section had about two dozen aircraft representing every fighter in the inventory (and some that were not). These aircraft were usually modified for some test purpose [and] it was almost impossible to get four of the same kind available at the end of the work day when we practised. So we just used whatever was available. A typical “formation” might consist of an F-86 in the lead, an F-80 and an F-84 on the wings and an F-94 in the slot. And the next day it would be different”.

 

The practice of using different aircraft types was probably unique for an aerobatic team. But it was not the only unusual aspect of the Wright-Patterson team: because of the need to maintain test integrity it was often the case that heavily-instrumented jets would be used for training sessions. One machine in particular posed issues, though it was still used by the team. John Fitzpatrick again, “We had an F-86A, actually the number one production aircraft [47-605] that had a special nose boom that protruded about 12 feet in front of the aircraft. It was being used for supersonic shock wave studies. Due to this inconvenience, when we used that bird, we never let anyone fly that aircraft in the slot position”.

 

Aside from the more esoteric F-86A programmes such as the study of high-Mach shockwaves done by Richard Johnson in April 1950 (47-605), the Test Division also looked after more mundane Air Force test requirements. One of the latter was the evaluation of high-visibility paints, including fluorescent finishes perfected by Switzer Bros in nearby Cleveland.  Perhaps inevitably these bright paint colours made their way on to the aerobatic team Sabres, though it is impossible to know if the aerobatic requirement drove the application of a paint scheme or if the team just happened to use F-86As that had been painted that way. But for whatever reason, the team aircraft carried extensive areas of ‘blaze orange’ paint, edged in a thin black line. Fuselage and fin areas were scalloped at their rear extremities while the wings and horizontal tail surfaces wore a linear ‘sunburst’ scheme.

 

By 1950, Col Boyd had departed for Edwards AFB in California (where he set up the test pilots school) and was replaced as head of the Flight Test Division by Col FK Paul. It is thought that the team flew its first display that year, likely at a 21 May Open House held at Wright-Patt to mark the first Armed Forces Day commemoration. It has also been reported that the team performed at the 1951 National Air Races in Detroit, held on 18 and 19 August 1951, but contradicting that idea, John Fitzpatrick added that, “I’d say for a three to five month period we were active with the aerobatic team. We only did two or three actual shows that I can remember.” Dick Johnson recalled that a display was flown at Columbus, Ohio with a “3/4 team”, thus using three F-86A/Es rather than four.

 

The display flown by the team was short and simple: John Fitzpatrick described the routine as, “Pretty basic. Formation take-off, fly-by, loops and rolls. We had just gotten started when it was ordered disbanded because there was to be only one “official” team”. That team was to be the Thunderbirds, though for a short period from 1956 thru 1959, the Colorado Air National Guard Minute Men team (flying F-86Fs) also gained official approval. 

 

This short-lived but colourful team was broken up sometime in 1950 (or possibly early 1951). 

 

Wright-Patterson Test Sabres used in the 1948 to 1951 period included XP-86s 45-59597 and 45-59599; F-86As 47-605, 47-607, 47-610, 47-611, 47-616, 47-619, 47-622, 47-633, 47-637, 48-170, 48-209, 48-295, 48-297, 48-298, 48-299, 48-303, 49-1014, 49-1075, 49-1135, 49-1144, 49-1170, 49-1172 and 49-1301; and F-86Es 50-588, 50-599, 50-605 and 50-606.

 

Photos:

 

F-86A-1 47-610 in the typical colour scheme worn by Acrojests F-86s: this machine served at Wright-Patterson from September 1948 as an EF-86A until it was written off in an accident on 21 August 1950.

 

1

 

F-86A-5 49-1301, again in the 'team' scheme, but see text also. '301 was at Wright-Patterson from May 1951 (again designated EF-86A) until 3 November 1955. It survives, preserved at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. 

 

2


A poor but interesting scan from an unknown newspaper showing the team lifting off from Wright-Patterson circa 1950, and showing F-86E-1 50-588 in the lead position and F-86A-5 49-1135 on left wing. By looking at the common dates when both aircraft were assigned to Wright, the date must be between July and October 1951. 

 

3

 

Team leader of the Wright-Patterson Sabre team, Richard L Johnson, in the cockpit of F-86A-1 47-611 at the time of his world air speed record. '611 was another Wright-Patt Sabre.

 

4

 

Final one: scrap view showing fluorescent paint scheme on wing and horizontal tail upper surfaces: from photographic evidence it seems likely that this scheme was not carried on the lower surfaces.

 

Wright Patt

 

SJ,

 

I had to put on my sunglasses to view this post- yowzah!

Mike

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Which kit are you going to use? I just started a Academy F-86F 1/48 I thought I try something I never built ever before or had interest in and maybe my mojo would come back. But since I started building and seeing the shape of this little plane I am falling in love with it. So I be following.

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Eduard/Hasegawa F-86F. But it won't be started for a while yet. The Academy kit is a good starting point too.

 

My preference would be anything that's not Korean War but otherwise flexible. I do have a 1950 scheme for an F-86A as an option or possibly an F-86E but we'll see. :)

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72modeler: I do indeed - they're all good ideas (had thought of doing a 94th FS F-86A in fact) so we'll see... 

 

But for F-86A I'm now leaning towards a 469th FIS colour scheme.

 

Tomorrow it will be something else I'm sure.

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On 19 January 2018 at 11:57 PM, Sabrejet said:

I'm still deciding whether to do a 1/48 F-86A, E or F and have been looking at some unusual schemes for each. In the course of that I found some F-86A stuff which I gathered a couple of decades ago, and which I'm not going to use for the foreseeable future. So I thought I'd share it here and hope it will be of use/interest. Photos at end are from Dave Menard (first two); unknown newspaper (third one) and NASM (last pic).

 

 

The Wright Patterson Flight Test Division Aerobatic Team

 

The little-known aerobatic team formed within the Flight Test Division at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio was reportedly known as the Acrojests. Unfortunately the surviving members of the team, when interviewed, could not recall if the team even had a name and so the moniker must remain conjectural.

 

The Flight Test Division reported directly to HQ Air Materiel Command and by 1949 was headed by Colonel Albert J Boyd, a noted test pilot and world air speed record holder (Lockheed P-80R, 623.74 mph on 19 June 1947). Beneath him, Boyd had a core of expert officers leading his various sections, with Maj Richard L Johnson in charge of the prestigious Fighter Section. Johnson had gained fame on 15 September 1948 when he too set a new world air speed record, this time in an F-86A (670.84 mph). It was Johnson who began thinking about an aerobatic team, selecting Capt HE Collins, 1/Lt John M Fitzpatrick and 1/Lt John J Knight to join him.

 

According to Fitzpatrick, “In 1949, the Fighter Section, Flight Test Division was led by Dick Johnson, and he decided we would have an acrobatic team. It seemed then that at the drop of a hat we would have to put on a show. These shows involved flybys, two aircraft passes at a time and a lot of solo aerobatics.” It was Fitzpatrick who suggested in a March 1995 interview that the team name Acrojests had been put forward by Capt Raymond Popson (later killed in a Bell X-5); he thought it would be a light-hearted jibe at the similarly-named AcroJets team, which flew the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star out of Williams AFB, Arizona. But whether the name went beyond a suggestion is not known: in view of the short life of Wright-Patterson’s team it is equally likely that no name was agreed upon. Dick Johnson also agreed with Popson’s suggestion, adding that, “We liked Acro-Jests [sic], at least I did anyway. We didn’t take ourselves too seriously.”

 

The team would use Fighter Section F-86A and F-86E aircraft, a number of which had been assigned to the Flight Test Division from the autumn of 1948. Johnson would be team leader with Capt Collins on right wing, Lt Fitzpatrick on left wing and Lt Knight in slot. Practice sessions would be flexible, in part because it was often difficult to put together four Sabres at a time. However this did not deter the young team and according to John Fitzpatrick, “Because the mission of the Flight Test Division was to test new aircraft and modifications to existing ones, the Fighter Section had about two dozen aircraft representing every fighter in the inventory (and some that were not). These aircraft were usually modified for some test purpose [and] it was almost impossible to get four of the same kind available at the end of the work day when we practised. So we just used whatever was available. A typical “formation” might consist of an F-86 in the lead, an F-80 and an F-84 on the wings and an F-94 in the slot. And the next day it would be different”.

 

The practice of using different aircraft types was probably unique for an aerobatic team. But it was not the only unusual aspect of the Wright-Patterson team: because of the need to maintain test integrity it was often the case that heavily-instrumented jets would be used for training sessions. One machine in particular posed issues, though it was still used by the team. John Fitzpatrick again, “We had an F-86A, actually the number one production aircraft [47-605] that had a special nose boom that protruded about 12 feet in front of the aircraft. It was being used for supersonic shock wave studies. Due to this inconvenience, when we used that bird, we never let anyone fly that aircraft in the slot position”.

 

Aside from the more esoteric F-86A programmes such as the study of high-Mach shockwaves done by Richard Johnson in April 1950 (47-605), the Test Division also looked after more mundane Air Force test requirements. One of the latter was the evaluation of high-visibility paints, including fluorescent finishes perfected by Switzer Bros in nearby Cleveland.  Perhaps inevitably these bright paint colours made their way on to the aerobatic team Sabres, though it is impossible to know if the aerobatic requirement drove the application of a paint scheme or if the team just happened to use F-86As that had been painted that way. But for whatever reason, the team aircraft carried extensive areas of ‘blaze orange’ paint, edged in a thin black line. Fuselage and fin areas were scalloped at their rear extremities while the wings and horizontal tail surfaces wore a linear ‘sunburst’ scheme.

 

By 1950, Col Boyd had departed for Edwards AFB in California (where he set up the test pilots school) and was replaced as head of the Flight Test Division by Col FK Paul. It is thought that the team flew its first display that year, likely at a 21 May Open House held at Wright-Patt to mark the first Armed Forces Day commemoration. It has also been reported that the team performed at the 1951 National Air Races in Detroit, held on 18 and 19 August 1951, but contradicting that idea, John Fitzpatrick added that, “I’d say for a three to five month period we were active with the aerobatic team. We only did two or three actual shows that I can remember.” Dick Johnson recalled that a display was flown at Columbus, Ohio with a “3/4 team”, thus using three F-86A/Es rather than four.

 

The display flown by the team was short and simple: John Fitzpatrick described the routine as, “Pretty basic. Formation take-off, fly-by, loops and rolls. We had just gotten started when it was ordered disbanded because there was to be only one “official” team”. That team was to be the Thunderbirds, though for a short period from 1956 thru 1959, the Colorado Air National Guard Minute Men team (flying F-86Fs) also gained official approval. 

 

This short-lived but colourful team was broken up sometime in 1950 (or possibly early 1951). 

 

Wright-Patterson Test Sabres used in the 1948 to 1951 period included XP-86s 45-59597 and 45-59599; F-86As 47-605, 47-607, 47-610, 47-611, 47-616, 47-619, 47-622, 47-633, 47-637, 48-170, 48-209, 48-295, 48-297, 48-298, 48-299, 48-303, 49-1014, 49-1075, 49-1135, 49-1144, 49-1170, 49-1172 and 49-1301; and F-86Es 50-588, 50-599, 50-605 and 50-606.

 

Photos:

 

F-86A-1 47-610 in the typical colour scheme worn by Acrojests F-86s: this machine served at Wright-Patterson from September 1948 as an EF-86A until it was written off in an accident on 21 August 1950.

 

1

 

F-86A-5 49-1301, again in the 'team' scheme, but see text also. '301 was at Wright-Patterson from May 1951 (again designated EF-86A) until 3 November 1955. It survives, preserved at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. 

 

2


A poor but interesting scan from an unknown newspaper showing the team lifting off from Wright-Patterson circa 1950, and showing F-86E-1 50-588 in the lead position and F-86A-5 49-1135 on left wing. By looking at the common dates when both aircraft were assigned to Wright, the date must be between July and October 1951. 

 

3

 

Team leader of the Wright-Patterson Sabre team, Richard L Johnson, in the cockpit of F-86A-1 47-611 at the time of his world air speed record. '611 was another Wright-Patt Sabre.

 

4

 

Final one: scrap view showing fluorescent paint scheme on wing and horizontal tail upper surfaces: from photographic evidence it seems likely that this scheme was not carried on the lower surfaces.

 

Wright Patt

 

 

A nice choice, SJ. Certainly it is unusual. If you put in half the skill and work as you did for the FJ-2 it'll work out great!

 

Martin

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6 hours ago, Sabrejet said:

72modeler: I do indeed - they're all good ideas (had thought of doing a 94th FS F-86A in fact) so we'll see... 

 

But for F-86A I'm now leaning towards a 469th FIS colour scheme.

 

Tomorrow it will be something else I'm sure.

Looked them up after reading your comments- boy, howdy- their F-86D's were sure pretty! Might have changed my mind about which D model I want to do...now the search for OOP decal sheets begins...blast you, SJ!

Mike

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