IMAGE GALLERY - GALLERIA DI IMMAGINI

Click on any preview to enlarge the picture.

Many more pictures are included in the centerpiece article by Richard D. Powers.

Besides images obtained from the sources listed in the "Credits" section of «The American Aircraft Fan Club», most pictures here under were downloaded from the biggest online repository of XF-85 pictures, the blog/website by Ron Downey, including:

The photos are approximatively arranged in chronological order. A short English caption is provided under each picture.

Fate click su qualsiasi anteprima per ingrandire l'immagine.

Molte altre immagini sono incluse nell'articolo principale di Richard D. Powers.

A parte le immagini ottenute dalle fonti citate nella sezione "Credits" section di «The American Aircraft Fan Club», la maggior parte delle immagini qui sotto sono state scaricate dal maggior deposito online di immagini dell'XF-85 è il blog/sito Web di Ron Downey, comprensivo di:

Le foto sono approssimativamente disposte in ordine cronologico. Un breve commento in inglese è fornito sotto ogni foto.
(Above) 9 July 1946 - real size mock-up of the trapeze assembly and of the Goblin with its retaining horsecollar (Above) 9 July 1946 - real size mock-up of the trapeze assembly and of the Goblin with its retaining horsecollar (Above) 9 July 1946 - real size mock-up of the trapeze assembly and of the Goblin retracted in the bomb bay (Above) 9 July 1946 - real size mock-up of the Goblin with skyhook extended
(Above) 9 July 1946 - real size mock-up of the Goblin with skyhook retracted (Above) 1946 (probable date), the cockpit in its initial phase of completion (Above) In the same laboratory of the picture that I digitally restored here, the second prototype 524 is displayed on its handling dolly. Probable date: late 1947 or early 1948. (Above) See previous caption
(Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption
(Above) Even though Richard D. Powers reports that the Goblin was transferred to Moffet Field for the NACA Wind Tunnel tests on a C-97 on November 9, 1947, and then again on a C-97 to Muroc on June 5, 1948, Ron Downey provides on his website the photo above, most obviously of a C-119 with the Goblin being loaded, an event about which I can't provide more details. (Above) The famous pictures with Ed Schoch and the mechanic, portrayed in color on the official McDonnell Douglas XF-85 profile card, available for the general public (I obtained mine in 1981). Probable date: late 1947 or early 1948. (Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption
(Above) Judging from the dolly position, this group of four pictures might have been taken in the same occasion as those with Ed and the mechanic. Probable date: late 1947 or early 1948. (Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption
(Above) The XF-85 524 ready for an engine run (Above) An engine run being performed on the 524 (Above) Pre- or post-engine run control of the exhaust nozzle (Above) Pre- or post-engine run servicing
(Above) A series of pictures illustrating several phases of the loading procedure of the XF-85 onto the trapeze and the retraction of the trapeze into the belly of the EB-29B (Above) See previous caption (Above) This picture brings a clear date, 15 July 1948. The other pictures might have been taken in the same session, or immediately before the first flight of the Goblin. (Above) The last three feet of trapeze retraction before the EB-29B can roll away from the pit.
(Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption
(Above) Another clearly dated photo, this time from 2 August 1948, illustrates the maximum elevation of the XF-85 in the EB-29B (Above) I assume this photo to be taken on the day of the first flight, 23 August 1948, but several captive flights took place before and after that date (Above) Frames from the first flight film, 23 August 1948 - see extensive captions in the centerpiece article (Above) Frame immediately preceding the release of the XF-85 in free flight
(Above) Frame immediately preceding the release of the XF-85 in free flight (Above) Frame taken after release - this definitely doesn't seem to be an approach to hook-on (Above) Frames of the first almost successful approach, with canopy crashing against the trapeze (Above) The impact point of the hook on the trapeze bar during the attempted hook-on
(Above) Damage to the hook occurred on 22 october 1948 during the fifth flight (Above) The new looks of the Goblin, detailed elsewhere on this page, after the re-engineering phase occurring between November 1948 and March 1949 (Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption
(Above) See previous caption (Above) See previous caption (Above) XF-85 flight test photo panel installation - I'm really unsure of what I'm looking at, also for the mirrored dials and signs, this definitely isn't the normal cockpit arrangement of the XF-85, I suppose that this may be a redundant set of instruments being constantly and automatically filmed during the test flights. (Above) Details from the cockpit - in August 1948, five days before the first flight. I digitally restored this picture.
(Above) Details from the cockpit - I tentatively assign the picture to 1949 (Above) A color picture from an undefined date of 1949 (Above) Ground clearance of the re-engineered Goblin didn't change and looks very marginal. (Above) Monstro and the first prototype of the Goblin (523)
(Above) Monstro and the first prototype of the Goblin (523) with all the flying and ground personnel involved in the last phase of the tests. First months of 1949. (Above) 19 March 1949 - the sixth and last flight of the second prototype Goblin (524) ends the usual way (see the centerpiece article). The first flight of the first prototype (523), on 8 April 1949, marked the end of the test program. (Above) A telegram to Ed Schoch, probably sent out to Muroc by James S. McDonnell several months after the last flight of the Goblin. It hints at a fifth belly landing by the test pilot at Muroc, on 8 November 1949, although it seems quite obvious that he wasn't flying the Goblin at the time. Investigation is in progress to ascertain on which plane Ed was flying after the XF-85 program was officially terminated on 29 October 1949.
Courtesy of The Schoch Collection		 (Above) In the years that followed, even though it was clear that no operational use was expected, the Goblin was an attraction in parades and public displays. Not sure about the date.
(Above) See previous caption. (Above) See previous caption. (Above) For some years, XF-85 524 was gate guardian at the Tallmantz Museum, that ceased operations in 1981. The name of the photo hints at 1969 as a possible year. (Above)First prototype XF-85 523 currently at the National Museum of the USAF. It's unclear whether this picture was taken on the premises of the Museum (as the yellow handling dolly would suggest) or elsewhere.
(Above) Picture kindly provided by Tony Landis - the current (February 2021) state of the 523 at the National Museum of the Air Force, in the back corner of the new R&D hangar. (Above) Picture kindly provided by Tony Landis - the current (February 2021) state of the 523 at the National Museum of the Air Force, in the back corner of the new R&D hangar. (Above) Picture kindly provided by Tony Landis - the current (February 2021) state of the 523 at the National Museum of the Air Force, in the back corner of the new R&D hangar. (Above) A beautiful picture of Ed Schoch, courtesy of The Schoch Collection - I digitally restored it and by clicking on the preview above you can access the best quality version.

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