Mc Donnell XF-85 "Goblin" – the American experimental fighter

The Mc Donnell XF-85 “Goblin” was designed to the US Air Forces tactical, technical requirements for a single-seat "parasite" escort fighter, that could be carried inside a large bomber. In March 1947 an order was received to produce two test samples. A feature of the design was the low-wing, or mid-position folded boom wings, with a span of only 6.44 m. The body was very short, round in cross-section, it had no undercarriage, but it was equipped with legs, a hook was installed for hooking on the plane - the carrier's trapeze. There were as many, as six tail plates arranged around the tail section of the fuselage, a “Westinghouse” J34-WE-7 1,361 kg thrust engine was installed in the rear section of the fuselage. The prototype made its first free flight on August 23, 1948, after being launched from the Boeing EB-29B carrier. A two-hour flight was enough to make sure, that the turbulence around the bomber seriously degrades the “Goblin's” handling characteristics. This factor, together with the fact, that such a small plane could not achieve the speed and maneuverability of a real fighter, which it was supposed to "hunt", forced the Americans to stop the further development of this program.

The model is perfectly detailed, available in two printing options: on offset or on chalk paper. From the details of the publication, any of the prototypes can be glued together in any of several versions. The hanging hook can be glued both in the retracted and in the working position. The author has even provided a movable hook, but this is a rather complicated structure and we recommend only experienced modelers to recreate it. Ground carriage parts are also available. For modelers with little experience, we recommend gluing this model under the supervision of a more experienced colleague and choosing a simpler version and not making the interior of the cabin, the transparent hood of the cabin, the released hanging hook.