Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk (1948)

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Published 2012-12-20
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XF-87
The Curtiss-Wright XF-87 Blackhawk (previously designated the XP-87) was a prototype American all-weather jet fighter interceptor and the company's last aircraft project. Designed as a replacement for the World War II-era propeller-driven P-61 Black Widow night/interceptor aircraft, the XF-87 lost in government procurement competition to the Northrop F-89 Scorpion. The loss of the contract was fatal to the company; the Curtiss-Wright Corporation closed down its aviation division, selling its assets to North American Aviation.

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All Comments (12)
  • @ufoengines
    Cool looking plane .  From P-40 in 1938 to XF-87 in 1948 is not to shabby .  To Infinity and Beyond !
  • @machia0705
    Despite this airplane's size and a gross weight of 37,350 lbs., she had a max.  speed of 600 mph at sea level, and service ceiling was 41,000 feet. At 450 mph she had a range of 1,000 miles w/o refueling. Fuel capacity was 2,600 gallons. Her wing area was 600 sq.ft., but production models were to use a 740 sq. ft. wing. Wing span was 60 feet. height was 20' 4" and fuselage length was 62 feet. Despite the fact that Curtiss was stepping into an area in which it had no experience, this airplane came close to becoming the first all weather fighter. The buffeting problem however and the slightly superior performance numbers by it's rival, the Northrup XF-89 Scorpion, sealed the fate of the last Curtiss airplane, the XF-87 Blackhawk.
  • @daveth121864
    Wow. Check those stylin' aero nacelles! Right off the '62 Vette.
  • @machia0705
    The last airplane to bear the name Curtiss, she was an all weather fighter who first took to the air on March 1, 1948. Flight characteristics were good enough that the USAF ordered 88 production orders, and for awhile it looked as though the Curtiss name would once again grace a combat plane.  The four Westinghouse J34 engines proved to be a poor choice of powerplant however, and the airplane had a tendency to buffet at speeds in excess of 220 mph. Plans called for the replacement of the four Westinghouse J34 3,000 lb. thrust engines with two General Electric J47 6,000 lb. thrust engines to lighten the aircraft. But troubles plagued the testing program, the most serious of which was the buffeting which was never fully solved by Curtiss engineers. On October 18, 1948 the USAF canceled all XF-87 orders, and this resulted in the sale of Curtiss ( not Curtiss-Wright) to North American aviation. Never again would an airplane with the Curtiss name grace the skies as it did for nearly a half century.
  • @rrpilot
    I never even heard of that plane before...cool video...
  • @gladesrider
    wow. with swept wings and a raked horizontal stab it might have been something.
  • @scootergeorge7089
    The end of the line for Curtiss Wright as an aircraft builder. Unable to come up with a suitable for the P-40, was ordered to build Republic P-47 Thunderbolts under license. Some 500 were produced but quality was so poor that they were deemed unsuitable for combat. And their wooden C-67 Caravan was one of the worst aircraft of WWII.