Surviving Aircraft with Unusual Modifications

[Noha307]

Recently, I started wondering about some of the more unusual modifications done to military aircraft and whether or not their were any surviving examples of them. The results so far:

• Black Spot - C-123K, 54-0698, on display in Samut Prakan, Thailand (modifications removed)
• Brodie System - L-5, 42-14798, on display at the National Air and Space Museum (hook installed, but is not original)
• C-47 Floats - C-53D, 41-68834, owned by Max Folsom (floats installed, but is not original)[1]
• C-119 Jet Pod - C-119C, 49-132, on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum (not a military modification)
• C-123J Jet Pod & Skis - C-123J, 55-4558, on display at the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry; C-123J, 56-4395, on display at Elmendorf Air Force Base; C-123J, 56-4396, on display at Sunghwa College[2] (all three have no skis and ski fairings, only wingtip pods)
• Credible Sport Program - YMC-130H, 74-1686, on display at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum (no rockets, mounting rails only)
• Fulton System - MC-130E, 64-0523, on display at Cannon Air Force Base[3]
• Stearman Canopy - PT-27, FD993, owned by John Elliott[4]; N2S-5, BuNo 43375, owned by Riggin Flight Service (canopy installed, but is not original)
  
  • Another two aircraft, N2S-3, BuNo 07257, and PT-13D, 42-17518, had different, custom designed canopies fitted, but were presumably postwar creations
• Trails/Roads Interdiction Multi-Sensor Program - AP-2H, BuNo 135620, on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum
• Triphibian System - HU-16B, 51-7163, on display at the Castle Air Museum (extendable keel and pontoon ski mount points, but no skis)[5]
  
  • Multiple airframes in storage in the southwestern United States, including UF-1L, BuNo 142428; CSR-110, RCAF 9304; and CSR-110, RCAF 9308, once had the system installed, but it is unclear if they retain it

The fate of the ET-6F, 44-81661, which, as mentioned in a post in another thread, was used to test crosswind landing gear is unclear, but it was last noted as being in an accident at Goodfellow Air Force Base on 11 April 1953.[6]

Can anyone think of any others?

[Hooligan2]

N2S-3 38122 had a canopy while registered G-THEA with Lindsay Walton in the 1980s/90s but has moved on to Ireland and appears to have been restored to standard.

(Twenty or so Tiger Moths were converted postwar to have a widened enclosed cockpit seating four people, known as the Thruxton Jackaroo. Most have either been crashed, scrapped or deconverted back to Tiger Moth config - there are four or five still around I believe, at least one of them in Australia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thruxton_Jackaroo. )

[JohnB]

An obvious one is Phantom 12200.
Construction started as a F-4B for the Navy, became the prototype RF-4C, later became the prototype F-4E.
Then was a FBW testbed, finally the Precision Aircraft Control Technology configuration with large canards aft of the cockpit.

It is now at the NMUSAF.

The only other US type with a similar history was a F-80 which became the prototype T-33 then became the prototype F-94. I don't believe the aircraft has survived.

Also, the NB-52s (003 & 008) which dropped the X-15 and various other reset aircraft.

Didn't Week's B-29 serve as a drop aircraft as well?

And just about any RC/EC-135s that went through the Big Safari program has interesting stuff done to it. Most were converted from C-135B transports/freighters.
Many one-offs, many little known designations. You'll need the third edition of Hopkins book to keep them straight, even then there is probably some classified stuff we don't know about.

[Hooligan2]

Didn't Week's B-29 serve as a drop aircraft as well?

Yup, it dropped the D-558-II Skyrocket.

[Chris Brame]

This Stearman which came to grief at NAS Glenview during the war was mentioned as having a cockpit enclosure, although it was removed before the picture was taken to extract the uninjured pilot. The rails are still attached, however:

[Paul Stroud]

In the UK the Newark Air Museum has Meteor F.8 WK395 which was modified to have a nose extension for prone pilot trials in the 1950's.

https://vintageaviationnews.com/aviatio ... useum.html

[dhfan]

Newark also has the Reid and Sigrist Desford which was converted into the prone pilot Bobsleigh.

Last edited by dhfan on Fri Sep 06, 2024 10:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Cvairwerks]

F-16 75-0752 started life as a flight test bird. Modded to a Wild Weasel, then to J-79 test bed, then to a recce test bird, then to CAS test bird. When permanently bailed back to the company, she flew almost every fuselage configuration there was, until being retired in 2004.

75-0750 FSD test bird. Next modded to carry F-18 radar system, then she got a dorsal spine and the canards from CCV and digital flight controls and became AFTI. Flew numerous mod programs after becoming AFTI, up to and including some for JSF. Retired in 2001.

[Paul Stroud]

The YRF-84F FICON 49-2430 is stored at Dayton for the Nat. Museum of the Air Force, who also display the RF-84K 52-7259.

RF-84K, 52-7265 is at Planes of Fame.

[Xrayist]

What happened to the Fulton Skyhook that was on the B-17 that is now owned by the Collings Foundation and was also used in the movie Thunderball?

[Larry Kraus]

What happened to the Fulton Skyhook that was on the B-17 that is now owned by the Collings Foundation and was also used in the movie Thunderball?

I imagine that Fulton gear ended up in a dump near Marana about 40 years ago, but you never know. It might have gone to McMinnville where the Evergreen Museum is located. I’ve never been there.

This is what it looked like.

IMG_7233 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_7234 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_7235 by tanker622001, on Flickr

I flew this airplane for Evergreen April-June 1983 based in Alamogordo. Their regular pilot failed his flight physical at the last minute and they had me fill in until they could find a permanent replacement pilot. It was an interesting airplane with a full instrument panel similar to the DC-7 from the Inter Mountain (CIA) Fulton days. I was only in Mariana long enough to get an ID card and fill out some paperwork, so I didn’t have a chance to look around their storage area for hidden treasures.


IMG_7240 by tanker622001, on Flickr

1980 Fire Season 022 by tanker622001, on Flickr

1980 Fire Season 023 by tanker622001, on Flickr

Last edited by Larry Kraus on Fri Sep 06, 2024 1:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[ricusa]

The NMUSAF has quite a few, just a couple that come to mind are Republic XF-84H thunderscreech & Convair NC-131H Samaritan. I'm positive there's many more in storage and on display.

[kalamazookid]

The NMUSAF has quite a few, just a couple that come to mind are Republic XF-84H thunderscreech & Convair NC-131H Samaritan. I'm positive there's many more in storage and on display.

The EC-135E ARIA with the "droop snoot" is another that comes to mind. While maybe not as externally interesting, the NT-33A, which could be programmed to mimic the flight characteristics of other aircraft, is another unusual modification.

[Richard W.]

Are the modifications to the two surviving Silverplate B-29s unusual enough for this list?

[sandiego89]

-Snoopy B-58, 55-0665 derelict on the range at Edwards AFB, but still has remnants of the large radar nose. Still has the mods
-Chinook BV-347, modified CH-47A 65-7992 with 110 inch fuselage plug, wing, a 4 blade rotors. At the Ft Novosel Museum. Still has the mods
-YH-40B (Huey) 56-6723. High speed Huey with jet pods. On display all alone in a quiet corner of Ft Eustis. Still has the mods.247 knots in a Huey!!
-Convair NC-131H, CALSPAN in flight simulator. Still has the mods.
-Piper Enforcers, N482PE and N481PE. Still have the mods. I believe one has P-51 roots, while one was basically built from scratch.
-F-15A Streak Eagle, stripped for max climb records. Still has the mods.