USAF F-94 'Jetfire' - the True Story

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In 1927, Charles Lindbergh flew the 'Spirit of St. Louis' from New York to Paris on the first successful solo flight across the Atlantic.

So interest in all matters pertaining to aviation skyrocketed, and a company called Guiillow's soon became a leading aircraft manufacturer in the USA.

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One of its most famous aircraft was the 'Jetfire', a revolutionary jet design introduced in the 1950's ...

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And in those same 1950's, the United States Air Force were looking for an all-purpose jet to replace their existing propeller-driven aircraft, the F-50 Sky Streak ...

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Guillow's submitted a bid on the contract, and its proposal to build a military version of the 'Jetfire' was ultimately successful.

(There was controversy, however, that Guillow's had employed predatory pricing for the aircraft, to win over competitors Boeing and Lockheed.)

Here is a picture of the first aircraft delivered to the USAF under the contract, having just emerged from its hangar bag ...

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The Guillow's aircraft company had its humble beginnings as Nu-Craft Toys in 1926, and was founded by Paul K. Guillow, a World War I US Navy aviator.

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Nice piece of aviation history InspG…., never did any maintenance on one, but looks ike it would have been abit easier that the F-4's I started my career on . Very cool post

 

Balsa wood is rather easy to maintain. And those rubber bands are easy to replace. It was very cramped for the pilot.