F-84 Problems

[KJ_Lesnick]

I'm curious why the F-84 sucked so much: I do know the plane had the following problems

• Aerodynamic problems: It had a tendency to tip-stall; these seemed to be exacerbated at high mach and could prove dangerous
  
• Structurally flimsy: It was plagued with structural problems and had to be beefed up so much that it ended up thousands of pounds heavier than intended
  
• Underpowered: The weight gain
  

What I'm wondering is: Why was it so flimsy at first?

[maxmwill]

I think the problems it had were more in keeping with the fact that it was an early generation jet, as was with other early jets, such as the original Phantom or the Banshee.

[KJ_Lesnick]

maxmwill

I suppose there is truth to this, but you have to consider that the P-59, F-80, and FH-1 weren't all that heavy

[PR19_Kit]

It was built by Republic, which says it all perhaps...........

[sandiego89]

I suppose there is truth to this, but you have to consider that the P-59, F-80, and FH-1 weren't all that heavy

The F-84 was quite a bit heavier than those other three aircraft, and could carry much more.  Empty weight, loaded weight, and espacially maximum weight well above the others.  So we have a heavy jet, smallish wing, lackluster thrust (as with every early jet) and it is easy to see why it was a real groud gripper.  But it's speed and load carrying was valued. 

The whole F-84 series evolved quite a bit over time, arguably one of the most evolved fighters, with later swept wing versions being quite different than the first straight wingers ordered late in WWII.     

[KJ_Lesnick]

PR19_Kit

It was built by Republic, which says it all perhaps...........

You might be onto things more than you think, but not in the exact way: The P-35A and P-36A weighed about the same empty, but the P-35A weighed more loaded.  The F-84E weighed around the same as the F-86A empty (F-86: 10093 vs F-86E: 10205), but much more loaded (F-86A: 13470, vs. 14724)


sandiego89

The F-84 was quite a bit heavier than those other three aircraft

Actually the XP-84, F-84B weigh less (XP-84: 9080 / F-84B: 9583) than the XP-86 (9730) and F-86A (10093) when empty: The F-84 weighed increasingly more when loaded (XP-84: 13400 / F-84B: 16475 / F-84E: 14724) than the F-86 (XP-86: 12667.9 / F-86A: 13470.05).

The F-84's were (far as I know) all powered by J35's; though the XP-86 was powered by J35's, the F-86A,D,E,F,K were powered by the J47 which was a bit more powerful.

So we have a heavy jet, smallish wing, lackluster thrust (as with every early jet) and it is easy to see why it was a real groud gripper.

The F-84B's wing (260) was smaller than either the XP-86 (287.6574) or F-86 (287.9)

The whole F-84 series evolved quite a bit over time, arguably one of the most evolved fighters, with later swept wing versions being quite different than the first straight wingers ordered late in WWII.

I was just talking about the early straight wing series