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Actually I'm not even sure the Twosader had less fuel tankage than the regular F-8.There's not a lot of info out there, but here's a mash-up to show how that 2nd seat may have fit inside the F-8... (based on an outline of the NTF-8A used for various NASA wing experiments). Being raised so high, the 2nd cockpit didn't take up that much existing volume, and most of that lost space was allocated to the 20mm ammo cans, which was solved by eliminating 2 of the 4 guns.Perhaps some avionics boxes had to be relocated either to the raised hump behind the second seat or into the old rocket pack space in the belly (which I believe was empty and available? unclear). The only fuel tank that may have been impacted is the 75 gallon tank forward of the wing... but would need more info to be sure.Anyway it's fun to speculate about NA.47 and what not, but I'd take an airwing of F-8 Twosaders and Buccaneers any day well into the 1980s over almost any alternative. With a Spey engine the Twosaders would have plenty of endurance and wouldn't need drop tanks for most missions. They could also probably be made to carry 2x AIM-7E SARH missiles under the wings (and later Skyflash).
Actually I'm not even sure the Twosader had less fuel tankage than the regular F-8.
There's not a lot of info out there, but here's a mash-up to show how that 2nd seat may have fit inside the F-8... (based on an outline of the NTF-8A used for various NASA wing experiments). Being raised so high, the 2nd cockpit didn't take up that much existing volume, and most of that lost space was allocated to the 20mm ammo cans, which was solved by eliminating 2 of the 4 guns.
Perhaps some avionics boxes had to be relocated either to the raised hump behind the second seat or into the old rocket pack space in the belly (which I believe was empty and available? unclear). The only fuel tank that may have been impacted is the 75 gallon tank forward of the wing... but would need more info to be sure.
Anyway it's fun to speculate about NA.47 and what not, but I'd take an airwing of F-8 Twosaders and Buccaneers any day well into the 1980s over almost any alternative. With a Spey engine the Twosaders would have plenty of endurance and wouldn't need drop tanks for most missions. They could also probably be made to carry 2x AIM-7E SARH missiles under the wings (and later Skyflash).
