The NASA Digital Fly-By-Wire F-8 Program

A former Navy F-8C Crusader fighter was chosen for modification, with the goal being to both validate the benefits of a digital fly-by-wire aircraft
flight control system and provide additional confidence on its use. Mel Burke had worked with the Navy to arrange for the transfer of four LTV F-8C Crusader supersonic fighters to the Flight Research Center. One would be modified for the F-8 Super Cruise Wing project, one was converted into the F-8 DFBW Iron Bird ground simulator, another was modified as the DFBW F-8, and one was retained in its basic service con­figuration and used for pilot familiarization training and general pro­ficiency flying. When Burke left for a job at NASA Headquarters, Cal Jarvis, a highly experienced engineer who worked on fly-by-wire sys­tems on the X-15 and LLRV programs, took over as program manager. In March 1971, modifications began to create the F-8 DFBW Iron Bird simulator. The Iron Bird effort was planned to ensure that development of the ground simulator always kept ahead of conversion efforts on the DFBW flight-test aircraft. This, the very first F-8C built for the Navy in 1958 (bureau No. 1445546), carried the NASA tail No. 802 along with a "DIGITAL FLY-BY-WIRE” logo painted in blue on its fuselage sides.