Vought F-8H Crusader, VF-162 “Hunters”
Tom Weinel's F-8H, BuNo 147049

VF-162 is one of the most popular schemes for the F-8. It's understandable why--two of its pilots famously shot down MiGs, and it just looks very cool. Since I'm often like to go off the beaten path however, I decided I'm only interested in building a Hunters jet if I can portray one that was flown by Tom Weinel. While he passed away a few years ago, he contributed an enormous wealth of knowledge that remains indispensable if you want to build the Crusader accurately. Weinel flew the F-8H off the USS Shangri-La for VF-162 in 1970, deployed to Vietnam on the ship's final cruise. According to what little I could find on the internet, he likely flew 147049 at one time. While I don't have any specific tail or nose numbers to make this one, I can certainly cobble them together from my existing sheets. CAT4's F-8H conversion should also come in handy.