23, 1948 at Muroc (now Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.). Its first fully released flight was on Aug. However, hooking the Goblin in flight to its bomber’s trapeze was difficult. The tiny fighter was stable, easy to fly and recovered well from spins. The Goblin followed the Phantom and the Banshee. It was named the Goblin because company founder James McDonnell had previously decided to name the company’s jet fighters after supernatural creatures. For emergencies, the Goblin had a steel skid under the fuselage and small runners on its wingtips. It was then recovered using a hook and a retractable trapeze under the parent airplane. It had no landing gear and was launched from the bomber. The Goblin was egg shaped and its wings - swept back 37 degrees - could fold upward. If the host ship was attacked, the Goblin would be launched from the bomb bay to protect it. XF-85 Goblin, the smallest jet-propelled fighter ever built, was a “parasite” designed to be carried by a B-36 bomber.
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