An old and little-known military jet was recently restored by a museum in California, United States. This is from Boeing Skyfox, the only prototype of a project that didn't work out even though it was promising.
The now-refurbished Skyfox was acquired and restored by the Palm Springs Air Museum after spending more than 20 years 'rotting' outdoors at an airport in Oregon. The model, which today rests in the Californian museum sporting an eye-catching camouflage, has already had its glory days.
In 1982, a group of former Lockheed employees, led by engineer Irven Culver, formed Skyfox Corporation. The objective: to enter the military aerial training market. The product was not exactly new, but rather a redesign of the popular Lockheed T-33, instructional version of the hunting F-80 Shooting Star.
Thus, the firm acquired some CT-133 Silver Star (Canadian version of the North American jet) to build the prototype that bore the company's name. Under the registration number N221SF, the Skyfox first flew in 1983. Although based on the T-33, the Skyfox had huge differences from the original plane, including the new Garrett TFE731 engines, the same ones used in Learjet and Dassault Falcon business jets.
The Skyfox promised to be a cheaper alternative to other instructional jets of the time, such as the European BAe Hawk and Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet. The firm created kits that would convert the popular T-33s of operators around the world into a newer aircraft. However, the project did not receive much interest from customers.
In 1986, Skyfox was purchased by Boeing and the jet became the Boeing Skyfox. Even under the control of the largest aviation company in the United States, Skyfox did not yield results. Only the Portuguese Air Force showed a brief interest in the aircraft, but never signed any contract. Thus, Skyfox made appearances in air shows across the USA and even in the popular series Airwolf (Fire eagle), until it was finally pulled over at the Medford Jackson County Airport.
Without the engines and still wearing Euro 1 camouflage, the jet remained in the open air until 2021 when the s of the Californian museum decided to acquire and renovate the very rare aircraft. The restoration of the Skyfox was completed in May of this year and included the installation of a new canopy, repairs to the fuselage and touch-up paintwork.
After decades exposed to the elements, the Boeing Skyfox now rests at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
With Alert 5
