August 23, 1948

Company test pilot Ed Schoch makes the first free flight of the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin parasite fighter, which is intended to be carried in the bomb bay of a B-36 to provide fighter support over a target for the longer range bombers. The XF-85 is lowered on a trapeze during this test from the bomb bay of Monstro, the Boeing EB-29 mother ship over Muroc, Calif. The pilot spools up, unhooks from the trapeze, and begins flying. Schoch is unable to hook back up and then shatters the canopy when he strikes the trapeze. Shaken, Schoch lands the XF-85 safely on the desert.