Daily Archives: April 22, 2023

22 April 1962

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jackie Cochran in the cockpit of The Scarlett O'Hara, a record-setting Lockheed L-1329 JetStar, N172L. (FAI)
Jackie Cochran in the cockpit of The Scarlett O’Hara, a record-setting Lockheed L-1329 JetStar, N172L at Hanover-Langenhagen Airport, 22 April 1962. (FAI)

22 April 1962: Jackie Cochran set 18 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) records in one day flying a Lockheed L-1329 JetStar, construction number 5003, FAA registration N172L, and named The Scarlett O’Hara. The route of her flight was New Orleans–Boston–Gander–Shannon–London–Paris–Bonn, with refueling stops at Gander and Shannon.

According to the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission, Jackie Cochran “…set more speed and altitude records than any other pilot.”

The following are the FAI records that she set on 22 April 1961:

4609, 4615: Speed over a recognized course, Gander, NF (Canada)–Shannon (Ireland): 829.69 kilometers per hour (515.546 miles per hour)

4611, 4616: Speed over a recognized course, Gander, NF (Canada)–London (UK): 749.11 kilometers per hour (465.475 miles per hour)

4612, 4617: Speed over a recognized course, Gander, NF (Canada)–Paris (France): 746.22 kilometers per hour (463.680 miles per hour)

4613, 4618: Speed over a recognized course, Gander, NF (Canada)–Bonn (FRG): 728.26 kilometers per hour (452.520 miles per hour)

4638: Speed over a recognized course, Boston, MA (USA)–Gander, NF (Canada): 816.32 kilometers per hour (507.238 miles per hour)

4639, 4640: Speed over a recognized course, Boston, MA (USA)–Shannon (Ireland): 565.45 kilometers per hour (351.354 miles per hour)

4641, 4642: Speed over a recognized course, Boston, MA (USA)–London (UK): 558.50 kilometers per hour (347.036 miles per hour)

4643, 4644: Speed over a recognized course, Boston, MA (USA)–Paris (France): 564.88 kilometers per hour (351.000 miles per hour)

4645, 4646: Speed over a recognized course, Boston, MA (USA)–Bonn (FRG): 562.56 kilometers per hour (349.559 miles per hour)

12322: Distance, New Orleans, LA (USA)–Gander, NF (Canada): 3,661.33 kilometers (2,275.045 miles)

The first production Lockheed JetStar, c/n 5001, in service with the Federal Aviation Administration, registered N1. (bizjets101)

The Lockheed L-1329 JetStar was the first in a category of small-to-medium-sized jet transports that would become known as the “business jet.” Like many Lockheed airplanes, it was designed by a team led by Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson, and he retained the first prototype as his personal transport.

The JetStar is operated by two pilots and can be configured for 8 to 10 passengers. The airplane is 60 feet, 5 inches (18.41 meters) long with a wingspan of 54 feet, 5 inches (16.59 meters) and overall height of 20 feet, 5 inches (6.22 meters). The leading edge of the wings are swept to 30°. The JetStar has an empty weight of 24,750 pounds (11,226 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 44,500 pounds.

The two prototype JetStars were powered by two Bristol Siddeley Orpheus engines, but the production models were powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT12A-8 turbojets engines which produced 3,300 pounds of thrust, each. The JetStar 731 was a modification program to replace the turbojet engines with quieter, more efficient and more powerful Garrett AiResearch TFE731 turbofan engines which increased thrust to 3,700 pounds per engine. New production JetStar II airplanes were equipped with these turbofans.

Lockheed L-1329 JetStar (FAI)

The JetStar’s cruise speed is 504 miles per hour (811 kilometers per hour) and its maximum speed is 547 miles per hour (883 kilometers per hour) at 30,000 feet (9,145 meters). The service ceiling is 43,000 feet (13,105 meters) and range is 2,995 miles (4,820 kilometers).

The Lockheed JetStar was in production from 1957 to 1978. 204 were built as civil JetStars and military C-140A Flight Check and C-140B and VC-140B JetStar transports.

The JetStar flown by Jackie Cochran on her record setting flight from New Orleans to Bonn, construction number 5003, eventually was acquired by NASA and assigned to the Dryden Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It was reregistered as N814NA, and used the call sign NASA 4. No longer in service, NASA 4 is on display at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California.

Lockheed L-1329 JetStar, N814NA, NASA 4, on static display at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (NASA)
Lockheed L-1329 JetStar, N814NA, NASA 4, on static display at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark, Palmdale, California. (NASA)

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes

22 April 1912

Aviation, , , , , , , , , ,
Denys Corbett-Wilson at Fishguard, Wales, 22 April 1912. (VisitWexford)

22 April 1912: Departing at 5:47 a.m., Denys Corbett-Wilson flew his Blériot XI from Fishguard and Goodwick, Pembrokeshire, Wales, across St. George’s Channel and landed at Crane, near Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland, 1 hour, 40 minutes later. This was the first crossing of the Irish Sea from England to Ireland by air.

Lieutenant Denys Corbett-Wilson

Corbett-Wilson, having flown in heavy rain for the final half hour, with an erratic compass and misfiring engine, saw a field at Crane that he thought was suitable for landing his airplane. The area was too small, though, and he ran into heavy brush, slightly damaging the Blériot.

The damaged airplane was stored at the stables of Lord Donoughmore’s Estate. Many years later the estate was sold and the wreck was purchased. It was later donated to a museum in Kilkenny.

Denys Corbett-Wilson was born at Thames Ditton, Surrey, England, on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1882. He was the son of W.H.C. Wilson, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, and Ada Caroline Corbett-Wilson.

Corbett-Wilson learned to fly at Pau, France in 1911. A sportsman and “an intrepid rider to hounds,” he joined the Royal Flying Corps at the beginning of World War I and was commissioned a second lieutenant, Special Reserve, Royal Flying Corps. He served with No. 3 Squadron at Béthune, France, and was promoted to lieutenant in November 1914.

Lieutenant Denys Corbett-Wilson was killed in action while on a reconnaissance flight along the Western Front, 10 May 1915. His airplane, a Morane-Saulnier Type L, was struck by an artillery shell. He was buried with full military honors at Fournes-en-Weppes by the German Army.

Denys Corbett Wilson's Blériot XI was slightly damaged after running out of room for landing at Crane, Wexford, ireland, 22 April 1912. (Corbett Wilson collection)
Denys Corbett-Wilson’s Blériot XI was slightly damaged after running out of room for landing at Crane, Wexford, Ireland, 22 April 1912. (Corbett-Wilson collection)

The Blériot XI was a single-seat, single-engine monoplane, designed by Raymond Saulnier and built by Louis Charles Joseph Blériot. It was 24 feet, 11 inches (7.595 meters) long with a wingspan of 27 feet, 11 inches (8.509 meters) and overall height of 8 feet, 10 inches (2.692 meters). The wings had a chord of 6 feet (1.829 meters). The airplane had an empty weight of 507 pounds (229.9 kilograms).

In its original configuration, the airplane was powered by an air-cooled, 3.774 liter (230.273 cubic inches) R.E.P.  two-row, seven-cylinder fan engine (or “semi-radial”) which produced 30 horsepower at 1,500 r.p.m., driving a four-bladed paddle-type propeller. The R.E.P. engine weighed 54 kilograms (119 pounds). This engine was unreliable and was soon replaced by an air-cooled 3.534 liter (215.676 cubic inch) Alessandro Anzani & Co., 60° (some sources state 55°) three-cylinder “fan”-type radial engine (or W-3) and a highly-efficient Hélice Intégrale Chauvière two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller, which had a diameter of 6 feet, 8 inches (2.032 meters).

The Anzani W-3 was a direct-drive, right-hand tractor engine which produced 25 horsepower at 1,400 r.p.m. It was 1.130 meters (3 feet, 8.49 inches) long, 1.500 meters (4 feet, 11.01 inches) high, and 0.720 meters (2 feet, 4.35 inches) wide. The engine weighed 66 kilograms (145.5 pounds).

After 1910, the Blériot XI was often equipped with a Gnome rotary engine. This was a normally-aspirated, air-cooled, 7.983 liter (487.140-cubic-inch-displacement) Société des Moteurs Gnome Omega 7-cylinder rotary engine which produced 50 horsepower at 1,200 r.p.m. The direct-drive engine turned a two-bladed wooden propeller in a left-hand, pusher configuration. The Omega 7 is 79.2 centimeters (2 feet, 7.2 inches) long, 83.8 centimeters (2 feet, 9.0 inches) in diameter, and weighs 75.6 kilograms (166.7 pounds). The prototype of this engine is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Air & Space Museum.

The Blériot XI had a maximum speed of 47 miles per hour (76 kilometers per hour) and the service ceiling was (3,280 feet) 1,000 meters.

Denys Corbett Wilson with a Bleriot XI-2 at Highcliffe, near Christchurch, New Zealand, 18 June 1913. This version o fteh airplane is powered by an air-cooled Gnome 7 cylinder rotary engine producing 80 horsepower.
Denys Corbett-Wilson with a Blériot XI-2 at Highcliffe, near Christchurch, Dorset, 18 June 1913. This version of the airplane is powered by an air-cooled 487.140-cubic-inch (7.983 liter) Gnome Omega 7-cylinder rotary engine, producing 50 horsepower at 1,200 r.p.m. (Christchurch History Society)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes