Daily Archives: May 2, 2023

2 May 1977

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
The first 10 female officers to graduate from the Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training Program, Class 77-08, with a Northrop T-38A Talon, 2 September 1977. (U.S. Air Force)
The first 10 female officers to graduate from the Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training Program, Class 77-08, with a Northrop T-38A Talon, 2 September 1977. (U.S. Air Force)

2 May 1977: First Lieutenant Christine E. Schott, USAF, was the first woman in the Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training Program to solo in the Northrop T-38A Talon at Williams AFB, Arizona. She was a member of Class 77-08, which entered on 19 September 1976.

Northrop T-38A-55-NO Talon 64-13302 on takeoff at Edwards AFB. (U.S. Air Force)
A Northrop T-38A Talon two-place, twin engine supersonic trainer (T-38A-55-NO Talon 64-13302) at Edwards AFB. (U.S. Air Force)

The ten women in this photograph, along with their 36 male classmates, received their Silver Wings on 2 September 1977. They are Captains Connie Engel, Kathy La Sauce, Mary Donahue, Susan Rogers and Christine Schott; First Lieutenants Sandra Scott and Victoria Crawford; Second Lieutenants Mary Livingston, Carol Scherer and Kathleen Rambo.

Captain Christine E. Schott would later be the first woman in the Air Force to qualify and serve as an aircraft commander on the C-9A Nightingale medical transport.

Screen Shot 2016-05-01 at 12.36.16
Above image from “Chronological History of the C-9A Nightingale,” by Cadet 1st Class Janene L. Drummer and Ms. Kathryn A. Wilcoxson, Office of History, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Illinois, March 2001)
McDonnell Douglas C-9A Nightingale, 71-0874. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell Douglas C-9A Nightingale, 71-0874. (U.S. Air Force)

A private venture by Northrop, the Talon was designed by a team led by Edgar Schmued, famous for his work on the North American Aviation P-51 Mustang, F-86 Sabre and the F-100 Super Sabre. The Talon is a twin-engine advanced trainer capable of supersonic speeds. More than 5,500 hours of wind tunnel testing was performed before the airplane’s final configuration was determined.

The T-38 was the world’s first supersonic flight trainer. The Northrop T-38A Talon is a pressurized, two-place, twin-engine, jet trainer. Its fuselage is very aerodynamically clean and uses the “area-rule” (“coked”) to improve its supersonic capability. It is 46 feet, 4.5 inches (14.135 meters) long with a wingspan of 25 feet, 3 inches (7.696 meters) and overall height of 12 feet, 10.5 inches (3.924 meters). The one-piece wing has an area of 170 square feet (15.79 square meters). The leading edge is swept 32º. The airplane’s empty weight is 7,200 pounds (3,266 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight is approximately 12,700 pounds (5,761 kilograms).

The T-38A is powered by two General Electric J85-GE-5 turbojet engines. The J85 is a single-shaft axial-flow turbojet engine with an 8-stage compressor section and 2-stage turbine. The J85-GE-5 is rated at 2,680 pounds of thrust (11.921 kilonewtons), and 3,850 pounds (17.126 kilonewtons) with afterburner. It is 108.1 inches (2.746 meters) long, 22.0 inches (0.559 meters) in diameter and weighs 584 pounds (265 kilograms).

The T-38A has a maximum speed of Mach 1.08 (822 miles per hour/1,323 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and Mach 1.3 (882 miles per hour/1,419 kilometers per hour) at 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). It has a rate of climb of 33,600 feet per minute (171 meters per second) and a service ceiling of 55,000 feet (16,764 meters). Its range is 1,140 miles (1,835 kilometers).*

In production from 1961 to 1972, Northrop has produced nearly 1,200 T-38s. In 2001, most T-38A and T-38B Talons were upgraded to teh T-38C standard. As of January 2014, the U.S. Air Force had 546 T-38A Talons in the active inventory. It also remains in service with the U.S. Navy, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

“Air-to-air right side view of a USAF T-38 Talon aircraft from the 560th Flying Training Squadron, Randolph AFB, Texas as their wingman banks to the left. (photo U.S. Air Force)”

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

2 May 1957

Aviation, , , , ,
McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, first production aircraft, parked on Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards AFB. (U.S. Air Force)

2 May 1957: The United States Air Force accepted the first production McDonnell Aircraft Corporation F-101A Voodoo supersonic fighter.

The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was originally designed as a single-seat, twin-engine long range bomber escort, or “penetration fighter,” for the Strategic Air Command, but was developed as a fighter bomber and reconnaissance airplane. 53-2418 first flew 29 September 1954, and it was the first production F-101A to be delivered to the Air Force.

mcDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, right front quarter view. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, right front quarter view. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell F-101-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418 (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, right profile. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, right rear view. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, right rear view. (U.S. Air Force)

The F-101A was 67 feet, 5 inches (20.549 meters) long with a wingspan of 39 feet, 8 inches (12.090 meters). It was 18 feet (5.486 meters) high. The total wing area was 368 square feet (34.2 square meters). The wings were swept 36° 36′ at 25% chord. The angle of incidence was 1°, with no twist or dihedral. The Voodoo weighed 25,374 pounds (11,509 kilograms) empty and had a maximum takeoff weight of 51,000 pounds (23,133 kilograms).

The standard F-101A was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney J57-P-13 turbojet engines. The J57 was a two-spool axial-flow turbojet which had a 16-stage compressor (9 low- and 7 high-pressure stages), 8 combustors and a 3-stage turbine (1 high- and 2 low-pressure stages). The J57-P-13 was rated at 10,200 pounds of thrust (45.37 kilonewtons), and 15,800 pounds (70.28 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The engine was 3 feet, 4.3 inches (1.024 meters) in diameter, 17 feet, 7.0 inches (5.359 meters) long, and weighed 5,025 pounds (2,279 kilograms).

The Voodoo had a maximum speed of 876 knots (1,008 miles per hour (1,622 kilometers per hour) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). Service ceiling was 45,700 feet (13,929 meters). It carried a maximum of 2,305 gallons (8,725 liters) of fuel internally. With external tanks, the fighter bomber had a maximum ferry range of 1,898 nautical miles (2,184 statute miles/3,515 kilometers).

McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2416 in flight, bottom view. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2416 in flight, bottom view. (U.S. Air Force)

The F-101A was armed with four 20mm Pontiac M39 single-barreled revolver cannon, with 200 rounds per gun. It could carry a Mark 7, Mark 28, or Mark 43 “Special Store” on a centerline mount.

McDonnell built 77 F-101As for the Air Force. 29 were later converted to RF-101G photo reconnaissance airplanes by Lockheed Aircraft Services.

F-101A 53-2418 was transferred to General Electric for testing of the J79 afterburning turbojet engine which would later power the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II.

General Electric returned the Voodoo to the Air Force in 1959. Now obsolete, it was used as a maintenance trainer at Shepard Air Force Base, Texas. It was next turned over to a civilian aviation maintenance school and assigned a civil registration number, N9250Z, by the Federal Aviation Administration. The airplane was sold as scrap, but was purchased by Mr. Dennis Kelsey.

In 2009, Mrs. Kelsey had the airplane placed in the care of the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon. After being partially restored by the Evergreen Air Center, Marana, Arizona, 53-2418 was placed on display at the Evergreen Museum.

McDonnell JF-101A 53-2418 with General Electric J79 engines, circa 1957
McDonnell JF-101A 53-2418 with General Electric J79 engines, circa 1957
The first production Voodoo, McDonnell F-101-1-MC 53-2418 on display at the Evergeen Aviation Museum (flickriver)
The first production Voodoo, McDonnell F-101-1-MC 53-2418 on display at the Evergreen Aviation Museum (flickriver)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

2 May 1952

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , ,
B.O.A.C. de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, G-ALYP, departs London, 2 May 1952. (British Airways)

2 May 1952: At 15:12 GMT, the British Overseas Airways Corporation’s de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, G-ALYP, departed London for Johannesburg, South Africa, with 36 passengers and a crew of 7. The approximate 7,000 mile (11,265 kilometer) flight was expected to take 23 hours, 40 minutes with intermediate stops at Rome, Beirut, Khartoum, Entebbe and Livingstone. There were crew changes at Beirut and Khartoum. BOAC’s chairman, Sir Miles Thomas, joined the flight at Livingstone for the final stage.

G-AYLP arrived at Johannesburg at 14:38 GMT, 3 May, fourteen minutes ahead of schedule. This was the very first regularly-scheduled revenue passenger flight for a jet airliner.

The AAP reported on the Comet’s arrival at Entebbe:

Record-shooting Comet nears end of long jet flight

KHARTOUM, Sat.: The Comet airliner opening the first jet passenger service is now hurtling across Africa at nearly 500 m.p.h. on the last stages of the London-Johannesburg flight.

The Comet arrived at Entebbe, Uganda at 3.30 p.m. Adelaide time, exactly on schedule.

The eight-miles-a-minute jet will stop next at Livingstone.

It is now on the fifth and second-last leg of its southward dash.

At Beirut the first crew, skippered by Capt. A.M. Majendie, handed the plane over to a fresh crew with Capt. J.T. Marsden as skipper.

A third crew, commanded by Capt. R.C. Alabaster, took over at Khartoum.

Official air mileages on the plane’s route are:

London–Rome 930
Rome–Beirut, 1,385.
Beirut–Khartoum, 1,330.
Khartoum–Entebbe, 1,090.
Entebbe–Livingstone, 1,320.
Livingstone–Johannesburg, 608.
Total, 6,663 miles.

Reached 525 m.p.h.

Between Rome and Beirut, the plane established a new world record by reaching 525 m.p.h, beating its own previous trial performances.

The plane is carrying 36 fare-paying passengers and a crew of five.

During the flight, passengers relaxed luxuriously in the dove-grey and dark-blue pressurized cabin as the Comet, hurtling along at more than 230 yards a second, created an impression of motionless suspension.

One of the two women passengers sketched out during the flight the first music ever written in a jetliner.

“It is the ‘Comet Prelude,’ ” explained Miss Avril Coleridge-Taylor, who is the daughter of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, famous composer, who died in 1912.

Miss Taylor, who is in her early forties, is to conduct a symphony concert in South Africa.

The first man to book on the Comet, Mr. Albert Henshaw, 63, of Lincolnshire, has been flying since World War I.

“I’ve been in them all and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.

“This may be as near to heaven as I’ll ever get—and it’s well worth it.”

Mother better

Another passenger is Steven Naude, a young South African who was given a mercy seat in the Comet to Johannesburg when he heard that his mother was lying dangerously ill in Bethlehem, Northwestern Free State.

The latest message from Cape Town reports a slight improvement. —AAP

— The Mail, Adelaide, South Australia, Saturday, 3 May 1952, Page 2, Columns 2–4.

A BOAC de Havilland Comet jet airliner, en route to Johannesburg from London, breaks its journey at Entebbe Airport, Uganda, 1952. (Ministry of Information official photographer)
“A BOAC de Havilland Comet jet airliner, en route to Johannesburg from London, breaks its journey at Entebbe Airport, Uganda, 1952.” (Ministry of Information official photographer)

The de Havilland Comet was the first commercial jet airliner and its introduction had revolutionized the industry.

DH.106 Comet 1 G-AYLP (Works No. 06003) was the first production airplane and was very similar to the two prototypes. It can be visually identified by its square passenger windows.

The Comet I was flown by a pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and navigator. The airliner could carry up to 44 passengers. (B.O.A.C. configured the airliner with 36 passenger seats.)

The airplane was 93 feet (28.346 meters) long with a wingspan of 115 feet (35.052 meters) and overall height of 27 feet, 10 inches (8.484 meters). The wings were swept 20°, as measured at ¼ chord. The fuselage had a maximum outside diameter of 10 feet, 3 inches (3.124 meters), and 9 feet, 9 inches (2.972 meters) inside. The Comet 1 had an authorised maximum all-up weight of 107,000 pounds (48,534 kilograms).

Cut-away illustration of de Havilland Comet I G-ALYP by artist Laurence Dunn.

The Comet I was powered by four de Havilland Engine Co., Ltd., Ghost 50 Mk.I turbojet engines. The Ghost was a single-shaft centrifugal-flow turbojet with a single-stage compressor, 10 combustion chambers and a single-stage turbine. It was rated at 5,000 pounds of thrust (22.24 kilonewtons) at 10,250 r.p.m. The Ghost 50 had a maximum diameter of 4 feet, 5 inches (1.346 meters), length of 10 feet, 1 inch (3.073 meters) and dry weight of 2,218 pounds (1,006 kilograms). When first placed in service, the engines required a combustion chamber inspection at 125 hour intervals. A complete overhaul was required every 375 hours. The Ghost was the first turbojet certified for civil airliner operations.

A de Havilland Engine Company advertisement in the Illustrated London News, circa 1950.

The Comet I had a maximum cruising speed of 490 miles per hour (789 kilometers per hour), True Air Speed, and operating altitude of 35,000 to 40,000 feet (10,668–12,192 meters). The airliner’s fuel capacity was 6,050 Imperial gallons (27,504 liters, or 7,266 U.S. gallons) giving a practical stage length of 2,140 miles (3,444 kilometers). The maximum range was 3,860 miles (6,212 kilometers).

Twelve DH.106 Comet 1 airliners were built.

G-ALYP suffered catastrophic explosive decompression while flying over the Mediterranean Sea, 10 January 1954. This was the first of two accidents caused by metal fatigue in the fuselage as a result of expansion and contraction during pressurization cycles. The DH.106 Comet I fleet was grounded and the aircraft were removed from service.

De Havilland Comet 1 G-AYLP (www.crash-aerien.news)
De Havilland Comet 1 G-AYLP (www.crash-aerien.news)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

2 May 1925

Aviation, , , , , , ,
Douglas C-1 in flight. (U.S. Air Force)
Douglas C-1 A.S. 25-433 in flight, 28 April 1926. (U.S. Air Force)

2 May 1925: At Santa Monica, California, the Douglas Aircraft Company C-1, A.S. 25-425, made its first flight. The new aircraft was requested by the U.S. Army Air Service to fill the role of a cargo transport. The single-engine, two-bay biplane had a crew of two in an open cockpit and could carry 6–8 passengers in an enclosed compartment, or 2,500 pounds (1,134 kilograms) of cargo. A trapdoor in the floor allowed heavy cargo to be lifted directly into the airplane.

Douglas C-1 No. 79 (S/N 25-433) in flight, on April 28, 1926. (u.S. Air Force photo)
Right profile of Douglas C-1 No. 79, A.S. 25-433, in flight, 28 April 1926. In this image, the passenger compartment windows are visible. (U.S. Air Force)

The Douglas C-1 was 35 feet, 4 inches (10.770 meters) long with a wingspan of 56 feet, 7 inches (17.247 meters) and height of 14 feet (4.267 meters). The transport’s empty weight was 3,836 pounds (1,740 kilograms) and its loaded weight was 6,443 pounds (2,922 kilograms).

The C-1 was powered by a water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 1,649.336-cubic-inch-displacement (27.028 liter) Liberty L-12 single overhead cam (SOHC) 45° V-12 engine with a compression ratio of 5.4:1. The Liberty produced 408 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m. The L-12 as a right-hand tractor, direct-drive engine. It turned turned a two-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller. The Liberty 12 was 5 feet, 7.375 inches (1.711 meters) long, 2 feet, 3.0 inches (0.686 meters) wide, and 3 feet, 5.5 inches (1.054 meters) high. It weighed 844 pounds (383 kilograms).

Douglas C-1 A.S. 25-423 at McCook Field as P394. (U.S. Air Force)
Douglas C-1 A.S. 25-425 at McCook Field Dayton, Ohio, as P394. (U.S. Air Force)

The Liberty L12 aircraft engine was designed by Jesse G. Vincent of the Packard Motor Car Company and Elbert J. Hall of the Hall-Scott Motor Company. This engine was produced by Ford Motor Company, as well as the Buick and Cadillac Divisions of General Motors, The Lincoln Motor Company (which was formed by Henry Leland, the former manager of Cadillac, specifically to manufacture these aircraft engines), Marmon Motor Car Company and Packard. Hall-Scott was too small to produce engines in the numbers required.

Douglas C-1 A.S. 25-425, the first C-1. (U.S. Air Force)
Douglas C-1 A.S. 25-425, the first C-1. (U.S. Air Force)

The C-1 had a maximum speed of 116 miles per hour (187 kilometers per hour), though its cruising speed was 85 miles per hour (137 kilometers per hour). The service ceiling was 14,850 feet (4,526 meters) and its range was 385 miles (620 kilometers)

In addition to a passenger and cargo transport, the Douglas C-1 was used experimentally as a medical evacuation aircraft and as an aerial refueling tanker. Nine C-1 and C-1A transports were built, and seventeen slightly larger C-1Cs.

The C-1 was the first U.S. Air Force airplane to use the designation “C-” to indicate a cargo transport. That designator is still in use today.

Douglas C-1 transport, serial number A.S. 25-431, 1 October 1925. (U.S. Air Force)
Douglas C-1 transport, serial number A.S. 25-431, 1 October 1925. This airplane crashed on takeoff 150 yards (137 meters) west of Selfridge Field, Michigan, 16 April 1926. It was damaged beyond repair and written off. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes