The flight crew of Atlantis, STS-135. Left to right: COL Rex J. Waldheim, USAF, LCOL Douglas G. Hurley, USMC, CAPT Christopher J. Ferguson, USN, and Sandra Hall Magnus, Ph.D. (NASA)
8 July 2011: At 11:29:03 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time, the Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104) was launched on Mission STS-135 from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. This was the very last of 135 flights for the United States space shuttle program. The mission was to carry assembly modules and supplies to the International Space Station in Low Earth Orbit. The mission had a total elapsed time of 12 days, 18 hours, 28 minutes, 50 seconds. Atlantis arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility 21 July 2011 at 09-57 UTC.
The mission commander was Captain Christopher J. Ferguson, U.S. Navy, on his third space flight. Atlantis‘ pilot for STS-135 was Lieutenant Colonel Douglas G. Hurley, United States Marine Corps, on his second shuttle flight. Mission specialists were Sandra Hall Magnus, Ph.D. and Colonel Rex J. Waldheim, U.S. Air Force. This was Dr. Magnus’ third space flight. She spent a total of 157 days, 8 hours, 42 minutes in space. Colonel Waldheim, the mission flight engineer, was on his third shuttle mission.
Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis first flew 3 October 1985 and made 33 space flights. It spent 306 days, 14 hours, 12 minutes, 43 seconds in space. Atlantis orbited the Earth 4,848 times and traveled miles 125,935,769 (202,673,974 kilometers) When it was retired at the end of STS-135, Atlantis had flown just one-third of its designed operational life. The space ship is on display at the Kennedy Space Center.
Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) launch from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, 15:29:03 UTC, 8 July 2011. (NASA)
The prototype Strike Eagle, a modified F-15B-4-MC, 71-0291, banks away to show a full load of bombs and its conformal fuel tanks. (U.S. Air Force)
8 July 1980: The prototype McDonnell Douglas F-15 Strike Eagle, a fighter-bomber variant converted from the second two-seat F-15B Eagle trainer, F-15B-4-MC 71-0291, made its first flight. Originally designated TF-15A, -0291 first flew nearly seven years earlier, 18 October 1973.
The Strike Eagle was begun as a private venture by McDonnell Douglas. Designed to be operated by a pilot and a weapons system officer (WSO), the airplane can carry bombs, missiles and guns for a ground attack role, while maintaining its capability as an air superiority fighter. It’s airframe was a strengthened and its service life doubled to 16,000 flight hours. The Strike Eagle became an Air Force project in March 1981, and went into production as the F-15E. The first production model, 86-0183, made its first flight 11 December 1986.
The McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle is a two-place twin-engine multi-role fighter. It is 63 feet, 9 inches (19.431 meters) long with a wingspan of 42 feet, 9¾ inches (13.049 meters) and height of 18 feet, 5½ inches (5.626 meters). It weighs 31,700 pounds (14,379 kilograms) empty and has a maximum takeoff weight of 81,000 pounds (36,741 kilograms). The F-15E is powered by two Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-229 turbofan engines which produce 17,800 pounds of thrust (79.178 kilonewtons) each, or 29,100 pounds (129.443 kilonewtons) with afterburner.
This McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle is carrying AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM 9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs, targeting designators and jettisonable fuel tanks. (U.S. Air Force)
The Strike Eagle has a maximum speed of Mach 2.54 (1,676 miles per hour, (2,697 kilometers per hour) at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) and is capable of sustained speed at Mach 2.3 (1,520 miles per hour, 2,446 kilometers per hour). Its service ceiling is 60,000 feet (18,288 meters). The fighter-bomber has a combat radius of 790 miles (1,271 kilometers) and a maximum ferry range of 2,765 miles (4,450 kilometers).
Though optimized as a fighter-bomber, the F-15E Strike Eagle retains an air-to-air combat capability. The F-15E is armed with one 20mm M61A1 Vulcan 6-barrel rotary cannon with 512 rounds of ammunition, and can carry four AIM-9M Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles and four AIM-7M Sparrow radar-guided missiles, or a combination of Sidewinders, Sparrows and AIM-120 AMRAAM long range missiles. It can carry a maximum load of 24,500 pounds (11,113 kilograms) of bombs and missiles for ground attack.
71-0291 remained at McDonnell Douglas as a dedicated test aircraft. During that time it was painted in many different camouflage schemes. In these photographs, it is painted in the “European 1” camouflage.
71-0291 was retired from the active inventory in the early 1990s and was used for battle damage repair training at Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is reported to be on display at the Royal Saudi Air Force Museum at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in RSAF colors and markings.
The prototype McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle (modified from F-15B-4-MC 71-0291) is parked on the ramp at the McDonnell Douglas facility at St. Louis. This camouflage scheme is called European 1. (U.S. Air Force)
New York Airways’ Sikorsky S-55A, N405A, at the East River heliport in the early 1950s. (This aircraft was destroyed following a tail rotor pylon attachment failure at Sarawak, Malaysia, 2 April 1964.)
8 July 1953: America’s first helicopter airline, New York Airways, began scheduled passenger service, operating flights between the three area airports—La Guardia, Idlewild and Newark. There were 16 flights per day at 90-minute intervals.
The first aircraft used was the Sikorsky S-55, a commercial variant of the military H-19 Chickasaw. It carried 8 passengers and a cargo of U.S. Mail. The mail contract actually was the source of 75% of NYA’s revenue.
As its popularity increased, New York Airways shifted to larger helicopters when they became available, adding three Sikorsky S-58s in 1956. In 1958, the fleet was changed to the Vertol V-44 tandem-rotor helicopter, a commercial model of the Piasecki H-21 Shawnee. In 1962 the turbine-powered Boeing Vertol BV 107-II replaced the earlier helicopters. NYA’s final aircraft was the twin-turbine Sikorsky S-61.
On 16 May 1977, the landing gear of a S-61L failed while on the roof top heliport of the Pan Am building in Manhattan. The helicopter rolled over and spinning rotor blades killed four waiting passengers. Broken blades then fell to the street, fifty-nine stories below, killing a pedestrian and injuring several others.
With its reputation severely damaged and fuel prices escalating, New York Airways filed for bankruptcy in 1979. It’s surviving helicopters are operated today by Columbia Helicopters, Inc., Aurora, Oregon.
First flight, Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser NX90700, c/n 15922. After the flight test program was completed, this airplane was upgraded to the 377-10-26 standard and placed in service with Pan American World Airways as Clipper Nightingale, N1022V
8 July 1947: First flight, Boeing Model 377-10-19 Stratocruiser, Project Test Pilot John Bernard Fornasero. (Fornasero had been the co-pilot on the first flight of the XC-97 Stratofreighter, nearly three years earlier.)
Flight deck of the Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser. (Boeing)
The Model 377 was a large, four-engine civil transport which had been developed, along with the military C-97 Stratofreighter, from the World War II B-29 Superfortress long-range heavy bomber. It utilized the wings and engines of the improved B-50 Superfortress. The airplane was operated by a flight crew of four. It was a double-deck aircraft, with the flight deck, passenger cabin and galley on the upper deck and a lounge and cargo compartments on the lower. The airliner was pressurized, and could maintain Sea Level atmospheric pressure while flying at 15,500 feet (4,724 meters). The Model 377 could be configured to carry up to 100 passengers, or 28 in sleeping births.
Airline stewardesses examine a cutaway model of the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser. (Museum of History & Industry, Seattle)
The Stratocruiser was 110 feet, 4 inches (33.630 meters) long with a wingspan of 141 feet, 3 inches (43.053 meters) and overall height of 38 feet, 3 inches (11.659 meters). The airliner had an empty weight of 83,500 pounds (37,875 kilograms) and its maximum takeoff weight was 148,000 pounds (67,132 kilograms).
Boeing Model 377-10-19 Stratocruiser NX90700. (Boeing)
The 377-10-19 prototype was powered by four 4,362.49-cubic-inch-displacement (71.49 liter) air-cooled, supercharged Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major B5 four-row, 28-cylinder radial engines. This engine had a compression ratio of 6.375:1 and required 100/130 aviation gasoline. It had a Normal and Maximum Continuous Power rating of 2,650 horsepower at 2,550 r.p.m., and Take Off Power rating of 3,250 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. with water/alcohol injection. The Wasp Major B5 was 4 feet, 6.00 inches in diameter and 8 feet, 0.75 inches long. The engine weighed 3,490 pounds (1,583 kilograms).
The following production Stratocruisers were equipped with Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major B6 engines rated at 3,500 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. (with water/alcohol injection) for takeoff, and a Normal Power of 2,650 horsepower at 2,550 r.p.m., at 5,500 feet (1,676 meters). The Maximum Continuous Power rating for the B6 was 2,800 horsepower at 2,550 r.p.m. at 3,500 feet (1,067 meters). The Wasp Major B6 was 4 feet, 7.00 inches (1.397 meters) in diameter and 8 feet, 0.50 inches (2.451 meters) long. It weighed 3,584 pounds (1,626 kilograms), dry.
Pan American World Airways’ Boeing Model 377-10-26 Stratocruiser, Clipper Nightingale, N1022V, c/n 15922. (Boeing)
The engines drove four-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic constant-speed propellers with a diameter of 17 feet (5.182 meters) through a 0.375:1 gear reduction. The propeller assembly weighed 761 pounds (345 kilograms).
The 377 had a cruise speed of 301 miles per hour (484 kilometers per hour) and a maximum speed of 375 miles per hour (604 kilometers per hour). During testing by Boeing, a 377 reached 409 miles per hour (658 kilometers per hour). Its service ceiling was 32,000 feet (9,754 meters) and the range was 4,200 miles (6,759 kilometers).
Lower deck passenger lounge of a Boeing 377 Stratoliner. (Boeing)
Boeing built 56 Model 377 Stratocruisers, with Pan American as the primary user, and another 888 military C-97 Stratofreighter and KC-97 Stratotankers.
Following the flight testing program, NX90700 was brought up to the 377-10-26 standard and placed in service with Pan American World Airways, 24 October 1950. It was named Clipper Nightingale and registered N1022V. The airliner remained in Pan Am service until 1960, when it was sold back to Boeing.
N1022V was next sold to Rutas Aéreas Nacionales, S.A. (RANSA) and converted to a freighter. The new owners named it Carlos. It was re-registered YV-C-ERI. The Stratocruiser was finally retired in 1969 and scrapped.
The prototype Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was sold to RANSA and converted to a freighter. It was named “Carlos” and registered YV-C-ERI.
8 July 1941: Three Royal Air Force Boeing Fortress Mk.I heavy bombers departed from their base at RAF Watton to attack Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was a daylight bombing mission, with the airplanes flying at 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). One bomber diverted to a secondary target because of engine trouble, while the remaining two Fortresses continued to the primary target.
At the very high altitudes flown, the defensive heavy machine guns that gave the airplane its name froze due to the low temperatures and could not be fired. (In standard atmospheric conditions, the temperature at 30,000 feet would be -45 °C., or -49 °F.)
All three aircraft returned safely to their base. The mission was completely ineffective, however.
This was the very first use of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in combat.
Fortress B.I AN530, WP-F (U.S.A.A.F. B-17C 40-2066) (Royal Air Force)
The Boeing Model 299H, designated B-17C, was the second production variant ordered by the U.S. Army Air Corps. 38 were built by Boeing for the U.S. Army Air Corps, but 20 were transferred to Great Britain’s Royal Air Force, designated Fortress Mk.I. (Boeing Model 299T.) They were initially assigned to No. 90 Squadron, Bomber Command. (A 1941 book, War Wings: Fighting Airplanes of the American and British Air Forces, by David C. Cooke, Robert M. McBride & Company, New York, refers to the B-17C in British service as the “Seattle,” which is in keeping with the R.A.F.’s system of naming bombers after cities.)
Of the 20 Fortress Mk.I bombers, 8 were lost in combat or in accidents.
The Boeing B-17C/Fortress Mk.I was 67 feet, 10-9/16 inches (20.690 meters long with a wingspan of 103 feet, 9⅜ inches (31.633 meters) and the overall height was 15 feet, 4½ inches (4.686 meters). The B-17C had an empty weight of 30,900 pounds (14,016 kilograms). The maximum design gross weight was 47,500 pounds (21,546 kilograms).
The B-17C was powered by four air-cooled, supercharged, 1,823.129-cubic-inch-displacement (29.876 liters) Wright Cyclone G666A (R-1820-65)¹ nine-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.70:1. The engines were equipped with remote General Electric turbochargers capable of 24,000 r.p.m. The R-1820-65 was rated at 1,000 horsepower at 2,300 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,200 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m. for takeoff. The engine could produce 1,380 horsepower at War Emergency Power. 100-octane aviation gasoline was required. The Cyclones turned three-bladed, constant-speed, Hamilton-Standard Hydromatic propellers with a diameter of 11 feet, 7 inches (3.835 meters) though a 0.5625:1 gear reduction. The R-1820-65 engine is 3 feet, 11.59 inches (1.209 meters) long and 4 feet, 7.12 inches (1.400 meters) in diameter. It weighs 1,315 pounds (596 kilograms).
The B-17C had a maximum speed of 323 miles per hour (520 kilometers per hour) at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). Its service ceiling was 37,000 feet (11,278 meters) and the maximum range was 3,400 miles (5,472 kilometers).
The Fortress Mk.I could carry 4,800 pounds (2,177 kilograms) of bombs in an internal bomb bay. Defensive armament consisted of one Browning AN-M2 .30-caliber air-cooled machine gun at the nose and four Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber heavy machine guns in dorsal, ventral and waist positions.
Royal Air Force Fortress Mk.I AN528 (B-17C 40-2064) prior to being camouflaged. (Getty Images/Three Lions)
8 July 2011: At 11:29:03 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time, the Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104) was launched on Mission STS-135 from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. This was the very last of 135 flights for the United States space shuttle program. The mission was to carry assembly modules and supplies to the International Space Station in Low Earth Orbit. The mission had a total elapsed time of 12 days, 18 hours, 28 minutes, 50 seconds. Atlantis arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility 21 July 2011 at 09-57 UTC.
