All posts by Bryan Swopes

About Bryan Swopes

Bryan R. Swopes grew up in Southern California in the 1950s–60s, near the center of America's aerospace industry. He has had a life-long interest in aviation and space flight. Bryan is a retired commercial helicopter pilot and flight instructor.

7 March 1957

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The first production North American Aviation F-100F-1-NA Super Sabre, 56-3725, taking off at Los Angeles International Airport. (North American Aviation, Inc.)

7 March 1957: North American Aviation test pilot George Mace took off from Los Angeles International Airport in the first production F-100F-1-NA Super Sabre two-place trainer, 56-3725 (NAA serial number 243-1).

The F-100 series fighters had a very high accident rate. It was thought that the problem was a lack of pilot experience, so the U.S. Air Force requested that North American Aviation produce a two-seat trainer variant. A production F-100C-20-NA, 54-1966 (NAA serial number 217-151) was modified to the prototype tandem cockpit TF-100C. With test pilot Alvin Swauger White in the cockpit, the TF-100C made its first flight on 3 August 1956.¹

The prototype North American Aviation TF-100C 54-1966 retracting its landing gear on takeoff. (U.S. Air Force 060905-F-1234S-070)
Joel Robert Baker (1920–2011). (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett)

NAA test pilot Joel Robert (“Bob”) Baker was performing spin tests of the TF-100C north of Kramer Junction, northeast of Edwards Air Force Base in the high desert of southern California, 9 April 1957. The prototype went into an unrecoverable spin, losing parts of its tail surfaces. After the twelfth spin, Baker ejected, suffering minor injuries. 54-1966 crashed north of Edwards and was totally destroyed.

With the F-100D Super Sabre coming into operation, the Air Force ordered a training variant based on that configuration, designated F-100F. Unlike the TF-100C, the F-100F retained full combat capability. Between January 1958 and October 1959, 339 F-100Fs were manufactured at North American Aviation’s Los Angeles plant.

North American Aviation test pilot Alvin Swauger (“Al”) White, with F-100A-5-NA Super Sabre 52-5767, circa 1954. (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

The two-place tandem cockpit required lengthening the fuselage of the F-100D. The F-100F is 52 feet, 6 inches (16.002 meters) long with the pitot boom folded, and 57 feet, 2 inches (17.424 meters) long with the pitot boom extended. (The F-100F is 3 feet, 2 inches (0.965 meters) longer than the F-100D with the boom folded, and 2 feet, 11 inches (0.889 meters), with the boom extended.) The wingspan and height remain the same, at 38 feet, 9 inches (11.811 meters) and 16 feet, 3 inches (4.953 meters). The gross weight of the F-100F increased 325 pounds (147 kilograms) over the F-100D to to 30,750 pounds (13,948 kilograms).

Cutaway illustration of the J57 afterburning turbojet engine. (U.S. Air Force)

Both the single-place F-100D and tandem seat F-100F were powered by either the Pratt & Whitney Turbo Wasp J57-P-21A or the Ford-built J57-F-21A. The J57 was a two-spool axial flow turbojet which had a 16-stage compressor (9 low pressure and 7 high pressure stages, an eight-unit combustion chamber, a 3-stage turbine (1 high- and 2 low-pressure stages), and an afterburner. The engine had a static rating of 10,200 pounds of thrust (45.372 kilonewtons) at Sea Level, or 16,000 pounds of thrust (71.172 kilonewtons) with afterburner.

Two of the four 20 mm M39 single-barrel revolver cannons were deleted from the F-100F, but it retained the six hard points for underwing stores. The airplane could carry bombs, rockets or guided missiles, such as the AIM-9B Sidewinder or AGM-12B Bullpup. A “Special Store” (a Mark 7, Mark 28, Mark 43, or Mark 57 nuclear bomb) could be carried on the center hardpoint of the left wing. External fuel tanks with capacities ranging from 275 to 450 gallons (1,041–1,703 liters) could also be carried on the inner four hardpoints.

During the Vietnam War, six F-100F Super Sabers were modified as “Wild Weasels” to attack enemy surface-to-air missile sites, using both unguided rockets and the AGM-12B Bullpup guided missile. Several more F-100Fs, in the Wild Weasel I configuration, used radar-homing AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missiles to attack the missile sites.

F-100Fs were also used in Operation COMMANDO SABER as high speed forward air controllers to guide air attacks against the Hồ Chí Minh Trail. These operated under the call sign “Misty,” and are known as the Misty FACs.

With the approach on the North American Aviation X-15 hypersonic reearch rocketplane and Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar projects, an aircraft was needed to test the very steep approaches planned for these aerospacecraft. F-100F 56-3725 was modified to increase aerodynamic drag. The drag chute and afterburner were removed and a thrust reverser installed. The standard belly speed brake was replaced by a perforated one with approximately 3 times the area. With these modifications, the modified NF-100F could make its final approach at 230 miles per hour (370 kilometers per hour) instead of the normal 155 miles per hour (249 kilometers per hour).

North American Aviation NF-100F 56-3725, with thrust reverser and enlarged and perforated belly speed brake, being tested in NASA Ames Full Scale Wind Tunnel, 12 February 1959 (National Aeronautics and Space Administration NACA A-24788)

NF-100F 56-3725 was later reconfigured to a DF-100F drone director.

North American Aviation NF-100F 56-3725 assigned to the Air Research and Development Command, circa 1959. (Mary Evans Picture Library Media ID 21131633)

¹ Some sources state 17 January 1955, and others, 24 January 1956.

© 2025, Bryan R. Swopes

7 March 1945

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Flying without it’s fabric covering, the XHRP’s tubular steel structure is clearly visible. (Piasecki Aircraft Corporation)

7 March 1945: At Morton Grove, Pennsylvania, Frank Nicholas Piasecki, founder (along with Harold Venzie) of the P–V Engineering Forum, made the first flight of the PV-3, a prototype for the first successful tandem rotor helicopter. The United States Navy designated the new helicopter XHRP-X. Two additional prototypes, designated XHRP-1, Bu. Nos. 37968 and 37969, were ordered. The original aircraft, a proof-of-concept aircraft, made its final flight in May.

Because of the arrangement of the fuselage, which allowed vertical clearance between the fore and aft rotors, the helicopter was popularly known as “the Flying Banana.” Internally, like many engineering test aircraft, the XHRP-X was called “the dog ship.”

Frank Piasecki was the first pilot to be licensed by the C.A.A. as a helicopter pilot (who had not previously held an airplane license).

Frank Nicholas Piasecki with the PV-3 (XHRP-X) prototype. (Piasecki Aircraft Corporation)

The PV-3 was designed to be flown by two pilots and be capable of carrying 10 passengers. The fuselage was 47 feet, 2 inches (14.376 meters) long. Each of the three-bladed rotors were 41 feet (12.497 meters) in diameter. The overall height was 13 feet, 11 inches (4.242 meters). The helicopter had an empty weight of 4,279 pounds (1,941 kilograms), and gross weight of 6,420 pounds (2,912 kilograms). The helicopter had fixed tricycle landing gear with castering wheels.

The PV-3 was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged, 971.930-cubic-inch displacement (15.927 liter) Continental-built Wright Whirlwind (R-975), a nine-cylinder radial engine rated at 450 horsepower, mounted in the rear fuselage. A transmission transferred power from the engine to two driveshafts running along the top of the fuselage, to remote gearboxes, which in turn, drove the two main rotors. The rotors turned in opposite directions with each canceling the torque effect of the other. No tail (anti-torque) rotor was required, as in single-rotor helicopters. Without a tail rotor, which can absorb as much as 30% of the engines’ power, all the power can be put directly into lift and thrust, making the aircraft much more efficient.

The helicopter had a cruise speed of 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 110 miles per hour (177 kilometers per hour). Its range was 300 miles (483 kilometers).

P–V Engineering Forum PV-3 proof-of-concept prototype in out-of-ground-effect hover. (Piasecki Aircraft Corporation)

The XHRP-1 was ordered into production as the HRP-1 and HRP 2. They were operated by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard. Including the prototypes, 28 of the helicopters were built.

The “Flying Banana” concept was later seen in the Piasecki H-21 Work-Horse, which first flew in 1952.

Piasecki CH-21B Workhorse, 51-15857, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)

The Boeing CH-47F Chinook, which is currently in production, is a direct descendant of Frank Piasecki’s PV-3.

The 100th Boeing CH-47F Chinook was delivered to the United States Army in August 2013. (Boeing)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

6 March 1998

Aviation, ,
Into the sunset....
Into the sunset….

6 March 1998: Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen approved the permanent retirement of the Lockheed SR-71A “Blackbird” Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft.

With that decision, the U.S. Air Force would retire two SR-71A models (returned to active duty in 1995), an SR- 71A and the SR-71B trainer model on loan to NASA, and two from returnable storage.

© 2015, Bryan R. Swopes

6 March 1990

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Completing its final flight, Lockheed SR-71A 61-7972, flown by Lieutenant Colonel Raymond E. Yeilding and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph T. Vida, arrives at Washington Dulles International Airport, 6 March 1990, where it was turned over to the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum.
Completing its final flight, Lockheed SR-71A 61-7972, flown by Lieutenant Colonel Raymond E. Yeilding and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph T. Vida, arrives at Washington Dulles International Airport, 6 March 1990, where it was turned over to the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum.

6 March 1990: On its final flight, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond E. (“Ed”) Yeilding and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph T. (“J.T.”) Vida established four National Aeronautic Association and three Fédération Aéronautique Internationale speed records with a Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird, U.S. Air Force serial number 61-7972.

Departing Air Force Plant 42 (PMD) at Palmdale, California, Yeilding and Vida headed offshore to refuel from a Boeing KC-135Q Stratotanker so that the Blackbird’s fuel tanks would be full before beginning their speed run. 972 entered the “west gate,” a radar reference point over Oxnard on the southern California coast, then headed east to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) at Washington, D.C.

The transcontinental flight, a distance of 2,404.05 statute miles (3,868.94 kilometers), took 1 hour, 7 minutes, 53.69 seconds, for an average of 2,124.51 miles per hour (3,419.07 kilometers per hour).

Ben Rich, director of Lockheed's Advanced Development Projects ("Skunk Works") congratulates LCOL Ed Yeilding and LCOL J.T. Vida on their record-setting flight. (Unattributed)
Ben Rich, director of Lockheed’s Advanced Development Projects (“Skunk Works”), congratulates LCOL Ed Yeilding  (center) and LCOL J.T. Vida on their record-setting flight. (© Tony Landis)

Intermediate closed-course records were also established: Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., 2,299.67 miles (3,700.96 kilometers), 1:04:19.89, averaging 2,144.83 m.p.h  (3,451.77 km/h).; Kansas City to Washington, D.C., 942.08 miles (1,516.13 km), 25:58.53, 2,176.08 m.p.h. (3,502.06 km/h); and St. Louis to Cincinnati, 311.44 miles (501.21 km), 8:31.97, 2,189.94 m.p.h. (3,524.37 km/h).

Flight record data for 972's record-setting transcontinental flight, prepared by V.A. Wright, ADP, LASC.
Flight record data for 972’s record-setting transcontinental flight, prepared by V.A. Wright, Advanced Development Projects, Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company.

Screen Shot 2015-03-05 at 10.20.01 Screen Shot 2015-03-05 at 10.21.35 Screen Shot 2015-03-05 at 10.22.43 Screen Shot 2015-03-05 at 10.23.55 This same SR-71 had previously set a speed record from New York to London of 1:54:56.4, averaging 1,806.957 m.p.h. (2,908.015 km/h). (It had to slow for inflight refueling.) Next, 972 set a record flying London to Los Angeles, 5,446.87 miles (8765.89 km), in 3 hours, 47 minutes, 39 seconds, averaging 1,435.49 m.p.h. (2,310.19 km/h). It also established an altitude record of 85,069 feet (25,929 meters).

This was 61-7972’s final flight. The total time on its airframe was 2,801.1 hours.

61-7972 is on display at the Steven V. Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum.

Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird 61-7972 at the Steven V. Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian NASM
Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird 61-7972 at the Steven V. Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian NASM

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes

6 March 1965

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The flight crew of the Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King, Dawdling Dromedary, Bu. No. 152104. Left to right, ADJ1 Paul J. Bert, CDR James R. Williford and LT David A. Beil. (FAI)

6 March 1965: A U.S. Navy Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King helicopter named Dawdling Dromedary, Bu. No. 152104, piloted by Commander James R. Williford and Lieutenant David A. Beil, with Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class Paul J. Bert, took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CVS-12), alongside NAS North Island, San Diego, California, at 4:18 a.m., Pacific Standard Time, (12:18 UTC) and flew non-stop, without refueling, to land aboard another aircraft carrier, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42), off Mayport, Florida, at 11:10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (04:10 UTC). The distance flown was 3,388.70 kilometers (2,105.64 miles) with an elapsed time of 16 hours, 52 minutes, and set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Distance Without Landing.¹ This exceeded the previous record distance by more than 750 miles (1,207 kilometers).²

The SH-3A averaged 200.91 kilometers per hour (124.84 miles per hour/108.42 knots.)

CDR James R. Williford climbs aboard the Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King “Dawdling Dromedary,” Bu. No. 152104. (Naval Aviation Museum 1985-105.002b)

On takeoff, Dawdling Dromedary had a gross weight of 23,000 pounds (10,433 kilograms), about 4,000 pounds (1,814 kilograms over its normal operating weight. Its fuel load was 1,690 gallons (6,397 liters) and it had only 60 gallons (227 liters) remaining on landing.

After clearing Guadalupe Pass between Carlsbad, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, (5,414 feet, 1650 meters) the crew shut down one the the SH-3A’s two turboshaft engines in an effort to reduce fuel consumption. They flew on a single engine for 9½ hours, restarting the second engine as they descended through 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) over Jacksonville, Florida.

Commander Williford, head of the Rotary Wing Branch, Flight Test Division, at the Naval Air Test Center, NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, was quoted in Naval Aviation News for the May 1965 issue:

“Since weight counted, the heater had been removed. We therefore wore rubber boots, long underwear, etc., but still were thoroughly chilled upon arrival. The temperature at 15,000 feet [4,572 meters] was -11° [-23.9 °C.] that night.

“The C-131 chase aircraft crew was amazed at our accuracy of navigation with a lone omni. Actually, it was such a clear day it was the old type of piloting, that is, ‘just north of that reservoir’ or ‘one mile south of that city,’ etc. We flew through mountain passes until Guadalupe, thence great circle route to Mayport.

“For the trip, +10 knots [18.5 kilometers per hour] tailwind average was needed, and it appeared we weren’t going to make it for the first 8–9 hours because we were behind in our time vs. distance plot. But as we climbed higher—climbing being limited by retreating blade stall—we gained stronger and more favorable winds. By the time we reached Valdosta, Georgia, we had about 35 knots [64.8 kilometers per hour] pushing us. That was a nice feature because the Okefenokee Swamp at night is no place for an autorotation with empty fuel tanks.”

—Commander James R. Williford, United States Navy, Naval Aviation News, May 1965, NavWeps No. 00-75R-3, at Pages 8–9.

The crew of the record-setting Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King, Dawdling Dromedary, aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42), 6 March 1965. Left to right, ADJ1 Paul J. Bert, Lieutenant David A. Biel, Commander James R. Williford. (U.S. Navy)

[Co-pilot David A. Beil was killed 12 March 1969 while testing a Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne compound helicopter. See TDiA at: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/12-march-1969/ ]

Dawdling Dromedary is the same Sikorsky SH-3A, Bu. No. 152104, that set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world speed record for helicopters of 339 kilometers per hour (210.6 miles per hour), 5 February 1962, flown by Lieutenant Robert W. Crafton, USN, and Captain Louis K. Keck, USMC.³

The Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King was the first of the S-61 series of military and civil helicopters, designated as HSS-2 until 1962. It is a large twin-engine helicopter with a single main rotor/tail rotor configuration. The fuselage is designed to allow landing on water. The XHSS-2 made its first flight 11 March 1959. The helicopter was originally used as an anti-submarine helicopter.

The SH-3A is 72 feet, 7 inches (22.123 meters) long and 16 feet, 10 inches (5.131 meters) high with all rotors turning. The main rotors and tail can be folded for more compact storage aboard aircraft carriers, shortening the aircraft to 46 feet, 6 inches (14.173 meters). The main rotor has five blades and a diameter of 62 feet (18.898 meters). Each blade has a chord of 1 foot, 6.25 inches (0.464 meters). The tail rotor also has five blades and a diameter of 10 feet, 4 inches (3.150 meters). They each have a chord of 7–11/32 inches (0.187 meters). At 100% NR, the main rotor turns 203 r.p.m. and the tail rotor, 1,244 r.p.m.

The SH-3A was powered by two General Electric T58-GE-6 turboshaft engines, which had a Normal Power rating of 900 horsepower, and Military Power rating of 1,050 horsepower. The main transmission was rated for 2,300 horsepower, maximum. (Later models were built with more powerful T58-GE-8 engines. Early aircraft were retrofitted.)

The SH-3A has a cruise speed of 125 knots (144 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and a maximum speed of 135 knots (155 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level. The service ceiling is 14,000 feet (4,267 meters). The design maximum gross weight is 16,237 pounds (7,365 kilograms). The SH-3A had a combat endurance of 4 hours.

In 1962, the HSS-2 was redesignated SH-3A Sea King. Many early production aircraft have remained in service and have been upgraded through SH-3D, SH-3G, etc. In addition to the original ASW role, the Sea Kings have been widely used for Combat Search and Rescue operations. Marine One, the call sign for the helicopters assigned to the President of the United States, are VH-3D Sea Kings.

Sikorsky produced the last S-61 helicopter in 1980, having built 794. Production has been licensed to manufacturers in England, Italy, Canada and Japan. They have produced an additional 679 Sea Kings.

Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King, Bu. No. 14xxxx, the Dawdling Dromedary. (FAI)
Sikorsky SH-3A Sea King, Bu. No. 152104, the Dawdling Dromedary. (FAI)

¹ FAI Record File Number 2179

² FAI Record File Number 2180: 2,170.70 kilometers (1,348.81 miles), set by Captain Michael N. Antoniou, U.S. Army, flying a Bell YUH-1D Iroquois, 60-6029, from Edwards Air Force Base, California, to Rogers, Arkansas, 27 September 1964.

³ FAI Record File Number 13121. (See TDiA, 5 February 1962.)

© 2020, Bryan R. Swopes