13 October 1931

Aviation, , , , , , , , ,

Godfrey Webster Dean with a Pitcairn PCA-2 autogyro, CF-ARO, (s/n B-15), circa 1931. [“British Consols” were bonds issued by the UK Government to finance the war. The last of these were paid off in 2015.] (CAVM 11043)
13 October 1932: Godfrey Webster Dean, pilot for Fairchild Aircraft Co. of Longueuil, Quebec, Canada, became the first pilot to loop a rotorcraft when he performed the maneuver in a Pitcairn PCA-2 autogyro over the Pitcairn Aircraft, Inc., air field near Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.

The Gazette reported:

CANADIAN PILOT PIONEER IN FEAT

G.W. Dean, Flying “British Consols,” First to Loop the Loop in Autogiro

     Fresh from new aerial triumphs, The “British Consols” autogiro, with Pilot Godfrey W. Dean at the controls, dropped from the clouds at the Fairchild Field at Longueuil yesterday afternoon. Pilot Dean and his machine have made a new all-time record for aviation in North America at least, for twice this week they have performed the hitherto impossible. They have “looped the loop” in an autogiro.

     Three months ago, when the “British Consols,” sponsored by the Macdonald Tobacco Company of Montreal, first appeared locally, it created a sensation. Now it has another sensation to its credit, for it has done what the aviation world held to be impossible for any machine of the autogiro type. Never before on this side of the Atlantic has any machine with the rotar blades above been put into a loop. At the test field of the Pitcairn Company, makers of the queer “windmill” craft, Pilot Dean turned the “British Consols” into the evolutions of the loop. The machine was at the Pitcairn factory for a complete overhaul, after its strenuous aerial voyages above Canada, and on completion of the repairs and checking, its pilot demonstrated that with the proper care the loop is as possible to this type of aircraft as to the ordinary airplane. Twice the machine “looped,” first in what is known as a “loose” loop to the air-minded, and then in a “tight” loop. The daring of the local flier and the perfect co-ordination of his machine surprised the most experienced of the Pitcairn staff. Even the test pilots were aghast as the evolutions were completed.

     According to Captain Dean’s own description of the feat, the autogiro behaved very much as any other airplane would have done. The sensational feature of the stunt is that there are no wings to support the ‘giro in its upsidedown manoeuvre. The machine is kept in the air by the action of the rotar blades above it. With the machine reversed it has always been supposed that the rotar blades would stop and therefore drop the machine. This was not the case.

     Pilot Godfrey W. Dean, who was loaned by the Canadian Airways to fly the “British Consols,” has hung up more than one autogiro record since he took over the controls of the machine last July. Before he returned to the Pitcairn factory at Willow Grove, Pa., for his overhaul, he had crossed the continent twice. No other autogiro had ever established such a record. He had flown the machine 212 hours, according to the official log. At an average speed of 90 miles per hour, this means that the “British Consols” covered more than 20,000 miles of territory before it went back to the factory. The average flight of previous autogiros has been around the 100-hour mark in the air.

     To hundreds of thousands of Canadians, from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific coast, the “British Consols” was the first autogiro they had ever seen It is the only machine of its kind under Canadian registration. From now on, the machine will be seen locally in some of its peculiar flight manoeuvres.

—The Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Vol. CLX, No. 250, Thursday, October 15, 1931 at Page 2, Column 2

Pitcairn PCA-2 CF-ARO, serial number B-15, had previously been registered to Hubert M. Pasmore, with United States Department of Commerce, Aeronautics Branch, registration NC10786.

An autogyro is a rotary wing aircraft that derives lift from a turning rotor system which is driven by air flow (autorotation). Unlike a helicopter, thrust is provided by an engine-driven propeller. The engine does not drive the rotor.

The Pitcairn Autogyro Company’s PCA-2 was the first autogyro certified in the United States. Operated by a single pilot, it could carry two passengers. The fuselage was constructed of welded steel tubing, covered with doped fabric and aluminum sheet.

The PCA-2 was 23 feet, 1 inch (7.036 meters) long, excluding the rotor. The low-mounted wing had a span of 30 feet, 0 inches (9.144 meters), and the horizontal stabilizer and elevators had a span of 11 feet, 0 inches. (3.353 meters). The overall height of the autogyro was 13 feet, 7 inches (4.140 meters). The PCA-2 had an empty weight of 2,233 pounds (1,013 kilograms) and gross weight of 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms).

Pitcairn Aircraft, Inc., advertisement, 1932

The four-bladed rotor was semi-articulated with horizontal and vertical hinges to allow for blade flapping and the lead-lag effects of Coriolis force. Unlike the main rotor of a helicopter, there was no cyclic- or collective-pitch motion. The rotor system was mounted at the top of a pylon and rotated counter-clockwise, as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the right.) The rotor had a diameter of 45 feet, 0 inches (13.716 meters). The blades were approximately 22 feet (6.7 meters) long, with a maximum chord of 1 foot, 10 inches (0.559 meters). Each blade was constructed with a tubular steel spar with mahogany/birch plywood ribs, a formed plywood leading edge and a stainless steel sheet trailing edge. They were covered with a layer of very thin plywood. A steel cable joined the blades to limit their lead-lag travel.

The aircraft was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged, 971.930-cubic-inch-displacement (15.927 liter) Wright R-975E Whirlwind 330 nine-cylinder radial engine with a compression ratio of 5.1:1. The R-975E produced a maximum 330 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. at Sea Level, burning 73-octane gasoline. The engine turned a two-bladed Hamilton Standard variable-pitch propeller through direct drive. The engine weighed 635 pounds (288 kilograms).

The PCA-2 had two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 52 gallons (197 liters). It also had a 6½ gallon (24.6 liter) oil tank to supply the radial engine.

The PCA-2 had a maximum speed of 120 miles per hour (193 kilometers per hour). It had a service ceiling of 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) and a range of 290 miles (467 kilometers).

Godfrey Webster Dean
Hallmark, Deans (1910) Ltd.

Godfrey Webster Dean was born at Burslem (Stoke-on-Trent), Staffordshire, England, 6 April 1897. He was the third of three children of Samuel Webster Dean, chairman of Edge, Malkin & Co., and a manufacturer of pottery (S.W. Dean, and, later, Deans (1910) Ltd. His mother was Mary Edna Edge Dean.

From 1914, Dean served as an officer in the British Indian Army (Indian Reserve of Officers, I.A.R.O.). He was with the 1/1 Gurkhas in Iraq and Kurdistan. Lieutenant Dean received a  commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Field Artillery, 8 October 1917. He was deployed to France, from 5 June 1917.

For his service during World War I, Lieutenant Dean was awarded the British War Medal 1914–1916 with Kurdistan and Iraq clasps, and the Victory Medal 1914–1918.

From 1920 to 1921, Lieutenant Dean was an artillery instructor assigned to te Persian Army.

Following the War to End All Wars, Lieutenant Dean transferred to the Royal Air Force as a Pilot Officer on probation. His rank was confirmed 1 November 1922. He was next promoted to Flying Officer on 1 November 1923.

Flying Officer Dean was transferred to the Reserve, Class A, 1 May 1926, and to Class C, 25 June 1926.

Godfrey Webster Dean

On 1 May 1930, Flying Officer Godfrey Webster Dean relinquished his commission on completion of service.

Dean was employed as a pilot for Fairchild Aviation Company in April 1927. That company was absorbed by Canadian Airways Ltd. On 12 March 1932, he was flying a ski-equipped Junkers W33fi, CF-ASI, with a load of cargo from Tashota, Ontario, Canada, to a trading post at Kagainagami Lake. The airplane crashed and burned. (Some sources say that it caught fire in flight, then went out of control. Others say it went down in a snowstorm.) A contemporary report described the actions of a witness:

“Mr. Bates was watching the machine approach, but lost sight of it just prior to landing behind an island. In seeing smoke arising from behind the island, Mr. Bates ran to the machine and pulled pilot Dean’s body from the wreckage. While he was doing so, the machine was burning, the flames having just reached the pilot’s cockpit. Mr. Bates displayed courage of no mean order, as the flames were then close to the gas tanks, which might have caught fire and exploded at any minute . . . The courage shown was a of a very high order, particularly as Mr. Bates probably could see from the wreck that the pilot was already beyond assistance.”

According to contemporary newspaper articles, Dean’s body had no burns.

Godfrey Webster Dean was buried at Cimetière Mont-Royal, Outremont, Quebec, Canada.

Dean’s Junkers W33 was the sister ship of this Canadian Airways Ltd. W33, CF-AQW.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

13 October 1922

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1st Lieutenant Theodore J. Koenig, Air Service, U.S.  Army, 1924.

13 October 1922: Air races were a extremely popular event in the early days of aviation. An estimated 200,000 spectators watched the opening race at the National Air Races, held at Selfridge Field (now, the Selfridge Air National Guard Base) near Mount Clemens, Michigan, from 8 to 14 October.

First Lieutenant Theodore Joseph Koenig, Air Service, United States Army, won the Liberty Engine Builders’ Trophy Race, a race for observation-type aircraft powered by the Liberty 12 engine. This race was Event No. 4, on Friday, October 13.

Flying a Packard Lepère L USA C.II, Air Service serial number A.S. 40015, Koenig completed ten laps of the triangular racecourse in 2:00:01.54, at an average speed of 128.8 miles per hour (207.3 kilometers per hour).

In addition to a trophy, cash prizes were awarded to the competitors for first, second and third place finishes. First place received $1,200.00 (about $16,747 in 2017); second place, $600.00; third place, $200.00.

The Packard-Lèpere L USA C.II flown by Lieutenant J. T. Koenig to win the Liberty Engine Builders Trophy Race, 13 October 1922. It was also flown by Lieutenant John Macready to set an altitude record of 40,800 feet, 28 September 1921. (U.S. Air Force)

The race course was designated as:

“2. Distance

“Approximately 240 miles [386.2 kilometers]—ten times around a closed course of approximately 24 miles [38.6 kilometers], starting at Selfridge Field, thence to Packard Field, from there to Gaukler Point on Lake St. Charles, and thence back to Selfridge Field.”

—Aviation, 9 October 1922, Vol XIII, No. 15, at page 449.

Koenig flew the same Packard Lepère L USA C.II biplane, A.S. 40015, that had been flown by Lieutenant John A. Macready to set altitude record of 40,800 feet (12,192 meters), 28 September 1921.

Lieutenant Koenig varied not more than two miles an hour in any lap from his average speed for the ten laps. The first three laps he made at 130 miles an hour, the next five at 129 miles, the next five at 128 miles and the last lap at 129 miles an hour. On the last leg of his last lap, while he was over Lake St. Clair, his air pressure feed, which forces gasoline to the carburetor from the tanks went wrong and he was compelled to resort to an emergency gas tank for fuel.

—Aerial Age, Vol. 15, No. 20, November 1922, at Page 535.

Of the nine racers, six completed the race. Major Follet Bradley placed second in his DH.4B with an average speed of 126.4 miles per hour (203.4 kilometers per hour). Third place went to Lt. William L. Boyd, who also flew a DH-4B. “He flew a perfect race, averaging 122 miles an hour in every one of the ten laps. Army men said this was a remarkable achievement.”

Lieutenant Theodore Joseph Koening, Air Corps, United States Army, 1926. (Unattributed)

Theodore Joseph Koenig was born at Elmira, New York, 24 July 1892, the first of two children of John B. Koenig, a blacksmith, and Caroline Linberger Koenig. He attended the University of Michigan, 1913–14. He was a member of the Scalp and Blade club, the members of which were from Buffalo, New York.

Koenig was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry (Officers Reserve Corps), 27 November 1917, and trained at Fort Niagara, New York. In January 1918, Lieutenant Koenig was assigned to Kelly Field, Texas for flight training, and then to the 652nd Aero Squadron (Supply). He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, Air Service, 1 July 1920. On 20 September 1920, Lieutenant Koenig was discharged from the Officers Reserve Corps and received a commission as a second lieutenant, Air Service. He was advanced to first lieutenant, effective the same date.

On 14 December 1920,  Lieutenant Koenig married Miss Laura Helen Smith at Galveston, Texas.

Koening attended the Air Service Bombardment School in 1921.

1st Lieutenant Koenig was was the Air Service officer in charge at NAS Sand Point, Seattle, Washington, 1924. He was promoted to the rank of captain, 4 September 1929.

On 28 September 1931, Captain Koenig was involved in an aircraft accident.

Koening attended the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, Alabama, 1931– 1932.

Koening was promoted to the rank of major, 16 June 1936. He was assigned as Assistant Military Attaché to the American Embassy in Berlin, Germany, under Colonel Truman Smith. He was sent to gather information about Germany’s increasing military air power and its technical progress. Colonel Smith had invited Charles A. Lindbergh to visit in Germany, and often sent Major Koenig along with Lindbergh as they toured German airfields and aircraft factories. (Lindbergh was performing a similar function for Colonel Smith.)

Major and Mrs. Koenig returned to the United States aboard the passenger liner, S.S. President Harding, arriving at New York, 27 February 1937.

 

Curtiss Y1A-8A 32-356 (U.S. Air Force)

On 5 September 1937, a Curtiss A-8A, serial number 32-356, crashed on takeoff at Holman Field, St. Paul, Minnesota, with Major Koenig on board. The airplane was written off.

Major Koening then attended the Command and General Staff School, graduating in 1938,

Major Koenig was the first commander of the newly-formed 25th Bombardment Group (Heavy), consisting of the 10th, 12th and 35th Bombardment Squadrons, and based at Langley Field, Virginia, from 1 February 1940 to 1941. The group flew the Northrop A-17A and Douglas B-18A. On 1 March 1941, Koenig was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

From 2 June to 15 October 1941, Lieutenant Colonel Koening was assigned to the General Staff Corps. He was promoted to the rank of colonel, 15 November 1941. He was again assigned to the General Staff, 10 March 1942 until 17 September 1943.

Colonel Koenig remained in the Air Force following World War II. During his military career he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and the Bronze Star for meritorious service in connection with military operations against an enemy of the United States, July 1944–February 1945 (awarded posthumously). He died while on active duty, 18 September 1949, at the age of 57 years, and is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.

Packard Lepère LUSAC 11 P53, left profile. The turbocharger is mounted above the propeller driveshaft.
Packard Lepère L USA C.II A.S. 40015, Wright Field project number P 53, left profile. The turbocharger’s turbine housing is mounted above the propeller driveshaft. The markings on the rudder, above the project number, P 53, are “LEPERE U.S.—” (U.S. Air Force)

The Packard Lepère L USA C.II was a World War I biplane designed by French aeronautical engineer Captain Georges Lepère and built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. It was to have been a two-place fighter, light bomber and observation aircraft armed with four machine guns.

The Packard Lepère was 25 feet, 3-1/8 inches (7.699 meters) long. The upper and lower wings had an equal span of 41 feet, 7¼ inches (12.681 meters), and equal chord of 5 feet, 5¾ inches (1.670 meters). The vertical gap between the wings was 5 feet, 5/8-inch (1.527 meters) and the lower wing was staggered 2 feet, 15/16-inch (0.633 meters) behind the upper wing. The wings’ incidence was +1°. Upper and lower wings were equipped with ailerons, and had no sweep or dihedral. The height of the Packard Lepère, sitting on its landing gear, was 9 feet, 7 inches (2.921 meters). The Packard Lepère had an empty weight of 2,561.5 pounds (1,161.9 kilograms) and its gross weight was 3,746.0 pounds (1,699.2 kilograms).

The fuselage was a wooden structure with a rectangular cross section. It was covered with three layers of veneer, (2 mahogany, 1 white wood) with a total thickness of 3/32-inch (2.38 millimeters). The fuselage had a maximum width of 2 feet, 10 inches (0.864 meters) and maximum depth of 4 feet, 0 inches (1.219 meters).

The wings were also of wooden construction, with two spruce spars and spruce ribs. Three layers of wood veneer covered the upper surfaces. Heavy bracing wires were used. These had an airfoil cross-section and actually provided additional lift. The interplane struts were unusual in that they were fully-framed units.

P 53 in its original configuration and camouflage. The fuselage is clearly marked A.S. 40015. (U.S. Air Force)
P 53 in its original configuration and camouflage. The fuselage is clearly marked A.S. 40015. (U.S. Air Force)

The Packard Lepère was powered by a Liberty L-12 engine. The Liberty L-12 aircraft engine was designed by Jesse G. Vincent of the Packard Motor Car Company and Elbert J. Hall of the Hall-Scott Motor Company. It was a water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 1,649.336-cubic-inch-displacement (27.028 liter) single overhead cam (SOHC) 45° V-12 engine with two valves per cylinder and 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).

Major Henry H. Arnold standing beside the first Liberty 12 aircraft engine turned out for war use. “Hap” Arnold would later hold the 5-star rank of General of the Army and General of the Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)

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.

The engine coolant radiator was positioned horizontally in the center section of the Lepère’s upper wing. Water flowed through the radiator at a rate of 80 gallons (303 liters) per minute.

The Packard Lepère had a maximum speed of 130.4 miles per hour (209.9 kilometers per hour) at 5,000 feet (1,524 meters), 127.6 miles per hour (205.4 kilometers per hour) at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), 122.4 miles per hour (197.0 kilometers per hour) at 15,000 feet (4,572 meters), 110.0 miles per hour (177.0 kilometers per hours) at 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) and 94.0 miles per hour (151.3 kilometers per hour) at 20,000 feet (6,096 meters). Its cruising speed was 112 miles per hour (180 was kilometers per hour). The airplane could climb to 5,000 feet in 4 minutes, 24 seconds, and to 20,000 feet in 36 minutes, 36 seconds. In standard configuration, the Packard Lepère had a service ceiling of 20,200 feet (6,157 meters). Its range was 320 miles (515 kilometers).

The fighter’s armament consisted of two fixed M1918 Marlin .30-caliber aircraft machine guns mounted on the right side of the fuselage, synchronized to fire forward through the propeller arc, with 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and two M1918 Lewis .30-caliber machine guns on a flexible mount with 970 rounds of ammunition.

The Air Service had ordered 3,525 of these airplanes, but when the War ended only 28 had been built. The contract was cancelled.

Six Packard Lepères were used for flight testing at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, assigned project numbers P 44, P 53, P 54, P 65, P 70 and P 80. One of these, flown by Major Rudolph W. Schroeder, set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Altitude at 9,455 meters (31,020 feet), 18 September 1918.¹ On 6 September 1919, Schroeder flew a Packard Lepère to 8,616 meters (28,268 feet) while carrying a passenger. This set two more World Altitude Records.² Flying P 53, A.S. 40015, he set a fifth FAI altitude record of 10,093 meters (33,114 feet), 27 February 1920.³ On 28 September 1921, Captain John A. Macready flew P 53 to an altitude of 40,800 feet (12,436 meters).

The only Packard Lepère in existence, serial number A.S. 42133, is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Packard Lepère L USA C.II, S.C. 42133, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)

 

Packard Lepère L USA C.II, P54, S.C. 42138 (U.S. Air Force)

¹ FAI Record File Number 15463

² FAI Record File Number 15671

³ FAI Record File Number 8229

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

12 October 1976

Aviation, , , , , , ,
Sikorsky S-72 RSRA 72001 in initial configuration. (Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company)

12 October 1976: The Sikorsky S-72 Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA) made its first flight at Stratford, Connecticut. The S-72 was a hybrid aircraft built for the United States Army and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Its purpose was to serve as a flight test vehicle for various helicopter rotor configurations.

The S-72 was three-place, four-engine, single main rotor/tail rotor compound helicopter with retractable main landing gear. The flight crew consisted of two test pilots in a side-by-side cockpit, and a flight test engineer in the cabin. The left pilot’s position was equipped with “fly-by-wire” flight controls, while the right seat used conventional mechanical controls as a safety back up. The S-72 had a crew escape system, which blew the main rotor blades off, allowing the crew to land the aircraft in its airplane mode, or to be extracted by rockets.

The aircraft was built with a low-drag fuselage capable of reaching 340 knots (391 miles per hour/630 kilometers per hour) and used the rotors and drive train of the S-61 Sea King. A wing and two turbofan engines allowed the aircraft to fly as an airplane.

Sikorsky S-72 N740NA in flight near Edwards Air Force Base, California, without a main rotor, circa 1984. (NASA)

The S-72 had an overall length with rotors turning, of 75 feet, 11 inches (23.139 meters). The fuselage had a length of 63 feet, 8 inches (19.406 meters), and maximum width of 8 feet, 4 inches (2.642 meters). The RSRA had an overall height of 15 feet, 6 inches (4.724 meters). The variable incidence wing has a span of 45 feet, 1.2 inches (13.746 meters). The angle of incidence could be varied in flight from +15° to -9°. The span of the horizontal stabilizer is 20 feet, 10 inches (6.350 meters). The S-72 compound helicopter had an empty weight of 20,812 pounds (9,440 kilograms) and gross weight of 26,392 pounds (11,971 kilograms). When stripped to a pure helicopter configuration, the empty weight was reduced to 14,490 pounds (6.573 kilograms).

The S-72 was first flown using the rotors from the S-61. These were later to be replaced with experimental rotor systems. The S-61 main rotor has five blades and a diameter of 62 feet, 0 inches (18.898 meters). Each blade has a chord of 1 foot, 6.25 inches (0.464 meters). The main rotor turns at 203 r.p.m., counter-clockwise, as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the right.) The S-72’s tail rotor also has five blades and has a diameter of 10 feet, 7.25 inches (3.232 meters). The blades have a chord of 7–11/32 inches (0.187 meters). The tail rotor turns clockwise as seen from the helicopter’s left. (The advancing blade is below the axis of rotation.) The tail rotor turns 1,244 r.p.m.

General arrangement with dimensions. (Sikorsky Historical Archives)

The S-72 was powered by two General Electric T58-GE-5 turboshaft engines, driving the rotor system, and two General Electric TF34-GE-2 turbofan engines providing thrust for flight in the airplane or compound helicopter configuration.

The T58-GE-5 turboshaft engines are the same engines that powered the HH-3E Jolly Green Giant combat search and rescue helicopters. They are a free-turbine turboshaft with a 10-stage axial-flow compressor section a 2-stage gas generator turbine (N1) and 1-stage free power turbine (N2). The T58-GE-5 has a Maximum Continuous Power rating of 1,400 shaft horsepower, each, and Military Power rating of 1,500 shaft horsepower. The engine is 59.0 inches (1.499 meters) long, 20.9 inches (0.531 meters) in diameter, and weighs 335 pounds (152 kilograms).

The TF34-GE-2 turbofan was developed for the U.S. Navy’s Lockheed S-3A Viking anti-submarine aircraft. It was a two-spool axial-flow jet engine with a single-stage fan section, 14-stage compressor, and 6-stage turbine section (2 high- and 4 low-pressure stages). The TF34-GE-2 was rated at 9,275 pounds of thrust (41.26 kilonewtons).

The S-72 had a maximum speed in level flight of 300 knots (345 miles per hour/556 kilometers per hour), and 340 knots (391 miles per hour/630 kilometers per hour) in a dive.

Two RSRAs were built. After Sikorsky’s flight test program was completed in 1979, the two RSRA aircraft were delivered to NASA Ames. The Aircraft received civil registrations N740NA (72001) and N741NA (72002).

The stripped airframe of the first Sikorsky S-72, 72001, sits behind a chain link fence at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

© 2020, Bryan R. Swopes

12 October 1961

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Jackie Cochran with her record-setting Northrop T-38A-30-NO Talon, 60-0551, at Edwards Air Force Base, 1961. (U.S. Air Force)
Jackie Cochran with her record-setting Northrop T-38A-30-NO Talon, 60-0551, at Edwards Air Force Base, 1961. (U.S. Air Force)

12 October 1961: From August to October 1961, Jackie Cochran, a consultant to Northrop Corporation, set a series of speed, distance and altitude records while flying a Northrop T-38A-30-NO Talon supersonic trainer, serial number 60-0551. On the final day of the record series, she set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records, taking the T-38 to altitudes of 16,841 meters (55,253 feet) in horizontal flight ¹ and reaching a peak altitude of 17,091 meters (56,073 feet). ²

Jacqueline Cochran’s Diplôme de Record in the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives. (Bryan R. Swopes)
Jacqueline Cochran’s Diplôme de Record in the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives. (Bryan R. Swopes)
Jacqueline Cochran’s Diplôme de Record in the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives. (Bryan R. Swopes)
Jacqueline Cochran’s Diplôme de Record in the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives. (Bryan R. Swopes)
Northrop T-38A-30-NO Talon at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)
Northrop T-38A-30-NO Talon 60-0551 at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)

Famed U.S. Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager, a close friend of Jackie Cochran, kept notes during the record series:

October 12  Jackie took off at 9 am in the T-38 using afterburner. Bud Anderson and I chased her in the F-100. It was an excellent flight with everything working perfect. Jackie entered the course at 55,800 feet at .93 Mach and accelerated to radar. At the end of the run Jackie pulled up to 56,800 and then pushed over. She cut the right afterburner at 52,000 feet and the left one at 50,000. At 12,000 feet she removed the face piece from her pressure suit and made a perfect landing on the lake bed.

Northrop-Air (Norair) presented Miss Cochran with one dozen yellow roses.

A very tender ending to a wonderful program and a fitting token to a wonderful lady—a pilot who gave Norair much more than they expected.

— Brigadier General Charles Elwood (“Chuck”) Yeager, U.S. Air Force, quoted in Jackie Cochran: An Autobiography, by Jacqueline Cochran and Maryann Bucknum Brinley, Bantam Books, New York, 1987, Pages 307–308.

Jackie Cochran and Chuck Yeager at Edwards Air Force Base, California, after a flight in the record-setting Northrop T-38A Talon. (U.S. Air Force)
Jackie Cochran and Chuck Yeager at Edwards Air Force Base, California, after a flight in the record-setting Northrop T-38A Talon. (U.S. Air Force)

The T-38A is a two-seat, twin-engine jet trainer capable of supersonic speed. It is powered by two General Electric J85-5A turbojet engines producing 2,050 pounds of thrust (3,850 with afterburner). Jackie Cochran demonstrated its maximum speed, Mach 1.3. It has a service ceiling of 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) and a range of 1,140 miles (1,835 kilometers). In production from 1961 to 1972, Northrop has produced nearly 1,200 T-38s. It remains in service with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Jackie Cochran’s record-setting T-38 is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum.

Jackie Cochran’s record-setting Northrop T-38A-30-NO Talon, 60-0551, on display at the Smithsonian Institution, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The Talon is in the markings of the Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan Air Force Base, Sacramento, California. (NASM)

¹ FAI Record File Number 12884

² FAI Record File Number 12855

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

12 October 1954

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North American Aviation’s Chief Engineering Test Pilot, George S. Welch, with the first prototype YF-100A Super Sabre, 52-5754. (U.S. Air Force)

12 October 1954: North American Aviation Chief Engineering Test Pilot George S. Welch, testing the ninth production F-100A-1-NA Super Sabre, serial number 52-5764, made a planned 7.3 G pullout from a Mach 1.55 dive to verify the aircraft’s design limits.

A Boeing B-47 Stratojet crew flying at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters) reported that Welch’s F-100 winged over and began a rapid descent, passing within four miles (6.4 kilometers) of their position and diving at a very high speed. The aircraft appeared to be under control but then suddenly disintegrated.

The Super Sabre had encountered Inertial Roll Coupling. It went out of control and then disintegrated. Its nose folded over the windshield, crushing Welch in his seat. The vertical fin broke away. The ejection seat fired but because of the supersonic speeds the parachute was shredded.

Welch was still alive when rescue teams arrived. He died while being flown to a hospital by helicopter.

George S. Welch, North American Aviation test pilot, wearing his orange flight helmet. An F-86 Sabre is in the background. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Photo Archives)

Inertial roll coupling led to the death of test pilot Mel Apt when his rocket-powered airplane, the Bell X-2, went out of control at Mach 3.2 It nearly killed Chuck Yeager when he lost control of the Bell X-1B at Mach 2.4. It is a complex phenomenon which I will briefly attempt to explain:

To increase maximum speed of transonic and supersonic airplanes during the late 1940s and early 1950s, their wings and tail surfaces were made smaller in order to decrease aerodynamic drag. At the same time, the fuselage became longer and the placement of engines, armament, landing gear, fuel, etc., within the fuselage concentrated the airplane’s mass near its center. While the gyroscopic effects of the turbojet engine contributed some degree of longitudinal stability, the torque effect made rolls to the left occur more easily, but with a higher rate than a roll to the right. The resistance to a change in attitude—inertia—decreased at the same time that the control surfaces’ ability to control the airplanes’ attitude also decreased. The airplanes became unstable.

This North American Aviation F-100-1-NA Super Sabre, 52-5761, is from the same production black as the aircraft flown by George Welch, 12 October 1954. (U.S. Air Force)
This North American Aviation F-100-1-NA Super Sabre, 52-5761, is from the same production block as the aircraft flown by George Welch, 12 October 1954. This photograph shows FW-761 with the original short vertical fin of the F-100A. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
North American Aviation F-100A-1-NA Super Sabre  52-5763, sister ship of the airplane flown by George Welch, 12 October 1954. (North American Aviation, Inc.)

When George Welch tried to pull the F-100 out of its supersonic dive, the airplane’s speed began to decrease as the angle of attack increased. The wings’ ability to stabilize the natural roll instability of the fuselage’s concentrated mass was lessened, and the ailerons could not provide sufficient control to counteract this rolling tendency. The low vertical fin of the original F-100A did not provide adequate directional stability. The Super Sabre rolled and then yawed, entering a side slip. This caused the Super Sabre to pitch down and it was suddenly out of control in all three axes. The physical forces exceeded the strength of the aircraft structure and it came apart.¹

[Aerodynamicists and Aeronautical Engineers: Your corrective comments are welcome.]

Wreckage of North American Aviation F-100A Super Sabre, 12 October 1954. (U.S. Air Force)
Wreckage of North American Aviation F-100A-1-NA Super Sabre 52-5764, 12 October 1954. (North American Aviation, Inc.)

Following the death of George Welch, NACA High Speed Flight Station research test pilot Albert Scott Crossfield spent three months conducting flight tests of the F-100A, demonstrating its inertial roll coupling characteristics using three different vertical fins. F-100A-5-NA 52-5778 was Crossfield’s test aircraft.

Scott Crossfield flew the F-100A-5-NA, 52-5778, in flight testing at the NACA High Speed Flight Station, October–December 1954. (NASA)
Test Pilot A. Scott Crossfield flew this F-100A-5-NA, 52-5778, in flight testing at the NACA High Speed Flight Station, October–December 1954. (NASA)

The North American Aviation F-100 Super Sabre was designed as a supersonic day fighter. Initially intended as an improved F-86D and F-86E, the “Sabre 45” soon developed into an almost completely new airplane. The Super Sabre had a 49° 2′ sweep to the leading edges of the wings and horizontal stabilizer. The total wing area was 385.2 square feet (35.79 square meters). The wings had an angle of incidence of 0°, with no twist or dihedral. The ailerons were placed inboard on the wings and there were no flaps, resulting in a high stall speed in landing configuration. The horizontal stabilizer was moved to the bottom of the fuselage to keep it out of the turbulence created by the wings at high angles of attack. The F-100A had a distinctively shorter vertical fin than the YF-100A. The upper segment of the vertical fin was swept 49° 43′.

There were two service test prototypes, designated YF-100A, followed by the production F-100A series. The first ten production aircraft (all of the Block 1 variants) were used in the flight testing program.

The F-100A Super Sabre was 47 feet, 1¼ inches (14.357 meters) long with a wingspan of 36 feet, 6 inches (11.125 meters). With the shorter vertical fin, the initial F-100As had an overall height of 13 feet, 4 inches (4.064 meters), 11 inches (27.9 centimeters) less than the YF-100A.

Following Welch's accident, NACA designed a new vertical fin for the F-100A. Ii was taller but also had a longer chord. This resulted in a 10% increase in area. (NASA E-1573)
Following Welch’s accident, the NACA High Speed Flight Station tested the Super Sabre and designed a new vertical fin for the F-100A. The two F-100As in this photograph are both from the second production block (F-100A-5-NA). 52-5778, on the left, has the new fin, while 52-5773 retains the original short fin. The new fin is taller but also has a longer chord. This resulted in a 10% increase in area. (NASA)

The F-100A had an empty weight of 18,135 pounds (8,226 kilograms), and its maximum takeoff weight was 28,971 pounds (13,141 kilograms). It had an internal fuel capacity of 744 gallons (2,816 liters) and could carry two 275 gallon (1,041 liter) external fuel tanks.

The early F-100As were powered by a Pratt & Whitney Turbo Wasp J57-P-7 afterburning turbojet engine. The J57 was a two-spool axial-flow turbojet which had a 16-stage compressor section (9 low- and 7 high-pressure stages) and a 3-stage turbine (2 high- and 1 low-pressure stages). Its continuous power rating was 8,000 pounds of thrust (35.586 kilonewtons). The Military Power rating was 9,700 pounds (43.148 kilonewtons) (30-minute limit). Maximum power was 14,800 pounds (43.148 kilonewtons) with afterburner (5-minute limit). The engine was 20 feet, 9.7 inches (6.342 meters) long, 3 feet, 3.9 inches (1.014 meters) in diameter, and weighed 5,075 pounds (2,303 kilograms). Later production aircraft used a J57-P-39 engine.

The Super Sabre was the first U.S. Air Force fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight. It could reach 760 miles per hour (1,223 kilometers) at Sea Level. (Mach 1 is 761.1 miles per hour at Sea Level, 1,224.9 kilometers per hour, under Standard Atmospheric Conditions.) The maximum speed of the F-100A was 759 knots (873 miles per hour/1,406 kilometers per hour)—Mach 1.32—at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). Its service ceiling was 47,500 feet (14,478 meters). The fighter’s combat radius was 402 nautical miles (463 statute miles/745 kilometers). The maximum ferry range with external fuel was 1,124 nautical miles (1,493 statute miles/2,082 kilometers).

The F-100 was armed with four M-39 20 mm autocannons, capable of firing at a rate of 1,500 rounds per minute. The ammunition capacity of the F-100 was 200 rounds per gun.

North American Aviation built 199 F-100A Super Sabres at its Inglewood, California, plant before production shifted to the F-100C fighter bomber variant. Approximately 25% of all F-100As were lost in accidents.

his is the fifth production F-100A-1-NA Super Sabre, 52-5760, in flight southeast of San Bernardino, California. This fighter is from the same production block as 52-5764, the fighter being tested by George Welch, 12 October 1954. In this photograph, FW-760 has the taller vertical fin that was designed to improve the Super Sabre's controlability. (U.S. Air Force)
This is the fifth production F-100A-1-NA Super Sabre, 52-5760, in flight southeast of San Bernardino, California, 24 June 1955. This fighter is from the same production block as 52-5764, the fighter being tested by George Welch, 12 October 1954. In this photograph, FW-760 has the taller vertical fin that was designed by NACA to improve the Super Sabre’s stability. (North American Aviation, Inc.)

George Welch was born George Lewis Schwartz, Jr., in Wilmington, Delaware, 10 May 1918. He was the first of two sons of George Lewis Schwartz, a chemist at the Dupont Experimental Station in Wilmington, and Julia Welch Schwartz. His parents changed his surname to Welch, his mother’s maiden name, so that he would not be effected by the anti-German prejudice that was widespread in America following World War I.

He studied mechanical engineering at Purdue University, Indiana, and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1939. Welch graduated from pilot training at Kelly Field, Texas, and on 4 October 1940, was commissioned as a second lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps.

Second Lieutenant Kenneth M. Taylor and Second Lieutenant George S. Welch, 47th Pursuit Squadron, 15th Pursuit Group, the two Curtiss P-40B Warhawk pilots who shot down 8 Japanese aircraft during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 7 December 1941. Both officers were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. (U.S. Air Force)

George S. Welch is best remembered as one of the heroes of Pearl Harbor. He, along with Second Lieutenant Kenneth M. Taylor, were the only two fighter pilots to get airborne from Haleiwa Auxiliary Airfield during the Japanese surprise attack on Hawaii, 7 December 1941. Flying a Curtiss P-40B Warhawk, he shot down three Aichi D3A “Val” dive bombers and one Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighter. Taylor also shot down four Japanese airplanes. For this action, Lieutenant General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold recommended the Medal of Honor, but because Lieutenants Welch and Taylor had taken off without orders, an officer in their chain of command refused to endorse the nomination. Both fighter pilots were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

During the War, Welch flew the Bell P-39 Airacobra and Lockheed P-38 Lightning on 348 combat missions. He had 16 confirmed aerial victories over Japanese airplanes and rose to the rank of Major. In addition to the Distinguished Service Cross, George Welch was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters (three awards), the Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster (two awards), the Presidential Unit Citation with two oak leaf clusters (three awards), American Defense Service medal with one service star, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one silver and one bronze star (six campaigns), and the World War II Victory Medal.

George Welch, circa 1943. (Unattributed)
George Welch, circa 1943. (Unattributed)

Welch received the nickname, “Wheaties,” because he was the first military officer to be featured on a box of Wheaties cereal. (Wheaties, “The Breakfast of Champions,” was a toasted wheat bran cereal produced by General Mills. It normally featured champion athletes on its distinctive orange-colored boxes.)

Suffering from malaria, George Welch was out of combat and recuperating in Australia. There he met Miss Janette Alice Williams and they were soon married. Welch returned to the United States with his new wife. They had a son, Giles, born in October 1947. Their home was in Brentwood, California.

North American Aviation approached General Arnold to recommend a fighter pilot who could bring his combat experience to testing new fighters. Welch was one of two that General Arnold suggested. The general authorized Welch’s release from active duty so that he could join North American. Welch held the rank of major, Air Reserve, from 13 November 1944 to 1 April 1953.

George S. Welch, now a civilian test pilot forNorth American Aviation, Inc., sits on the canopy rail of a P-51H Mustang, circa 1945. (North American Aviation Inc.)
George S. Welch, now a civilian test pilot for North American Aviation, Inc., sits on the canopy rail of a P-51H Mustang, circa 1945. (North American Aviation Inc.)

Welch went on to test fly the North American P-51H Mustang, FJ-1 Fury, F-86 Sabre and F-100 Super Sabre.

George Welch made the first flight of the XP-86 prototype, 1 October 1947. There is some evidence that on that flight, and during a subsequent flight on 14 October, Welch exceeded the speed of sound while in a dive. It has been said that during the Korean War, while teaching U.S. Air Force pilots how to best use the F-86 Sabre, he shot down several enemy MiG-15 jet fighters.

George S. Welch is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery, Section 6, Site 8578-D.

¹ Recommended: Coupling Dynamics in Aircraft: A Historical Perspective, by Richard E. Day, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB, California. NASA Special Publications 532, 1997.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes