13 July 1968

Aviation, , , , , , , , , ,
General Dynamics FB-111A 67-0159, the first production aircraft. (U.S. Air Force)

13 July 1968: The first production General Dynamics FB-111A supersonic strategic bomber successfully completed a 30-minute maiden flight at Carswell Air Force Base, Fort Worth, Texas. The FB-111A differed from the F-111A fighter bomber with the substitution of a larger wing, originally designed for the F-111B, giving the bomber a 7 foot (2.134 meter) increase in wingspan. The landing gear was strengthened, the bomb bay enlarged, and it had more powerful engines.

Aardvark (Orycteropus afer)

The airplane’s very long nose earned the nickname “Aardvark,” but this did not become official until 1996.

67-0159 was delivered to the U.S. Air Force 4 September 1968 and assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. (The first six production airplanes were used for flight testing.)

67-0159 was later converted to the F-111G configuration. In 1980 it was sent to the Sacramento Air Logistics Center to test weapons modifications and received a spectacular white and orange paint scheme. It was retired in 1990. 67-0159 is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. It is on loan and now on display at the Aerospace Museum of California, Sacramento, California.

General Dynamics FB-111A-CF (F-111G) 67-159

The General Dynamics FB-111A is a two-place, twin-engine, strategic bomber with variable-sweep wings, assigned to the Strategic Air Command. It is 73.54 feet (22.415 meters) long. The wingspan varies from a maximum 70.0 feet (21.336 meters) when fully extended, and a minimum 33.96 feet (10.351 meters) when swept fully aft. Overall height is 17.04 feet (5.194 meters).

The wings of the FB-111A have a total area of 550 square feet (51.10 square meters). When fully extended, the wings’ leading edges are swept aft to 16.0°. The angle of incidence at the root is +1° and -3° at the tip. There is 1.0° dihedral.

The Aardvark’s empty weight is 47,481 pounds (21,537 kilograms). Normal maximum takeoff weight is 116,115 pounds (52,669 kilograms), and the maximum overload takeoff weight is or 119,243 pounds (54,088 kilograms).

The aircraft is powered by two Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-107 engines. This is a two-spool axial-flow turbofan engine with afterburner. It has a 3-stage fan section, 13-stage compressor section (6 low- and 7 high-pressure stages) and 4-stage turbine (1 high- and 3 low-pressure stages). The -107 has a maximum continuous power rating of 10,800 pounds of thrust (48.041 kilonewtons) at 14,150 r.p.m., N2 (static thrust, at Sea Level), and a maximum power rating of 20,350 pounds (90.521 kilonewtons) at 14,550 r.p.m., N2 (45 minute limit) The T30-P-107 is 3 feet, 2.12 inches (0.968 meters) in diameter, 20 feet, 1.4 inches (6.132 meters) long,  and weighs 4,121 pounds (1,869 kilograms).

The FB-111A has an average cruise speed of 415–442 knots (478–509 miles per hour/769-819 kilometers per hour), depending on the mission profile. It’s maximum speed at 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) is 1,262 knots (1,452 miles per hour/2,337 kilometers per hour)—Mach 2.20. The bomber’s service ceiling varies from 50,390 feet to 56,380 feet (15,359–17,185 meters), again, depending on the mission profile. The maximum combat range is 4,920 nautical miles (5,662 statute miles/9,112 kilometers). The airplane can carry as many as six 600 gallon (2,271 liter) external tanks on underwing pylons. This gives the Aardvark a maximum ferry range of 4,313 nautical miles (4,963 statute miles/7,988 kilometers).

General Dynamics FB-111A 67-0159. (fb111.net)
General Dynamics F-111A 66-0011, a test airplane in the FB-111A program, loaded with four AGM-69 SRAM missiles. The dots on the missiles and airplane are for precise tracking from ground stations. (U.S. Air Force)

The FB-111A could carry weapons in an internal bomb bay or on underwing hardpoints. It could be armed with up to 37,500 pounds (17,010 kilograms) of conventional bombs; or six AGM-69A Short Range Attack Missiles (SRAM). The Aardvark could carry maximum of six nuclear weapons (B-43, B-57 or B-61).

General Dynamics YFB-111A 63-9783, the prototype strategic bomber variant. (U.S. Air Force)

In addition to a prototype (63-9783, which was converted from the last production F-111A) General Dynamics built 76 FB-111A strategic bombers. With the introduction of the Rockwell B-1B Lancer, the FB-111As remaining in service were converted to F-111G tactical fighter bombers. They were retired by 2003.

The Royal Australian Air Force bought 15 of the F-111Gs. By 2007, these had also been taken out of service.

Two General Dynamics FB-111As in formation, 1 December 1983. (MSGT Buster Kellum, U.S. Air Force)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

13 July 1928

Aviation, , , , ,
Maryse Bastie
Maryse Bastie (FAI)

13 July 1928, Mme Maryse Bastié flew her Caudron C. 109, F-AHFE, from Le Bourget airport, Paris, France, to Trzebiatów, Pomeranina, a distance of 1,058 kilometers (657.4 statute miles). (The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale records database does not show this record.) Mme Bastié is credited with eight FAI world records.

An FAI news article dated 28 July 2019 credits Maryse Bastié with being the first woman to have held a world record in aviation.¹

Maryse Bastié’s Caudron C. 109, F-AHFE. (FAI)

Mme Bastié’s airplane was a two-place, single-engine, Caudron C. 109 parasol-wing monoplane, F-AHFE, serial number 5804.1.

The C. 109 had a length of 6.440 meters (21 feet, 1.5 inches), wing span of 11.50 meters (37 feet, 8.8 inches) and height of 2.530 meters (8 feet, 3.6 inches). Its empty weight was 330 kilograms (727.525 pounds) and gross weight, 532 kilograms (1,173 pounds).

The standard C. 109 had a fuel capacity of 57 liters (15 U.S. gallons), and carried 15 litres (4 U.S. gallons) of lubricating oil for the engine. Its maximum speed was 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour).

F-AHFE was powered by a naturally aspirated, air-cooled, 2,959.8 cubic centimeter (180.62 cubic inches) Société des Moteurs Salmson 9AD nine cylinder radial engine. The 9AD had a cylinder bore diameter of 69.9 millimeters (2.752 inches), and piston stroke of 85.7 millimeters (3.374 inches). It was rated at 45 ch at 2,000 r.p.m. The engine was 69.1 centimeters (27.20472 inches long and 63 centimeters (24.8031 inches) in diameter. It weighed 69.9 kilograms (154.1 pounds).

Salmson 9AD (NASM 2022-01819)

F-AHFE had set two FAI world records. On 25 October 1927, Raymond Delmotte flew over a closed circuit from Villacoublay to Saran in France, for a total distance of 1 535,20 kilometers (953.93 statute miles).² Two days later, 27 October 1927, Max Knipping flew from Le Bourget, Paris, France, to Königsberg, Germany, a distance of 1 581,84 kilometers.³

The airplane was first registered to M. Cuadron as F-ESDE, 06.11.25. It was the sold to M. Bastié at Issy. Later, Guy Bart, Chennevieres-sur-Marne; André Lemoine, Reims; and Pierre Gaston Lapanne at Nancy.

¹ The earliest record credited to Mme Bastié in the FAI online records database is Number 10446, 28 July 1929.  However, the database shows a number of earlier records credited to women: 12219, 2 January 1929, Evelyn Trout; 12216, 31 January 1929, Elinor Smith; 12220, 11 February 1929, Evelyn Trout; 12223, 17 March 1929, Louise McPhetridge; 12217, 24 April 1929, Elinor Smith; 12206, 28 May 1929, Marvel Crosson; 12214, 20 December 1928, Viola Gentry; 12221, 7 December 1928, Louise McPhetridge; 12212, 2 December 1928, Jane Heath; and 8221, 5 July 1927, The Hon. Bailey.

² FAI Record Number 9185

³ FAI Record 9166

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

13 July 1919

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Airship R 34 over Pulham Airship Station, Norfolk, England, 1919.

13 July 1919: The Royal Air Force rigid airship R 34 completed its two-way crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and at 6:57 a.m. landed at Pulham Airship Station, Norfolk, England. The airship was under the command of Major George Herbert Scott, A.F.C., R.A.F. The total complement, including passengers, was 30 persons.

The return flight from Mineola, Long Island, New York took 73 hours, 3 minutes. According to records of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the distance flown by R 34 on the return flight was 6,138 kilometers (3,814 miles).

This was the first “double crossing” by an aircraft. The round trip flight began at East Fortune Airship Station near Edinburgh, Scotland, on 2 July. The East-to-West crossing took 108 hours, 12 minutes.

Major Scott was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

This map shows the outbound and return tracks of His Majesty's Airship R 34, 2–13 July 1919.
This map shows the outbound and return tracks of His Majesty’s Airship R 34, 2–13 July 1919.

During the return flight on of the airship’s five engines suffered a broken connecting rod which damaged the cylinder block. It could not be repaired.

R 34 was based on extensive study of the captured German Zeppelin, L-33. It was built for the Royal Naval Air Service by William Beardmore and Company, Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland, but with the end of World War I, the RNAS and Royal Flying Corps were merged to become the Royal Air Force. 643 feet long (196 meters), with a maximum diameter of 78 feet, 9 inches (24 meters), the dirigible had a total volume of 1,950,000 cubic feet (55,218 cubic meters). The airship had a light weight metal structure covered with doped fabric. Buoyancy was provided by 55,185 cubic meters (1,948,840 cubic feet) of gaseous hydrogen contained in 19 gas bags inside the airship’s envelope. R 34 had a gross lift capacity of 59 tons. Useful lift was 58,240 pounds (26,417 kilograms).

The airship was powered by five water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 15.395-liter (989.483-cubic-inch-displacement) Sunbeam Maori Mk.IV dual overhead cam (DOHC) 60° V-12 engines with four valves per cylinder. The Mk.IV’s cylinder bore had been increased from 100 millimeters to 110 millimeters (3.94 to 4.33 inches), resulting in a larger displacement than previous Maori variants. The Maori Mk.IV was a direct-drive engine which produced 275 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. Each engine turned a two-bladed, 17 foot diameter (5.182 meter) propellers through a remote gearbox with a 0.257:1 reduction. The two wing engines were equipped with reversible gearboxes. With the engines turning 1,800 r.p.m., the R 34 had a cruising speed of 47 knots (54 miles per hour/87 kilometers per hour) and consumed 65 gallons (246 liters) of fuel per hour.

Airship R 34 landing at Pulham, Norfolk, 13 Juky 1919. (Getty Images/Jimmy Sime)
Airship R 34 landing at Pulham, Norfolk, 13 July 1919. (Getty Images/Jimmy Sime)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

13 July 1916

Aviation, , , ,
Colonel Raynal Cawthorne Bolling, Signal Corps, U.S. Army
Lieutenant Colonel Raynal Cawthorne Bolling, Signal Corps, U.S. Army Reserve
1st Aero Squadron, New York National Guard, mobilized for Federal Service, 13 July 1916.
1st Aero Squadron, New York National Guard, mobilized for Federal Service, 13 July 1916.

13 July 1916: The 1st Aero Company, New York National Guard, under the command of Captain Raynal Cawthorne Bolling, became the first national guard unit to be mobilized into federal service in answer to the border crisis with Mexico. The unit trained at Mineola, New York, along the 2nd Aero Company, but did not deploy to the border.

Bolling was promoted to the rank of Colonel, Signal Corps, United States Army, 8 August 1917. Colonel Bolling was killed in action near Estrées-Deniécourt, France, 26 March 1918. As of that time, he was the highest-ranking U.S. officer to be lost during World War I. Bolling Field, the Air Corps station at Washington, D.C., was named in his honor.

The 1st Aero Company is the oldest Air National Guard unit. Today, it is 102nd Rescue Squadron, New York Air National Guard.

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes

11–12 July 1999

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Amundsen Scott South Pole Station

11–12 July 1999: Jerri Lin Nielsen, M.D., a physician at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, self-biopsied a suspicious breast lump. Results were inconclusive, so the National Science Foundation decided to send additional test equipment and medications to the remote station by military transport.

Brigadier General John I. Pray, Jr., United States Air Force.
Brigadier General John I. Pray, Jr., United States Air Force.

Because of the extreme cold, adverse weather conditions and months of darkness, it was considered too dangerous for an aircraft to attempt landing at the South Pole. A United States Air Force Lockheed C-141B Starlifter of the 62nd Airlift Wing, McChord Air Force Base, Washington, was sent to stage out of Christchurch, New Zealand, in order to air drop the supplies at the South Pole. The mission was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John I. Pray, Jr., U.S. Air Force.

Departing Christchurch at 2154 UTC, 11 July, with six pallets of medical supplies and equipment as well as fresh food and mail for the remote outpost, the C-141 was joined for the flight by a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker from the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron, Hawaii National Guard, for inflight refueling. A refueling took place over McMurdo Station and then the Starlifter headed on toward the Pole.

A Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker prepares to refuel a Lockheed C-141B Starlifter. (Richard Seaman)

Amundsen-Scott station personnel set fire to 27 smudge pots arranged in a semi-circle to mark the drop zone, and turned off all outside lighting. When the transport arrived overhead, blowing snow obscured the drop zone and it took the aircrew, flying with night vision goggles, 25 minutes to locate the markers.

The first of six pallets of medical supplies airdropped by the U.S. Air force at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, 11 July 1999. (National Science Foundation)
The first of six pallets of medical supplies airdropped by the U.S. Air Force at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, 11 July 1999. (National Science Foundation)

At 2230 the C-141 flew over at an altitude of 700 feet (213.4 meters) and dropped two cargo pallets on the first pass and the remaining four on a second. It immediately departed to rendezvous with the KC-135 tanker and both returned to New Zealand.

After a 6,375 mile (10,260 kilometer) round trip, the C-141 touched down at Christchurch at 1225 UTC, 12 July.

Dr. Nielsen’s lump was cancerous. Using the medical supplies that had been air-dropped, she treated herself for the next three months. She was evacuated by air when a Lockheed LC-130H Hercules from the 109th Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard, picked her up 16 October 1999.

Dr. Nielsen’s cancer eventually metastasized to her liver, bones and brain. Jerri Lin FitzGerald, M.D., died 23 June 2009 at her home in Southwick, Massachusetts.

Her husband, Thomas FitzGerald, said, “She fought bravely, she was able to make the best of what life and circumstance gave her, and she had the most resilience I have ever seen in anyone. She fought hard and she fought valiantly.”

Dr. Jerri Lin Nielsen, 1 March 1952–23 June 2009. (National Science Foundation)
Dr. Jerri Lin Nielsen, 1 March 1952–23 June 2009. (National Science Foundation)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes