25 February 1965

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The first Douglas DC-9, N9DC, ready for takeoff at Long Beach Airport, 25 February 1965. (Douglas Aircraft Company)
The first Douglas DC-9, N9DC, ready for takeoff at Long Beach Airport, 25 February 1965. (Douglas Aircraft Company)

25 February 1965: At 11:26 a.m., Pacific Standard Time, the first Douglas DC-9 twin-engine airliner, serial number 45695, with Federal Aviation Administration registration mark N9DC, took off from Long Beach Airport (LGB), on the coast of Southern California, on its first flight. In the cockpit were Chief Engineering Test Pilot George R. Jansen, DC-9 Program Test Pilot Paul H. Patten, and Flight Test Engineer Duncan Walker.

The duration of the first flight was 2 hours, 13 minutes. N9DC landed at Edwards Air Force Base (EDW) where the test program would continue.

Douglas DC-9 N9DC (Douglas Aircraft Corporation)
Douglas DC-9 N9DC (Douglas Aircraft Corporation)

The Douglas DC-9 is a short-to-medium range twin-engine airliner, operated by a flight crew of two pilots. It was designed to carry up to 109 passengers. The initial production model is retroactively identified as the DC-9-10. This variant is 104 feet, 4¾ inches (31.820 meters) long with a wingspan of 89 feet, 5 inches (27.254 meters) and overall height of 27 feet, 6 inches (8.382 meters). The airliner has an empty weight of 49,020 pounds (22,235 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 90,700 pounds (41,141 kilograms).

Douglas DC-9 N9DC photographed by Jon proctor at Los Angeles International Airport, 6 March 1965. (Wikipedia)
Douglas DC-9 N9DC was photographed by Jon Proctor at Los Angeles International Airport, 6 March 1965. (Wikipedia)

The DC-9-10 was powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-5 turbofan engines, producing 12,250 pounds of thrust (54.49 kilonewtons), each. The JT8D was a two-spool engine with a 2-stage fan section, 13-stage compressor (6 low- and 7 high-pressure stages), nine combustion chambers and a 4-stage turbine (1 high- and 3 low-pressure stages). The JT8D-5 was 3 feet, 6.5 inches (1.080 meters) in diameter, 10 feet, 3.5 inches (3.137 meters) long, and weighed 3,096 pounds (1,404 kilograms).

The airliner had a cruise speed of 490 knots (564 miles per hour, 907 kilometers per hour) at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). It has a range of 1,590 nautical miles (1,830 miles, 2,945 kilometers).

Miss Carol Koberlein christens Delta's first Douglas DC-9, N3304L, Delta Prince, with water from 20 rivers in the airline's area of operations. (Delta Digest)
Miss Carol Marie Koberlein christens Delta’s first Douglas DC-9, N3304L, Delta Prince. Miss Koberlein served with Delta Air Lines until she retired, 31 May 2000. (Delta Digest)

Delta Airlines was the lead customer for the Douglas DC-9. Delta’s first DC-9, serial number 45699, F.A.A. registration N3304L, was delivered in a ceremony at the Douglas plant at Long Beach Airport, 7 October 1965. Using a bottle containing water from twenty rivers in Delta’s area of operations, Stewardess Carol Marie Koberlein christened the airplane Delta Prince. Later that day it was flown to Atlanta by Delta’s legendary Captain Thomas Prioleau Ball, the airline’s Director of Flight Operations. The duration of the flight was 4 hours, 19 minutes.

The first DC-9, s/n 45695, was leased to Trans Texas Airways in 1966, registered N1301T. (Ed Coates Collection)
The first DC-9, s/n 45695, was leased to Trans Texas Airways in 1966, registered N1301T. (Ed Coates Collection)

After the flight test and certification program was over, 45695 was leased to Trans Texas Airways and re-registered N1301T. It served with Trans Texas from 1966 to 1982, when the airline merged with Continental Airlines. It retained the same N-number but was named City of Denver.

In 1983 49695 was sold to Sunworld International Airlines, a Las Vegas, Nevada charter company. After five years it was sold to another charter airline, Emerald Airlines of Dallas, Texas. In 1990, Emerald sold the DC-9 to Canafrica Transportes Aereos, based in Madrid, Spain. While operating for that company, 45695 was registered EC-622 and EC-FCQ. Returning to the United States in 1991, it was briefly owned by Viscount Air Service, Tucson, Arizona, registered N914LF.

DC-9 45695 in service with Canafrica Aeros, registered EC-FCQ, circa 1991. (Unattributed)
DC-9 45695 in service with Canafrica Transportes Aereos, registered EC-FCQ, circa 1991. (Unattributed)

Now 25 years old, ownership of the first DC-9 returned to the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. It was placed in storage at North Texas Regional Airport (GYI), Sherman, Texas, in 1992 and was used as a source for parts.

The Douglas DC-9 was produced in five civil variants, the DC-9-10 through DC-9-50. 41 were produced for the U.S. military, designated C-9A, C-9B and VC-9C. Production closed in 1982 after 976 aircraft had been built.

Miss Carol Marie Koberlein, with Delta Air Lines’ first Douglas DC-9, N3304L (Ship 204), October 1965. (Atlanta Journal-Consitution)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

25 February 1927

Aviation, , , , , , , ,
Ryan airplane factory at the foot of Juniper Street, San Diego, California. (Donald A. Hall Photograph & Document Collection)
Ryan airplane factory at the foot of Juniper Street, San Diego, California. (Donald A. Hall Photograph & Document Collection)
Charles A. Lindbergh (Harris & Ewing)
Charles A. Lindbergh (Harris & Ewing)

25 February 1927: Acting on behalf of a syndicate of St. Louis business men, Charles A. Lindbergh contracts Ryan Airlines Company of San Diego to design and build a single-engine monoplane for a flight from New York to Paris. This would become the Spirit of St. Louis. The cost is $10,580.

Lindbergh wrote:

“The Ryan Airlines factory is in an old, dilapidated building near the waterfront. I feel conspicuous driving up to it in a taxicab. A couple of loafers stare at me as I pay my fare. There’s no flying field, no hangar, no sound of engines warming up; and the unmistakable smell of dead fish from a near-by cannery mixes with the banana odor of dope from drying wings. . .

“I open the door to a small, dusty, paper-strewn office. A slender young man advances to meet me—clear, piercing eyes, intent face. He introduces himself as Donald Hall, chief engineer for Ryan Airlines, Incorporated. . . .”

—The Spirit of St. Louis, by Charles A. Lindbergh, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1953, Chapter III, Page 79.

“I check the wording and hand my telegram to the girl in the office. I’m ready to cast my lot with the Ryan organization. I believe in Hall’s ability; I like Mahoney’s enthusiasm. I have confidence in the character of the workmen I’ve met. This company is a fit partner for our organization in St. Louis. They’re as anxious to build a plane that will fly to Paris as I am to fly it there.”

—The Spirit of St. Louis, by Charles A. Lindbergh, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1953, Chapter III, Page 85.

Donald A. Hall, deigner of the Ryan NYP, Spirit of St. Louis, at work in his office at the Ryan Airlines, Inc., factory, San Diego, CA, 1927. (Donald A Hall Collection)
Donald A. Hall, designer of the Ryan NYP, NX-211, Spirit of St. Louis, at work in his office at the Ryan Airlines, Inc., factory, San Diego, CA, 1927. (Donald A Hall Photograph & Document Collection)

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes

24 February 2011, 21:53:24 UTC

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Space Shuttle Discovery is launched from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, at 4:53:24 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, 24 February 2011. (NASA)
Space Shuttle Discovery is launched from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, at 4:53:24 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, 24 February 2011. (NASA)

24 February 2011, 21:53:24 UTC: Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) is launched on its final mission, STS-133. The mission was to dock the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module at the International Space Station, as well as to transport other sensors, materials and supplies. The launch had been “scrubbed” five times since 29 October 2010.

Mission STS-133 was commanded by Colonel Steven Wayne Lindsey, United States Air Force. This was Colonel Lindsey’s fifth space shuttle flight. The shuttle pilot was Colonel Eric Allen Boe, U.S. Air Force. There were four Mission Specialists aboard: Nicole Marie Passonno Stott, a structural engineer; Colonel Benjamin Alvin Drew, U.S. Air Force; Michael Reed Barratt, M.D., a NASA Aviation Medical Examiner (“flight surgeon”); and Captain Stephen Gerard Bowen, U.S. Navy.

Crew of Discovery (STS-133). Left to right, Nicole Stott, Michael Barratt, Steve Bowen, Alvin Drew, Eric Boe and Steve Lindsey. (NASA)
Crew of Discovery (STS-133). Left to right, Nicole Stott, Michael Barratt, Steve Bowen, Alvin Drew, Eric Boe and Steve Lindsey. (NASA)

Captain Bowen, a nuclear attack submarine officer, had replaced Mission Specialist Colonel Timothy Lennart Kopra, U.S. Army, who was injured in a bicycle accident. Bowen is the only NASA astronaut to have flown two consecutive missions. (STS-132 and STS-133)

Space Shuttle Discovery is launched from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, at 4:53:24 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, 24 February 2011. (NASA)
Space Shuttle Discovery climbs from Launch Complex 39A, 24 February 2011. (NASA)

Discovery docked at the International Space Station at 19:14 UTC, 26 February. Equipment and supplies were transferred.

Leonardo, which had previously been docked at the space station from March 2001 until April 2010, when it was returned to Earth to be modified and upgraded, was installed on the ISS on 1 March. Discovery remained docked at ISS for 8 days, 16 hours, 46 minutes.

The space shuttle returned to Earth on 9 March, landing at the Kennedy Shuttle Landing Facility at 16:58:14 UTC. The total duration of the mission was 12 days, 19 hours, 4 minutes, 50 seconds.

Discovery is the space shuttle fleet leader, having made 39 orbital flights, more than any other shuttle. It has spent 365 days, 22 hours, 39 minutes, 33 seconds in space flight, traveling 148,221,675 miles (238,539,663 kilometers).

On 19 April 2012, Discovery was placed on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum.

Your Blogger (left) and Site Administrator (right) observe preparations for the launch of Discovery (STS-133) from the Launch Complex 39 Viewing Gantry. (Photograph by unidentified fellow Observer)
Your intrepid TDiA researcher (left) and the Site Administrator (right) observe preparations for the launch of Discovery (STS-133) from the Launch Complex 39 Viewing Gantry. (Photograph by Unidentified Fellow Observer)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

24 February 1989

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United Air Lines' Boeing 747 N4713U, photographed at Los Angeles International Airport, 14 April 1982. (Ted Quackenbush via Wikipedia)
United Airlines’ Boeing 747-122 s/n 19875, N4713U, photographed at Los Angeles International Airport, 14 April 1982. (Ted Quackenbush via Wikipedia)

24 February 1989: At 01:52:49 HST, United Airlines Flight 811 was cleared for takeoff from Honolulu International Airport (HNL), enroute to Auckland International Airport (AKL) and onward to Sydney, Australia (SYD). On board were 337 passengers and 18 crew members. The airliner was under the command of Captain David Cronin, with First Officer Gregory Slader and Second Officer Randal Thomas. The airliner was a Boeing 747-122, serial number 19875, registered N4713U.

16 minutes after takeoff, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Honolulu, the 747 was climbing through an altitude of 22,000 feet (6,705 meters) at 300 knots (345 miles per hour/556 kilometers per hour) when, at 02:09:09 HST, the cargo door on the lower right side of the fuselage, just forward of the wing, failed, blowing outward. Explosive decompression blew a huge hole in the fuselage. Ten passenger seats were carried away along with nine passengers. A flight attendant was nearly lost, but was dragged back inside by passengers and crew.

The damaaged fuselage of United Airlines Flight 811. (BBC)

Debris damaged the two engines on the right wing, causing them to lose power. Flames were visible. Both engines had to be shut down. Flight 811 declared an emergency, began descending and dumping fuel to reduce the airliner’s weight for an emergency landing. The 747 turned back toward Honolulu.

Because the wing had also been damaged, the flaps could not be fully extended and this required a much higher than normal approach speed. The 747 touched down at approximately 200 knots (230 miles per hour/370 kilometers per hour). After coming to a stop, Flight 811 was completely evacuated within 45 seconds. Every flight attendant suffered some injury.

Damaged forward fuselage of N4713U. (Paul Sakuma/AP)

The cause of the cargo door failure was determined to be a faulty design, combined with a short in the 747’s electrical system. The door was recovered by a U.S. Navy deep sea submersible from a depth of 14,100 feet (4,298 meters).

United Airlines’ Boeing 747 N4713U was repaired and returned to service. It was re-registered N4724U. チャーリーマイクさん

N4713U made its first flight 20 October 1970 and had accumulated 58,814:24 flight hours  and 15,027 cycles prior to takeoff from Honolulu. It was repaired at a cost of $14,000,000 and then returned to service, re-registered N4724U. In 1997, 19875 was sold to Air Dabia and assigned registration C5-FBS. It has since been scrapped.

Air Dabia Boeing 747-100 C5-FBS, photographed January 1998. (Aero Icarus)

The 747-100 series was the first version of the Boeing 747 to be built. It was operated by a flight crew of three and was designed to carry 366 to 452 passengers. It is 231 feet, 10.2 inches (70.668 meters) long with a wingspan of 195 feet, 8 inches (59.639 meters) and overall height of 63 feet, 5 inches (19.329 meters). The interior cabin width is 20 feet (6.096 meters), giving it the name “wide body.” Its empty weight is 370,816 pounds (168,199 kilograms) and the Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) is 735,000 pounds (333,390 kilograms).

The 747-100 is powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7A high-bypass ratio turbofan engines. The JT9D is a two-spool, axial-flow turbofan engine with a single-stage fan section, 14-stage compressor (11 high- and 3 low-pressure stages) and 6-stage turbine (2 high- and 4 low-pressure stages). The engine is rated at 46,950 pounds of thrust (208.844 kilonewtons), or 48,570 pounds (216.050 kilonewtons) with water injection (2½-minute limit). This engine has a maximum diameter of 7 feet, 11.6 inches (2.428 meters), is 12 feet, 10.2 inches (3.917 meters) long and weighs 8,850 pounds (4,014 kilograms).

The 747-100 has a cruise speed of 0.84 Mach (555 miles per hour, 893 kilometers per hour) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). The maximum certificated operating speed is 0.92 Mach. The airliner’s maximum range is 6,100 miles (9,817 kilometers).

The Boeing 747 has been in production for 48 years. More than 1,520 have been delivered to date. 205 of these were the 747-100 series. The U.S. Air Force has selected the Boeing 747-8 as the next presidential transport aircraft.

Captain David M. Cronin died 6 October 2010 at the age of 81 years.

A surprisingly poor quality image showing teh damage to Boeing 747 N4713U resulting from the failure of the cargo door. (Unattributed)
A surprisingly poor quality image showing the damage to Boeing 747 N4713U resulting from the failure of the cargo door. (Unattributed)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

Medal of Honor, Airman 1st Class John Lee Levitow, United States Air Force

Aviation, , , , , ,
A1C John Lee Levitow, United States Air Force. (United States Air Force 120517-F-DW547-010)

Medal of Honor

Levitow, John L.

Rank: Sergeant
Organization: U.S. Air Force
Company: 3d Special Operations Squadron
Division:
Born: 1 November 1945, Hartford, Conn.
Departed: Yes
Entered Service At: New Haven, Conn.
G.O. Number: Department of the Air Force, GB-476
Date of Issue: 23 June 1970
Accredited To: Washington
Place / Date: Long Binh Army post, Republic of Vietnam, 24 February 1969

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Levitow (then A1c.), U.S. Air Force, distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while assigned as a loadmaster aboard an AC-47 aircraft flying a night mission in support of Long Binh Army post. Sgt. Levitow’s aircraft was struck by a hostile mortar round. The resulting explosion ripped a hole 2 feet in diameter through the wing and fragments made over 3,500 holes in the fuselage. All occupants of the cargo compartment were wounded and helplessly slammed against the floor and fuselage. The explosion tore an activated flare from the grasp of a crewmember who had been launching flares to provide illumination for Army ground troops engaged in combat. Sgt. Levitow, though stunned by the concussion of the blast and suffering from over 40 fragment wounds in the back and legs, staggered to his feet and turned to assist the man nearest to him who had been knocked down and was bleeding heavily. As he was moving his wounded comrade forward and away from the opened cargo compartment door, he saw the smoking flare ahead of him in the aisle. Realizing the danger involved and completely disregarding his own wounds, Sgt. Levitow started toward the burning flare. The aircraft was partially out of control and the flare was rolling wildly from side to side. Sgt. Levitow struggled forward despite the loss of blood from his many wounds and the partial loss of feeling in his right leg. Unable to grasp the rolling flare with his hands, he threw himself bodily upon the burning flare. Hugging the deadly device to his body, he dragged himself back to the rear of the aircraft and hurled the flare through the open cargo door. At that instant the flare separated and ignited in the air, but clear of the aircraft. Sgt. Levitow, by his selfless and heroic actions, saved the aircraft and its entire crew from certain death and destruction. Sgt. Levitow’s gallantry, his profound concern for his fellowmen, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

Spooky 71, a Douglas AC-47D gunship, U.S. Air Force serial number 43-49770, at Bien Hoa Air Base, RVN, 24 February 1969. (U.S. Air Force 120517-F-DW547-011)

John Lee Levitow was born 1 November 1945 at Hartford, Connecticut. He was the the first of two children of Lee Tobias Levitow and Marion V. Winialski Levitow.

Levitow attended Glastonbury High School, in Hartford, graduating in 1965. He then studied at the Porter School of Engineering and Design, Hartford.

John Lee Levitow enlisted in the United States Air Force on 6 June 1966. He went through basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. He was initially trained as a power line specialist, but cross-trained as an aircraft loadmaster. Airman Levitow was then assigned to the 3d Special Operations Squadron.

The flight on the night of 24 February 1969 was Levitow’s 181st combat mission.

A1C Levitow married Miss Barbara Ann Corbeil, at St. Augustine’s Church, Glastonbury, Connecticut, 19 July 1969. They resided near Norton AFB in Southern California. They would have two children. They later divorced.

President Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Levitow in a ceremony at The White house, 14 May 1970.

President Richard M. Nixon awards the Medal of Honor to Sergeant John Lee Levitow at The White House, 14 May 1970. At left, behind the President, is Captain James P. Fleming, USAF. (The White House)

In January 1998, a McDonnell Douglas C-17A Globemaster III, 96-0005, was named The Spirit of Sgt. John L. Levitow in his honor.

The U.S. Air Force McDonnell Douglas C-17A Globemaster III 96-0005, “Spirit of Sgt. John L. Levitow,” at Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, 20 May 2005 (Raimund Stehmann/Wikipedia)

John Lee Levitow died of cancer at his home in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, 8 November 2000. He was buried with full honors at the Arlington National Cemetery.

The Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs named its skilled nursing facility at Rocky Hill The Sgt. John L. Levitow Healthcare Center.

Sergeant John Lee Levitow, United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force 050406-F-1234P-084)

¹ https://www.af.mil/Medal-of-Honor/Levitow/

© 2021, Bryan R. Swopes