Tag Archives: Edwards AFB

22 October 1955

The first of two Republic YF-105A-1-RE Thunderchief prototypes, 54-098, on Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards Air Force Base, California, 1955. (U.S. Air Force)
Republic Aviation test pilot Russell M. "Rusty" Roth. (Jet Pilot Overseas)
Republic Aviation Corporation test pilot Russell M. “Rusty” Roth. (Jet Pilot Overseas)

22 October 1955: At Edwards Air Force Base, in the high desert of southern California, Republic Aviation Corporation test pilot Russell M. (“Rusty”) Roth took the first of two prototype YF-105A-1-REs, serial number 54-098, for its first flight.

Though equipped with an under-powered Pratt & Whitney J57-P-25 interim engine, the new airplane was able to reach Mach 1.2 in level flight.

Aerodynamic improvements to the engine intakes and redesign of the fuselage to incorporate the drag-reducing “area rule,” along with the more powerful J75-P-5 turbojet engine allowed the production model F-105B to reach Mach 2.15.

The Thunderchief is the largest single-place, single-engine aircraft ever built. It was a Mach 2 fighter-bomber, designed for NATO defensive tactical nuclear strikes with a nuclear bomb carried in an internal bomb bay. The YF-105A was 61 feet, 0 inches (18.593 meters) long, with a wing span of 34 feet, 11 inches (10.643 meters) and overall height of 17 feet, 6 inches (5.334 meters). Its empty weight was 20,454 pounds (9,277 kilograms) and the Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) was 41,500 pounds (18,824 kilograms).

The Pratt & Whitney Turbo Wasp JT3C (J57-P-25) was a two-spool axial-flow turbojet engine with a 16-stage compressor section (9 low- and 7 high-pressure stages) and a 3-stage turbine (1 high- and 2 low-pressure stages). The J57-P-25 had a Normal Power rating of 8,700 pounds of thrust (38.700 kilonewtons), and at Military Power produced 10,200 pounds of thrust (45.372 kilonewtons) (30-minute limit). The Maximum Power rating was 16,000 pounds of thrust (71.172 kilonewtons) with afterburner (5-minute limit). The J57-P-25 was 22 feet, 3.1 inches (6.784 meters) long, 3 feet, 3.8 inches (1.011 meters) in diameter, and weighed 5,120 pounds (2,322 kilograms).

The YF-105A’s wings were swept 45° at 25% chord. The angle of incidence was 0° and there was no twist. The wings had 3° 30′ anhedral. The total wing area was 385 square feet (35.8 square meters).

During testing, the prototype’s maximum speed was 770 knots (886 miles per hour (1,426 kilometers per hour) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters)—Mach 1.34—and 676 knots (778 miles per hour/1,252 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level—Mach 1.02. The YF-105A’s service ceiling was 52,050 feet (15,865 meters). It’s combat radius was 950 nautical miles (1,093 statute miles/1,759 kilometers), and the maximum ferry range was 2,321 nautical miles (2,671 statute miles/4,298 kilometers).

Repiblic YF-105A 54-098 landing at Edwards Air Force Base. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)
Republic YF-105A 54-098 landing at Edwards Air Force Base. (Ray Wagner Collection, San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)

The Thunderchief was armed with a General Electric T171E2 (M61) 20 mm six-barrel rotary cannon with 1,030 rounds of ammunition. 8,000 pounds (3,629 kilograms) of bombs could be carried in an internal bomb bay or on external hardpoints. A single free-fall B28IN variable-yield thermonuclear bomb could be carried in the bomb bay.

On 16 December 1955, YF-105A 54-098 made an emergency landing at Edwards AFB after one of its main landing gear assemblies was torn off when it failed to retract during a high speed flight. The pilot, Rusty Roth, was severely injured, but he survived. The prototype was shipped back to Republic for repair, but the cost was determined to be prohibitive.

Though designed for air-to-ground attack missions, F-105s are officially credited with 27.5 victories in air combat.

833 Thunderchiefs were built by Republic between 1955 and 1964. 334 of those were lost to enemy action during the Vietnam War. The F-105 remained in service with the United States Air Force until 1980, and with a few Air National Guard units until 1983.

Republic F-105D-5-RE Thunderchief 58-1173 carrying a bomb load of sixteen 750-pound M117 general purpose bombs. (U.S. Air Force)
Republic F-105D-5-RE Thunderchief 58-1173 carrying a bomb load of sixteen 750-pound M117 general purpose bombs. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

5 September 1984

Space Shuttle Discovery landing on Rogers Dry Lake, 0637 PDT, 5 September 1984. (NASA)

5 September 1984: Space Shuttle Discovery, OV-103, completed its first space flight, STS-41-D,  when it landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, at 6:37 a.m. PDT (13:37:54 UTC), 5 September 1984. It had completed 97 orbits of the Earth. The total duration of its flight was 6 days, 56 minutes, 4 seconds.

The purpose of the mission was to place three communications satellites into orbit, and to deploy an experimental solar panel array. Various other experiments were also carried out.

The Mission Commander was Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., making his second space flight. Shuttle Pilot Michael L. Coats was on his first. Three Mission Specialists, Richard M. Mullane, Steven A. Hawley, Judith A. Resnick, and Payload Specialist Charles D. Walker, were all on their first space flight.

A highlight of this mission was the onboard filming by the crew of footage for the IMAX film, The Dream Is Alive.

Discovery is the space shuttle fleet leader, having made 39 orbital flights, more than any other shuttle.

Mission Specialist Judith Arlene Resnick was a crew member of shuttle mission STS-51-L. She was killed when Challenger was destroyed shortly after launch, 28 January 1986.

© 2015, Bryan R. Swopes

21 August 1967

Major William J. Knight, U.S. Air Force, with the modified X-15A-2, 56-6671, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)
Major William J. Knight, U.S. Air Force, with the modified X-15A-2, 56-6671, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)

21 August 1967: On the 186th flight of the X-15 program, the modified North American Aviation X-15A-2, 56-6671, made the first of two flights with a heat-protective ablative coating, designed to protect the steel structure of the rocketplane from the extreme heat of flight at high Mach numbers.

After a landing accident which caused significant damage to the Number 2 X-15, it was rebuilt by North American. A 28-inch (0.71 meter) “plug” was installed in the fuselage forward of the wings to create space for a liquid hydrogen fuel tank which would be used for an experimental “scramjet” engine that would be mounted the the ventral fin. The modified aircraft was also able to carry two external fuel tanks. It was hoped that additional propellant would allow the X-15A-2 to reach much higher speeds. The external tanks were not carried on the 21 August 1967 flight.

With Major William J. (“Pete”) Knight, U.S. Air Force, in the cockpit, the X-15A-2 was airdropped from the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress, 52-008, known as Balls 8, over Hidden Hills Dry Lake, just on the California side of the border with Nevada. This was Knight’s 11th X-15 flight, and the 52nd flight for 56-6671. The launch time was 10:59:16.0 a.m., PDT. Knight fired the 57,000-pound-thrust Reaction Motors XLR99-RM-1 rocket engine and accelerated for 82.2 seconds. The purpose of this flight was to attain a high speed rather than altitude. The X-15A-2 reached Mach 4.94 (3,368 miles per hour, 5,420 kilometers per hour) at 85,000 feet (25,908 meters) and reached a peak altitude of 91,000 feet (27,737 meters). Pete Knight touched down on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, just 7 minutes, 40.0 seconds after launch.

© 2015, Bryan R. Swopes

3 August 1972

McDonnell Douglas YF-15A-1-MC Eagle, 71-0280, with McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II chase plane, in flight near Edwards AFB. (U.S. Air Force)

3 August 1972: During a 45-minute test flight at Edwards Air Force Base, the McDonnell Douglas YF-15A-1-MC Eagle prototype, 71-0280, went supersonic for the first time, reaching Mach 1.5.

An air-superiority fighter, the F-15 entered service with the United States Air Force in 1975. More than 1,500 fighter, two-seat trainer, and two-seat F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bombers have been built by McDonnell Douglas and Mitsubishi. It is operated by allied air forces around the world and is expected to remain in front line service until 2025.

McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle. (Defense Media Network)

© 2015, Bryan R. Swopes

19 July 1963

Joe Walker with the Number 2 North American Aviation X-15A, 56-6671, on Rogers Dry Lake. (NASA)
Joseph A. Walker, NASA Chief Research Test Pilot
Joseph A. Walker, NASA Chief Research Test Pilot

19 July 1963: Between 1960 and 1963, NASA Chief Research Test Pilot Joseph Albert Walker made 25 flights in the North American Aviation X-15A hypersonic research rocketplanes. His 24th flight was the 21st for the Number 3 X-15, 56-6672, and the 90th of the X-15 program.

At 10:20:05.0 a.m., Walker and the X-15 were airdropped from the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress, 53-008, Balls 8, over Smith Ranch Dry Lake, Nevada. Walker fired the Reaction Motors XLR99-RM-1 rocket engine and over the next 84.6 seconds the engine’s 60,000 pounds of thrust drove the X-15 upward. The engine’s thrust on this flight was higher than expected, shutdown was 1.6 seconds late, and Walker’s climb angle was 1½° too high, so the X-15 overshot the predicted maximum altitude and its ballistic arc peaked at 347,800 feet (106,010 meters, 65.8 miles). The maximum speed was Mach 5.50 (3,714 miles per hour, 5,977 kilometers per hour).

Walker glided to a touch down at Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards Air Force Base California, after flying 311 miles in 11 minutes, 24.1 seconds of flight. On this flight, Joe Walker became the first American civilian to fly into Space.

North American Aviation X-15A 56-6672 on Rogers Dry Lake after a flight. (NASA)
North American Aviation X-15A 56-6672 on Rogers Dry Lake after a flight. (NASA)

© 2015, Bryan R. Swopes