Irving L. Burrows prepares for the first flight of the pre-production YF-15A-1-MC Eagle air superiority fighter at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)
27 July 1972: McDonnell Douglas Chief Experimental Test Pilot Irving L. Burrows made the first flight of the prototype YF-15A-1-MC Eagle, 71-0280, at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Irving L. Burrows
The F-15A Eagle is a single-seat, twin-engine air superiority fighter, built by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation at St. Louis, Missouri. The fighter has outstanding acceleration and maneuverability. It is 63 feet, 9 inches (19.431 meters) long, with a wingspan of 42 feet, 9.75 inches (13.049 meters) and overall height of 18 feet, 7.5 inches (5.677 meters).
The first pre-production prototype McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, YF-15A-1-MC 72-0280, on its first flight near Edwards Air Force Base, California, 27 July 1972. (U.S. Air Force)
The wings’ leading edges are swept to 45°. The angle of incidence is 0°. The wings have 1° anhedral. The total wing area is 608 square feet (56.5 square meters).
The F-15A has an empty weight of 25,780 pounds (11,694 kilograms), and maximum takeoff weight of 44,497 pounds (20,184 kilograms).
McDonnell Douglas YF-15A-1-MC Eagle 71-0280, with a McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II chase plane, in flight near Edwards AFB. (U.S. Air Force)
The fighter was powered by two Pratt & Whitney JTF22A-25A (F100-PW-100) turbofan engines. The F100 is a two-spool, axial-flow afterburning turbine engine with a 3-stage fan section; 10-stage compressor; single chamber combustion section; and 4-stage turbine (2 low- and 2 high-pressure stages). The F100-PW-100 has a maximum continuous power rating of 12,410 pounds of thrust (55.20 kilonewtons) and intermediate rating of 14,690 pounds (65.34 kilonewtons), (30 minute limit). Its maximum power rating is 23,840 pounds (106.05 kilonewtons) with afterburner (5 minute limit). The F100-PW-100 is 16 feet, 4.3 inches (4.986 meters) long, 3 feet, 10.5 inches (1.181 meters) in diameter, and weighs 3,179 pounds (1,442 kilograms).
An early production McDonnell Douglas F-15A-8-MC Eagle, 73-0090, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The fighter is painted “air superiority blue.” (U.S. Air Force)
The Eagle is a Mach 2.5+ fighter. The cruise speed of the F-15A Eagle is 502 knots (578 miles per hour/930 kilometers per hour). It has a maximum speed of 1,434 knots (1,650 miles per hour/2,656 kilometers per hour) at 45,000 feet (13,716 meters)—Mach 2.503. The service ceiling is 63,050 feet (19,218 meters). It can climb 67,250 feet per minute (342 meters per second), and with a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.15:1, the fighter could climb straight up.
The The F-15A’s combat radius is 638 nautical miles (734 statute miles/1,182 kilometers). Its maximum ferry range is 2,362 nautical miles (2,718 statute miles/4,374 kilometers).
A McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle over the White Sands Missile Range banks away from the camera to display its air-to-air missile armament, 1 May 1980.. (Technical Sergeant Frank Garzelnick, U.S. Air Force)
The F-15A is armed with one General Electric M61A1 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon with 938 rounds of ammunition, four AIM-7F Sparrow radar-guided missiles and four AIM-9E/L Sidewinder infrared-homing missiles. The fighter could also carry a variety of bombs.
There were 12 pre-production F-15 aircraft, serial numbers 71-0280–71-0291. 384 F-15A fighters were built from 1972 to 1979, before production switched to the improved F-15C. The last F-15A Eagle in U.S. Air Force service, F-15A-19-MC 77-0098, was retired from the Oregon Air National Guard, 16 September 2009.
The last McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle in U.S. Air Force service. F-15A-19-MC 77-0098, prepares for its final flight from Portland, Oregon, to Davis-Monthan AFB, 16 September 2009. The pilot was LCOL Steve Beauchamp, 123rd Fighter Squadron, 142nd Fighter Wing, Oregon Air National Guard. (U.S. Air Force) 09016-F-8260H-184
The first YF-15A, 71-0280, is on display at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
Chief Test Pilot Fritz Wendel with the Messerschmitt Me 262 V3 prototype, PC+UC. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)Test Pilot Fritz Wendel (left) talks with Willy Messerschmitt after the maiden flight of Me 262 V3, 18 July 1942.
18 July 1942: In the late 1930s, Germany began developing a fighter powered by a turbojet engine. In early 1942 the first two prototypes of the Messerschmitt Me 262 began flight testing. They had two BMW 003 jet engines mounted on the wings, but for safety, a piston engine and propeller were mounted in the nose.
At 8:40 a.m. on 18 July 1942, V3, the third prototype, call sign PC+UC, made its first pure-jet flight when it took off from Leipheim, Bavaria, with Messerschmitt’s Chief Test Pilot, Flugkapitän Fritz Wendel. (The first true turbojet-powered aircraft, the Heinkel He 178 V-1, first flew almost three years earlier, 27 August 1939).
This prototype was powered by two Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engines. The Jumo 004 had an eight-stage axial flow compressor, six straight through combustion chambers and a single-stage turbine. It produced 1,850 pounds of thrust (8.23 kilonewtons).
Messerschmitt Me 262 V3, PC+UC, takes off on its first flight at Leipheim, 18 July 1942.
There were problems created by the airplane’s use of a tailwheel configuration. Turbulence from the wings and reflected jet exhaust blanked out the tail surface. When the Me 262 prototype reached flying speed, Wendel tapped the brakes. The tail popped up, free of the turbulence, and the jet fighter took off. Beginning with the fifth prototype, V5, all Me 262s were built with tricycle landing gear.
Messerschmitt Me 262 V3, PC+UC
The Messerchmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the first production jet fighter, preceding the British Gloster Meteor Mk.III into operational service by about three months. It was a single-place, twin-engine airplane with the engines placed in nacelles under the wings. It was 10.6 meters (34 feet, 9.3 inches) long with a wingspan of 12.51 meters (41 feet, 5.2 inches) and overall height of 3.85 meters (12 feet, 7.6 inches). According to Fay, the fighter’s empty weight was 3,760 kilograms (8,289 pounds) and the maximum gross weight was 7,100 kilograms (15,653 pounds) at engine start.¹
The Me-262 wings had 6° dihedral. The leading edges were swept aft to 20°, while the trailing edges of the inner panels swept forward 8½° to the engine nacelle, then outboard of the engines, aft 5°. The purpose of the sweep was to keep the airplane’s aerodynamic center close to the center of gravity, a technique first applied to the Douglas DC-2. The total wing area was 21.7 square meters (233.6 square feet).
Messerschmitt test pilot Hans Fay told Allied interrogators that, for acceptance, the production Me 262 was required to maintain a minimum of 830 kilometers per hour (515 miles per hour) in level flight, and 950 kilometers per hour (590 miles per hour) in a 30° dive. The fighter’s cruise speed was 750 kilometers per hour (466 miles per hour).
A number of factors influenced the Me 262’s maximum range, but Fay estimated that the maximum endurance was 1 hour, 30 minutes. U.S. Air Force testing establish the range as 650 miles (1,046 kilometers) and service ceiling at 38,000 feet (11,582 meters).
The Jumo 004 was tested at the NACA Aircraft Engine research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio, in March 1946. (NASA)
The Me 262 A-1 was powered by two Junkers Jumo TL 109.004 B-1 turbojet engines. The 004 was an axial-flow turbojet with an 8-stage compressor section, six combustion chambers, and single-stage turbine. The 004 engine case was made of magnesium for light weight, but this made it vulnerable to engine fires. The engine was designed to run on diesel fuel, but could also burn gasoline or, more commonly, a synthetic fuel produced from coal, called J2. The engine was first run in 1940, but was not ready for production until 1944. An estimated 8,000 engines were built. The 004 B-1 idled at 3,800 r.p.m., and produced 1,984 pounds of thrust (8.825 kilonewtons) at 8,700 r.p.m. The engine was 2 feet, inches (0.864 meters) in diameter, 12 feet, 8 inches (3.861 meters) long, and weighed 1,669 pounds (757 kilograms).
Cutaway illustration of Jumo 004 engine.
The Me 262 A-1 was armed with four Rheinmetall-Borsig MK 108 30 mm autocannons with a total of 360 rounds of ammunition. (The Me 262 A-2 had just two autocannons with 160 rounds.) It could also be armed with twenty-four R4M Orkan 55 mm air-to-air rockets. Two bomb racks under the fuselage could each be loaded with a 500 kilogram (1,102 pounds) bomb.
1,430 Me 262s were produced. They first entered service during the summer of 1944. Luftwaffe pilots claimed 542 Allied airplanes shot down with the Me 262.
Messechmitt Me 262A-1, WNr. 1117111. (U.S. Air force)
Bruce J. Hinds and Richard Couch. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
17 July 1989: The first Northrop B-2A Spirit, 82-1066, took off from Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, on its first flight. The crew was Northrop Chief Test Pilot Bruce J. Hinds and Colonel Richard Couch, U.S. Air Force. The top secret “stealth bomber” prototype landed at Edwards Air Force Base 1 hour, 52 minutes later.
After completing the flight test program, -1066 was placed in storage until 1993, awaiting upgrade to the Block 10 operational configuration. In 2000 it was again upgraded to the Block 30 standard. It is now named Spirit of America and assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.
Northrop B-2A Spirit, 82-1066, the first “stealth bomber,” during a test flight. (U.S. Air Force)
The Northrop B-2A Spirit is an advanced technology long-range heavy bomber. It can perform both tactical or strategic missions. It features extremely low radar observabilty. The bomber features the “flying wing” concept, pioneered by the Northrop XB-35 in 1946. In addition to its “stealthy” configuration, the B-2A is also highly aerodynamically efficient.
Northrop B-2A Spirit 82-1066 ready for its first flight. TDiA believes that the orange triangles on the prototype’s leading edges are radar reflectors.
The B-2A has a crew of two pilots. According to data released by the U.S. Air Force, the bomber is 69 feet (21.0 meters) long, with a wingspan of 172 feet (52.4 meters) and height of 17 feet (5.2 meters). Its empty weight is 160,000 pounds (72,575 kilograms), with a maximum takeoff weight is 336,500 pounds.
Three view diagram of a Northrop B-2A, with dimensions.
Th B-2A is powered by four General Electric F118-GE-100 turbofan engines. The F118 is a non-afterburning two-spool axial-flow turbofan with a single stage fan section, 11-stage compressor (2 low- and 9 high-pressure stages) and 3-stage turbine (1 high- and 2 low-pressure stages). It is rated at 19,000 pounds (84.5 kilonewtons) thrust. The F118-GE-100 is 100.5 inches (2.553 meters) long, 46.5 inches (1.181 meters) in diameter and weighs 3,200 pounds (1,451 kilograms).
The maximum speed of the B-2A is “high subsonic,” and its range is “intercontinental.” The service ceiling is 50,000 feet (15,240 meters).
The B-2A can carry a variety of conventional or thermonuclear bombs, including sixteen 2,000 pound (907 kilogram) bombs, or two GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators.
Northrop produced twenty-one B-2As between 1987 and 2000. The first operational bomber was delivered in 1993. One was destroyed when it crashed on takeoff at Anderson AFB, Guam, 23 February 2008.
North American Aviation XB-70A-2-NA 62-0207 takes off for the first time at AF Plant 42, 17 July 1965. (U.S. Air Force)
17 July 1965: At Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, the second North American Aviation B-70 Valkyrie prototype, XB-70A-2-NA 62-0207, took off on its maiden flight enroute Edwards Air Force Base where it would continue the flight test program with its sister ship.
The Valkyrie was designed as a Mach 3+ strategic bomber, capable of flight above 70,000 feet (21,336 meters), with intercontinental range. It’s altitude allowed it to avoid interceptors of the time, but improvements in radar-guided surface-to-air missiles increased its vulnerability. Ultimately, though, political decisions ended the B-70 program.
62-0207 was flown just 46 times, for a total of 92 hours, 22 minutes of flight. Changes to the aircraft corrected the deficiencies discovered in testing the Number 1 XB-70A, 62-0001. The most visible change was 5° dihedral added to the wings for improved stability. On 16 April 1966, 62-0207 reached its maximum design speed, Mach 3.08, which it sustained for 20 minutes.
Less than one year after its first flight, 8 June 1966, the Valkyrie was involved in a mid-air collision with a Lockheed F-104N and crashed just north of Barstow, California. North American’s B-70 test pilot, Al White, was seriously injured and co-pilot, Major Carl Cross, USAF, was killed. NASA test pilot Joe Walker, flying the F-104, was also killed.
The prototype North American Aviation YOV-10A Bronco counterinsurgency (COIN) aircraft made its first flight at NAA’s Columbus Division in Ohio, 16 Jul7 1965. The aircraft in this image is the third prototype, Bu. No. 152881. (North American Aviation
16 July 1965: The prototype North American Aviation YOV-10A Bronco, U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics serial number (“Bu. No.”) 152879, made its first flight at the NAA Columbus Division, Columbus, Ohio, with Chief Test Pilot Edward Allan Gillespie in the cockpit. The Los Angeles Times reported:
AEROSPACE: North American says first flight of OV-10A plane is success
FIRST FLIGHT of the new OV-10A counterinsururgency aircraft was successfully performed Friday at North American Aviation’s Columbus (Ohio) Division, the company announced. The twin-engine turboprop aircraft’s maiden flight lasted one hour. Pronounced a complete success by North American Aviation officials, it came nearly two months ahead of contract schedule and only nine days after formal rollout ceremonies.
—Los Angeles Times, Vol. LXXXIV, Saturday, 17 July 1965, Part II, Page 8, Column 1
North American Aviation YOV-10A Bronco, Bu. No. 152879, during a test flight near Columbus, Ohio, 1965. (North American Aviation)
There were four YOV-10A service test prototypes built.
The North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco is a two-place, twin-engine light observation and ground attack airplane. It was built at North American Aviation’s (later, North American Rockwell) Columbus, Ohio, plant. It was rolled out 8 July 1965, and made its first flight 16 July. It has a high wing, two tail booms and a high mounted horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The Bronco is 41 feet, 7 inches (12.675 meters) long, with a wing span of 40 feet, 0 inches (12.192 meters) and height of 15 feet, 1 inch (4.597 meters). The OV-10A has a gross weight of 10,250 pounds (4,649 kilograms), and can carry up to 3,600 pounds (1,633 kilograms) of external stores.
The cruise speed of the OV-10A is 223 miles per hour (359 kilometers per hour), and its maximum speed is 281 miles per hour (452 kilometers per hour). The service ceiling is 26,000 feet (7,925 meters), and the range is 1,240 statute miles (1,996 kilometers).
The OV-10A Bronco is powered by two Garrett-AIReseach T76-G turboprop engines, which drive three-bladed propellers. The T76 has a two-stage centrifugal compressor section and a three-stage axial-flow turbine section. It is rated at 715 shaft horsepower (533 kilowatts). The T76-G is 3 feet, 7.0 inches (1.092 meters) long, 2 feet, 3.0 inches (0.686 meters in diameter, and weighs 341 pounds (155 kilograms).
The Bronco is armed with four M-60C 7.62 mm machine guns, and up to 3,600 pounds (1,633 kilograms) of bombs or rockets.
Three-view illustration with dimensions
YOV-10A Bu. No. 152879 was damaged 7 June 1973 and withdrawn from service. It was then displayed at the Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, California.
A total of 360 OV-10 Broncos were built. They remained in service with the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, most recently as the OV-10G in 2015, under Operation Combat Dragon II.
Edward Allan Gillespie was born 28 July 1928 at Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was the second of two sons of Arthur Vernon Gillespie, a sign writer, and Rhea Gladys Seybold Gillespie.
Edward A. Gillespie (MEGA ’46)
Gillespie attended Ann Arbor High School, where he was the president of both his junior and senior classes. He participated in football, swimming and track and field. He graduated in 1946.
He became a licensed pilot at the age of 16 years, and joined the United States Navy at 17, 7 May 1946.
While a member of the Aviation Midshipman Program, he attended Syracuse University and Western Michigan, University, majoring in engineering. He began undergraduate flight training in 1948.
Gillespie began Navy flight training in 1949 with a North American Aviation SNJ Texan advanced trainer at NAS North Whiting Field, Florida, in March 1949.
After completion of flight training Gillespie was commissioned as an ensign, United States Navy and designated a Naval Aviator, 2 June 1950. After transitioning to turbojet-powered fighters in Lockheed TO-1 Shooting Stars, was assigned to Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11) and flew flew 80 combat in McDonnell F2H Banshees from aircraft carriers during the Korean War.
A McDonnell F2H-2 Banshee, Bu. No. 125663, of VF-11 (“Red Rippers”), over Wanson Harbor, Korea, 20 October 1952. (U.S. Navy80-G-480436)
On 1 September 1950, Ensign Gillespie married Miss Janette Deans Tait at Duval, Florida. They would have four children. They divorced 11 February 1997 after 46 years of marriage.
Ensign Gillespie was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, junior grade (j.g.), 2 June 1952.
Lieutenant (j.g.) Gillespie attended the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School, NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, graduating in 1954.
Lieutenant (j.g.) Gillespie was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, 1 July 1955.
Gillespie remained in the United States Naval Reserve, but entered the civilian sector as a test pilot for North American Aviation in 1956. As a reserve naval officer, Gillespie often flew test flights for U.S. Navy aircraft at NAS Patuxent River and NAWC China Lake, California. He commanded a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk squadron and served as an instructor at the USN Test Pilot School. He was also the reserve commanding officer of NAS Brunswick, NAS Oceana, and NAF Loges in the Azores.
Lieutenant Gillespie was promoted to the rank of commander, United States Naval Reserve, 1 July 1961.
Lieutenant Commander Gillespie was promoted to the rank of commander, 1 July 1967.
CAPT E. A. Gillespie USNR
Commander Gillespie was promoted to the rank of captain, 1 January 1974. That same year, he was named a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
Ed Gillespie retired from the Navy with the rank of captain, in July 1982. After 30 years with North American Aviation and North American Rockwell, he retired in 1986.
Captain Edward Allan Gillespie, United States Navy (Retired), died at his home 9 July 2015 at the age of 86 years.
TDiA would like to thank regular reader Matthew Merrell for suggesting this topic.
