Tag Archives: McDonnell Aircraft Corporation

21 October 1959

October 21, 2020AviationAircraft Accident, Bu. No. 142259, F-4, Flight Test, General Electric J79-GE-3A, Gerald Huelsbeck, Korean War, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation Model 98S, McDonnell F-4 Phantom II, McDonnell YF4H-1 Phantom II, Naval Aviator, Playhorse 259, Prototype, Signal Number 22799, Test Pilot, United States Naval Test Pilot School, YF4H-1, Zeke HuelsbeckBryan Swopes

21 October 1959: McDonnell Aircraft Corporation test pilot Gerald (“Zeke”) Huelsbeck was killed while test flying the first prototype YF4H-1 Phantom II, Bureau of Aeronautics serial number (“Bu. No.”) 142259.

The McDonnell YF4H-1 Phantom II, Bu. No. 142259, takes off at Edwards Air Force Base during preparations for Operation Top Flight. (McDonnell Aircraft Corporation) — McDonnell YF4H-1 Phantom II Bu. No. 142259 takes off at Edwards Air Force Base during preparations for Operation Top Flight. (McDonnell Aircraft Corporation)

In October 1959 the Navy tried, a bit prematurely, for its first world record with the F4H. McDonnell test pilot Gerald “Zeke” Huelsbeck, flying near Edwards AFB, was testing various flight plans for a high-altitude zoom, looking for one to recommend to the Navy test pilot who would fly the record attempt. Huelsbeck was flying the very first F4H prototype when an engine access door blew loose, flames shot through the engine compartment, and the F4H crashed, killing Huelsbeck. (Over the next three years of the F4H-1 test program three aircraft were destroyed and three crew members died, all preparing for record flights.)

—Engineering the F-4 Phantom II: Parts Into Systems by Glenn E. Bugos, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1996, Chapter 5 at Page 101.

The flight control system of the YF4H-1 was damaged by the fire and went it out of control at high speed and into a spin. Zeke Huelsbeck did eject but was too low. His parachute did not open. The prototype crashed in an open area near Mt. Pinos in the Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County, California, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) southwest of Edwards.

McDonnell YF4H-1 Bu. No. 142259 was the first prototype Phantom II. It had first been flown by Robert C. Little at Lambert Field, St. Louis, Missouri, 27 May 1958. The Phantom II was designed as a supersonic, high-altitude fleet defense interceptor for the United States Navy. It was a two-place twin engine jet fighter armed with radar- and infrared-homing air-to-air missiles.

Gerald Huelsbeck was born in Wisconsin, 16 April 1928, the third child of Walter Andrew Huelsbeck, a farmer, and Irene M. Voigt Huelsbeck. He attended Carroll College (now, Carroll University) in Waukesha, before joining the United States Navy as a midshipman. He completed flight training at NAS Whiting Field, Florida, and was commissioned as an ensign, 2 June 1950.

In 1950, Ensign Gerald Huelsbeck married Miss Mary Jean Hillary, who had also attended Carroll College. They would have two children.

Huelsbeck was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade), 2 June 1952. Assigned as a fighter pilot during the Korean War, he flew 54 combat missions in the McDonnell F2H Banshee.

While flying in the Navy, Huelsbeck experimented with helmet-mounted cine cameras:

. . . He took a standard gun camera, added a couple of gadgets, and attached it to his helmet, The camera is electrically driven and able to take about two minutes of film with a 50-foot magazine. . . “I spent some time doing ‘hand camera’ work in Korea,” he recalls. “You know, after 54 combat missions, you don’t like to think about crashing while trying to take a picture.”

—The Indianapolis Star, Vol. 53, No. 116, Tuesday, 29 September 1955, Page 4 at Columns 2–4

Lt. (j.g.) Huelsbeck in teh cocpit of a Grumman F9F. A small motion picture camera is attached to his flight helmet (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers) — Lt. (j.g.) Huelsbeck in the cockpit of a U.S. Navy fighter. A small motion picture camera is attached to his flight helmet. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)

He was serving with VF-11 at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, when he was selected for the United States Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, in July 1953.

“Zeke” Huelsbeck left the Navy in 1955 to accept a position as a test pilot with the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, St. Louis, Missouri. After several months, he was assigned as an experimental test pilot and project pilot of the F4H program.

At the time of the accident, Zeke Huelsbeck was the most experienced pilot flying the F4H.

Gerald Huelsbeck was 31 years old when he died. He is buried in New Berlin, Wisconsin.

McDonnell YF4H-1 Phantom II, Bu. No. 142259, at Lambert Field, St. Louis. (McDonnell Aircraft Corporations)

29 September 1954

September 29, 2020Aviation53-2418, Edwards Air Force Base, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, F-101A-1-MC, First Flight, General Electric J79-GE-1, Interceptor, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, McDonnell F-101A Voodoo, McDonnell NF-101A Voodoo, N9250Z, Pratt & Whitney J57-P-13, Robert C. Little, Test Pilot, VoodooBryan Swopes

McDonnell F-101A Voodoo 53-2418. (U.S. Air Force) — McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418 parked on Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)

29 September 1954: At Edwards Air Force Base in the high desert of southern California, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation test pilot Robert C. Little made the first flight of the first F-101A-1-MC Voodoo, 53-2418. During this flight, the new interceptor reached 0.9 Mach at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters).

The F-101A was a development of the earlier McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo and all were production aircraft. There were no prototypes.

This is an autographed photo of test pilot Robert C. Little standing in the cockpit of the McDonnell F-101A Voodoo, 53-2418, after its first flight, 29 September 1954. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers.)

Robert C. Little flew P-51 Mustang fighters during World War II. He joined McDonnell Aircraft Corporation as a test pilot in 1948. He flew the FH Phantom, and made the first flights of the F3H Demon, the F-101A Voodoo and the F-101B. He was next assigned as McDonnell’s chief test pilot and base manager at Edwards Air Force Base. He the made the first flight of the YF4H-1 Phantom II and conducted the early company tests of the airplane, then became the F4H program manager.

Outside the cockpit, Little rose through the company’s ranks and after the merger with Douglas, became a corporate vice president, overseeing the operations of McDonnell-Douglas at St. Louis and McDonnell-Douglas Helicopters at Mesa, Arizona.

mcDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, right front quarter view. (U.S. Air Force) — McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, right front view. (U.S. Air Force)

McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, right profile. (U.S. Air Force)

McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, right rear quarter view. (U.S. Air Force) — McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418, right rear view. (U.S. Air Force)

The McDonnell F-101A Voodoo was a single-seat twin-engine supersonic interceptor. It was 67 feet, 5 inches (20.549 meters) long with a wingspan of 39 feet, 8 inches (12.090 meters) and overall height of 18 feet (5.486 meters). The total wing area was 368 square feet (34.19 square meters). The wings’ sweep was 36° 36′ at 25% chord. The angle of incidence was 1°. There was no twist or dihedral. The F-101A weighed 24,970 pounds (11,326 kilograms) empty and had maximum takeoff weight of 49,998 pounds (22,679 kilograms).

Power was supplied by two Pratt & Whitney J57-P-13 axial-flow turbojet engines. The J57 was a two-spool axial flow turbojet which had a 16-stage compressor (9 low- and 7 high-pressure stages), and a 3-stage turbine (1 high- and 2 low-pressure stages). The J57-P-13 maximum continuous power rating of 8,700 pounds of thrust (38.70 kilonewtons); military power, 10,200 pounds (45.37 kilonewtons) (30-minute limit); and 15,000 pounds (66.72 kilonewtons) with afterburner (5 minute limit). The -P-13 was 3 feet, 4.3 inches (1.024 meters) in diameter, 17 feet, 7.0 inches (5.359 meters) long, and weighed 5,025 pounds (2,279 kilograms).

The F-101A had a maximum speed of 866 knots (997 miles per hour/1,604 kilometers per hour) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). Its service ceiling was 45,800 feet (13,960 meters). The airplane’s combat radius was 1,011 nautical miles (1,163 statute miles/1,872 kilometers). The maximum ferry range was 2,541 nautical miles (2,924 statute miles/4,706 kilometers)

The Voodoo was armed with four 20mm M39 autocannons with 200 rounds of ammunition per gun. It could carry a single Mark 7, Mark 28 or Mark 43 tactical nuclear bomb.

Of 807 F-101 Voodoos built, 77 were F-101As.

McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418 in flight. (U.S. Air Force)

McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2416 in flight, bottom view. (U.S. Air Force) — McDonnell F-101A-1-MC Voodoo 53-2418 in flight, bottom view. (U.S. Air Force)

F-101A 53-2418 was transferred to General Electric for testing the J79 afterburning turbojet engine which would later power the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II. In this configration it was designated NF-101A. General Electric returned the Voodoo to the Air Force in 1959. By that time obsolete, it was used as a maintenance trainer at Shepard Air Force Base, Texas.

53-2418 was next turned over to a civilian aviation maintenance school and assigned a civil registration number by the Federal Aviation Administration, N9250Z. The airplane was sold as scrap, but was purchased by Mr. Dennis Kelsey. In 2009, Mrs. Kelsey had the airplane placed in the care of the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon. After being partially restored by Evergreen Air Center, Marana, Arizona, 53-2418 was placed on display at the Evergreen Museum.

McDonnell JF-101A 53-2418, general Electric's test bed for the J79 turbojet engine. (Unattributed) — McDonnell NF-101A 53-2418, General Electric’s test bed for the J79-GE-1 turbojet engine. (Unattributed)

25 September 1960

September 25, 2020AviationEdwards Air Force Base, FAI, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Jeff Davis, John F. Davis, John Franklin Davis, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, McDonnell F-4 Phantom II, McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Test Pilot, USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), World Record for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 100 Kilometers Without PayloadBryan Swopes

Commander John F. Davis, United States Navy, with a McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II. Note the F6F-5K drone “kill” mark under the windshield. (U.S. Navy)

25 September 1960: At Edwards Air Force Base, California, Commander John Franklin (“Jeff”) Davis, United States Navy, flew a McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II to a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 100 Kilometers Without Payload, averaging 2,237.37 kilometers per hour (1390.24 miles per hour).¹ Commander Davis flew the 62-mile circular course at an altitude of 45,000 feet (13,716 meters).

Diagram of the 100-kilometer closed circuit. (McDonnell) — Diagram of the 100-kilometer closed circuit. (McDonnell Aircraft Corporation)

“On 25 September 1960 Davis flew the shorter, 100-kilometer course at 1,390.24 miles per hour, roughly Mach 2.2. He went around the course in a continuous circle, at 70° of bank and three g’s. The heavy bank put the honeycomb structure of the right stabilator directly in the engine exhaust the entire way around, but it held on. These two flights demonstrated the brute strength of the airframe and the sophistication of the F4H navigation system around the curves.”

— Engineering the F-4 Phantom II: parts into systems, by Glenn E. Bugos, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1996, Chapter 5 at Page 104.

McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II, Bu. No. 145311. This probably the Phantom flown by Jeff Davis for the 100-kilometer record. (U.S. Navy) — McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Bu. No. 145311 (after 1962, redesignated as F-4A-2-MC). This is probably the Phantom flown by Jeff Davis for the 100-kilometer record. This airplane was damaged when the nose gear collapsed during an emergency landing at MCAS Cherry Point, 9 April 1964. (U.S. Navy)

John Franklin Davis was born at Chicago, Illinois, 4May 1921. He was the son of John E. Davis and Bernice B. McNair Davis.

On 11 July 1940, John Franklin Davis was admitted to the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, as a Midshipman. He graduated and was commissioned an Ensign, United States Navy, 9 June 1943. Ensign Davis served aboard the battleship USS New York (BB-34). He was promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade), 1 September 1944. He was promoted to Lieutenant, 1 April 1946.

Also in 1946, Lieutenant Davis qualified as a Naval Aviator. He was assigned as a pilot VF-74 aboard USS Midway (CVB-41). During the early 1950s, Lieutenant Davis served as operations officer for VF-191 aboard USS Oriskany (CVA-34). The squadron was equipped with the swept-wing Grumman F9F-6 Cougar. He then commanded VF-191, flying the Chance Vought F8U Crusader. Commander Davis was then assigned to the Bureau of Weapons as project officer for the McDonnell F4H Phantom II.

Following that assignment, Commander Davis was selected as executive officer of the Midway-class aircraft carrier, USS Coral Sea (CVA-43).

Captain John Franklin Davis, United States Navy.

United States Navy aircraft carriers are traditionally commanded by Naval Aviators, but they usually are required to have experience commanding a “deep-draft” ship. Early in his career, Captain Davis had served aboard the 27,000-ton USS New York. He was given command of the Haskell-class attack transport USS Talladega (APA-208) from 10 April 1965 through 1966. From 30 September 1968 to 15 November 1969, Captain Davis commanded the supercarrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) during combat operations in Southeast Asia.

Captain Davis was married to the former Miss Bonnie Adair of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. They had six children.

Captain John Franklin Davis, United States Navy (Retired), died at Marrero, Louisiana, 16 May 1993. His ashes were spread at sea from his last command, USS Kitty Hawk.

¹ FAI Record File Number 8898

5 September 1960

September 5, 2020AviationBeatty NV, Bu. No. 145311, Edwards Air Force Base, FAI, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Lone Pine CA, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, McDonnell F-4A Phantom II, McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Thomas H. Miller, Tom Miller, United States Marine Corps, World Record for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 500 Kilometers Without PayloadBryan Swopes

LCOL Thomas H. Miller, USMC with the record setting McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II. (McDonnell) — LCOL Thomas H. Miller, USMC with the record-setting McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II. (McDonnell Aircraft Corporation)

5 September 1960: Lieutenant Colonel Thomas H. Miller, United States Marine Corps, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a 500 Kilometer Closed Course Without Payload with a McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Bu.No. 145311. The fighter averaged 1,216.78 miles per hour (1,958.2 kilometers per hour)¹ over the triangular course in the California and Nevada desert.

Diagram of course flown by LCOL Thomas H. Miller, USMC, 15 September 1960. (McDonnell)

Lieutenant Colonel Miller took off from Edwards Air Force Base in the high desert of Southern California. The McDonnell F4H-1F carried three external fuel tanks. Miller climbed in full Military Power to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters), then dropped the two wing tanks over the Salton Sea. The Phantom II continued to accelerate with both engines in afterburner while climbing to 48,000 feet (14,630 meters). At Mach 1.6, 30 miles (48.3 kilometers) from the starting gate over Edwards, Miller dropped the empty 600 gallon (2,271 liters) centerline tank. He crossed the gate at 42,200 feet (12,863 meters) at Mach 1.76 and continued to accelerate.

Miller entered the first turn near Lone Pine, California (just east of Mount Whitney) at 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) at Mach 2.04. The second turn was over Beatty, Nevada, the location of a radar and telemetry facility that was operated as part of the NASA High Speed Flight Station’s High Range. The F4H had descended slightly to 49,000 feet (14,935 meters) while accelerating to Mach 2.05.

Colonel Miller was now headed back toward Edwards and the gate on the longest leg of the triangular course. He crossed the finish line at 46,000 feet (14,021 meters) and Mach 2.10.

The total time on the course, gate to gate, was 15 minutes, 19.2 seconds. The Phantoms’ two engines were in afterburner for 25 minutes, 30 seconds. The duration of the flight, from takeoff to landing, was one hour.

When the airplane crossed the gate over Edwards, only 900 pounds (408 kilograms) of fuel remained. Later, Colonel Miller said, “The only way to get on the ground with the engines running was a split-S maneuver with a near-vertical dive, speed brakes out and engines at idle power. This provided positioning for a straight-in approach to the runway at Edwards AFB. Flaps and wheels were lowered at the last minute when I knew I had the runway made, even if the engines quit. Fortunately, they didn’t flame out until I touched down.”

While the FAI credited Tom Miller with a World Record speed of 1,958.2 kilometers per hour (1,216.769 miles per hour) for the 500 kilometer course, a McDonnell Aircraft Corporation publication points out that as the F4H actually flew outside the course lines to make the high-speed turns, it flew 23 miles (37 kilometers) farther than required, and therefore the actual average speed was 1,305 miles per hour (2,100.2 kilometers per hour).

Lieutenant General Thomas H. Mitchell flew combat missions in the Pacific with VMO-155, flying the Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, and missions during the Korean War with VMFA-323 (Death Rattlers”), flying the Vought F4U-4 Corsair. During the Vietnam War, he commanded VMFA-513, flying the McDonnell F-4B Phantom II. Promoted to Brigadier General, he was Chief of Staff, III Amphibious Group, then Commander, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. In 1975, he took command of the Fleet Marine Force Pacific. After serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Aviation, Headquarters, Marine Corps, Miller retired from active duty in 1979.

Lieutenant General Miller died in 2007 at the age of 84 years.

John H. Glenn, Jr., General David M. Shoup, Commandant of the Marine Corps and Lieutenant Colonel Thomas H. Miller Jr., at Marine Corps Headquarters, 15 September 1960. General Shoup holds a scale model of the McDonnell F4H Phantom II. (Photograph Collection (COLL/3948), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections) — John H. Glenn, Jr., General David M. Shoup, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Lieutenant Colonel Thomas H. Miller Jr., at Marine Corps Headquarters, 15 September 1960. General Shoup holds a scale model of the McDonnell F4H Phantom II. (Photograph Collection (COLL/3948), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections)

¹ FAI Record File Number 8857

28 August 1961

August 28, 2020AviationBu. No. 145307, Bu. No. 145316, Earl De Esch, FAI, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Huntington Hardisty, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Operation SAGEBURNER, World Record for Speed Over a 3 Kilometer CourseBryan Swopes

28 August 1961: Operation SAGEBURNER: To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Naval Aviation, Lieutenants Huntington Hardisty and Earl De Esch, United States Navy, flew a McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II to a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Speed Record of 1,452.777 kilometers per hour (902.714 miles per hour) over a 3 kilometer (1.864 mile) course at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. They flew BELOW 125 feet (38.1 meters) above the ground.

Lieutenants Hardesty and De Esch with their McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Bu. No 145307, SAGEBURNER. (laststandonzombieisland)

McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Bu. No. 145307. (U.S. Navy) — McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Bu. No. 145307, SAGEBURNER. (U.S. Navy)

An earlier speed record attempt, 18 May 1961, ended tragically when Commander Jack L. Felsman, and Ensign Raymond M. Hite, Jr., were killed and their F4H-1F Phantom II, Bu. No. 145316, destroyed when a pitch damper failed which resulted in Pilot Induced Oscillation. This became so severe that the Phantom’s airframe was subjected to 12 Gs, causing it to break apart in flight. Both engines were torn from the airframe.

The world-record-setting airplane, McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Bureau of Aeronautics Serial Number (Bu. No.) 145307, SAGEBURNER, is at the Paul Garber Restoration Facility of the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum.

The record-setting McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Bu. No. 145307, in storage at the National Air and Space Museum. (Photograph courtesy of Robert Vandervord) — The record-setting McDonnell F4H-1F Phantom II, Bu. No. 145307, in storage at the National Air and Space Museum. (*Photograph courtesy of Robert Vandervord*)

Huntington Hardisty rose to the rank of admiral and served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations and Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Command. He retired from the Navy in 1991 and died in 2003 at the age of 74.

Admiral Huntington Hardisty, United States Navy

¹ FAI Record File Number 8516

Please see Tommy H. Thomason’s article on Raymond Hite at:

http://thanlont.blogspot.com/2016_01_01_archive.html

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