Download or read book Flying Aircraft Carriers of the USAF McDonnell Xf 85 Goblin written by Brian Lockett and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2009-08-01 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The P-85 Goblin was the only airplane that ever flew which was designed from scratch to be operated entirely from another airplane. The development of the B-36 by the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation of Fort Worth, Texas resulted in a requirement for fighter protection for the bomber at distances from any friendly base that far exceeded the range of currently available escort fighter airplanes. Due to the inability of contemporary fighters to escort B-36 bombers all the way to their targets, the Army Air Corps initiated Project MX-472, Unconventional Fighter Design Studies, on December 3, 1942. The primary objective of the project was the development of a suitable method of protecting the B-36 on long-range bombing missions. The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation designed the P-85 Goblin to fit entirely within the confines of the bomb bay of the B-36. The little fighter was just fifteen feet long with a wing sapn of twenty-one feet.
Download or read book Flying Aircraft Carriers of the USAF written by Brian Lockett and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2008-09-11 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Project FICON (Fighter conveyer): In the early 1950s, the Air Force conducted a series of experiments to establish the feasibility of carrying, launching, and retrieving jet reconnaissance airplanes from giant Convair RB-36 bombers. It was hoped that the bombers would carry the reconnaissance jets to the perimeter of the Soviet Union and then release them to penetrate the air defenses. Tests of the concept were conducted in 1952 and 1953 with a Republic F-84E Thunderjet and the YF-84F Thunderstreak prototype. Twenty-six Republic RF-84F Thunderflashes and ten Convair GRB-36D carriers were modified for the project. In 1955, a squadron of carriers was established at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. A squadron of parasites was established at nearby Larson Air Force Base. Training operations began in December 1955, but the composite aircraft system faced competition from the Boeing RB-52B, Lockheed U-2, and the development of aerial refueling.
Download or read book Flying Aircraft Carriers of the USAF Wing Tip Coupling written by Brian Lockett and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During and after World War II, aircraft designers were faced with the problem of increasing the range of strategic bombers. Dr. Richard Vogt, a German immigrant to the United States, proposed that floating wing panels carrying fuel tanks could be attached to the wing tips of an airplane with hinges to extend its range. The floating wing panels would support their own weight, without increasing the load on the airplane's wings. The Air Force initiated a project to simulate floating wing panels with a piloted light plane that coupled to a larger airplane in flight. Soon the scope of the project expanded to explore the possibility of towing fighters coupled to the wing tips of bombers.
Download or read book Balls Three written by Brian Lockett and published by . This book was released on 2021-04-29 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The NB-52A 52-0003 and its sister ship, the NB-52B 52-0008 were diverted to the special mission of launching the X-15 hypersonic research airplane in 1958 following their service as early test examples of the B-52 Stratofortress. While the two Stratofortresses were engaged in the task of launching the three X-15 rocket planes, a series of rocket powered lifting bodies were developed that utilized the existing air launch capability. The NB-52A was a flying launch pad, which is a highly complex task. It had to supply the rocket planes that it carried with the propellants, gases, and power normally associated with a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, all while flying nine miles above the ground. This ability made the airplane an indispensable asset for aeronautical research. Its right wing was reinforced and equipped with a pylon to carry the heaviest wing-borne payloads ever dropped from an airplane. Some of the payloads that it dropped exceeded 50,000 pounds, nearly 1/5 of its own weight. The X-15 rocket planes launched by this Stratofortress carried pilots to unprecedented speeds and altitudes. They were the first winged vehicles to reach speeds of Mach-4, Mach-5, and Mach-6. They were also the first winged vehicles to exceed 130,000 feet altitude, eventually reaching over 364,000 feet, high above nearly all the Earth's atmosphere. Five pilots qualified for astronaut's wings by exceeding an altitude of fifty miles in the X-15s. Tragically, one of those astronauts was killed on his qualifying flight when the third X-15 broke up as it re-entered the atmosphere. Later in the career of the NB-52A, the X-15s were joined by a trio of heavyweight lifting bodies. The Northrop M2-F2 and HL-10 and the Martin Marietta X-24A were wingless, rocket-powered research vehicles that evaluated potential configurations of future orbital spacecraft, concentrating on the later stages of re-entry and landing. They established the feasibility of gliding to a landing in a spacecraft with a low glide ratio, the method utilized by the Rockwell Space Shuttle.
Download or read book Let s Learn about Mcdonnell XF 85 Goblin written by Keith Tarrier and published by . This book was released on 2018-12-02 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An informative book for everyone to learn about the fun looking experimental XF-85 'parasite fighter.' This airplane was made just after World War 2 and was designed to be carried inside a bomber aircraft. Learn about why, how and when this unique aircraft was made and tested, and what happened to it.The book has links to PDF activity files that can be downloaded and printed out for kids to enjoy and learn from.
Download or read book Balls Eight History of the Boeing NB 52B Stratofortress Mothership written by Brian Lockett and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2009 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has been asserted that the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress, carrying Air Force serial 52-0008, can lay claim to being the airplane that has seen and participated in more history than any other single airplane. For forty-five years, the NB-52B was a fixture at Edwards Air Force Base. While the NB-52B is most famous for launching the three North American X-15 rocket planes, it continued to serve in the role of launch platform for a multitude of programs until its final mission on November 16, 2004. It was the oldest flying B-52 by nearly ten years. The book is 200 pages long. It contains 246 color photographs, 89 black and white photographs, and 2 other illustrations.
Download or read book Flight and Motion written by Dale Anderson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-07-17 with total page 1061 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed for readers from grade 6 and up, this lavishly illustrated set provides comprehensive coverage of the history of aviation, including space flight, as well as the science and technology on which it depends. Detailed A-Z entries trace the development of human flight from ancient myths and legends through today's space exploration, highlighting scientific discoveries and innovations that made aviation possible."IFlight and Motion" also celebrates the contributions and achievements of the pioneers and visionaries of air and space flight, from inventors and innovators to pilots, astronauts, and cosmonauts. Detailed illustrated diagrams give readers a general understanding of the mechanics of flight and of the physics and technology involved. The set also highlights key air and spacecrafts that have made a unique mark in the history of flight. It features more than 500 full-color and black-and-white photos and illustrations, and also includes a timeline, a listing of museums and exhibits, further reading lists, a comprehensive glossary, and general and subject indexes.
Download or read book The Cutting Edge written by Mark A. Lorell and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 1998 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The proposition that innovation is critical in the cost-effective design and development of successful military aircraft is still subject to some debate. RAND research indicates that innovation is promoted by intense competition among three or more industry competitors. Given the critical policy importance of this issue in the current environment of drastic consolidation of the aerospace defense industry, the authors here examine the history of the major prime contractors in developing jet fighters since World War II. They make use of an extensive RAND database that includes nearly all jet fighters, fighter-attack aircraft, and bombers developed and flown by U.S. industry since 1945, as well as all related prototypes, modifications, upgrades, etc. The report concludes that (1) experience matters, because of the tendency to specialize and thus to develop system-specific expertise; (2) yet the most dramatic innovations and breakthroughs came from secondary or marginal players trying to compete with the industry leaders; and (3) dedicated military R&D conducted or directly funded by the U.S. government has been critical in the development of new higher-performance fighters and bombers.
Download or read book Air Corps News Letter written by and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 778 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book General Electric Air Research Demonstration June 22 1946 written by Brian Lockett and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-05-12 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The General Electric Air Research Laboratory at the Schenectady, New York Airport hosted an open house on June 22, 1946, less than one year after V-J Day. It was an overcast day with intermittent rain. The event featured a variety of prototype airplanes and helicopters and some modified testbed airplanes. Many of the airplanes were pinnacles of piston-powered aircraft technology. Examples of early jet fighters foreshadowed the coming transition to jet power. The first jet air mail service was carried by a pair of Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars that departed from the open house.Richard Lockett, a General Electric employee, photographed the aircraft participating at the open house. He documented the evolving technology of the day. He also captured the behavior and fashions of the people attending the show.
Download or read book B 29 Superfortress written by Graham M. Simons and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2012-09-19 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A well written history of a history-changing aircraft,” the bomber that carried the two atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII (Aeromilitaria). The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engined heavy bomber flown primarily by the United States in World War Two and the Korean War. The name “Superfortress” was derived from that of its well-known predecessor, the B–17 Flying Fortress. The B-29 was the progenitor of a series of Boeing-built bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, trainers and tankers including the variant, B-50 Superfortress. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War Two. A very advanced bomber for its time, it included features such as pressurized cabins, an electronic fire-control system and remote-controlled machine-gun turrets. Though it was designed as a high-altitude daytime bomber, in practice it actually flew more low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing missions. It was the primary aircraft in the American firebombing campaign against Japan in the final months of World War Two. Unlike many other World War Two-era bombers, the B-29 remained in service long after the war ended, with a few even being employed as flying television transmitters. The type was finally retired in the early 1960s, with 3,960 aircraft in all built. Without doubt there is a clear, strong requirement to “put the record straight” using primary source documentation to record the undoubted achievements alongside and in context with the shortcomings to the type’s design and operation that have otherwise received scant attention. The book covers all variants and is profusely illustrated.
Download or read book Stratonauts written by Manfred "Dutch" von Ehrenfired and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-13 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just what does it take to be a stratonaut, soaring to higher and higher altitudes of Earth's atmosphere? Brave men and women have reached extreme heights in balloons, aircraft and rocket ships over the past two centuries, from the first untethered balloon flight to the first flights in the newly defined stratosphere, through to the present flights that continue to set new records. This book defines the altitudes related to the stratosphere, how it changes with latitude and the effects on ascending aviators. Also described is how over time technology enabled aircraft and balloons to achieve higher altitudes. The book shows the clear influence of the military on designs that initially focused on speed and maneuverability, but only later on reaching new altitudes. The early flights into the troposphere and eventually the mid to upper reaches of the stratosphere are chronicled, with great emphasis on flight operations. This includes decompression, bailouts, inertia coupling, ejections, catastrophic disintegration, crashes and deaths. Although the book highlights major altitude attempts and records, it also focuses on the life-threatening problems confronting the would-be stratonaut and the causes of many of their deaths. In doing so, it tries to define just what it takes to be a stratonaut.
Download or read book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aviation written by and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book AAHS Journal written by American Aviation Historical Society and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 680 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems Post World War II bombers 1945 1973 written by Marcelle Size Knaack and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 644 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Aircraft written by Michael John Haddrick Taylor and published by Putnam Publishing Group. This book was released on 1978 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: History of aviation from its earliest days to the present.
Download or read book Project Ficon Handbooks written by Brian Lockett and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2008-09-01 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reprints of the Air Force Flight and Maintenance Handbooks for the Convair GRB-36D FICON carrier aircraft. It contains: Utility Flight Handbook USAF Series GRB-36D-III/RF-84F Composite Aircraft Utility Flight Handbook GRB-36D-III FICON Aircraft Supplemental Handbook Maintenance Instructions USAF Series GRB-36D-III Aircraft
