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The DeHavilland Comet, and CAA Protection of American Aircraft
Manufacturers
In 1939, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler invaded Poland in an
attempt to expand Germany's territorial boundaries. This treaty-violating
aggression prompted Britain and France to declare war immediately thereafter.
Other democracies, including the United States, would eventually be drawn
into the fray. Hitler's spring offensive of 1940 quickly overran the Lowland
Countries as well as France, leaving Great Britain to stand alone against
Nazi Germany.
The English Channel still provided Britain nominal protection
against a surface invasion. Hitler, therefore, was forced to employ Germany's
Luftwaffe to overpower England. To combat the threat, the British used their
Spitfire and Hurricane fighter aircraft to maintain air superiority over
the British Isles.
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Immediately
thereafter, the United States declared war on Japan. Germany, an ally of
Japan, reciprocated by declaring war on the United States.
As a result, the United States had to wage war on two
fronts, in the Pacific theater and the European theater. The U.S. Navy dominated
the . . . . . . . .
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Test flight of the Comet I in 1949 |
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The Final Blow to the Curtiss Airplane
Division
The
beginning of the end of Curtiss-Wright's Airplane Division came when their
XP-87 Black Hawk was canceled October 15, 1949, in its entirety. The
findings report revealed the Review Board favored the competitor,
Northrop's XF-89 Scorpion. There were several reasons for the decision which
led to the termination of the program.
The findings report was not complete as a number of XP-87
advantages were omitted; therefore the Review Board did not have a complete
picture of the flight test activity. The procurement recommendation was made
on this basis.
The wing on the XP-87 was altitude limited. The Air Force
made the decision that the airplane should operate higher up to 70,000 feet.
C-W priced another wing which was cost excessive. The regular engineering
personnel normally associated with design review, pricing and cost negotiations
were not involved with the contract amendment. This was handled by upper
level management, presumably to insure reduction of other program losses.
The original wing design, limited to . . . . . . . .
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Ground View of Curtiss XP-87 |
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Waco Aircraft: the Early Years
In early 1920 Clayton J. Brukner, Elwood J. Junkin and George
E. Weaver founded the Weaver Aircraft Company which became the Advance Aircraft
Co. Later, in 1928, the name was changed again to Waco. With their factory
established in Troy, Ohio, it was not long before they had earned a solid
reputation for building quality aircraft. The name Waco became renowned in
U.S. civil aviation. The company endured even during the Great Depression
of the 1930s and prospered. Waco aircraft still have a great following, with
Waco clubs and over 300 restored aircraft flying. The 1935 Waco YMF has been
reintroduced to the aircraft market by a Michigan company and several replicas
of early Waco aircraft are being produced. The following photos will take
us back to the Golden Age of civil aviation in the U.S.
Waco 10 of the Berry
Brothers Progressive Aircraft Finish Co. circa 1929 (photo by Manning
Brothers Commercial Photographers, Detroit, MI No. 85565)
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Waco GXE, 45-E |
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A Local Service Equation (B+P+WC=AW=HAW) Airlines,
Evolution from Local Service to Global
Over
the years many small local service or regional carriers, (local service carriers
have evolved into regionals) have come and gone, hardly noticed. And heir
contributions to our great air transportation system have not received the
proper recognition that they deserve.
Our giant, transcontinental and global carriers of today
would not, in most cases, exist if it were not for those unsung "feeders"
who were responsible for filling the seats of the majors ("Big Boys") at
the country's large International airports.
Just how important to the major carriers were those,
commuters, feeders, local service or regionals or whatever else you want
to call them, who have come and gone and that a lot of us can't even remember?
Well, they sure must have left some sort of indelible
impression on the "Big Boys," since they all now have their own "Feeders,"
under the guise of "Express" and other feeder name connotations such as American
Eagle, Continental Express, Delta Connection, Northwest Airlink, and United
Express, just to name a few.
These local service carriers of yesteryear flew a variety
of aircraft. The carriers in our local service equation for this article,
mainly flew DC-3s, Martin 202/404s, F-27 Friendships, DC-9s and
727s.
When Bonanza, Pacific, and West Coast merged in 1968,
they formed Air West.
Then later became Hughes Air West and then Republic.
Now they are all part of the Northwest Airlines family. On February 23, 1968,
the CAB approved the merger of Bonanza Air Lines, Inc. and West Coast Airlines,
Inc. into . . . . . .
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Pacific Airlines Fairchild F-27A |
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Development History of the Beech 99
At a 1967 press conference in
Washington, D.C., (then) Beech 11 Aircraft VP-Marketing Wyman L. Henry announced
plans for a new, 15-passenger turboprop airplane. Designated the Model 99
"Airliner" and powered by twin Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprops, this
ship would be one of the first modem aircraft designed specifically for the
burgeoning commuter airline and scheduled air taxi market. The projected
price ranged from $350,000 to $400,000 depending upon options, with deliveries
to begin in 1968.
Following Beech's "adapt, stretch and modify" philosophy
of new airplane development, the 99 borrowed most of its wing, vertical stabilizer,
engine installation, and cockpit layout from the King Air 90 series, the
fuselage was based on the unpressurized Model 65 Queen Air, the twin-wheel
main landing gear and variable-incidence horizontal stabilizer were shared
with the 100-series King Air. After some flight testing with a fiberglass
prototype, a long nose unique to the 99 series and incorporating a 43 plus
cubic foot baggage compartment was adopted. The airfoil section was the same
used on virtually every Wichita-produced Beech airplane - starting with the
Model 35 Bonanza and continuing through today's 19-passenger 1900D.
A certification ceremony was held on 2 May 1968 at the
factory in Wichita, with two of the early-production aircraft on display
(ordered by Commuter Airlines of Chicago), and a speech by U.S. Senator Mike
Monroney of Oklahoma.
Beech airplane serial numbers usually start with a letter
identifying the model/series. In the case of the 99, it is "U" - the first
. . . . . . .
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Straight 99, s/n U-2 on factory photo
flight circa 1968. |
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Joseph G. Weisinger's Invention
Wind tunnels have been an integral part of aerodynamic research —-
even before the development of the airplane. The first use of a wind tunnel
was in 1871 to conduct tests of the effects of air resistance on projectiles
for calculating artillery trajectories. Invented by Francis H. Wenham in
England, his wind tunnel was used to replace the ballistic pendulum (whirling
arm) long used to estimate air resistance. In the U.S., the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) constructed their first wind tunnel about 1895
and was used to measure forces on a flat plate mounted at various angles
to the air flow. In 1896, Orville and Wilbur Wright began their studies of
the problems of flight and by around 1899 had built a small rudimentary wind
tunnel for their experiments.
Eventually, measuring the effects of air flow upon objects
such as plates and airfoils led to their replacement by models of airplane
designs being considered in the 1920s and '30s. Still, whether the design
was really any . . . . . . . .
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Portion of Patent Application
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They Called Him "Jake"
In late 1929 and early
1930 six men gathered together on Long Island. New York and, in the middle
of the depression, started an airplane company in an old garage in Baldwin,
Long Island. "They had "no plant, no product, no customers, no contacts,
and barely enough self-generated capital to meet its modest payroll for a
year.'" What they had was each other and a handful of talented employees
most of whom would remain with the company until retirement or death. From
humble beginnings building pontoons for U.S. Navy floatplanes, the fledgling
company was to become the United States Navy's premier provider of aircraft
for their air wings for the next 65 years. Their output encompassed piston
engine fighters and utility aircraft, jet aircraft of various types and descriptions,
and civilian applications including seaplanes and crop dusters. Eventually,
one of their products would be sent to the moon. Navy pilots nicknamed the
place, "The Ironworks."
The original group consisted ofA.P. Loening, Grover Loening,
E. Clinton Towl, Edwin W. Poor, and Leroy Randle Grumman from whom the Company
got its name. The sixth man - a burly marine veteran and experienced aircraft
production manager became the driving force, heart and soul of the new company.
His name was Leon A. Swirbul but everyone called him "Jake," and he made
all the difference.
Jake was born in New York City on 18 March 1898. He attended
Cornell University for two years but left to join the United States Marine
Corps . . . . .
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Leon A. "Jake" Swirbul |
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More About Al Williams'
Gulfhawk
Part II of Walter A. Musciano's article about Al Williams in
the Summer 2000 Journal does a good job of pinning down the confusing origins
of the Curtiss Hawk that became the Gulfhawk. Here is a follow-up to the
story, further questions about Gulfhawk, and some additional U.S. Army and
civil Curtiss Hawk history.
Mr.
Musciano is right in staling that the plane that became Gulfhawk was built
as a special model with additional tankage and revised fuselage lines. However,
it was built from scratch as a new Curtiss model and was not converted from
an Army P-IC. A manufacturer would not - make that could not - pull a military
model off the production line and make it into a civil model. Let's check
some existing official paperwork and see how Gulfhawk really began. Let's
start with the XP-6B.
THE XP-6B STORY—The major changes to the last
P-IC, 29-259, were well detailed in Mr. Musciano's article, the most major
change being replacement of the 435-hp Curtiss D-12 (V-1150) water-cooled
engine with a 600-hp Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror. At Curtiss, and by the Army,
this plane was identified only as the Curtiss Hawk Hoyt special. It carried
the standard U.S. Army markings but also had the Curtiss Hawk logo on the
fin, an unusual detail for the time.
This was a special rush project by the Army that was
carried out with a minimum of routine paperwork, as shown by the relatively
small coverage of the XP-6B in the Army's official history of its Curtiss
Hawks.' The change of engine made the former P-1C a P-6, since the V-1570
engine was the engine used in that model of the Army Hawk (since 1926 it
had been Army practice to change the designation of an airplane following
a change to a different engine). However, the designation XP-6B was not assigned
to 29-259 until after the Alaska flight.
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Export Hawk 1 for Japan |
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A Speed Greater than that of Sound
Test
Pilots Pierce Dread Barrier—The world's first officially recorded and
documented supersonic flight, October 14, 1947, by the XS-I (later as the
X-1 ) was a poorly kept secret on and around Muroc Air Force Base (AFB).
The XS-I had achieved a Mach number of 1.06 (700 miles per hour (mph) or
1,126.5 kilometers per hour (kph)) at 43,000 feet (13,106 meters (m)) altitude
on this date. Less than three months later the secret flight was unofficially
made public by the press. On December 22, 1947, the prominent trade magazine
Aviation Week broke the story of the world's first officially recorded supersonic
flight. Concurrent with this story, the morning edition of the Los Angeles
Times of December 22, 1947, published an "extra" edition with a large bold
headline, with photographs (below), announcing the event.
The caption, by noted aviation editor Marvin Miles, in
the upper right-hand corner read:
Test Pilots Pierce Dread Barrier at 70,000 Feet Altitude Above
Desert
Three Americans have pierced the wall of sound!
The dread barrier to supersonic flight was first conquered
at Muroc Air Base early last month when Capt. Charles Yeager, Air Force pilot,
hurtled the XS-I rocket plane through the wall at approximately 70,000 feet.
The Times learned from reliable sources.
The
"reliable sources" are assumed to have been the Aviation Week article. Bob
Holtz, the editor of Aviation Week was threatened . . . . . .
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Front page of the December 22, 1947 Los
Angeles times. |
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Southern Cross and the Blue Bird
This marvelous historic photo, in the form of an original
11x14 inch print was obtained from my friend, and fellow AAHS member, Jay
Wright. Jay grew up in the Oakland/San Francisco Bay area, where he joined
the U.S. Naval reserve aviation unit in 1938, serving with the GOLDEN GATORS
at Oakland. Airport. However, he does not recall where or when he obtained
this print.
The big Fokker SOUTHERN CROSS is well-known for
Kingsford Smith's transpacific flight to Australia in the spring of 1928,
but the husky-looking biplane with its tail on a trestle, was a puzzle.
At first glance, it was thought it might be one of the
ill-fated Dole race entries. However, it soon became apparent that it
did not match any of these aircraft. It was ruled out anyhow, since SOUTHERN
CROSS did not arrive in the San Francisco area until several months after
the Dole race hopefuls had departed Oakland in August 1927.
The biplane, which appears to have a long-range tank
forward of the cockpit, and an earth inductor compass mast on the aft fuselage,
has a number . . . . . . .
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To Catch a Falling Star (Missile Reentry
Projects
As
noted in article six of this series, the GE SFTC was initially a Division
of the General Engineering Laboratory at Schenectady. It was, therefore,
part of the centralized research and development function of the company
which engaged in a broad range of technical work. As time went on however,
work at the center became more and more defense related. As a result, in
1954 the SFTC was made a section of the Aircraft and Ordnance Department
(A&OS) at Schenectady and ultimately became a part of the Defense Systems
Division headquartered at
Syracuse, New York.
GE remained a powerhouse in the defense business into
the late '50s and the SFTC was continuously busy providing flight testing
services on GE contracts but major changes were in the offing. Under a new
president the company was decentralized and the many arms of the company
became much more independent. With regard to the defense business this sometimes
resulted in different parts of the company bidding against each other on
the same defense contract, which didn't please the military. There were also
changes in the company's strategic planning which included de-emphasizing
defense business. To remain a viable business then, the SFTC . . .
. . . .
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KC-135, preparing to fold the tail.
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Lufbery: An Idol of Two Countries and Victim of the Great
War
The
first and one of the most admired American aces of World War I, Raoul-Gervais
Lufbery, was in fact more than half French by the facts of his birth and
life experiences there. But he was also an American citizen and patriot,
and by all accounts a wonderful human being. His French side explains, in
part, his preeminence among Americans in the air war in France until his
death at the age of 33, in combat on May 19, 1918.
At that time, he was our top ace with 17 confirmed victories,
and also the mentor of our eventual top ace, Edward V. Rickenbacker, whose
first of 26 "kills" had just been scored on April 29. Rickenbacker begins
his classic 1919 account of the air war. Fighting the Flying Circus, with
accolades of praise for Lufbery, who led Rickenbacker's first combat flights
with the 94th Aero Squadron in March 1918. He wrote at the time, "..Major
Raoul Lufbery was the most famous of our American flyers and the commander
of our group ..Every one of us idolized Lufbery." Later, he stated, "Everything
I learned, I learned from Lufbery," who was "the greatest pilot of them all."
How did Lufbery achieve such kudos for his all-too-brief
aerial exploits? In fact, it had been a remarkably circuitous route for such
a young man. His direct contact with aviation did not begin until August
1912, when he was . . . . . . . .
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Aircraft Photos by Emil
Strasser: Part III Boeing 100
Boeing
built several commercial/export versions of their F4B-1, known as the Model
100. These military airframes were fully licensed under Approved Type Certificate
l33.
A special convertible two-seat version of the basic Model
100 was built to the special order of Mr. Howard Hughes. It was designated
Model 100A and licensed under Memo 2-83. The 100A was first of the
100-series to fly, on July 25, 1929. This aircraft had a long and almost
continuous career of nearly 30 years.
Two ex-Marine, ex-Bureau of Commerce Boeing F4B-4s were
sold to air show promoter and stunt pilot Jesse Bristow at the end of WWII.
These two aircraft were BuNos 9241 and 9251, which carried the civil registration
NR9846 - and were extensively modified with a new P&W R-1340 rated at
600hp and a controllable pitch propeller. NR9846 was destroyed in 1948.
BuNo. 9241 has been restored to its F4B-4 identity and preserved in the National
Air & Space Museum of the Smithsonian.
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Boeing 100A, at Cleveland, September 1937
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