 1 In front of us is the museum's other "Blackbird" except that this is a YF-12A. The YF-12A was a forerunner of the SR-71 high-altitude strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Unlike the SR-71, the YF-12A never became operational (although its predecessor the A-12 did) . During the test program, which ended in 1966, the YF-12 A set a speed record of 2,070 mph and an altitude record of 80,257 feet. |
 2 The YF-12 A was a heavily modified version of the CIA's A-12 spy plane. It carried a pilot only (the SR71 had a crew of two) and was heavily modified around the nose to accomodate a fire control radar system — note the shortened chines. This affected the aircraft's stability and it required extra ventral fins to maintain stability. |
 3 Note the ventral fins. The YF12-A was intended to be used as an operational fighter but only three test aircraft were built. The aircraft on display was recalled from storage in 1969 for a joint USAF/NASA investigation of supersonic cruise technology. It was flown to the museum on Nov. 7 1979. |
 4 The PIPER P-84 ENFORCER is a turboprop-powered light close-support/ground-attack aircraft. It is based on the well-known North American P-51 of World War II fame. Testing was conducted in 1984 after which the Air Force decided not to order the Enforcer. |
 5 Although the airframe resembles that of the P-51, the Enforcer is essentially a new aircraft. Since the Enforcer was never in the Air Force inventory, it was not given an official military designation and did not receive an Air Force serial number. Instead, it carries the Piper designation PA-48 and FAA number N481PE. |
 6 The FISHER P-75 EAGLE was intended to fill the Army Air Forces' 1942 need for an interceptor. Its unique design featured two coaxial contra-rotating propellers connected by dual drive shafts running under the cockpit to a 24-cylinder liquid cooled engine located amidships. |
 7 Flight tests soon revealed unsatisfactory performance. This, combined with a mission change from interceptor to long-range escort, caused major changes in the original design. The AAF ordered six XP-75s of a revised configuration along with 2,500 P-75As. The improved version was still unsatisfactory and after three Eagles had crashed, the entire program was cancelled on Nov. 8 1944. Only eight XP-75s and six P-75As were built. |
 8 The NORTHROP TACIT BLUE (Whale) was built to test the advances in stealth technology. The USAF, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Northrop Corp. worked together from 1978 to 1985 to demonstrate that curved surfaces on an aircraft result in a low radar return signal from ground radar. |
 9 The aircraft made its first flight in February 1982, and by the conclusion of the program in 1985, had flown 135 times. It had a digital fly-by-wire flight control system to help stabilize the aircraft. Tacit Blue had a single flush inlet on the top of the fuselage to provide air to its two engines. |
 10 The NORTHROP X-4 was developed for the study of flight characteristics of swept wing semi-tailless aircraft at transonic speeds (about Mach .85). Northrop built two X-4s; the No. 1 aircraft was grounded after its 10th flight to provide spare parts for the No. 2 aircraft. Northrop's part of the test program ended on Feb. 17 1950, with the 20th flight of the remaining X-4. |
 11 NORHROP-McDONNEL DOUGLAS YF-23A BLACK WIDOW II. During the 1970s a new generation of Soviet fighters and surface-to-air missiles (SAM) prompted the USAF to find a replacement for the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter. In 1981 the USAF developed requirements for a new fighter that would incorporate the latest technological advances in airframe construction, propulsion systems, avionics and stealth capabilities. |
 12 Five years later, the USAF awarded demonstration contracts to two competing industry teams (Lockheed-Boeing-General Dynamics being the other) and to two competing engine manufacturers. Both teams produced two prototype aircraft powered by prototype engines: one powered by Pratt & Whitney the other powered by General Electric. |
 13 After extensive flight testing, the USAF announced in 1991 that the Lockheed YF-22 had won the airframe competition and that the Pratt & Whitney YF119 had won the engine competition. Northrop ended its YF-23 program and in 2000 the YF-23A on display came to the museum. |
 14 The BELL X-1B was one of a series of rocket-powered experimental research airplanes designed to investigate various problems associated with supersonic flight. On all test missions, the X-1B was carried to launching altitude nestled under a "mother" airplane and then released in mid-air. Rocket power was applied which, under full throttle, lasted less than five minutes. After the fuel had been consumed, the pilot glided the airplane to earth for a landing. |
 15 SCALED COMPOSITES LONG-EZ “BOREALIS”: On Jan. 31, 2008, this aircraft completed the first manned flight of an aircraft powered by a pulsed detonation engine (PDE). Engines normally burn fuel and air at subsonic speeds to provide propulsion. Pulsed detonation engines detonate the fuel-air mixture into repeated, controlled explosions. The resulting supersonic shockwaves create thrust. In this PDE engine, the thrust is expelled through four tubes out the back of the aircraft. Remarkably, the PDE engine in this aircraft was made in part from off-the-shelf automotive parts. |
 16 The NORTH AMERICAN X-15A-2 was designed to provide data on high-speed, high-altitude flight. It was built for speeds of up to 4,000 mph and altitudes of 50 miles, but these goals were exceeded on numerous occasions. Several X-15 pilots earned "astronaut" rating by attaining altitudes above 50 miles. The X-15 flight program contributed significantly to the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects. |
 17 The X-15 was carried aloft by a B-52 and was released at about 45,000 feet and 500 mph. Its rocket engine then fired for the first 80-120 seconds of flight. The remainder of the 10-11 minute flight was powerless and ended with a 200 mph glide landing on a dry lake bed at Edwards AFB. |
 18 Between 1959 and 1968, 199 flights were made by the three X-15s that were built. The No. 1 X-15 is at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and the No. 3 X-15 was destroyed in a crash. The No. 2 aircraft was retired to the museum in October 1969. In the background is the incredible XB-70 Valkyrie. |
 19 The NORTH AMERICAN XB-70 VALKYRIE was conceived for the Strategic Air Command in the 1950s as a high-altitude bomber that could fly three times the speed of sound (Mach 3). Because of fund limitations only two were built, not as bombers, but as research aircraft for the advanced study of aerodynamics, propulsion and other subjects related to large supersonic aircraft. |
 20 The Valkyrie was built largely of stainless-steel honeycomb sandwich panels and titanium. It was designed to make use of a phenomenon called "compression lift," achieved when the shock wave generated by the airplane flying at supersonic speeds supports part of the airplane's weight. For improved stability at supersonic speeds, the Valkyrie could droop its wingtips as much as 65 degrees. |
 21 The No. 1 XB-70 made its initial flight on Sept. 21 1964, and achieved Mach 3 flight on Oct. 14 1965. The No. 2 airplane crashed on June 8 1966 following a mid-air collision. The No. 1 airplane continued its research program until flown to the museum on Feb. 4, 1969. |
 22 The NORTH AMERICAN X-10 was a supersonic research test vehicle designed to obtain advanced aerodynamic design data to be used in the development of a ground-to-ground missile system. Since it carried no pilot, the X-10 was radio controlled by a ground operator during its takeoff, flight and landing phases. Although numerous additional flights were successfully conducted, the X-10 research program was cancelled in 1957 |
 23 The RYAN X-13 VERTIJET was designed to test the idea of vertical takeoff, transition to horizontal flight and return to vertical flight for landing by jet aircraft. The X-13 on display, one of two built, was the Vertijet that made a full-cycle flight on April 11 1957. It was transferred to the museum in 1959. |
 24 The REPUBLIC XF-91 INTERCEPTOR was America's first rocket-powered combat-type fighter to fly faster than the speed of sound. The airplane had a number of unusual design features — an inverse taper wing (wider at the tips than at the roots), a variable incidence wing that could be varied in flight (high angle of attack for takeoff and landing and low angle of attack for high-speed flight), a main landing gear that retracted outward with the tandem wheels being housed in the wing tips and a rocket engine that augmented the standard jet engine to provide an outstanding rate of climb. |
 25 The REPUBLIC YRF-84F FICON consisted of an F-84E Thunderjet fuselage with swept-back wings and tail. The Ficon (a combination of "Fighter" and "Conveyer") was designed so that it could be carried by a B-36. However, the development of mid-air refueling for range extension of fighter aircraft proved so successful that experiments with parasite fighters were discontinued. |
 26 The NORTH AMERICAN F-107A was originally designed as a tactical fighter-bomber version of the F-100, with a recessed weapon bay under the fuselage. Special features included an all-moving vertical fin, a control system that permitted the plane to roll at supersonic speeds and a system (Variable Area Inlet Duct) that automatically controlled the amount of air fed to the jet engine. |
 27 Three F-107As were built as prototypes and were test flown extensively. It did not go into production when the Republic F-105 was selected as the standard fighter-bomber for the Tactical Air Command. The F-107A on display is aircraft No. 2 and it was used for weapons testing with both conventional and atomic bombs. It was flown to the museum on Nov. 25, 1957. |
 28 AFTI F-16. The USAF used this highly modified F-16 for more than 20 years to test new ideas in flight control, electronic targeting and cockpit design. A one-of-a-kind aircraft, the Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) F-16 made more than 700 flights in 10 different research programs between 1978 and 2000. |
 29 AFTI F-16 programs developed targeting lasers and computers, and new autopilot and ground-avoidance systems. Other AFTI advances included digital flight controls, a voice-activated manoeuvring system and touch-sensitive cockpit displays. The AFTI F-16 was retired Feb. 11 2001, when it was flown to the museum. END OF TOUR. THIS IS ALSO THE LAST OF THE TOURS. Return to home page |
