This Date in Aviation History: November 4 - November 6

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 11/06/2015 at 12:35 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history

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Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting you caught up on milestones and important historical events in aviation from November 4 through November 6.

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November 4, 1968 – The first flight of the Aero L-39 Albatros. If you’ve ever been to an air show, or a sporting event during the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , you’ve likely seen an Aero L-39 Albatros. Built in very large numbers, the Albatros has become a favorite of general aviation jet-setters, as well as corporations that want to have their !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The L-39 was developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s as a replacement trainer for the earlier !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Czechoslovakia’s first domestically designed and produced jet aircraft. The Albatros’ straight wing gives it good, stable flying characteristics at lower speeds, a trait that is desirable in a trainer aircraft yet also suits acrobatic flying well. The single turbofan engine provides the Albatros with a top speed 466 mph and a never-exceed speed of Mach 0.8, giving the Albatros sprightly jet performance along with the simplified maintenance of a non-afterburning engine. And with a price tag of $200,000-300,000 USD, the L-39 fits nicely in the budget of wealthier private pilots who want to live the jet fighter lifestyle, and the US alone boasts over 250 licensed L-39s in service. But first and foremost, the Albatros was designed with the military in mind. In addition to its training duties, the L-39 can also be fitted with up to 626 pounds of external stores, making the Albatros a very economical option for nations with smaller military budgets. Since its introduction to the Czechoslovak Air Force in 1972, the L-39 has been upgraded to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which features a strengthened fuselage, longer nose, updated cockpit and avionics and a more powerful engine. Aero also produced a single-seat dedicated attack version of the L-59. Over 2800 L-39s have been built during its 1971-1990 production run, and they are flying in over 40 countries. (Photo by Alan Lebeda via Wikimedia Commons)

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November 5, 1981 – The first flight of the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. The aviators of the United States Marine Corps have a long history of close air support, an affinity with the Marines on the ground that they demonstrate through their camouflage helmet covers. So it’s no wonder that they showed an interest in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , an aircraft that could take off vertically and operate from bases close to the ground troops, or from dedicated assault ships. The AV-8B Harrier II is, as its name suggests, the second generation of the Harrier, a plane that traces its development back to the British-built !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . While the original Harrier was a groundbreaking design, it suffered from a relatively short range and small payload (the AV-8A could carry only half the load of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), and the designers of the Harrier II sought to address these shortcomings. Starting in 1973, McDonnell Douglas and Hawker Siddeley began a joint program to develop a more robust version of the jump jet; however, that initial project was terminated due to costs and engineering difficulties with the new !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engine. Both companies forged ahead independently, with McDonnell Douglas focusing specifically on the needs of the USMC. McDonnell Douglas focused on improving the wings, air intakes, and other aerodynamic structures, but those changes did not provide the desired increase in speed, though payload and range were increased to acceptable levels. Then, in 1981, the British, in the form of the newly formed !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (BAe), rejoined the project in a work-sharing role, giving it a much needed boost. Ultimately, McDonnell Douglas and BAe planned to manufacture 400 Harrier IIs, with the USMC receiving 336 and the RAF 60, and the final design featured a completely new wing, advanced avionics and a redesigned cockpit, and they gave the Harrier II the latest and most powerful Pegasus engine that provided 23,500 lbf of thrust. Range was increased to 1,400 miles and the payload was increased to 9,200 carried on six underwing pylons. The first production AV-8Bs entered service with Marine Attack Training Squadron 203 in 1983, and after extensive testing, it joined the rest of the Marine Corps in 1985. The Harrier II has since become a workhorse of Marine aviation, serving extensively in the Gulf War of 1990-1991, the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia during Operation Allied Force, and throughout the conflict in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition to the USMC, the Harrier II also serves the navies of Spain and Italy, while the British retired the BAe Harrier II in 2011. (US Navy photo)

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November 6, 1935 – The first flight of the Hawker Hurricane. There is a certain amount of glamour in being a fighter pilot, whizzing above the clouds, in one-to-one combat with your enemy. But much of the yeoman’s work is done at lower altitudes, down on the deck, or slugging it out with waves of incoming bombers. That work was the bailiwick of the Hawker Hurricane, not the most glamorous fighter in the RAF, but a hard hitting workman of an airplane that ultimately downed more enemy aircraft than all other British aircraft types combined. Development of the Hurricane traces its roots back to the earlier !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , both biplanes with fixed-pitch wooden propellers. Famed Hawker designer !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! began an in-house project to develop a new fighter by creating a cantilever monoplane with fixed landing gear, before further refining the design to include retractable gear. He also replaced the underpowered !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engine with the more powerful PV-12, which would later become the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , one of the greatest aircraft engines to come out of the war. With work having progressed so far on the fighter, the Air Ministry simply issued Specification F.36/34 to match the new airplane and the Hurricane was born. When it entered service in 1937, the “Hurry” was the first monoplane fighter to serve the RAF, and though the Supermarine Spitfire gets much of the press for its high speed and high altitude performance against German fighters, the Hurricane, which was 30-40 mph slower, took care of the German bombers, as well as targets on the ground. Interestingly, the Hurricane was more agile than the Spitfire at altitudes below 20,000 feet, having a tighter turning radius and a superior roll rate. The prototype came with a stressed fabric skin and a two-bladed wooden propeller, but with the addition of a variable pitch propeller, metal wings and armor plating, the aircraft that was known as the “Mk 1 (revised)” became the primary production model of the Hurricane, forming the backbone of the RAF throughout the war and serving in every theater of the conflict. To address the high altitude performance issues in the original Hurricane, Hawker developed the Hurricane II which had a two-stage supercharger, a strengthened wing and the addition of more attachment points for external stores. Other variants would follow, including the Sea Hurricane which was designed for carrier operations. Over 14,000 Hurricanes were produced and served with 25 different nations. (UK government photo)

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Short Take Off

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November 4, 1932 – The first flight of the Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing. Arguably one of the most beautiful aircraft to come out of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Staggerwing was one of the earliest airplanes marketed to flying executives, with an enclosed cabin that carried a pilot and three passengers, as well as retractable landing gear, a rarity at the time. The “Stag” was popular with air racers, and also served the US military as a liaison aircraft, where it was designated the UC-43 Traveler. (Photo by Tim Felce via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

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November 6, 1957 – The first flight of the Fairey Rotodyne. Though resembling a helicopter, the Rotodyne was actually a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a class of aircraft where forward propulsion is provided through conventional engines while lift is provided by short wings and a large powered rotor. The Rotodyne’s rotor was powered by jets on the rotor tips, and it was powered for takeoff, landing and hovering, but was unpowered during flight, when it acted as an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Intended for civilian or military transport, the Rotodyne was canceled after one prototype as no customers were found, and also amid concerns over the noise produced by the rotor’s tip-jets. (Photo author unknown)

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November 6, 1945 – The Ryan FR Fireball becomes the first jet-powered plane to land on an aircraft carrier. The Fireball was a mixed-power aircraft, having both a radial engine and an early turbojet engine. The first aircraft to enter US Navy service to include a jet engine, the Fireball made the first jet landing unintentionally, when US Marine Corps pilot J.C. West landed aboard the USS Wake Island (CVE-65) after his radial engine failed. The Fireball proved fragile and unsuited to carrier operations, and only 71 were built. (US Navy photo)

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November 6, 1942 – The first flight of the Heinkel He 219. A very advanced aircraft for its day, the He 219 Uhu (Eagle Owl) was used by the Luftwaffe primarily as a night fighter in the closing stages of WWII. The 219, fitted with a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! VHF radar, was the first operational Luftwaffe warplane to use a tricycle landing gear and one of the first operational aircraft to have an ejection seat. Coming late in the war, the 219 fought well but there were not enough of them to make a significant impact on the war’s outcome. (Photo via San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives)

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If you enjoy these Aviation History posts, please let me know in the comments. And if you missed any of the past articles, you can find them all at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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Jcarr > ttyymmnn 11/06/2015 at 12:42

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coelacanthist > Jcarr 11/06/2015 at 13:04

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Staggerwingly beautiful.

Leon711 > ttyymmnn 11/06/2015 at 13:06

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The British no longer have any Harriers in service.

ttyymmnn > Leon711 11/06/2015 at 13:16

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Thank you. I have corrected that.

McMike > ttyymmnn 11/06/2015 at 13:18

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I saw my first Harrier at Andrews AFB on an armed forces day back in 82 (I think - it had to have been before ‘83)

for a 12 year old boy, It was the greatest magic trick. I wish I still had some of the McDon-Doug glossy brochures.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 11/06/2015 at 13:21

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The funny thing is, tip-jets are still used in some super-small ultralight helos, which is about the only other place you’ll see them.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 11/06/2015 at 13:33

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I'm sure it was studied extensively, but it would be interesting to see the comparison of blade stress with power coming from a central hub vs. power coming from the tips. Certainly more problematic getting fuel out to the jets.

ttyymmnn > McMike 11/06/2015 at 13:34

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Those things are crazy loud. I saw my first demo at Wings Over Houston in about 1992. Watching that thing hover and transition was just wicked cool.

Leon711 > ttyymmnn 11/06/2015 at 13:40

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It’s a mistake, but it coincided with us scrapping our carriers, it would have been smart to keep hold of them to put on HMS Queen Elizabeth as we have no F35s yet. Hindsight is a beautiful thing.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 11/06/2015 at 13:45

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Well, I think I recognize several issues mostly unrelated to blade stress per se. One is limited power to the blade, in the sense that there’s only so hard the tip-jet can push on demand. Another is that there would be more drag in autorotation. Another is that a higher J (rotational moment of inertia) would make for less immediate response to control inputs, even granting that the small motors would “help” blade pitch changes. Another still is that efficiency is poor unless tip speed is very high and stays high, which means a comparatively big rotor not doing that much lifting. On fuel delivery, there’s not a whole lot to be worried by, as the slip-coupling supplying fuel at the rotor is no more challenging than any rotary fixed displacement fuel/oil pump.

Basically, a tip-jet is suited to a situation where nimbleness is not at a premium, the rotor will operate at close to steady state, efficiency doesn’t matter too much, and where the rotor doesn’t have to develop much lift for its area or is really big.

ttyymmnn > Leon711 11/06/2015 at 13:52

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What is the attitude of the British people at the news that the new QE carriers will start out as platforms for USMC fighters? It seems that the Harrier II is still a viable platform, especially against the ground targets we’re all hitting these days. And unless ISIS gets an air force, or we go to war with Russia, the Harrier would more than hold its own. It would probably be cheaper to buy fewer F-35s and complement them with Harriers. Britain mothballed them, right? I hope?

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 11/06/2015 at 13:54

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Great reply. Thank you.

Cé hé sin > ttyymmnn 11/06/2015 at 14:11

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They were sold to the Americans as I recall.

Leon711 > ttyymmnn 11/06/2015 at 14:19

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A quantity were sold to the US and I believe the rest were scrapped. With regards to USMC using them until the F35 is functional, it’s largely slipped under the radar but there was always the possibility of doing the same with the french. The French being our closest ally geographically and more than capable of throwing a couple dozen Rafales on it and operating them effectively, I’m not particularly worried either way but it would have been nice to have some jets for them.

Jonathan Harper > ttyymmnn 11/06/2015 at 14:42

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Love these. Thanks.

ttyymmnn > Jonathan Harper 11/06/2015 at 15:00

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My pleasure! Thanks for reading.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > ttyymmnn 11/06/2015 at 16:42

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There's an L-39 based at my home 'drome in CT. I used to see it fly fairly regularly; a few times a year anyway. I'm pretty sure I've seen a Ryan Fireball (seriously, who names an airplane that?) in the resto shop at the New England Air Museum years ago. I can't think of any other recip/turbojet fighters, so it's gotta be the same plane.

ttyymmnn > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom 11/06/2015 at 16:54

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Yeah, Fireball might not have been the best choice. Based on their checkered history, it may actually have been appropriate, though.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 11/09/2015 at 14:01

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Sliding canopies are awesome.

ttyymmnn > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 11/09/2015 at 14:37

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In the early days of jet carrier operations, before reliable zero-zero ejection seats, jet pilots continued the WWII practice of landing on carriers with their canopy opened.