This Date in Aviation History:  Speed Round

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 07/24/2015 at 13:35 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history

6

18

This is today’s Aviation History Speed Round , getting you caught up on milestones and important historical events in aviation from July 22 through July 24.

July 22, 2011 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis returns to Earth, completing the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program. The first proposals for a reusable space vehicle go back to 1969, even before the first man set foot on the Moon. The idea was to create what NASA characterized as a “space truck” that would be capable of carrying satellites, space station parts, and experiments into space for less money than it would cost to launch a traditional rocket. The program was formally announced by President Richard Nixon on January 5, 1972, and the first Shuttle, Enterprise , was rolled out on September 17, 1976. Enterprise never went to space, but was used for glide testing and landing tests. The first Shuttle to go to space, Columbia , was launched from Kennedy Space Center on March 25, 1979, with a crew of two: John Young, Shuttle Commander, who had taken part in the Gemini program and was the ninth person to walk on the Moon, and Robert Crippen, pilot, who was on his first flight to space. While the program was originally envisioned to last 15 years, it ultimately lasted more than twice that time span. During the course of 135 missions, two orbiters were lost, the Challenger and Columbia , with the loss of fourteen astronauts. With the end of the Shuttle program, NASA is, for the moment, left without a way to launch people or payloads into space. The Air Force has their secret X-37B space plane, and resupply missions to the International Space Station are carried out by private space companies and the Russians. NASA is currently working on the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft in preparation for a return to the Moon and beyond.

July 22, 1955 – The first flight of the Republic XF-84 “Thunderscreech.” The idea for the Thunderscreech was first proposed by the US Navy, who was looking for a turboprop-powered interceptor that could take off from an aircraft carrier without a catapult. However, the Navy soon backed out of the project, and the Air Force took it over as a research project into the concept of an airplane with a supersonic propeller. The XF-84 was derived from the F-84F Thunderstreak, modified by the installation of a 5,850 hp Allison XT40-A-1 turboprop located behind the cockpit and turning the propeller via a long shaft that passed through the cockpit. The tail of the aircraft was also modified to a T configuration to move the elevators out of the turbulent air behind the propeller. The XF-84 was also the first aircraft to use a deployable ram air turbine to provide hydraulic and electric power in the event of engine failure. While the concept was proven to work—the XF-84 showed unprecedented acceleration—the aircraft took 30 minutes to warm up, and the propeller turning at a constant Mach 1.18 created constant sonic booms and a shock wave that caused acute nausea and headaches in the ground crew. The Thunderscreech is one of the loudest aircraft ever produced, and its warmup could be heard from 25 miles away. The test program was plagued by difficulties with control and engine reliability, and the XF-84 was cancelled in 1956 after the construction of two prototypes. The second prototype was scrapped, and the first has been restored and is on display at the Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio.

July 23, 1983 – Air Canada Flight 143, the “Gimli Glider,” lands at Gimli, Manitoba after running out of fuel. Air Canada Flight 143 was a scheduled flight from Montreal to Edmonton when, at 41,000 feet, the plane completely ran out of fuel. Captain Robert Pearson and First Officer Maurice Quintal found themselves at the controls of what could be considered the world’s largest glider. With the aid of ground controllers, the crew determined that their best option would be an emergency landing at RCAF Station Gimli. However, the station was no longer active, had been turned into a racetrack, and there was a race being held at the track at the time. The pilots performed a gravity drop of the landing gear, but the nose wheel failed to lock, and with no hydraulic power and limited electricity being generated by an external turbine, the pilots still managed to land safely at Gimli. A small fire in the nose of the aircraft was extinguished by race safety personnel at the scene, and all passengers and crew exited the plane safely, though some passengers were injured when the safety slides at the rear of the craft weren’t long enough to reach the ground. Investigators found that the fuel exhaustion was caused by a combination of miscommunication between air crews and maintenance personnel, fuel gauges that were disconnected or not functioning properly, and fuel calculations that were made incorrectly. These factors were also exacerbated by the switch in Canada from the Imperial to the Metric system which was taking place at the time. Captain Pearson and FO Quintal were initially found to be partially at fault for the incident due to their incorrect fuel calculations, but they were eventually awarded the first ever Féderation Aéronautique Internationale Diploma for Outstanding Airmanship in 1985. (Photo by Wayne Glowacki, Winnipeg Free Press)

July 23, 1952 – The first flight of the Fouga CM.170 Magister. The Magister (which means “teacher”) was was conceived in response to a requirement from the Armée de l’Air for a jet trainer to replace the piston-powered Morane-Saulnier MS.475, becoming the world’s first purpose-built jet trainer to enter production. After the Magister’s first flight, 10 were ordered for evaluation, followed by an initial production order of 95 aircraft. The first production aircraft took its maiden flight in 1954. The Magister is an all-metal, straight-wing monoplane with a distinctive V-shaped tail, a design element that Fouga borrowed from its CM.8 glider which first flew in 1949. In addition to the CM.170, Fouga also produced a naval version for the French Navy, the CM.175 Zéphyr, which was used as the primary trainer for pilots learning carrier operations. France exported many aircraft, and the Magister was also built under license by then-West Germany, Finland and Israel, and a total of 929 CM.170s were produced and operated by twenty-six countries. Though the Magister was conceived as a trainer, it also operated as a light attack aircraft, and could be armed with two machine guns and up to 310 pounds of external bombs, rockets or anti-tank missiles. The Magister was replaced by the Alpha Jet, a modern jet trainer that was co-produced by Dassault and Dornier. Though all the Magisters have been retired, a number still appear on the air show circuit in the hands of private pilots.

Short Take Off

July 23, 1973 – The death of WWI fighter ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker was the most successful American ace of the war, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, and also served as the head of Eastern Airlines from 1935-1959.

July 23, 1930 – The death of aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss. Curtiss is recognized as making the first officially witnessed flight in North America as well as the first long-distance flight in the US. He is credited with helping to create American aircraft manufacturing, and his Curtiss A-1 Triad was the first plane flown by the US Navy.

July 24, 1978 – McDonnell Douglas completes the 5,000th F-4 Phantom II. One of the iconic aircraft of the Cold War Era, a total 5195 would eventually be built for the US Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, as well as numerous international customers.

July 24, 1946 – Bernard Lynch is the first person to be ejected from a jet aircraft. Lynch was shot from a Gloster Meteor Mk III jet in a Martin-Baker ejection seat, the first practical ejection seat.

July 24, 1897 – The birth of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. Earhart was the first woman pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, a feat for which she received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Earhart set numerous other flying records, but disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting a circumnavigation of the globe in 1937.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

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!!! .

All photos are, or are believed to be, Public Domain or taken by the author unless otherwise credited.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 07/24/2015 at 13:42

1

Fun note, Eddie made it into piloting by being exceptionally Jalop. He wasn’t short-listed for any kind of air service involvement, but IIRC he fixed a high-ranking officer’s Packard. Including such things as recasting the main bearings. On short notice.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 07/24/2015 at 13:44

3

I love the Thunderscreech. It’s an iconic example of how an idea can be both really good in principle and practice and yet still have a cripplingly huge flaw. Something about a deafness-and-nausea generator is both compelling and hilarious.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/24/2015 at 13:45

2

Also this:

Rickenbacker often traveled for business on Eastern Air Lines flights. On February 26, 1941, he was a passenger on a Douglas DC-3 airliner that crashed just outside of Atlanta, Georgia . Rickenbacker suffered especially grave injuries, being soaked in fuel, immobile, and trapped in the wreckage. In spite of his own critical wounds, Rickenbacker encouraged the other passengers, offered what consolation he could to those around him who were injured or dying, and guided the survivors who were still ambulatory to attempt to find help. The survivors were rescued after spending the night at the crash site. Rickenbacker barely survived. This was just the first time that the press announced his death while he was still alive.

In a dramatic retelling of the incident, Rickenbacker’s autobiography relates his astonishing experiences. While he was still conscious but in terrible pain, Rickenbacker was left behind while some ambulances carried away bodies of the dead. When Rickenbacker arrived at a hospital, his injuries appeared so grotesque that the emergency surgeons and physicians left him for dead for some time. They instructed their assistants to “take care of the live ones.” [27] Rickenbacker’s injuries included a fractured skull, other head injuries, a shattered left elbow with a crushed nerve, a paralyzed left hand, several broken ribs, a crushed hip socket, a pelvis broken in two places, a severed nerve in his left hip, and a broken left knee. Rickenbacker’s left eyeball was also blown out of its socket.

It took many months in the hospital, followed by a long time at home, for Rickenbacker to heal from this multitude of injuries and to regain his full eyesight. Rickenbacker described his terrible experience with vivid accounts of his mental state as he approached death—emphasizing the supreme act of will that it took to stave off dying. Rickenbacker’s autobiography reports that he spent ten days at the door of death, which he illustrated as “having an overwhelming sensation of calm and pleasure”.

Wikipedia

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn 07/24/2015 at 13:46

1

thunderscreech is a good band name.

whoarder is tellurium > ttyymmnn 07/24/2015 at 13:47

1

I cant believe we made that many Phantoms. Incredible. Although we sure lost a lot too.

Also, I wonder if the open wheelers kept racing after the “Glider” landed? lol.

Goodness all ‘round.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/24/2015 at 13:48

2

Well said. The XF-84 hails from my absolute favorite period of aviation, the “let’s try this and see if it works” period. Nowadays, aircraft are modeled and tested to death on computers before designs ever see the light of day. Back then, they bolted shit together based on a slide rule and experience and found some sucker test pilot to fly it. Those magnificent men indeed.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 07/24/2015 at 13:51

0

One of those pawn shop reality shows had a bit I glimpsed in passing, which was someone bringing in an original letter from Rickenbacker in the 40s written to a newspaper, recounting one of those other Rickenbacker near misses with death - a period stuck on a raft in the ocean.

ttyymmnn > whoarder is tellurium 07/24/2015 at 13:51

1

I imagine they suspended the race when the plane came down. It sat on the ground for two days of hasty repairs before it was flown out to Winnipeg for further maintenance. That particular plane continued flying passengers until January 1, 2008. It’s currently being scrapped.

S2Konstantin > ttyymmnn 07/24/2015 at 13:53

1

I had never heard of this thing before and wow it is gorgeous in this paint job.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/24/2015 at 13:53

1

24 days in a life raft after a B-17 crash. That dude was made of pretty stern stuff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Ric…

ttyymmnn > S2Konstantin 07/24/2015 at 13:54

1

When deciding what to write about for this post, the Magister almost ended up on the cutting room floor. But it was one of the planes that captured my imagination when I was a kid, particularly the V-tail. So I left it in, and it actually turned out to have a pretty interesting history.

whoarder is tellurium > ttyymmnn 07/24/2015 at 13:56

0

I cant tell the reg but here is supposedly video of the Glider doing a “last” flyby and a wing wave...

Telumektar > ttyymmnn 07/24/2015 at 14:01

1

It would be exceptionally cool to read some article based on anecdotes, a la “Tales from the Blackbird”, but about the Republic XF-84.

It could be named “The Ultimate Gallbladder Check - Tales from the Thunderscreech”

(I’m only kind-of-joking about the proposed article’s name)

RallyWrench > ttyymmnn 07/24/2015 at 14:21

1

This is why I love 50’s and 60’s sports-racing car aero development as well. Show up at the test track with some sheet aluminum, pop rivets, tape and cotton tufts and stick things on until it works.

Brian, The Life of > ttyymmnn 07/24/2015 at 14:21

1

I need to make a post sharing my Space Shuttle stuff. I have a box full of the first mission patches/etc (from Enterprise glide/approach tests thru the end of the 1980’s), tile samples and other random stuff. My mom worked for Rockwell on the shuttle program from the inception until she retired in ‘89. I have some XB-70 and B-1 stuff, too (she worked on both of those programs during her career).

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Brian, The Life of 07/24/2015 at 14:27

0

Yes, you definitely need to post that. Your mom had quite a career if she worked on those three programs, she must have some interesting stories to tell.

ttyymmnn > Brian, The Life of 07/24/2015 at 14:56

0

Absolutely. I’d love to see that stuff. It was a post about the Enterprise that got this whole aviation history thing started for me.

The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!) > Brian, The Life of 07/24/2015 at 16:01

0

Please post that - it would be awesome to see the memorabilia she still has.