This Date in Aviation History: September 19 - September 22

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 09/22/2015 at 11:35 • Filed to: Planelopnik, planelopnik history

10

43

Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting you caught up on milestones and important historical events in aviation from September 19 through September 22.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 21, 1964 – The first flight of the North American XB-70 Valkyrie. Following WWII, and the dawning of the Nuclear Age, Cold War combatants were looking for ways to deliver nuclear weapons deep into the heart of their rival’s territory. But by 1959, when the first ICBM installation became operational in Russia, the emphasis shifted from the nuclear bomber to the nuclear-tipped missile, and for that reason, the giant XB-70 Valkyrie became somewhat of an anachronism, a bomber for an earlier age. Beginning in 1955, the US Air Force issued a requirement for a new bomber that would have the payload capacity of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! but the supersonic speed of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . While some early designs were considered, rapid development of supersonic science pointed to a large delta wing being the most efficient for such a bomber. While initial plans were for a bomber that would fly to the target, drop the bomb from lower altitude and “scoot” away from the blast, designers discovered that from the standpoint of fuel use versus miles traveled, it was more efficient for the aircraft to spend its entire mission at top speed, in this case, Mach 3. North American engineers also found a way to make use of a phenomenon known as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , where the shock wave made by the plane could help create lift. They added drooping wingtips to take full advantage of this effect, with the added benefit of decreasing drag. While the XB-70 would be unreachable by any fighters, advances in air-to-air missiles suddenly put the whole project in doubt. Air Force doctrine changed from high altitude supersonic bombing to low altitude penetration. Thus, the Valkyrie would have to be flown at low levels, where it was barely faster than the B-52, and with a smaller payload. Ultimately, the XB-70 became a Cold War Era political football, the stuff of campaign promises and political bargaining, and the project was canceled. With no real bombing mission for the plane to perform, the XB-70 became a research testbed for supersonic flight. Of the two that were built, Valkyrie No. 2 was lost in a mid-air collision during a formation flight photo shoot that caused the death of two pilots and the serious injury of a third. Aircraft No. 1 continued to serve its research role, with its final supersonic flight taking place in February 1969 when it was flown to the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. (US Air Force photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 21, 1961 – The first flight of the Boeing CH-47 Chinook. When the US Army placed an order for the Sikorsky R-4 in 1943, it was the beginning of a relationship with rotor wing aircraft that would eventually give rise to the concepts of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that were honed in the Vietnam War. But it soon became clear that while the helicopter was good at moving soldiers, the Army needed something bigger to lift artillery and heavy equipment. For a time, that job was done by the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but work began in 1957 to procure a modern, turbine-powered helicopter as a replacement for the Mojave that would provide even more lifting power and speed. A tandem helicopter, with two rotors providing lift for the heavy loads, was deemed the best design to pursue. The first helicopter to come out of this requirement was the YHC-1A, but it was deemed too small and was eventually adopted by the US Marine Corps as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1962. Its smaller size would be an advantage for the carrier-based Marines. The Army requested a larger helicopter, and the result was the YCH-1B, which would become the CH-47 Chinook, following the tradition of naming Army helicopters after Native American tribes. The new helicopter was powered by two Lycoming T55-GA-714A turboshaft engines each producing 4,733 hp and turning counter-rotating propellers that would eliminate the need for an anti-torque rotor. The two engines would give the Chinook a top speed of 170 knots, faster than the utility and attack helicopters of the day. They also provided enough power to carry up to 55 troops or 28,000 pounds of cargo. Continuously upgraded since its introduction, the Chinook now has newer Honeywell engines, composite rotor blades, redundant electrical systems and advanced avionics. Not only was the Chinook popular with the US Army, but it was exported to 23 nations and remains in production, with over 1200 aircraft built. Along with its heavy lifting counterpart the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , it is one of the few aircraft that has seen a production and service life of over 50 years. (US Army photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 21, 1942 – The first flight of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Strategic bombing came into its own in WWII, and the conflict saw the production of ever more powerful aircraft with greater range, payload and firepower. By the time the Superfortress entered service in 1944, it was the most technologically advanced bomber of its era, and even though it was late in the war, it had a profound effect on the late stages of the Pacific campaign. But even though the B-29 didn’t start dropping bombs until late in the war, Boeing’s work on a pressurized bomber began all the way back in 1938 as an independent project. Then, in 1939, at the urging of Charles Lindbergh, the Army began to pursue a so-called “superbomber,” one that would be capable of carrying 20,000 lbs of bombs 2,667 miles at a speed of 400 mph. Boeing’s previous work would form the basis for their entry into the competition to produce the new bomber. The competition was between Boeing, Consolidated, Lockheed and Douglas, and Boeing would receive an order for two prototypes in August 1940. By May of 1941, that order was increased to 250 production bombers, and then to 500 bombers in January 1942. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a more traditional design that was not selected in the initial competition, would still be produced in small numbers should the production of the B-29 run into difficulties. And as good as the B-29 would become, serious problems with the Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone radial engines would plague the early development of the new bomber. Those problems would eventually be ironed out, but it wasn’t until the introduction of Pratt & Whitney R-4360 “Wasp Major” engines after the war that the engine problems were entirely solved. The B-29 would go on to have a stellar career as a long range bomber, perfect for the island hopping campaign over the vast reaches of the Pacific Ocean, and would become the only WWII design to go on to a lengthy career after the war and into the Korean War. As the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , it served as the basis for one of the first aerial refueling tankers, it would be upgraded as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and serve until 1965, and it would form the basis for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! passenger airliner and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! series of large cargo aircraft. Nearly 4,000 were produced, but only one remains flying, though it is hoped that a second restored aircraft will soon join its ranks. (US Air Force photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Short Take Off

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 19, 1969 – The first flight of the Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunship. A large gunship that is also capable of carrying eight passengers or troops, the Mi-24 (NATO reporting name Hind) is essentially a flying infantry fighting vehicle. It entered service with the Soviet Union in 1972, and an estimated 2,300 have been produced for the Russian Air Force and more than 30 export countries. (Photo by Chris Lofting via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 19, 1962 – The first flight of the Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy. The Pregnant Guppy was developed from the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! as an oversized cargo aircraft to deliver the first and second stages of NASA’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! rockets to Cape Canaveral as part of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Only one Pregnant Guppy was built, but it was followed by the larger and more capable Super Guppy. (NASA photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 19, 1949 – The first flight of the Fairey Gannet. The Gannet was an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft developed for England’s Fleet Air Arm that was powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba turboprop turning a contra-rotating propeller. It served in both the ASW and electronic countermeasures (ECM) roles until 1978. (Photo by Mike Freer via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 20, 1951 – The first flight of the Grumman F9F (F-9) Cougar. The Cougar was such a significant upgrade to its predecessor, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , that the Navy gave it a new name, even though it was basically a Panther with a swept wing and much more powerful engines. Coming too late to see service in Korea, The Cougar was replaced by the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! before the outbreak of the Vietnam War. Nearly 1,400 were built, and many ended their life as a target drone. (US Navy photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 20, 1943 – The first flight of the Consolidated PB4Y Privateer, a maritime patrol bomber that was derived from the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Privateer was longer than the Liberator, and featured a single vertical stabilizer. Armament was also increased, but engine turbochargers were removed since it operated at lower altitudes. 739 Privateers were built, and they saw service in both WWII and the Korean War. (US Navy photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 20, 1943 – The first flight of the de Havilland Vampire, the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF following the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the first to use a single engine. It is notable for the twin tail design, with the engine housed in a central, egg-shaped fuselage. This arrangement made the tailpipe shorter to make full use of the limited power available in earlier jet engines. The Vampire was phased out by the RAF by the end of the 1950s. (Photo by Peter Bakema via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 21, 2012 – Endeavour , the last Space Shuttle to be airborne, completes a three-day journey atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) as it is transported from Cape Canaveral, Florida to Los Angeles, California. During the flight, the SCA made low passes over Florida’s Space Coast and NASA centers in Mississippi and Louisiana before landing in Houston to refuel. Next they flew over the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, over Tucson, Arizona as a tribute to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , then on to Edwards Air Force Base in California. On its final day, the SCA and Endeavour made low level passes over Sacramento, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles, before landing at Los Angeles International Airport. (NASA Photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 21, 1945 – The first flight of the Hakwer Sea Fury. The Sea Fury was the last propeller-driven fighter to enter service with the Royal Navy, as well as one of the fastest single engined aircraft ever built. Introduced in 1947, the Sea Fury was too late for WWII, but saw action over Korea and was flown by Cuba during the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of 1961. (Photo by Dave Miller via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

September 22, 1974 – The introduction of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. Developed after the failure of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! carrier-based interceptor, the F-14 became the US Navy’s primary air superiority fighter and fleet defense aircraft. Although a new design, it kept the engines, weapons system and swing wing of its unsuccessful predecessor. Over 700 were produced, with a number being sent to Iran during the rule of the Shah. The F-14 was officially retired on the same date in 2006 after 32 years of service. (US Navy Photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

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!!! .

Punk_Girl_98 > ttyymmnn 09/22/2015 at 11:54

1

I’ve seen one of these flying around my city. It was odd and sounded strange. It was either flying low or it’s very big.

ttyymmnn > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 12:00

0

Do you live in Houston by any chance?

Brian, The Life of > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 12:01

2

No you haven’t

Punk_Girl_98 > ttyymmnn 09/22/2015 at 12:02

0

San Antonio. That was a close guess. Do these fly around Texas maybe?

Punk_Girl_98 > Brian, The Life of 09/22/2015 at 12:02

0

It looked very similar.

ttyymmnn > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 12:07

0

Well, I can guarantee that you haven’t seen one of these. They are huge, and there were only two built. One was lost in a famous crash, the second is in the Air Force Museum in Ohio. The reason I ask, though, is that there’s another Opponaut, EL_ULY, who lives in Houston, and some months ago he said he spotted a plane with a similar outline, and we went around and around trying to figure out what it was. If you’ve seen something similar, even though it’s in San Antonio, it’s still in TX. Are you near the airport?

Brian, The Life of > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 12:11

0

The XB-70 last flew in the 1960s.

Punk_Girl_98 > ttyymmnn 09/22/2015 at 12:13

0

There is an airport by here but I don’t think it’s for big planes. I stay Roosevelt and SE Military.

ttyymmnn > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 12:14

0

Anywhere near the San Antoion Air Force bases? I’m in Austin, but I only know downtown and the area around 6 Flags and Sea World.

EL_ULY > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 12:20

0

Hello, quick question. Was there any writing underneath this plane?

Punk_Girl_98 > ttyymmnn 09/22/2015 at 12:22

0

idk. There are several here I know that. The one by Six Flags but there is a big one on 1604 and I-10 heading towards Seguin. There is always jets out there flying around. My dad used to take us out there to see them.

Punk_Girl_98 > EL_ULY 09/22/2015 at 12:24

0

No. It was blank. I don’t know much about planes, but I just remember it looked odd like this.

ttyymmnn > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 12:25

0

I looked you up on Google Maps. There are a couple of very large Air Force bases to your west, but the SA airport is way on the north side of town. Interesting.

ly2v8-Brian > ttyymmnn 09/22/2015 at 12:31

3

Valkyrie is such a sexy plane.

ShiroZ31 > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 12:32

0

Was it grey? B1 flying out of Dyess?

Punk_Girl_98 > ShiroZ31 09/22/2015 at 12:41

0

I’m not 100% but I think it was white. It was cloudy though.

MrDakka > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 12:48

0

Like this?

MrDakka > MrDakka 09/22/2015 at 12:51

0

Or more like this?

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 09/22/2015 at 12:53

1

The Gannet is fascinating. I’d never heard of it before I saw one last year.

coelacanthist > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 12:53

0

Do you remember when you saw this by chance?

Punk_Girl_98 > MrDakka 09/22/2015 at 12:57

0

It was much more equilateral triangle plus the nose.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 09/22/2015 at 12:58

1

It truly is. I wanted to write a long post about it in this issue, but there’s just too much this week. Talk about cramming an engine into a confined space. And the gears necessary to get that Double Mamba to work are incredible.

Punk_Girl_98 > coelacanthist 09/22/2015 at 13:01

0

Mid June possibly. Some time in mid to early June. I was playing volleyball and it was super hot. I was the only one that cared enough to notice it lol.

MrDakka > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 13:22

0

Did it have canards? How many vertical stabilizers did it have? Also did it have large boxy engine pods like what El_Uly saw?

PARTS+ACCESSORIES > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 13:24

1

Hmmmm... It wasn’t an XB-70, but I’d love to know what you saw!

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 13:36

0

Something like a Typhoon ?

“Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 4 (5969145285)“ by Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford, United Kingdom - Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 4Uploaded by russavia. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Commons

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 09/22/2015 at 14:39

1

Excellent as always. And the mystery Texas deltawing canard resurfaces. I’m convinced it is a Eurofighter Typhoon or Dassault Rafale, or possibly a Saab Gripen.

ttyymmnn > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 09/22/2015 at 14:48

0

But in the U.S.? The alleged sighting mentioned today is in San Antonio, close to the two large AFBs down there. But ULY’s sighting was in Houston near IAH. At least, that's where he lives. He may work near Ellington Field. Neither one made much mention about size, and today's comment comes from a source who sounds unfamiliar with aviation. Curiouser and curiouser!

Punk_Girl_98 > MrDakka 09/22/2015 at 14:56

0

Not sure what those are lol. It did have the engines sticking out the back like on the hand drawing from that other person I believe.

Punk_Girl_98 > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 09/22/2015 at 14:56

0

The engine things were not in the middle

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 09/22/2015 at 14:57

0

In Houston for work a couple years ago I did see some F-16’s flying by. Since both places are relatively close to Air Bases it isn’t too much of a stretch that they would see military aircraft. Since fighters are deceptively big and commonly fly at lower altitudes than passenger craft that would distort the perceived size of the aircraft to an unfamiliar observer. The Typhoon and Rafale are both flown by NATO member states, so it is likely that both have been flown in US airspace on training missions. The video should queue up to a Typhoon landing an Nellis during Red Flag exercises.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 15:03

0

So something more like this?

ttyymmnn > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 09/22/2015 at 15:06

0

F-16s are a pretty common sight there, since the TNG 147th Reconnaissance Wing is based at Ellington. So it’s possible that a Typhoon would stop there on the way to Nellis, but I figure they would have flown straight through with refueling. But who knows, a technical problem could have caused a divert. Who knows? But the silhouette of the Typhoon certainly fits the description.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Punk_Girl_98 09/22/2015 at 15:09

0

Canards are the little wings at the front of the airplane, vertical stablizers are the wings sticking up on the back. Most planes have a single vertical stabilizer, some like this F-15 have two vertical stabilizers.

Punk_Girl_98 > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 09/22/2015 at 15:09

0

They weren’t the propeller type.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 09/22/2015 at 15:13

2

The thing that is throwing me is that Punk-Girl confirms the engines were not in the middle and that they are not propeller. El-Uly says the same thing, but I can’t come up with anything that matches that description. The only canard delta planes I come up with are the Typhoon, Rafale and Gripen. The Starship could fool you into thinking its got a delta wing, but they are both insistent that it does not have propellers.

MrDakka > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 09/22/2015 at 20:13

0

F16XL? Concorde? B58 Hustler? Rutan Long EZ? I can’t think of anything with a canard, delta wing and rear engine box compartments except for the Valkyrie, B1, or Tu-144

BaconSandwich is tasty. > ttyymmnn 09/22/2015 at 21:27

1

I have to say, I really enjoy these posts. You should try to assemble them into an entire year’s worth, and sell it as some sort of book/calendar hybrid.

ttyymmnn > BaconSandwich is tasty. 09/22/2015 at 21:39

1

Now, there’s a thought. They are collected under the Planelopnik History tag, but I need to get it all stored on my computer. It is, in fact, my goal to complete an entire year. I think I’m about five months in.

Thanks for your kind words. I don’t have many followers of these, but those who do follow seem to enjoy them, and that makes it all worthwhile.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > MrDakka 09/23/2015 at 10:53

0

I’m stumped. There is nothing that I can think of or find that matches the delta wing, canard, engines out on the wings description that they are saying. The fact that its delta wing limits it to a military plane and the only ones I can think of that would be likely to be in the U.S. are the Typhoon, Rafale and Gripen. All of those have engines in the fuselage and wouldn’t have boxy protrusions behind the wings even if they did have drop tanks on. Even going through the list of canard aircraft on Wikipedia comes up empty. Basically everything has the engines in the fuselage.

MrDakka > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 09/23/2015 at 12:45

0

I’m drawing a blank, best I can think of is a cobbled together Beech Starship with turbofans/jets?

SteveSRF > Punk_Girl_98 10/23/2015 at 18:42

0

The only time the B-70 was in Texas was in April 1966, to Carswell AFB for an air show. That flight and the final flight to Wright-Patterson AFB are the only two landings that did not happen at Edwards or Plant 42 in Lancaster where they were built.

And don’t forget the airplane is BIG. Almost 200 feet long, and with 6 turbojet engines, it was LOUD.

Punk_Girl_98 > SteveSRF 10/24/2015 at 23:20

0

It looked very similar but i guess it eas something else