"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
04/05/2016 at 12:35 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history
5
11|
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
04/05/2016 at 12:35 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history | 5
| 11 |
Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting you caught up on milestones, important historical events and people in aviation from April 2 through April 5.
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April 4, 1957 – The first flight of the English Electric Lightning. At the beginning of the Cold War, and before the advent of the intercontinental ballistic missile, the long-range bomber was the primary means by which one nuclear power might attack another, and defense against these bombers relied on the use of interceptor aircraft. The idea was that the interceptors would fly out to meet the incoming bombers at high speeds so they could shoot down the bombers as far away from their targets as possible. Extreme maneuverability would be sacrificed for all out speed. Development of the Lightning interceptor began all the way back to 1947, when !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the maker of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! bomber, was awarded a contract to develop a supersonic research aircraft. Designers decided to employ a radically swept wing, and to test the concept, the Irish aircraft company !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (better known as Shorts) was hired to build the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a test aircraft that would evaluate the wing design at three different sweep angles—50, 60 and 69 degrees. Once the sweep of 60 degrees was shown to be stable in low-speed flight conditions, development of the Lightning prototypes continued. While jet fighters or interceptors with two engines were nothing new, English Electric took the unique approach of stacking the engines one atop the other, rather than the more traditional method of placing them side by side, and the first developmental aircraft, the P.1A, took its maiden flight on August 4, 1954. Even without afterburners (or “reheating,” as the British call it), the P.1A officially reached Mach 1 just a week later, though analysis of testing data showed that it had actually broken the sound barrier on its first flight. A misaligned Mach meter failed to indicate the correct speed. The next step in the development of the Lightning was the P.1B, which featured new !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! afterburning turbojet engines. Now the Lightning showed its true speed potential, reaching speeds of Mach 2, and without reheating, it became the world’s first aircraft capable of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The P.1B was the model which would enter production as the Lightning F.1, receiving its official designation in October 1958. The Lightning entered RAF service in 1960, and soon took on its designed role by intercepting high-flying Russian bombers such as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . With so much power available to Lightning pilots, the fighter could achieve an altitude of 36,000 feet in less than three minutes, and tests showed that the Lightning was capable of intercepting a high-flying !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! spy plane at 65,000 feet, though the results of those tests were a closely held secret. However, that speed came at a cost. The Lightning was a very thirsty aircraft, and many of its missions were determined simply by the amount of fuel they could carry. The Lightning was armed with two 30mm !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , along with hardpoints on the fuselage and both over and under the wings for mixtures of missiles, rockets or bombs. Cameras could also be housed in a ventral weapons bay. While the RAF was the primary operator of the Lightning, a number of the 337 aircraft produced were exported to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The RAF retired their Lightnings in 1988, but a small number of aircraft still flown by private pilots. (Photo by Alan Wilson via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )
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American ace Eddie Rickenbacker with his SPAD X.III
April 4, 1917 – The first flight of the SPAD S.XIII. When WWI broke out on July 28, 1914, the airplane was a relative newcomer. The Wright Brothers first flight had taken place a mere 11 years earlier, and military planners were only just beginning to discover a role for the airplane in combat. Initially, they were used solely for reconnaissance, but scout plane crews soon started taking pistols and rifles into the air to take shots at enemy aircraft, and soon after, the concept of the fighter plane was born. Development proceeded apace and, before long, dedicated fighters were being produced by all the belligerents in the war, and one of the greatest of those was the SPAD XIII. The SPAD XIII (named for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) was a development of the earlier, highly successful !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but by 1917, the S.VII found itself outclassed by newer German designs. Principally, greater speed was needed, and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , who had upgraded the engine in the S.VII to gain more horsepower, was working on a yet more powerful, geared version of their 8A engine, an 8-cylinder, liquid cooled vee which would be used to power the S.XIII. The S.XIII was larger than its predecessor, and armed with two Vickers machine guns in place of the single machine gun of the earlier fighter. The S.XIII proved to be faster than other fighters of its day, such as the British !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the German !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and could outclimb them as well. Though the geared engines proved to be relatively unreliable, the Allies considered it a price worth paying when the increased performance was taken into consideration. Subsequent development of the engine, and improved construction methods, helped improve reliability. Following its first flight, the S.XIII was quickly introduced to frontline units the following month. Though deliveries were slow, the SPAD S.XIII eventually outfitted a total of 74 squadrons ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), nearly every combat unit in action at the time. Fifteen of the 16 American squadrons also flew the S.XIII, including American !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , America’s leading ace with 26 confirmed victories. The US and French were the primary users, but SPAD XIIIs also served with the Royal Flying Corps and the air forces of 16 other nations. Nearly 8,500 were produced, and an additional 10,000 more were slated for construction at the end of the war, though those orders were canceled following the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Despite the development of newer, more advanced fighters, the S.XIII remained in service with the US until 192o, and with France until 1923. (Photo via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )
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Short Take Off
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April 3, 1982 – The first flight of the Airbus A310, a medium- to long-range wide-body airliner and the second aircraft to enter production built by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The A310 was developed as a smaller derivative of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (and was initially designated the A300B10) when airlines began to show an interest in smaller airliners for shorter routes with fewer passengers. Still, the A310 has a greater range than its larger predecessor, and has become popular on many transatlantic routes. The A310 has also been developed into a convertible freight version and an aerial tanker. Produced between 1983-1998, a total of 255 have been built. (Photo by Laerent Errera via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )
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April 3, 1933 – The US Navy airship USS Akron (ZRS-4) crashes into the Atlantic Ocean. Commissioned in October of 1931, the Akron was the world’s first purpose-built flying aircraft carrier and one of the largest airships ever built. After encountering severe weather off the coast of New Jersey, the Akron crashed into the sea, killing 73 of her 76 crew members, including Rear Admiral !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a leading proponent for the use of airships. The disaster caused the largest loss of life in any airship crash, and marked the beginning of the end of the use of airships by the Navy. (US Navy photo)
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April 3, 1926 – The birth of Virgil Ivan “Gus” Grissom. Born in Mitchell, Indiana, Grissom was a test pilot, mechanical engineer, US Air Force combat pilot in Korea and one of the original seven !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! astronauts. As part of the Mercury program, Grissom was the second American to fly in space after !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and the first US astronaut to go to space twice when he flew aboard !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Grissom was chosen as the Command Pilot for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but he and astronauts !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! were killed on January 27, 1967 when a fire broke out in the Command Module during a ground test. All three astronauts were posthumously awarded the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . (NASA photo)
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April 4, 1993 – The first flight of the Fokker 70, a medium-range airliner derived from the larger !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , both being developments of Fokker’s first airliner, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Fokker 70 was designed to fit a capacity gap between the smaller !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turboprop airliners and the larger !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Fokker 70 is powered by a pair !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turbofans and can accommodate up to 85 passengers in a single-class configuration at ranges of up to 2,119 miles. A total of 47 production aircraft were built, and they serve mostly shorter routes in Europe. (Photo by Johan Menten via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )
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April 4, 1983 – The first flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger . This was the sixth Space Shuttle mission ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), and the maiden flight of Challenger , the second orbiter to enter service following Columbia . During the flight, astronauts deployed the first !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (TDRS-A), and conducted the first spacewalk from a Shuttle, employing the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (EMU) spacesuit for the first time. Challenger returned to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on April 9 after 5 days in orbit. Challenger completed nine missions before it was lost in an explosion during launch on January 28, 1986 with the loss of its seven-member crew. (NASA photo)
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April 5, 1996 – The first flight of the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules,
the latest version of the venerable Hercules aircraft and the only model remaining in production. Upgrades incorporated into the J model include new
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turboprop engines with composite scimitar propellers and digital avionics. The Super Herk enjoys a 40% increase in range, a 21% increase in speed and a 41% shorter takeoff distance compared to the E and H models. The J is operated by the US Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, as well as numerous international partners.
(Photo by the author)
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April 5, 1976 – The death of Howard Hughes, a famous yet reclusive tycoon whose business interests included investments, filmmaking and aerospace engineering. In 1932, Hughes formed the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and set numerous world records in the aircraft he produced. Hughes is best known for building and briefly flying the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , better known as the Spruce Goose , the largest flying boat ever built, with the largest wingspan of any aircraft in history. Perhaps fittingly, Hughes died on board an aircraft, though even the details of his !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! remain unclear, a further testament to his reclusive nature. (Photo author unknown)
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April 5, 1959 – The first flight of the Aero L-29 Delfin, the standard !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! jet trainer throughout the 1960s and the first aircraft to be designed and produced by Czechoslovakia. The Delfin is a simple, rugged aircraft designed to operate from unimproved runways and is powered by a single !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turbojet which provides a maximum speed of 407 mph. The student and instructor are seated in a tandem configuration, with the rear instructor’s seat slight higher. In addition to pilot training, the Delfin also served as a weapons training platform, carrying gun pods, bombs or rockets. A total of 3,500 were produced from 1963-1974. (Photo by Dmitry A. Motti via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )
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Recent Aviation History Posts
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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
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Ash78, voting early and often
> ttyymmnn
04/05/2016 at 12:43 |
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"50, 60 and 69 degrees" because 50/60/70 was just too logical for those perverts.
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> ttyymmnn
04/05/2016 at 12:47 |
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A flight of Lightnings appears just before the end of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines as an emblem of how far air tech had come - for good reason. Just before it cuts to Red Skelton trapped in an airport, of course.
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ttyymmnn
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
04/05/2016 at 13:17 |
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Of course!
V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
04/05/2016 at 13:38 |
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I love that movie!
Svend
> ttyymmnn
04/05/2016 at 13:40 |
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My dad flew the Saudi bought Lightnings from the U.K. To Saudi. Back then unless you were flying a Saudi registered and marked aircraft you couldn’t fly into Riyadh and would have to land at Jeddah, etc... my dad flew the Saudi liveried aircraft (I don’t know how common that was back then) one day out to Saudi following the route for Jeddah and then head straight across for Riyadh. This is where my dad being a dick and generally not liking many of the Saudis got into trouble. Very near Jeddah is Mecca, Mecca being shall we say rather significant. My dad was warned several times to change course as no aircraft was allowed to fly over Mecca, more specifically, the holy Kaaba as to fly over it would break the pathway to God but you would be shot down way before then. My dad however ignored several of these calls before finally changing course and continuing onto his destination of Riyadh. Where my dad was given a verbal going over by his bosses at BAE.
Everytime something happened on the news about Saudi after we came back to the U.K. My dad would roll out these stories. I never really knew what to believe till my mother and (ex RAF) grand father confirmed how much he used to get up to mischief and hated being told what to do by non RAF people what to do. Though even then that was up to what mood he was in. He once ‘borrowed’ an RAF Police Land Rover and trailer to move billets (living quarters) after not being able to properly borrow one from the motorpool. My dad an Mother said that never got caught as he returned it while everyone was still looking.
Cé hé sin
> ttyymmnn
04/05/2016 at 13:55 |
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As I recall Clarkson (yes, that Clarkson) bought a retired Lightning as a species of garden ornament.
You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
> Ash78, voting early and often
04/05/2016 at 15:00 |
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Clearly 70 is just a step too far.
Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> ttyymmnn
04/07/2016 at 15:49 |
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Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> Svend
04/07/2016 at 15:51 |
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Thanks for the stories.
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Svend
> Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
04/07/2016 at 16:23 |
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Sorry. Got carried away.
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Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> Svend
04/07/2016 at 17:26 |
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Hardly. I thought it was great. That’s your family history; that’s important stuff.