This Date in Aviation History: December 14 - December 17

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 12/17/2019 at 12:35 • Filed to: wingspan, Planelopnik, TDIAH

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Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting of you caught up on milestones, important historical events and people in aviation from December 14 through December 17.

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The second of two X-29 experimental forward-swept wing aircraft flies over the California desert in 1990. Strips of cloth attached to the fuselage and wings help visualize airflow over these surfaces. (NASA)

December 14, 1984 – The first flight of the Grumman X-29. The idea that swept wings might be useful in supersonic flight was proposed in 1935 by German aerodynamicist Adolf Busemann. The swept wing has the benefit of producing less drag at transsonic and supersonic speeds, though no aircraft were available at the time that could fly at such speeds. Later in WWII, with the arrival of the operational jet engine, the Germans worked at the forefront of swept wing technology, with both experimental and operational swept wing aircraft. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the world’s first operational jet fighter, employed a wing that was swept by 18.5 degrees.

Junkers Ju 287, a prototype four-engine bomber with forward-swept wings. Only two were built, and it took its maiden flight in August 1944. (Author unknown)

While working with traditional swept wing aircraft, German scientists, along with others in Poland and the United States, also experimented with the concept of a forward-swept wing. Perhaps counterintuitively, a forward-swept wing has the same drag-reducing properties of a traditional swept wing, with the added benefit of improved stall characteristics, since the air that is swept along the wing concentrates at the wing root rather than the wing tip. Additionally, the spar box, which supports the wing, can be placed farther aft, opening up more space inside the fuselage. The Germans actually built a large bomber with forward-swept wings, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but they soon learned that the stresses placed on the wings and fuselage, particularly during high-speed turns, were too great for the materials of the day, and a phenomenon known as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! threatened to tear the wings off the aircraft.

The HFB-320 Hansa Jet, a forward-swept wing business jet and the first production aircraft to be fitted with such wings. This layout allows for greater unobstructed cabin space, since the wing box was attached behind the passenger cabin. (Author unknown)

Experiments with the concept of forward-swept wings continued after the war, and the design was utilized on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , an otherwise traditional business jet with forward-swept wings. But the Hansa Jet was never designed to fly beyond the speed of sound, and the structural problems associated with aeroelastic flutter remained unsolved. What was needed was a material that was strong enough to handle the stresses of supersonic flight, while remaining light enough so as not to hinder the aircraft’s performance. By the 1980s, those materials were finally available in the form of carbon-fiber composites and graphite epoxy, and Grumman put both of to use in the construction of the X-29.

Both X-29 aircraft on Rogers Dry Lake in 1990. The characteristic long pointed nose of the F-5 Freedom Fighter, as well as the splayed main gear of the F-16, can be seen. (NASA)

In order to save money, the two X-29s were built using the nose and forward landing gear taken from a pair of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and control actuators and main gear from the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It was powered by a single General Electric F404 turbofan, the same engine found on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . With its wing swept forward at more than 33 degrees, the X-29 was one of the most unstable aircraft ever built. Only with constant corrections provided by the triple-redundant flight computer through its fly-by-wire controls was the X-29 able to fly without tumbling out of the sky. But that instability also meant that the X-29 was extremely maneuverable, and inherent instability, or !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , with computer assistance is a component of many current fighter aircraft.

The second X-29, 82-0049, flown by NASA test pilot Rogers Smith, demonstrates the high angle of attack possible with the X-29. A smoke generator in the nose helps visualize airflow over the front of the aircraft. Note also the rescue parachute mounted above the engine exhaust nozzle. (NASA)

When the X-29 took to the air, it was only the third jet-powered aircraft to fly with forward-swept wings. The two experimental aircraft made a total of 242 test flights over a seven-year program that ended in 1991. The second aircraft was fitted with a rescue parachute in case of an unrecoverable stall while carrying out flight tests that explored high angles of attack, and it achieved as much as 45 degrees AOA, more than any contemporary fighter. The X-29 was also the first forward-swept wing aircraft to exceed Mach 1 in level flight. Though the test program did not demonstrate the overall reduction in drag Grumman hoped for, its use of pioneering construction materials and computerized flight control have had a far-reaching influence over subsequent aircraft design. Both X-29s have since been retired, and they are currently on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force and the Armstrong Flight Research Center.

The first X-29, serial number 82-003, hangs in the Research and Development Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (Tim Shaffer)

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A Boeing 787-Dreamliner arrives at Dallas-Fort Worth airport after a flight from Beijing, a distance of nearly 7,000 miles (Tim Shaffer)

December 15, 2009 – The first flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In the modern age of air travel, the battle between airliner designers, particularly Boeing and Airbus, is largely one of passenger load and efficiency, with each company seeking ways to fly passengers to distant destinations while using as little fuel as possible. A large part of that effort has gone into engine design, and modern high-bypass turbofan engines have become marvels of efficiency. With as many miles per gallon as possible being wrung out of the engines, the other major area that money savings can be found is in the use of new materials for the construction of the aircraft itself, materials that are strong yet light, as weight is one of the great enemies of fuel efficiency.

The prototype Boeing 787 departs from Paine Field in Everett, Washington on its maiden flight (Dave Sizer)

Boeing began to tackle the problem fuel efficiency back in the late 1990s at a time when the airliner sales market started to cool off, and they sought a replacement aircraft to bolster sagging sales of their wide-body !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . They considered the 747X, a lengthened version of the 747-400, and even the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a radical delta wing aircraft which offered higher speeds than were obtainable in current aircraft. The Sonic Cruiser was eventually abandoned in 2002 in favor of a more traditional design and would become the 787, but much of what Boeing learned in the development of the Sonic Cruiser, particularly the use of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , was put to use on what Boeing now called the Dreamliner. Boeing gave the new airliner the internal designation 7E7, and it was the first production airliner to be built from one-piece, composite sections rather than riveted aluminum. Ultimately, the final breakdown of materials was 50% composite, 20% aluminum, 15% titanium, 10% steel, and 5% other materials.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to Boeing, the savings in weight for this type of construction, coupled with two new engines, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! high-bypass turbofans, made the Dreamliner 20% more fuel efficient than the 767 while carrying more passengers. The engines generate from 53,000-74,000 pounds of thrust, and have a massive fan diameter of 9.5 feet. The serrated edges of the engine nacelle, which Boeing calls chevrons, help reduce the noise from the jet exhaust by controlling how the exhaust mixes with the cooler air bypassing the engine core. The chevrons are so effective that hundreds of pounds of sound-dampening insulation could be removed. Depending on the variant, the 787 can accommodate as many as 440 passengers in a single-class configuration (787-10), and can fly 8,786 miles on a single load of fuel. Boeing builds the Dreamliner in three main variants, the 787-7, -9, and -10. While the 787-10 carries the greatest passenger load, the -9 has the greatest range. Australian carrier Qantas recently carried out experiments with their aptly named flight QF7879, flying a 787-9 from London Heathrow to Sydney, an unrefueld distance of over 10,500 miles while spending 19.5 hours in the air.

The development of such a pioneering airliner as the 787 was beset with delays. Boeing struggled to get the Dreamliner down to its intended weight, as some parts had to be redesigned with heavier titanium, and delays in obtaining fasteners and difficulty with the software kept pushing back delivery dates. All told, Boeing lost nearly $30 billion while delivering the first 500 787s. Nevertheless, Boeing had 677 orders for the Dreamliner by 2007, more than any other previous widebody. Following extensive testing and certification, the first Dreamliner was officially delivered to the 787’s launch customer, All Nippon Airways (ANA), on September 25, 2o11 at the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington, and the airliner entered service the following month. As of October 2019, Boeing had received orders for 1,455 orders for the three variants of the Dreamliner, with 906 delivered. In October 2018, Boeing rolled out the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which will enter service with China Southern Airlines.

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An F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, prepares to be refueled by a 459th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker during a flight to Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Bulgaria, April 28, 2017. (US Air Force)

December 15, 2006 – The first flight of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Back in the early 1960s, both the US Navy and US Air Force needed to replace aging aircraft, and newly appointed Defense Secretary !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , well known for his micromanagement of America’s war efforts in Vietnam, ordered the two branches to pursue a common aircraft in an effort to save money. Even though the Navy and Air Force had very different requirements, McNamara dictated that the new aircraft, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , would be designed first for the Air Force, and development of a carrier-based version for the Navy would follow. Finding that there was no chance that the F-111 would become a successful naval fighter-bomber, the Navy eventually pulled out of the program and developed the remarkable !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on their own.

The prototype X-35 photographed during a test flight over Edwards Air Force Base in California (US Air Force)

Despite the difficulties faced by the US military in developing a single platform to satisfy very different requirements in the 1960s, the Pentagon once again embarked on a similar path with the announcement of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (JSF) competition in 1993. The goal was to develop a single basic aircraft that would serve the very different missions of the Air Force, Navy and US Marine Corps, as well as the needs of numerous export countries. It was hoped that the new fighter could perform the combined missions of the various aircraft it was slated to replace: the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The competition for what would become the largest defense contract in history was fought between the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The X-35, which first flew on October 24, 2000, was declared the winner in 2001.

Not a steam gauge in sight. The cockpit of the F-35 features huge flat screens, and doesn’t even include a compass. In the event of power loss, batteries will power the screens long enough for the pilot to make an emergency landing. (Lockheed Martin)

Drawing on elements of their !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! air superiority fighter, Lockheed included features of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , integrated avionics, a computerized maintenance management system, and data networking to provide the pilot with unparalleled situational awareness. More than a simple attack plane, the F-35 is a digital information hub, capable of taking data from satellites, aircraft, and ground forces and combining it to form a complete picture of the battle space. The use of nanocomposites, specifically !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! reinforced epoxy, makes the F-35 the first mass-produced aircraft to employ these lightweight yet strong materials. The Lightning II is powered by a single !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! afterburning turbofan engine and, while it is not capable of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , it can maintain a speed of Mach 1.2 for a distance of 150 miles.

To fulfill the varied requirements of the different branches of the military, Lockheed produces the F-35 in three main variants: the F-35A, a traditional fighter-bomber for the Air Force; the F-35B, a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (STOVL) version for the Marine Corps; and the F-35C, a fully navalized variant for the US Navy. The Marine STOVL version has a pivoting engine nozzle for hovering, while the same engine powers a forward lift fan through a complex drive shaft. Testing is currently underway to determine the feasibility of operating the F-35B from smaller amphibious assault ships in what is being called the “ !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ” concept.

The entire F-35 program has been plagued with delays, software development problems, and massive cost overruns. By 2014, the Lightning II was $163 billion over budget and seven years behind schedule. Considering the entire development costs and operating budget for a planned 55 years of service, the F-35 program is projected to cost $1.1 trillion, making it the most expensive weapons program in history. These problems have led some international customers to reduce their commitment to buying the new fighter, but plans are still in the works for 3,146 F-35s to be built and delivered by 2035, with 1,763 ordered for the US Air Force, 247 for the US Navy, and 733 for the US Marine Corps. The F-35 is also exported to 13 other nations. In spite of continuing problems and systems that were not ready for battle, the Marines declared initial operating capability of the F-35B in July 2015, while the Air Force declared the F-35A combat ready in 2016. Forward deployment of the F-35A has already begun to global hotspots, while the Navy’s F-35C is expected to be deployed for the first time in 2o21.

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(US Library of Congress)

December 17, 1903 – The Wright Brothers make the first powered flight in the world’s first practical airplane. While the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! were not the first to fly, Wilbur and Orville were the first to build and fly a heavier-than-air aircraft under its own power and to control the aircraft in flight. After a series of tests of gliders to perfect their designs, the brothers set up shop at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina to make their first attempts at powered flight. Following a failed first attempt on December 14 that resulted in a damaged aircraft, Orville took off on December 17, with Wilbur running alongside, and piloted the Wright Flyter for 12 seconds and covered a distance of 120 feet. Subsequent flights managed distances of 175 feet and 200 feet. The age of powered flight had begun.

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December 17, 1963 – The first flight of the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter. Napoleon (or perhaps Frederick the Great) famously said that an army marches on its stomach, and experience in WWII demonstrated the true value of the airplane as a means of delivering supplies and materiel to front line troops. By the end of the 1950s, the US Air Force required a new, jet-powered transport and cargo aircraft to replace its aging fleet of piston-powered transports such as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . As a stopgap measure, the Air Force ordered the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a cargo variant of the KC-135 aerial tanker, but without any specific logistic capabilities, such as clamshell doors or purpose-built loading ramps, the C-135 was an imperfect solution. In 1960, the Air Force released Specific Operational Requirement 182 which called for an aircraft that could perform both strategic and tactical airlift missions. For the strategic mission, the new airlifter would need a range of at least 3,500 nautical miles while carrying a 60,000-pound load of troops, equipment, or materiel. For its tactical mission, the new aircraft would have to be capable of performing low-altitude air drops of materiel and paratroops. Boeing, General Dynamics and Lockheed responded to the proposal, and the Starlifter was chosen.

Soldiers of the US Army 82nd Airborne board a C-141B in the Caribbean for a flight back to Ft. Bragg during Ocean Venture ‘88 (US Air Force)

The C-141 was designed from the outset as a cargo aircraft, with a high wing that allowed for maximum cargo space and a clamshell door at the rear. The cargo floor is just 50 inches above the ground, making it easier to load troops and vehicles. The Starlifter was powered by four !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turbofans, and the large hold could carry over 70,000 pounds of cargo. The C-141 proved its mettle when it set a world record for heavy cargo drops with a load of 70,195 pounds. As a personnel carrier, the Starlifter could accommodate 154 troops, 123 paratroops or 80 medevac patients on litters.

A stretched C-141B in the foreground, with an earlier C-141A in the background (US Air Force)

Though the Starlifter was large and powerful, one of the drawbacks of the original C-141 was that it tended to fill up with bulky equipment before it reached its cargo weight limit. To address this problem, Lockheed took 270 C-141As and lengthened them 23 feet by adding an additional fuselage section. These stretched variants receiving the designation C-141B. The Starlifter entered service in 1965 and had an immediate impact on American operations in Vietnam, carrying troops and supplies to Asia and returning with wounded soldiers. During the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of 1991, Starlifters performed the bulk of strategic airlift missions, transporting 159,462 short tons of cargo and 93,126 passengers over the course of 8,536 missions. The Starlifter became one of the longer-serving aircraft in the Air Force inventory, and its retirement in 2006 ended 41 years of operations worldwide. A total of 285 C-141s were produced from 1963 to 1968.

The aircraft in the top photo, tail number 66-0177, better known as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , was the aircraft that brought home the first US prisoners of war to be released from North Vietnam. First delivered to the Air Force in 1967, the Hanoi Taxi was the final C-141 to be withdrawn from Air Force service when the Starlifter was retired from active duty in 2006. The Hanoi Taxi is now housed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

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A B-47E of the 22d Bombardment Wing photographed in 1960 (US Air Force)

December 17, 1947 – The first flight of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet. As WWII drew to a close, the world’s militaries raced to harness the power of the new jet engine in all applications of military flight. The first operational jet fighters appeared at the end of the war, and a jet-powered bomber was the next logical step. As early as 1943, the US Army Air Forces asked aircraft designers to start looking at a large bomber that would be powered by jets, and in 1944 North American Aviation, the Convair Corporation, the Glenn Martin Company, and Boeing all submitted proposals for a traditional, straight-winged aircraft with turbojet engines. All were powered by the new !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turbojet (GE’s designation of the Allison J35), and Boeing’s design, which they designated the Model 432, had its engines buried in the fuselage to reduce drag.

Boeing XB-47 prototype in flight. Note the glazed nose position for the bombardier. Production models dropped this feature for a solid nose. (US Air Force)

In May 1945, with WWII nearing its end, the Allies drove deeper into Germany. They captured secret German airfields and test facilities that yielded a trove of experimental aircraft and data from German testing programs, much of which fell into Allied hands. One of these locations was an aircraft development site in Braunschweig, where the Germans had been working on the development of swept-wing aircraft. American engineers had already begun to investigate the benefits of sweeping the wings of an aircraft, but the newly-captured German data verified the concept. George Schairer, a Boeing engineer who was a member of the American inspection team in Germany, called back to Boeing and instructed them to stop work on the new straight-wing bomber and to begin a redesign to incorporate a swept wing.

An RB-47 reconnaissance variant takes part in Operation Teapot, a series of nuclear weapons tests in Nevada in 1955. (US Air Force)

Based on the captured German data, a sweep of 35-degrees was incorporated into both the main wing and the tailplane, and the engines were moved from the fuselage to pods under the wings, and this configuration of swept wings and podded engines set the standard for large jet aircraft design that remains to this day. The thin wing did not allow for traditional landing gear, so a bicycle gear arrangement was employed, with outrigger wheels fitted to the inboard engine pods. Though the B-47 was not supersonic, it was still quite fast for its day, and the Stratojet set a record for transcontinental flight when it crossed the US in less than four hours at an average speed of 698 mph.

B-47Es of Strategic Air Command lined up on the tarmac (US Air Force)

The B-47 served as the cornerstone of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! nuclear deterrence force until it was replaced by the larger !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . And while the Stratojet never saw combat, its reconnaissance variants carried out vital missions data during the Cold War, as well as electronic intelligence and weather reconnaissance. A total of 2,032 Stratojets were produced, a number that includes 659 that were built under license by Douglas and Lockheed. The final bomber variant, the B-47E, was retired in 1969, while the reconnaissance variant EB-47E served until 1977. No airworthy Stratojets remain today, though 23 are on display around the country.

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December 17, 1935 – The first fight of the Douglas DC-3/C-47 Skytrain. Throughout the history of aviation, there have been many great airplanes, but only a few can be counted in the pantheon of the greatest ever. And it seems fitting that, in a world of computers, jet engines, and fly-by-wire controls, one of the aircraft that truly changed the world is an unassuming propeller plane, one that revolutionized the world of air transport, and also played an indispensable role in winning WWII. That aircraft is the Douglas DC-3 or, in its military dress, the C-47 Skytrain.

By the 1930s, aircraft designers were competing to develop larger passenger aircraft to fill the needs of a growing air travel industry. Transcontinental and Western Air (which later became Trans World Airlines, or TWA) was in stiff competition with United and, to remain viable, the growing company needed a modern airliner of its own. Boeing, which owned United, had an exclusive contract to sell its !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! airliner to United only. So T&WA approached Douglas and requested that the company build a new airliner for their own use. That request resulted in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (“DC” stands for “Douglas Commercial”), of which a single prototype was built, and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , an excellent plane in its own right, but one that could still be improved upon. After discussions with American Airlines, Douglas began development of what they called the Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST). They began by widening the DC-2 so it could accommodate 14 to 16 side-by-side berths. With the berths removed and seats put in their place, the DST could hold 21 passengers, and this configuration received the designation DC-3. The DC-3 was an immediate success, crossing the country from west to east in as little as 15 hours (with three stops for fuel). Douglas produced just over 600 DC-3s, but it was the outbreak of WWII that pushed the DC-3 into the record books, and into the annals of aviation history.

Two USAAF C-47As of the 81st Troop Carrier Squadron carry paratroops for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France, in 1944 (US Air Force)

For military service, Douglas fitted more powerful !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial engines and strengthened the floor to support heavy military cargo. They removed the seats and replaced them with utility benches that lined the cabin walls and could be folded away to make room for cargo. A large door was added to the side of the plane to facilitate loading and unloading of cargo. The military version received the designation !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (it was known as the R4D in US Navy service, and the Dakota by the British), and it proved indispensable in flying cargo missions over the Himalayas, and supplied troops in every theater of operations in WWII. It also towed gliders for airborne troops, and flew paratroops into battle.

Soldiers unload a Jeep from the cargo doors of a C-47 somewhere in France during WWII (US Army)

The C-47 was extremely rugged and easy to maintain in the field, and Allied commanders, particularly in the Pacific, found that entire armies could now be supplied by the air. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe, said that the C-47 was one of the major tools that helped win the war for the Allies. While “only” 607 DC-3s were built, over 10,000 C-47s were produced in a myriad of variants, with many still flying today. And while historians take note of aircraft that have flown for over 50 years, there is every possibility that some of the rugged and reliable DC-3s and C-47s will still be flying 100 years after their introduction.

A US Army nurse helps unload jerry cans of gasoline from a C-47 near Reims, France in 1944. (US Army)

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Short Takeoff

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December 14, 1979 – The first flight of the EA-7 Edgley Optica, a light observation aircraft designed to be a low-cost alternative to helicopters. The unique design features a glazed bubble canopy set well forward which provides excellent visibility, a twin boom tail, and tricycle landing gear. The original Optica was powered by a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engine driving a ducted, fixed-pitch propeller, an arrangement that resulted in very quiet operation. Production of 22 aircraft was followed by numerous changes in Edgley’s ownership, and financial difficulties led to a halt in production. However, the transportation consulting and finance firm !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is investigating the possibility of restarting production.

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December 14, 1977 – The first flight of the Mil Mi-26, a heavy lift helicopter designed for civilian and military use and the largest and most powerful helicopter ever to enter production. Powered by two !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turboshaft engines and fitted with an eight-bladed main rotor, the Mi-26 is capable of lifting 44,000 pounds and was designed to replace the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! heavy-lift helicopters. The Mi-26’s main purpose is to move extremely heavy equipment between Russian military bases, such as armored personnel carriers and mobile ballistic missiles, with some payloads weighing as much as 29,000 pounds. A total of 316 Mi-26s have been built, and the helicopter remains in production.

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(Author unknown)

December 14, 1963 – The death of Marie Marvingt. Born on February 20, 1875, Marvingt was a French adventurer, athlete, and aviatrix who won numerous awards for her achievements in sports and aviation. In 1909 she became the first woman to pilot a balloon across the North Sea and the English Channel and, during WWI, Marvingt became the first woman to fly combat missions and the world’s first trained and certified Flight Nurse. Following the war, Marvingt worked to establish air ambulance services around the world, and received the Deutsch de la Meurthe grand prize from the Fédération Nationale d’Aéronautique for her work in aviation medicine.

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(US Air Force; Author unknown)

December 15, 1944 – The disappearance of Glenn Miller, one of the best-known and most prolific composers and performers of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Wanting to take part in the war effort during WWII, Miller convinced the US Army to allow him to enlist at age 38 to form a “modernized Army band.” He was given the rank of captain and soon promoted to major. While flying as a passenger on a flight from England to France for a performance, Miller’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! disappeared over the English Channel and was never found. The reason for the disappearance was never determined, but a likely cause was engine failure from an iced carburetor. Another theory is that his plane strayed into an area where Allied bombers jettisoned unused bombs into the English Channel while returning to England, but plane spotters said that Miller’s aircraft was not headed into that area the last time it was seen.

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December 16, 1994 – The first flight of the Antonov An-70. Developed in the 1980s to replace the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the An-70 is the first large aircraft to be powered by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engines, a jet engine in which one or more stages of the turbine fan is outside the engine cowling. The Soviet government originally intended to build as many as 160 An-70s in factories in both Russia and Ukraine, but the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to the cancellation of the project. Only two prototypes were built, the first of which was lost in a mid-air collision in 1995.

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Douglas Campbell, center, with Eddie Rickenbacker, left, and Kenneth Marr in 1917 or 1918 (US Army)

December 16, 1990 – The death of Douglas Campbell, America’s first fighter ace.   At the outbreak of WWI, the United States lagged behind the rest of Europe in the development and use of military aircraft, so many Americans went overseas to fly for the British and French. By 1917, the first fully American squadrons arrived in France, though they were still flying French-built aircraft. One of the first to see action was the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , better known as the Hat in the Ring. When the US entered the war in 1917, Campbell dropped out of Harvard and joined the US Army, where he learned to fly in a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . He took part in the 94th’s first combat patrol alongside famed aviators !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and scored his first victory in an aircraft armed with only a single machine gun rather than the customary two. Campbell became the first US aviator to become an ace while flying for an American unit, and ended the war with six victories, earning the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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December 16, 1960 – Two airliners collide over Staten Island, New York. In what has become known as the Park Slope plane crash, United Airlines Flight 826, a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (N8013U) carrying 84 passengers and bound for Idlewild Airport (later JFK International) collided with TWA Flight 266, a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (N6907C) carrying 44 passengers also en route to Idlewild. All but one passenger were killed on the two airliners, as well as six people on the ground. The sole survivor, 11-year-old Steven Baltz, died the next day from complications caused by inhalation of burning jet fuel. Using information from the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for the first time since their use was mandated in 1957, investigators found that a faulty VHF transmitter contributed to the United crew’s overshooting their holding point, which placed it in the path of the TWA flight. The loss of 134 people was the world’s deadliest crash until 1968, when a US Air Force !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! over South Vietnam, killing 155, mostly South Vietnamese civilians, being evacuated from the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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(Bell Helicopter)

December 17, 2017 – The first flight of the Bell V-280 Valor, a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! aircraft being developed for the US Army by Bell Helicopter and Lockheed Martin. The Valor was selected in 2013 as a technology demonstrator for the Army’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! program which seeks replacements for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . While bearing a resemblance to the V-22 Osprey, the major difference with the Valor is that only the gearbox rotates to the vertical, rather than the entire engine nacelle as with the Osprey. Other design elements include a V tail, a carbon fiber reinforced polymer wing for weight reduction, and triple-redundant fly-by-wire controls. In the event of engine failure, one engine is capable of turning both props. The Valor will have a crew of four, room for 14 troops, and, as its designation indicates, a top speed of 280 knots.

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(Author unknown)

December 17, 1956 – The first flight of the Grumman E-1 Tracer. A development of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which was designed for carrier onboard delivery (COD), and itself a variant of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Tracer was the first purpose-built carrier-borne !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (AEW) aircraft. The original E-1 was fitted with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!   !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! radar in a large radome above the fuselage to track enemy aircraft, and had the critical capability of being able to separate targets from the background of the ocean’s surface. The Tracer entered service in 1958 with the understanding that it was only an interim design before a more modern aircraft could be developed. A total of 83 were produced before the type was replaced by the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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(US Army)

December 17, 1944 – Major Richard Bong becomes the top-scoring American fighter ace of WWII. One of America’s most highly decorated fighter pilots, Bong amassed a total of 40 victories over Japanese aircraft in the Pacific Theater, all of which he scored while flying the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . In September 1942, Bong scored his first two victories, earning him the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and in July 1943 he shot down four Japanese fighters over Lae, New Guinea, earning him the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . While assigned to non-combat role as a gunnery instructor, Bong downed eight enemy aircraft, earning him the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Bong was sent home in 1945 to sell !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! as the “ace of aces,” but was killed in August of that year while flying as a test pilot in a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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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!!! . You can also find more stories about aviation, aviators and airplane oddities at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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beautimouse > ttyymmnn 12/17/2019 at 12:43

2

Ahhh C-141s. As a kid on McChord and then Eielson AFBs, they were everywhere, all the time.

phenotyp > ttyymmnn 12/17/2019 at 12:54

4

I’ve said it before, but the X-29 is just one of the coolest things ever built.

f86sabre > ttyymmnn 12/17/2019 at 13:17

1

One of my friends here worked on the pneumatic system on the X-29. She said it was huge fun as it was kind of the Wild West. They had access to all kinds of parts from various programs and just mushed it all together to make it work.

I’m guessing there are so many first flights around this time of year because companies needed to meet contract requirements. 

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 12/17/2019 at 13:31

0

The very different needs of the different forces is invoked a lot in discussions of fighter platforms,  but not much is said about what exactly those operational differences are in concrete terms. I know it’s beyond your usual historical focus, but it occurs to me that a post detailing those differences would be really neat. 

ttyymmnn > f86sabre 12/17/2019 at 14:41

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Interesting thought on the funding. I wonder also about weather in the desert.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 12/17/2019 at 14:43

1

That’s an interesting thought that would require a fair bit of research. But I can think of a few things off the bat, like needing to operate from a carrier vs. the ground. Significant differences in construction there. The Marines’ number one mission is ground support, which is why they wear camouflage helmet covers in support of the Marines on the ground. The Air Force needs to take and hold the air over the battlefield, and attack the ground, while the Navy needs to protect the fleet and also attack the ground. The Marines have always had a thing for VTOL since they work close to the front lines. I would imagine it’s easier to get  a basic helicopter design that would work for all, though even the Black Hawk and Sea Hawk differ in that the Army’s chopper has a tail wheel, while the Navy’s has a tricycle gear for landing on small platforms. 

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 12/17/2019 at 15:47

0

But what isn’t clear is what makes a fighter better or worse for a specific branch’s requirements vs. another (outside of VTOL, which is obvious) . For instance, once you take care of the modifications necessary for carrier vs. ground take offs and landings, what does an FA-18 do that an F-16 can’t and vice versa? It’s just not clear on the surface , and I can’t be the only person that thinks so.

And yes, it would take a considerable amount of research, time for which I don’t expect you have.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 12/17/2019 at 15:58

1

I believe that a ground attack aircraft, specifically one that can operate from a carrier, will have to be more structurally sound, and therefore heavier, than one which is strictly air-to-air. There might be maneuverability issues, baked-in electronics and other avionics, I just don't know. But it would be interesting to find out.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 12/17/2019 at 16:09

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That all makes sense until I remember the story of the Strike Eagle and how a dedicated air superiority fighter was converted to a wildly successful multi role weapons platform, a story that I also find fascinating, btw.   

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 12/17/2019 at 18:19

1

Wiki says “significant structural changes” to make the F-15E out of the original F-15B two-seater. They had to make room for more powerful engines, and probably beef it up to carry more external stores. But it remains every bit the dogfighter that the original F-15 was and still is. It’s a pretty remarkable aircraft, to be sure.

facw > ttyymmnn 12/17/2019 at 21:17

0

In other X -plane news:

NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Research Aircraft Cleared for Final Assembly

facw > Chariotoflove 12/17/2019 at 21:52

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As a general multi- role fighter you mostly have boring practical concerns. The Navy needs aircraft that can deal with the stresses of catapults and arrested landings, as well as the harsher more corrosive environment of operating at sea, as well as concerns about size . The Marines have that but wanted STV OL to be able to operate from amphibious assault ships and forward bases. The Air Force needed a flying boom refueling system to be compatible with their tankers .

As a concrete example, IIRC the F/A-18 was preferred over the proposed navalized F-16 by the Navy as much because it had a wider landing gear track for more stable carrier operations, and twin engines since naval pilots generally can’t make unpowered emergency landings.

With regards to the F-35, things are a bit more of a mess. The F-35 was selected as part of the JSF program, which itself was a merger of Common Affordable Light Fighter program, which aimed for a Harrier replacement for the Marines and the Joint Advanced Strike Technology program, which aimed to replace the F-16 among other things. The result was a massive program that would ultimately be slated to replace a shit- ton of aircraft then still in service (even if they’d be replaced by other aircraft in the interim) : t he A-4 Skyhawk, A-6 Intruder, A-7 Corsair II , AV-8 Harrier, A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog) , F-4 Phantom, F-16 Falcon , F/A-18 Hornet , F-111 Aardvark , F-117 Nighthawk, plus some foreign fighters, and probably one or two I’m forgetting. In addition, when the F-22 program was shut down it was rationalized that the F-35 could backfill for the F-22 in replacing the F-15. That’s a pretty big set of aircraft to replace, and it’s difficult to be strictly better, and the different services have different preferences. In any event what they ended up with:

F-35A: The Air Force model can be considered the baseline. It has the best air to air performance, and is the only model with an internal gun. It’s also the only model with the Air Force’s refueling system. With their strategic bombers and the Strike Eagle as well as the lingering A-10, the Air Force has a broader range of ground attack options, and so is more concerned with air superiority, though the F-35 should excel at destroying enemy air defenses on the first day of a war, which will be difficult and dangerous for non-stealth aircraft.

F-35B : The Marines desperately wanted STOVL, even though their current fighters are mostly conventional. This obviously resulted in the biggest changes, with the lift fan and thrust vectoring engine nozzle to allow short field/deck operations. The resulting loss of fuel capacity led to decision to move the gun to a modular pod, even though the Marines anticipate flying with the gun most of the time since they are supporting ground troops. This hurts stealth, but the tradeoff was considered worthwhile.

F-35C: The Navy version was originally intended to be quite similar to Air Force one, just with a stronger structure and anti-corrosion features. However, the Navy ended up asking for significant changes. These include increasing the size of the wings to hold more fuel and improve slow speed performance for landing , adding folding wingtips to fit more aircraft, increasing the size of the tail surfaces for better control when landing, and removing the gun, again to increase range (The Navy and M arines are more concerned about range because they don’t have the Air Force’s huge aerial re f ue ling capabilities and because they don’t want to expose their carriers to surface to surface missiles, which means operating at extreme range) .

ttyymmnn > facw 12/17/2019 at 21:54

0

Such a funky plane.

facw > ttyymmnn 12/17/2019 at 21:59

1

If it ushers in an era of supersonic travel for the masses, I’m all for it. If it just ushers in supersonic private jets for the hyper-rich, I’m not sure spending hundreds of millions on it is a great deal.

Chariotoflove > facw 12/19/2019 at 15:45

0

Looks like a dust buster with fins.