This Date in Aviation History: October 10 - October 12

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 10/12/2018 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 October 10 through October 12.

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(NASA)

October 11, 1990 – The first flight of the Rockwell-MBB X-31. The aerial dogfight finds its roots in WWI, when opposing pilots began shooting at each other in the air with rifles and pistols they carried aloft in their aircraft. Very quickly, though, the engagements got much more serious. Pilots armed their aircraft with machine guns, air forces produced dedicated fighter aircraft, and aerial warfare became as much a science as an art. Even in the modern era of supersonic jets and guided missiles, it’s still paramount to “get on the six” of your opponent, maneuvering into position to shoot them down. But pushing beyond and aircraft’s aerodynamic limits can lead to a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , putting the pilot in grave danger of losing the fight—and his life.

Beginning in 1990, a team of engineers from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (Rockwell-MBB) joined together to investigate the benefits of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a system that deflects and directs the engine’s exhaust to augment the traditional control surfaces of the aircraft. The test aircraft was cobbled together from existing and experimental aircraft, and included the front end of a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the landing gear and other components from a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , parts from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and even a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The finished aircraft featured a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! wing with forward !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and a thrust vectoring system that used three computer-controlled paddles to direct the jet exhaust. Specifically, the design team wanted to investigate high !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (AOA), the angle of the wing relative to the wind passing over it. At particularly high AOA, traditional aircraft are likely stall and lose lift. Without thrust vectoring, the X-31 was capable of flight in a 30 degrees nose up attitude. Any more and the aircraft would stall. With thrust vectoring enabled, the X-31 was capable of a remarkable 70-degree AOA while maintaining control, giving the pilots previously unattainable maneuverability.

As part of the test program, the X-31 was pitted against comparable fighter aircraft that did not possess thrust vectoring. The results were quite impressive, with the X-31 tallying a potential kill ratio of 30 to 1. Rockwell-MBB built two test aircraft, and carried out a total of 580 flights before the initial testing program ended in 1995 (the first aircraft was lost in a crash that same year). The second test aircraft was transferred to the US Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River NAS in Maryland for additional research and, at the end of that program in 2003, the remaining X-31 was sent to Germany where it is on display at the Deutsches Meseum Flugwerft Schleissheim. Thrust vectoring is now found operationally on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Russian !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , well as various other experimental aircraft.  

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Short Takeoff

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(John Anderson)

October 10, 1958 – A maintenance support aircraft for the US Air Force Thunderbirds crashes near Payette, Idaho. While headed to McChord Air Force Base in the state of Washington, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! reportedly flew into a flock of Canada geese and crashed, killing five crew members and 14 maintenance personnel. The investigation could not definitively say that the crash was caused by bird strikes, but the recent grounding of all C-123s due to a fuel system problem was ruled out as a possible cause. However, the investigation also found that the plane was overloaded, crew rest procedures and been violated, and the pilot’s seat may not have been occupied by a qualified pilot. The crash remains the deadliest accident in Thunderbirds history.

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(Author unknown)

October 10, 1933 – The bombing of a United Airlines Boeing 247. On a routine transconitental flight, the Boeing airliner (NC13304), carrying three crew and four passengers, exploded and crashed over rural Indiana. All on board were killed. Investigators determined that the cause of the explosion was most likely a nitroglycerin bomb, making the crash the world’s first case of air sabotage. The perpetrator was never found, nor did anyone ever claim responsibility for the bombing.

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(US Army)

October 11, 2007 – The death of David Lee “Tex” Hill. Born July 13, 1915 in Terrell Hills, Texas, Hill began his flying career as a Naval Aviator flying the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! before joining the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , better known as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , fighting on behalf of Nationalist China in WWII. After the deactivation of the AVG in 1942, Hill was one of only a handful of AVG pilots that reintegrated into the US Army Air Corps, and he tallied six more victories with the 23d Fighter Group to bring his total to 18.25. In 1944, Hill assumed command of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the first operational US jet fighter wing, and, in 1946, he assumed command of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of the Texas Air National Guard (ANG). He flew combat missions in the Korean War, and became the youngest brigadier general in ANG history. For his service, Hill was awarded the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and British !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! among others.

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(NASA)

October 11, 1984 – Astronaut Kathryn Sullivan becomes the first American woman astronaut to perform a spacewalk. During mission !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of the Space Shuttle !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Sullivan, along with astronaut !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , spent 3.5 hours in space working on a system to refuel satellites in orbit. Sullivan is the third American woman to fly in space ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), and took part in a total of three Shuttle missions before leaving NASA in 1993. She was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2004, and later served as Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator from 2014-2017

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(NASA)

October 11, 1968 – The launch of Apollo 7, the first successful manned Apollo mission. After a 19-month hiatus in manned flights following the fire on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that killed three astronauts, Apollo 7 carried out the mission originally scheduled for the ill-fated Apollo 1 crew after improvements were made to the command module and other safety procedures were put in place. The Apollo 7 crew of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (Commander), !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (Command Module Pilot) and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (Lunar Module Pilot) spent 11 days orbiting the Earth. Apollo 7 was also the first manned launch of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! launch vehicle, and the crew performed the first live American television broadcast from space.

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(UK Government)

October 11, 1938 – The first flight of the Westland Whirlwind, the first single seat, twin engined Royal Air Force heavy fighter and the first in the RAF to be armed with cannons. As part of an effort to field an fighter with heavier armament than the rifle-caliber guns of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Air Ministry issued specification F.37/35 in 1935 to develop an aircraft capable of carrying four cannons. Powered by two !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! V-12 engines and with a top speed of 360 mph, the Whirlwind was introduced in 1940, but its lack of performance at high altitude limited it mainly to ground attack and anti-shipping missions. A total of 116 were built, and the type was retired in 1943.

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October 12, 1997 – The death of John Denver. While Denver is best known as a successful singer and songwriter, he was also an avid pilot, with over 2,700 hours of experience and pilot ratings in both single- and multi-engine aircraft, as well as glider and instrument ratings. On the day of his death, Denver was practicing touch-and-go landings at Monterey Peninsula Airport in California in his !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (N555JD). The builder of the aircraft (not Denver) had placed the fuel gauge and switch for the two fuel tanks behind the pilot’s seat, making it difficult to monitor the fuel and operate the switch. NTSB crash investigators !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that Denver attempted to twist his body to operate the switch, then lost control of the aircraft and crashed into Monterey Bay. Investigators also cited unfamiliarity with the aircraft and an insufficient fuel load at takeoff as factors in the crash.

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(NASA)

October 12, 1976 – The first flight of the Sikorsky S-72, a hybrid helicopter/fixed wing aircraft that was developed by NASA and the US Army. Assembled from different parts of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! helicopters, the goal of the research program was to allow in-flight measurements of helicopter rotor characteristics prior to fitting them on prototype helicopters, though the S-72 was also capable of flight without a main rotor. The S-72, also called the Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA), took its first full compound flight in 1978, and the program was ended in 1988.

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(Author unknown)

October 12, 1964 – The launch of Voskhod 1, the seventh manned space flight of the Soviet space program. Based on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! spacecraft, Voskhod 1 had an added solid-fuel retro-rocket fitted to slow its descent. The flight is notable as being the first to carry three crewmen into orbit—a cosmonaut, an engineer and a physician—and the first in which the cosmonauts did not wear spacesuits. The bulky spacesuits were removed so that all three cosmonauts could fit into a capsule designed for only two. The standard ejection seats were also removed and replaced with three simple couches. The flight set an altitude record of 209 miles above the Earth, and the crew primarily carried out biomedical research. Voskhod 1 returned to earth after 24 hours in space.

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Connecting Flights

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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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For Sweden > ttyymmnn 10/12/2018 at 12:42

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October 11, 1958 – The Russians Done Goof

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_MS-10

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 10/12/2018 at 12:43

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It’s interesting to note that while the Harrier’s VTOL/STOVL thrust vectoring was not intended for maneuvers use, it has been so utilized. In that vein, the Harrier and its variants and the STOVL F-35 could be listed as limited scope thrust-vectoring applications.

facw > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/12/2018 at 12:52

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Yeah, I don’t think there’s any question that those count as thrust vectoring. Even if not used in dog fighting, STOVL/VTOL are still applications of thrust vectoring, just different applications than on the F-22 and the Sukhois.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > For Sweden 10/12/2018 at 12:57

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facw > ttyymmnn 10/12/2018 at 12:58

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I always find it a bit interesting that the X-31 ( and F-15 ACTIVE ) get all the attention among experimental thrust-vectorers, while the F-18 HARV and F-16 VISTA get basically none:

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > facw 10/12/2018 at 13:00

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Yeah. I didn’t mean they “only counted as” thrust-v ectoring, I meant that one could call them “limited scope maneuvers thrust-vectoring”. Whether or not doctrine will involve using them that way doesn’t mean they can’t be.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > facw 10/12/2018 at 13:04

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Also, what makes this week being thrust-vectoring week particularly funny is that last week I was alleging (sort of tongue in cheek but not totally ) that the Stipa-Caproni had invented it.

user314 > ttyymmnn 10/12/2018 at 13:19

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In ‘94, the X-31 was used to test thrust vectoring in a quasi-tailless mode, es sentially reprogramming the flight control computers to behave as if the plane had progressively smaller tails, then finally no tail at all. There were even altered images of the plane, suggesting NASA was contemplating actually removing the tail altogether.

ttyymmnn > facw 10/12/2018 at 14:13

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I was thinking about those aircraft as I wrote this article. They deserve one of their own,

ttyymmnn > user314 10/12/2018 at 14:13

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That looks shopped.....

user314 > ttyymmnn 10/12/2018 at 14:36

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ttyymmnn > user314 10/12/2018 at 14:39

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user314 > ttyymmnn 10/12/2018 at 15:36

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I was going to post that one, then saw the one I did post and liked it better. 

pauljones > ttyymmnn 10/12/2018 at 16:03

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It’s been forever and a day since I’ve been around here, but I love that you’re these posts are still happening

Thank you, good sir

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 10/12/2018 at 16:11

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... included the front end of a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet ...

I didn’t realize that there was a little bit of F-5 DNA in the X-31 too. The X-29 is the better looking F-5 descendant.

ttyymmnn > pauljones 10/12/2018 at 16:12

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Hey! Good to see you again, and you’re welcome . Yeah, I’m still plugging away at it. They keep me out of trouble. Or, they get me into trouble, because I’m doing these and not my housework. I think I’m going to stop the TDIAH posts in February, which will mark a year after I started doing them in their present form (more pictures, basically; it takes me a very long time to find the photos that I want to use). That will free up more time for posts like this.

pip bip - choose Corrour > ttyymmnn 10/13/2018 at 07:35

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time flies in John Denver’s case

21 years ago.