This Date in Aviation History: July 11 - July 13

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 07/13/2018 at 12:35 • Filed to: wings, Planelopnik, TDIAH

3

6

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting of you caught up on milestones, important historical events and people in aviation from July 11 through July 13.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(US Air Force)

July 12, 1980 – The first flight of the McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender. In the earliest days of powered flight up through WWII, and aircraft’s range was limited by the amount of fuel that could be carried on board. Aircraft designed for long range flight had to sacrifice fuselage space for fuel, or carry bulky external fuel tanks. The ideal solution would be to find a way to refuel an aircraft in the air, and experiments in aerial refueling had taken place before the war. The very first instance of aerial refueling occurred in the barnstorming era when a stuntman strapped a tank of fuel to his back and climbed from one plane to another. It was effective, though certainly not practical. One of the earliest attempts at a practical system took place in 1923 when two !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! biplanes transferred fuel via a long hose strung from one plane to another. But it wasn’t until 1949 that a truly effective aerial refueling system was devised. The US Air Force demonstrated its potential nonstop with an around-the-world flight by a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that was refueled in the air three times by bombers that had been converted to KB-50 tankers.

A US Air Force KC-10 refuels a US Navy F/A-18C over southern Iraq in 2002. The Extender is fitted with both a boom for refueling most Air Force aircraft, and a probe-and-drogue system for refueling Navy and other NATO aircraft. (US Navy)

With the arrival of the jet-powered !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , aerial refueling for the Air Force became a standard practice with, but even that aircraft didn’t have the truly global range required for Air Force operations the world over, a lesson learned during operations in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The Air Force needed a flying gas station with greater range, and even one that could be refueled in the air itself. During the procurement process, the Air Force realized that the best solution might be found by converting existing commercial airliners for use as refueling aircraft. The new tanker would have to be large, so the Air Force evaluated of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , all wide-body airliners. They also considered a conversion of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! strategic airlifter. After quickly dismissing the two Lockheed aircraft, Air Force brass ultimately chose the DC-10, and cited its ability to operate from shorter runways as being a principal factor in the selection.

The boom operator, or “Boomer,” sits at his station while refueling a US Air Force F-16C over Iraq in 2004. On the Extender, the Boomer sits comfortably, while the boom operator on the smaller KC-135 must lie face down. (US Air Force)

Although the DC-10 required extensive modifications to fill the role of a military tanker, the KC-10 still retains an 88% commonality with its airliner predecessor. Most of the windows were removed, along with the lower cargo doors, and the McDonnell Douglas Advanced Aerial Refueling Boom (AARB) was added to the rear of the aircraft. This !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was a significant upgrade to earlier hose systems, as it allowed the refueler, or “boomer,” to control the refueling probe while the receiving aircraft held station below and behind the KC-10. The Extender also retains the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! system used by the US Navy and its NATO allies. Three bladder-type fuel cells were installed below the main cabin floor and, combined with the KC-10's own fuel stores, it can carry more than 356,000 pounds of fuel, nearly twice the load of the KC-135. The Extender has an operational range of 4,400 miles, and its mission can be extended with its own ability to refuel from another aircraft. In addition to its enormous fuel load, the KC-10's cargo hold can also carry up to 170,000 pounds of cargo or hundreds of troops.

The first of an eventual 60 KC-10 Extenders entered service with Strategic Air Command in 1981 and quickly became a vital asset to the US Armed Forces worldwide. Extenders have flown in support of missions in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, and they provide critical support for long range attack missions or ferrying flights, particularly when countries prohibit aircraft from overflying their sovereign territory. The Royal Netherlands Air Force operates a pair of KDC-10 tankers which were converted from existing airliners rather than purpose-built. Two KDC-10s are also operated by civilian refueling companies who provide their services on contract to the US and other nations. Though there was talk of retiring the Air Force’s fleet of KC-10s in 2015 due to budget constraints, the Extender will remain flying, and will complement the upcoming !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! tanker when it enters service to replace aging KC-135s.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Short Takeoff

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(NASA)

July 11, 1979 – Skylab re-enters Earth’s atmosphere.   !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was an orbiting space station that was launched by NASA on May 14, 1973. The first manned mission to the station launched on May 25, 1973, and was planned primarily to repair damage suffered during the station’s launch. Two subsequent missions were flown to place crews on the station and to carry out scientific experiments in microgravity. Skylab orbited Earth 2,476 times, and the third mission, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , set a new record for time in space when the astronauts remained on board for 84 days. NASA planned to use the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , then under development, to boost Skylab to a higher orbit and keep it functioning, but delays in the Shuttle program made that impossible. When Skylab re-entered the atmosphere, parts of the station landed in the Pacific Ocean and on western Australia, but no injuries were reported from falling debris.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

July 12, 1979 – The death of Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev. Beriev was born on February 13, 1903 in present-day Tbilisi, Georgia. A student of both shipbuilding and aircraft engineering at the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute, Beriev is best known as the designer of numerous amphibious aircraft. He founded the Beriev Aircraft Company in 1934 and received the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for development of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which was designed for maritime patrol and attack. While most designers stopped making amphibious aircraft with the transition to jet engines, Beriev developed a number of innovative jet-powered amphibians, including the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and pilots flying his seaplanes have set 228 aviation world records for the type.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(NASA)

July 12, 1966 – The first flight of the Northrop M2-F2, the second of three NASA designs to investigate the feasibility of wingless aircraft. Without wings, the shape of the aircraft itself, called a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , provides the lift. It was thought that by eliminating conventional wings it would also eliminate the drag that comes with them. During the 1960s and 1970s, lifting bodies were a primary area of research into their use as small manned spacecraft. Eventually, the Air Force lost interest in the project, and NASA turned its efforts to the Space Shuttle. The M2-F2 was a development of the earlier !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and sixteen unpowered glide tests were carried out before the aircraft was modified into the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which was capable of supersonic flight.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(National Air and Space Museum)

July 12, 1957 – President Dwight Eisenhower becomes the first US president to fly in a helicopter. Today, flying in a helicopter is a routine practice for the US president. But in 1957, helicopters were still relatively new and not deemed safe enough for presidential travel. With Cold War concerns over the ability to evacuate the president from the White House by road, the Secret Service deemed the helicopter to be the best solution, and President Eisenhower made the first presidential flight in a US Air Force !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! from the White House to the presidential retreat at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Today, transporting the president by helicopter is an everyday occurrence, and it is now the responsibility of US Marine Corps helicopter squadron !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(Deutsches Bundesarchiv)

July 12, 1929 – The first flight of the Dornier Do X, a huge, 12-engine flying boat built by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the largest, heaviest, and most powerful flying boat in the world at the time. In order to circumvent the restrictions of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Do X was built in Switzerland and was powered by twelve !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! V-12 engines in a combined push-pull configuration with a top speed of 131 mph. The Do X could accommodate up to 100 passengers, and set a world record for its day when it carried 169 passengers and crew, a record that stood for 20 years. However, Dornier had trouble finding customers for his giant flying boat, and only three were ever built.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

July 12, 1921 – The death of Harry George Hawker, an Australian aviation pioneer, chief test pilot for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! during WWI, and founder of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Born on January 22, 1889, Hawker began his career as an auto mechanic in England before starting work with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . He convinced them to teach him to fly, and he soloed after just three lessons. Following the liquidation of Sopwith Aircraft in 1920, Hawker teamed with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to start a new company, H.G. Hawker Engineering. Harry Hawker died soon after in the crash of his !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but his company continued. Through a series of acquisitions and mergers it became !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , though it continued to make aircraft with the Hawker name. These included some of the most important and iconic aircraft of WWII, particularly the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(Author unknown; US Army)

July 12, 1910 – The death of Charles Stewart Rolls. Charles Rolls is best known to aviation and automotive history as one half of the famed !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! manufacturing company, which he formed with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1906. But Rolls, born on August 27, 1877, was also a pioneering aviator, first in ballooning then in airplanes, following his purchase of a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1909. While not the first to cross the English Channel, Rolls was the first to make the crossing and then return immediately, thus also becoming the first to cross the Channel flying eastward. Unfortunately, Rolls also achieved another, more infamous first, when he became the first Briton to die in an airplane accident following the crash of his Wright Flyer in 1910.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(US Library of Congress)

July 12, 1882 – The birth of Charles Voisin, an early French pioneer of aviation who started his own aircraft manufacturing company with his brother !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! named Appareils d’Aviation Les Frčres Voisin . The Voisin brothers built airplanes to order for wealthy customers, and used these aircraft to further their understanding of controlled flight. Their 1907 biplane, flown by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , made the first heavier-than-air flight in Europe of more than one minute, and that aircraft, known as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , formed the basis of their fledgling company. Charles was killed in an automobile accident on September 26, 1912, but the company continued under his brother’s leadership, and produced aircraft for the French during WWI.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

(Author unknown)

July 13, 1982 – The death of LCDR Barbara Allen Rainey. Born on August 20, 1948, Rainey was the first female aviator in the history of the US military, receiving her Wings of Gold as a Naval Aviator in 1974. She was also the first woman qualified as a military jet pilot. After retiring from active duty, Rainey joined the Naval Reserves, but returned to active duty as an instructor flying the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . She and a student were killed in a training crash while practicing touch-and-go landings. Due to the extensive damage to the aircraft, the cause of the crash could not be determined. Rainey was 33 years old.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Connecting Flights

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

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

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

user314 > ttyymmnn 07/13/2018 at 12:49

2

Of course, the M2-F2 is most (in)famous for test pilot Bruce Peterson’s horrific crash landing , later included in the Six Million Dollar Man opening:

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 07/13/2018 at 12:49

1

I wondered what happened to lifting body tech, and a quick google search tells me it still alive in concepts like the Dream Chaser.

ttyymmnn > user314 07/13/2018 at 12:50

1

“ She’s breaking up! S he’s break.......”

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 07/13/2018 at 12:52

1

That was some very important work.

facw > ttyymmnn 07/13/2018 at 13:00

2

Sorry KC-10, you’ll never be as cool as the KC-747:

Even if it does hang out with some disreputable types these days:

user314 > facw 07/13/2018 at 13:46

1

That has got to be one of the oddest collection of planes in one formation.