Late '50s to Early '60s Interceptors

RF/YRF-101A Voodoo Flight Manual 01 Nov 1961:

https://www.docdroid.com/7yOefys/rf-yrf ... manual-pdf (48Mbs)

NOW I GET THE JOKE about losing the propellor. However there is also the more obvious reason about '1st jets propless'.

The experimental Voodoos
[original PDF download: http://aviationarchives.blogspot.com/20 ... xf-88.html ]
Jul 1982 BILL GUNSTON Aeroplane Monthly

"The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo entered service with the USAF in 1957, yet the basic design, the XF-88, was first flown nine years earlier. BILL GUNSTON describes the two XF - 88 Voodoo prototypes....

...In January 1952 the Air Research and Development Command searched for an aircraft on which to test propellers designed for supersonic flow over the blades. One choice was the XF-88 (ship No 1), which was fitted with an Allison T38 turboprop in the nose, fed by two chin inlets for the compressor and oil cooler, and at first driving a 10-ft four-blade Curtiss experimental propeller. The engine power section was on the left and the nose landing gear moved to the right, the propeller being on the centreline. Most of the testing was done by NACA at Langley Field, the three-engined aircraft being redesignated XF-88B.

These early supersonic propellers were inefficient and excruciatingly noisy, [RANFAA flew two HS 748s also excruciatingly noisy] but the XF-88B did very well. By the time it began its new role at Langley on April 14, 1953 the same basic design had been resurrected with much more powerful engines as the F-101, still called Voodoo. The first of these flew on September 29, 1954, and as you read this Voodoos are still thundering aloft with the Canadian Armed Forces."

the prototype XF-88, 46-525, was later fitted with a 2,650 h.p. Allison XT-35-A-5 for research into transonic and supersonic propellers. The Westinghouse turbojets were retained throughout the test programme

Source: https://www.docdroid.com/QTHSxvu/the-ex ... -xf-88-pdf (28Mb)

My favorite fighters of all time. Passing through Danang, Vietnam once saw F-104's on the ramp that were flying cover for missions over North Vietnam according to the Herc pilot whose plane I was riding in.The planes were in the SEA paint scheme.

Per my post above Starfighters at Danang.

Operation Sun Run Quest for the transcontinental speed record
https://www.docdroid.com/0TJdYSz/rf-101 ... rticle-pdf (2Mb) attached

"...“Operation Sun Run”. For Sun Run, the aim was to simultaneously set a one-way coast-to-coast speed record and a round trip speed record as well. The route flown was chosen as Los Angeles – New York – Los Angeles, and the participants took off from Ontario AP (CA) and flew to NAS Floyd Bennett Field, a distance of 2418.88 miles, although the officially recognized distance for the record attempt was 2445.90 miles, which was measured from the courthouse in LA to the courthouse in New York.

Operation ‘Sun Run’ originally was the brainchild of the McDonnell Aircraft Corp, who proposed it to the USAF in 1957. The name ‘Sun Run’ was symbolic for the desire to match the time it took the sun to travel from NY to LA (about six hours), which McDonnell thought was feasible. At that time, the RF-101A Voodoo had just entered operational service with 363rd TRW at Shaw AFB (SC). Although it would have been quite possible to break the records using RF-101As and KB-50 tanker support, it was decided to wait for the advent of the new RF-101C and KC-135A. The KC-135As would be able to refuel the Voodoos at higher speeds and altitudes, which allowed for much better record times. At the time, air crew training for the KC-135 fleet had been given high priority and it was up to the KC-135 test fleet from Edwards to support ‘Sun Run’,..."

PHOTO: "Unfortunately, the photographer of this photo forgot to include the nose, but it shows the appearance
of ‘Sun Run’ participant 56-0166 in 1958, when the normal 363rd TRW tail markings had replaced the ‘Sun Run’ stripes. Note the name ‘Cin-Min’. This aircraft was used by Capt Schrecengost during the round-trip attempt. (via Henk Scharringa)"

Did F-106A make a Sun Run. Surely it would have smokes the 1-0-wonders.

Salute!

Gotta tellya, Rat, that the Six was a speed merchant.

I don't know how many would have had refueling capability then, and assume zero! So it would have had to land or take big bags. Our squad (18th FIS)did not like the bags and we normally flew clean and had good range speeds. When doing the launch and CAP profiles we would take only one of those big tanks. Of course, we had the "B" model and no refueling probe or receptacle like the recce versions.

The Six was very good at high mach, like 0.9+. Duece also liked 0.9 M but not faster, but the Six liked up around 0.95 and 40,000 feet, clean. For the race, we would have a problem as our best cruise was maybe 0.85M or so.

Only thing we could do better was an impressive climb from takeoff, and for that we could impress almost all planes at the time.

Gums sends...

How many know that the F-105 flew as a Thunderbird airshow aircraft in 1964? They only flew 6 shows in 1964 when an accident happened and they switched over to the F-100D. Here is a photo of the plane and of the Thunderbird patch from my collection.