Practical Aeronautics

The NASA/North American X-15 rocket-powered research aircraft began flying in 1959 (!!) and over 199 flights the three aircraft that were built set multiple records for speed and altitude, flying as fast as Mach 6.72 and as high as 354,200 ft (67 miles).?The last flight of an X-15 was in 1968.?Because they were propelled by rockets, the aircraft were carried aloft to 45,000 ft by a B-52 and dropped from a wing station.??The X-15 started flying with two XLR-11 engines with a thrust of 16,380 lb, then, as the program matured, with a single XLR-99 engine of 57,000 lb thrust.?In the thicker parts of the atmosphere, it flew and handled like an aircraft (albeit one with very small, low aspect ratio wings!) and at much thinner high altitudes, it used a reaction control system for roll, pitch, and yaw.?As a research aircraft, the X-15 drove advancements in hypersonics, aerodynamics, controls, heating, and life-support systems.?Over 700 technical documents were produced by the program.?Twelve pilots, including Neil Armstrong, Joe Engle, Joe Walker, and Scott Crossfield, flew the X-15.?One, Michael Adams, died in 1967 in the crash of ship #3 because of a problem with the adaptive flight control system.?[If you are interested, NASA has an outstanding history series of over 200 monographs and reports…here’s a link to one on the X-15, “Hypersonics Before the Shuttle,” by Dennis Jenkins, June 2000:?https://lnkd.in/e5zb6F4G ] #introtoaero????#nasahypersonics????????#edwardsflighttest?????????????#flightcontrols???????????????#rocketships #aeroheating???#nasahistoryseries https://lnkd.in/es8FgXk2 https://lnkd.in/ei-fpdNH

Take a moment to read about an incredible mentor (and propulsion giant) who influenced so many, including 7 of our instructors.

The Grumman A-6 Intruder was the Navy’s and Marines’ primary heavy, all-weather attack bomber and electronic warfare jet from 1963 until 2019.?Powered by two Pratt&Whitney J-52s of 9,300 pounds thrust each, it was probably the last (non-afterburning) turbojet-powered aircraft the Navy and Marines flew.?With a large wing of moderate sweep, it had an L/D of 15, which is better than many light general aviation aircraft.?Unlike many of its contemporaries, it was a true all-weather aircraft that could deliver up to 18,000 pounds of ordnance in zero-visibility conditions.?Although the basic aircraft carried a crew of two, the later electronic warfare variant, the EA-6B Prowler, carried a crew of four.?The A-6 was originally supposed to be replaced by the A-12 Avenger, but was forced to soldier on after that program was canceled until the F/A-18E and F was ready.?The EA-6B was replaced by the EA-18G Growler. #navyair #marineair #subsonicjets #turbojets #glideratio #introtoaero #introtojetengines References: https://lnkd.in/erhNFaHw https://lnkd.in/dzM-pVct

Our former company president and favorite Hog driver, Craig Seymour, is this month's Practical Aero Spotlight.

This post-WW2 general aviation aircraft is a classic 2-seat light aircraft.?Unlike its “little brother,” the Cessna 120, it has an electrical system with a starter and split flaps on either fabric or metal straight wings.?It also has conventional landing gear, i.e., it’s a tail-dragger. ?It’s known as a very stable, “well-mannered” airplane.?Powered by a variety of 4-cylinder piston engines (C-85s, O-200s, O-235s, or O-290s), it can cruise at around 100 to 110 knots, thus definitely making it a low-speed aircraft.?In the early 1950s, it was sold for about $3,000 ($37,240 today!).?Between 1946 and 1951, 7,664 were built; many are still flying today. #taildragger?????#conventionalgear???????#lowspeedaero?????????????#pistonengines?????????????#straightwings #generalaviation?????????????#flaps References:? https://lnkd.in/eqRg2Y4M https://lnkd.in/eAiZg2Z4

Recently the aviation world noted the 85th anniversary of the first flight of a jet aircraft.?On 27 Aug 1939, the Heinkel He-178 flew using a prototype turbojet, the HeS 3B designed by Hans von Ohain.?The turbojet, equipped with a single stage centrifugal-flow compressor and a single stage radial in-flow turbine, produced approximately 1,100 lbf of thrust, burned Diesel fuel, and spun at about 12,000 rpm.?The He-178 was simple in design, having conventional retractable landing gear, straight wings, and an intake in the nose and an exhaust in the tail.?It weighed 4,400 pounds, had a maximum speed of about 350 knots, and a range of about 110 NM.?Unfortunately, it was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid in 1943.?Dr von Ohain eventually came to the United States under Operation Paperclip and continued making technical contributions, finishing his career at what is now called the Air Force Research Laboratory. #jetengines??????#compressors?#turbines??????????#aeronautics?????????????#conventionalgear ? ??https://lnkd.in/em-93Cga

Fifty years ago, the YF-16 took flight at Edwards AFB (on 21 January 1974, to be precise).?That first flight was unintended; during a high-speed taxi test, roll-axis oscillations led test pilot Phil Oestricher to take off instead of catastrophically impacting the ground.?Its official first flight was on 2 February 1974.?The YF-16 used a combination of a cropped delta wing with leading edge strakes for vortex lift and relaxed static stability with fly-by-wire controls to achieve its high agility.?It was the first aircraft to have a side stick that didn’t move (it responded to forces only), thus increasing the possibility of over control until pilots got used to it and the flight control system was tuned.?The aircraft was General Dynamics’ entry into the USAF’s Lightweight Fighter Program, competing against Northrop’s YF-17.?On 13 January 1975, the USAF announced that the YF-16 had won the competition, eventually leading to the F-16 program; the YF-17 evolved into the Navy’s F-18.?Originally intended to be lightweight and cheap air superiority fighters, they both eventually became sophisticated and capable fighter-bombers.?The USAF has over 860 F-16s in service of the 4,500+ that have been built. #fbw????#prototypes?????#lwf?????#fcs?????#staticstability ?????????????#introtoaero????#vortexlift https://lnkd.in/eaWeqUb2 https://lnkd.in/e9bBj9jU https://lnkd.in/e8aWXHnH

The business end of the A-10 “Warthog” (officially called the Thunderbolt II) close air support aircraft is the GAU-8/A Avenger gun.?Its development started in 1970 with an Air Force call for a new cannon to be used in the upcoming A-X close support aircraft competition, flight testing in the A-10 started in 1974, and the gun entered service in 1977.?The 7-barrel Gatling gun is mounted slightly left of center so the 7-o’clock position gun barrel can be fired on the centerline.?It fires 30-mm high explosive incendiary and armor piercing incendiary rounds weighing a little less than a pound, including those with depleted uranium cores for extra penetrating power.?The GAU-8/A is powered by the A-10’s hydraulic system and can fire at 3,900 rounds per minute, which means the approximately 1,150-round magazine can fire for about 18 seconds.?The A-10 is essentially built around the 4,000 pound+ system.?Spent rounds are returned to the ammunition drum to keep the A-10’s center of gravity within limits.?Early tests resulted in the A-10’s engines flaming out due to gas ingestion, so when the gun fires, the A-10’s igniters operate automatically to keep the TF-34 turbofan engines running. #aircraftsystems??????????#aerialcannons?????????????#warthogs?????????????#hydraulics??????#turbofan?????????#cas https://lnkd.in/eFA858YT https://lnkd.in/eHbjH--2

In 1929, the Aeronca C-2 became the first light aircraft (as we use the term today) to be certified by the FAA’s predecessor, the Bureau of Aeronautics, Department of Commerce.?Having only one seat and being safe and easy to fly, it was one of the first aircraft designed to be privately owned and made aviation accessible for the average person.?It first flew in October 1929.?Powered by a 26-30 HP two-cylinder engine, the C-2 had modest performance and was easy and fun to fly.?Its fuselage was comprised of steel tubing and it had wooden fabric-covered wings that were wire-braced.?In 1929, it sold for $1,495 (that’s $27, 182 today!!), although the price dropped to $1,295 in 1930 due to the Great Depression.?Controls were conventional:?a stick and rudder (bar, not pedals) and for instruments it had only oil temperature and pressure, altimeter, and tach.?A later two-seat version became a popular trainer (the C-3); production ended in 1937 with more than 500 produced of all types.?One is displayed in the Sport Aviation exhibit in the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. #generalaviation????????????#aeronca???????????#nasm????????????????#lowspeedaero ?????????????#simpleflying????#introtoaero https://lnkd.in/ewW36fGt

The Kelly Johnson-design Lockheed XP-80 was the US’s first practical jet fighter (the earlier XP-59 showed the promise of jet propulsion, but its performance was too low for a fighter, being roughly on par with contemporary piston engine fighters).?Johnson’s design team began work on the XP-80 on 21 June 1943.?Incredibly by today’s standards, the aircraft was ready to fly in 143 days.?Because the project was so secret, the team was segregated behind old crates and under a circus tent, thus giving rise to the famous “Skunk Works” (a name bestowed in reference to the “Li’l Abner” comic strip).?Initial engine runs revealed weaknesses in the intake ducts and it took a month to design and affect changes.?First flight was on 8 January 1944 at Muroc Army Airfield and, piloted by Lockheed test pilot Milo Burcham, the plane reached 476 knots using a British Goblin turbojet.?The next series of XP-80s, the A model, used a General Electric engine that was larger and integration required more redesign.?That took until September 1944, by which time the prototype fighter, the YP-80A was flying.?Unfortunately, its speedy development and accompanying problems with the early jet engines came at the cost of the lives of several pilots, including Major Richard Bong and Milo Burcham.?From this rapidly executed beginning came the USAF F-80, which fought in Korea, the F-94, which defended the US in the Cold War, and the T-33, which trained pilots and served in a variety of other roles into the 1990s.?The Navy and Marines also flew it as the TV-2. #earlyjets??????????#skunkworks????#muroc??????????????#firstflights?????????????#shootingstar? https://lnkd.in/ewbMC2qa https://lnkd.in/e9TWMW62