And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Saturday, December 28, 2024
The tiny wings on those jets. The weight distribution as well, crazy!
Kelly Johnson's magic slide rule at work. A magnificent airplane, not at all suited for a fighter bomber, but Lockheed wouldn't have bribed anyone, right? Cough. Cough.
Earlier this year Northrop lost a contract to Lockheed for a rocket. Both were in the final two of the competition and Northrop was way ahead in development having had a number of successful prototype launches while Lockheed was ensnarled in basic engineering matters. Also Northrop had a vast experience in developing and producing solid rocket motors. Northrop was so confident of getting the contract that it was doubling its number of engineers at a facility to service the contract to over 500 engineering employees. Lockheed got the contract. Dan Kurt
..and the Germans drove those things like they stole them. Think German Autobahn driver that owns a Porsche, then make him a fighter pilot, then put him in an F-104 and tell him, Fly as low as you can.
Early models had a downward ejection seat. Seriously loud, hard lighting afterburner on a GE J-79 engine. The German’s were flying them out of Norvenich near Cologne when I was there in the early 80’s.
I had a friend who recently passed away who flew these things for the USAF, based out of the Azores. While he was comparatively modest for a fighter pilot I was always in awe of his big brass balls for flying these things. It's easy to forget, in these computerized-toothbrush times, that these things were just a giant jet-engine with little fins stuck on. You strapped a pilot to that engine, put a plexiglass bubble over his head, lit that big fucker up and wished him luck. No computer assist, baby, your life is completely and literally in your own hands.
The missile with a man in it. They were still flying those things around Europe when I was over there. I remember stopping through NAS Sigonella on the way home from a deployment and we'd just beat the weather into the field. Not far behind us was a German F-104 that made a couple low approaches but couldn't find the runway (but we could certainly hear him as he went by). We could hear the tower comm, he had one more shot before having to bail out. Next thing we hear is him rolling out on the runway. We couldn't see him, but somehow he'd found the runway. Think he might've pushed the mins in favor of bailing out.
Chuck Yeager had an interesting experience with the F-104 trying to break an altitude record... Balls of Steel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY23_WBE4Pg
Missile with a man in it. I've fueled a privately owned pair back in the '90s. "The Last Starfighters". They did airshows and chase plane work for NASA. One was a two seater, and its parachute took its merry time to deploy. They used every bit and then some of the 10,000 ft runway at NOLA MSY. A Mach 2+ plane but keep it under sound, and it gets the same burn as a Leer 24, and is faster. Just less luggage room, and one or two people.
The F-104 was much the same.
ReplyDeleteOversized lawn darts.
DeleteThose are F-104s in German service. They called them flying coffins.
DeleteCorrect me if I'm wrong, but aren't these F-104's pictured here? Germany was sold a number of 104's for their airforce back in the 60's.
ReplyDeleteYes, those are Luftwaffe F-104s. The Luftwaffe's insistence in using them in a ground attack role is part of how the jet got the "widow maker" moniker
DeleteGlide characteristics of a manhole cover.
ReplyDeleteKelly Johnson's magic slide rule at work. A magnificent airplane, not at all suited for a fighter bomber, but Lockheed wouldn't have bribed anyone, right? Cough. Cough.
ReplyDeleteEarlier this year Northrop lost a contract to Lockheed for a rocket. Both were in the final two of the competition and Northrop was way ahead in development having had a number of successful prototype launches while Lockheed was ensnarled in basic engineering matters. Also Northrop had a vast experience in developing and producing solid rocket motors. Northrop was so confident of getting the contract that it was doubling its number of engineers at a facility to service the contract to over 500 engineering employees. Lockheed got the contract.
DeleteDan Kurt
..and the Germans drove those things like they stole them. Think German Autobahn driver that owns a Porsche, then make him a fighter pilot, then put him in an F-104 and tell him, Fly as low as you can.
ReplyDeleteStory goes that Kelly Johnson, tasked with a tight production schedule, used the basic fuselage design of the '104 to come up with the U-2.
ReplyDeleteThey weren't called the "Widowmakers" for nothing.
ReplyDeleteEarly models had a downward ejection seat. Seriously loud, hard lighting afterburner on a GE J-79 engine. The German’s were flying them out of Norvenich near Cologne when I was there in the early 80’s.
ReplyDeleteIt fired down as they didn't think it could safely clear the T-Tail at high speeds.
DeleteOnce again I wish to thank everyone for all that stellar info on the 104! It shows the caliber of people that frequent this site.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who recently passed away who flew these things for the USAF, based out of the Azores. While he was comparatively modest for a fighter pilot I was always in awe of his big brass balls for flying these things. It's easy to forget, in these computerized-toothbrush times, that these things were just a giant jet-engine with little fins stuck on. You strapped a pilot to that engine, put a plexiglass bubble over his head, lit that big fucker up and wished him luck. No computer assist, baby, your life is completely and literally in your own hands.
ReplyDeleteThe missile with a man in it.
ReplyDeleteThey were still flying those things around Europe when I was over there. I remember stopping through NAS Sigonella on the way home from a deployment and we'd just beat the weather into the field. Not far behind us was a German F-104 that made a couple low approaches but couldn't find the runway (but we could certainly hear him as he went by). We could hear the tower comm, he had one more shot before having to bail out. Next thing we hear is him rolling out on the runway. We couldn't see him, but somehow he'd found the runway. Think he might've pushed the mins in favor of bailing out.
The RCAF modified them for ground attack as did the Italians who flew the 104S into the '80s.
ReplyDeleteAl_in_Ottawa
Chuck Yeager had an interesting experience with the F-104 trying to break an altitude record... Balls of Steel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY23_WBE4Pg
ReplyDeleteMissile with a man in it. I've fueled a privately owned pair back in the '90s. "The Last Starfighters". They did airshows and chase plane work for NASA. One was a two seater, and its parachute took its merry time to deploy. They used every bit and then some of the 10,000 ft runway at NOLA MSY. A Mach 2+ plane but keep it under sound, and it gets the same burn as a Leer 24, and is faster. Just less luggage room, and one or two people.
ReplyDeleteThe edge of the wing was hazardous to ground crews, it was knife edged.
ReplyDelete