Lockheed was one of at least five US aerospace companies which apparently received contracts in 1973 from the US Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) to study signature reduction techniques and their potential application to a manned combat aircraft. The effort was code-named Have Blue.
Lockheed’s Advanced Development Projects organisation at Burbank (ADP), more commonly known as ‘The Skunk Works’, already had practical experience in the design of stealth aircraft; low radar signature had been a significant consideration in the Blackbird family of Mach 3.0 reconnaissance aircraft. But rivals, such as General Dynamics, McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, were the then current manufacturers of fighter aircraft for the US military. Even to this day it has not been officially confirmed that Lockheed was the only Have Blue contractor to be funded as far as the hardware stage of an Experimental Stealth-Tactical (XST) prototype. It seems unlikely. It is known, however, that funding for this and other stealth projects was accelerated in 1977, and that the Lockheed design was airborne from the secluded and top secret Groom Lake airfield, on the Nevada test range in December 1977, flown by ADP chief test pilot Bill Park. Although only half the size of the F-117A, this aircraft’s configuration was broadly similar, except for the vertical tail surfaces. Apparently these were individually-mounted and inwardly canted, similar to those of the Blackbird series. The prototype Lockheed stealth aircraft was powered by two General Electric J85 turbojets and used an adapted F-16 fly-by-wire system.
Using special-access, fast-track procedures, the programme developed rapidly, despite the crash of a prototype at Groom Lake on 4 May 1978. After a hard landing which damaged the starboard undercarriage member, Bill Park elected to apply power and climb away in order to assess the damage. Following another abortive approach, he was obliged to eject, but sustained serious injuries and never flew the aircraft again. The landing problem was attributed to faulty fly-by-wire software; Ken Dyson took over as the contractor’s chief test pilot. There were at least two other Lockheed prototypes, however, and they were evidently flown with great success against various radars on the Nevada range. Ground test vehicles were sent for radar cross-section measurement on large-scale outdoor ranges, with similarly encouraging results. By the end of 1978, Lockheed had received a USAF contract to develop a full-scale production version. It contained warranties covering the aircraft’s range, weapons delivery accuracy and radar cross section.
Both prototypes ultimately crashed, one in May 1978 and the other in 1980, with their pilot’s ejecting.
The wreckage of the two Have Blue aircraft was buried within the Nellis Test Range. One was reportedly buried at the Groom Lake site just south of the hangar complex. Lockheed engineers have since searched for the buried Have Blue with a view to restoring it for display purposes, but despite their best efforts have been unable to locate the wrecked aircraft.
XST Engine: 2 x General Electric J85, 1270kg Max take-off weight: 5440 kg / 11993 lb Wingspan: 6.86 m / 22 ft 6 in Length: 11.58 m / 37 ft 12 in Height: 2.29 m / 7 ft 6 in Crew: 1
F-104G 20+62, JBG-2 Lechfield airbase, 22 July 1983
F-104G formerly DA+05 and 24+81 / N104RB
F-104G 20+36, 1984
F-104G
F-104G 21+67, 1985, Buchel airbase
F-104G 20+37
Sept 1986 MFG-2 retired their Starfighters. The demonstration team repainted 26+63 and 26+72 10 Sept 86
F-104G 20+49 to mark 25th anniversary of Luftwaffeschleuse 11 on 9 July 1987
27 Oct 1987, 22+55 JBG-34 retired the F-104
F-104G 24+19
F-104G 22+91 LVR-1 20 March 1989
F-104G at Beja A/B Sept 1989
F-104G of 31 Smaldeel, Kleine Brogel, Belgium, 1978
CF-104G 104439 439 Sqn, RCAF, 1980
CF-104G 104706 439 Sqn, RCAF, 1980
F-104G D-8337 after passing 3000 hrs Dec 1983. Crashed 12 April 1983 in England
F-104S 4-27 (MM.6546), 5˚ Stormo, 19 Sept 1989
RF-104G 3-42 (MM.6579) Nov 1989
F-104S MM.6850 of 12˚ Gruppo at A/B Twenthe, 16 June 1989
F-104ASA 5-11 (MM.6833), Volkel, 29 Sept 1989
F-104G 37-20, 1 Apr 1989
F-104G 37-20, 1 Apr 1989
F-104A
F-104B
F-104A
F-104B
F-104A
F-104G
L to R, Top to Bottom RAF EE Lightning, RCAF Lockheed CF-104 Starfighter, Fokker-built Belgian F-104G w/droptanks, USAF McDonnell F-4D Phantom, USAF NA F-100D Super Sabre, French AF Dassault Super Mystere, German AF Lockheed T-33A
North American F-100 Super Sabre (lower centre), McDonnell F-101 Voodoo (top centre), Convair F-102 (right), Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (left)
F-104G
F-104G
F-104G
May 2000
Belgian Air Force F-104G June 1971
Belgian Air Force F-104G at Yeovilton 21 September 1974
Lockheed were aware that USAF experience in Korea had shown the need for an air-superiority fighter able to operate from forward airfields and climb rapidly from the ground to engage in high-level combat. The Model 83 was designed to fulfil these roles, and in formulating his design “Kelly” Johnson attempted to keep it as cheap, small and readily maintainable as possible. Tendered to the USAF as an unsolicited proposal, it was necessary for competitive bids to be received and the USAF notified a formal requirement for such an aircraft in late 1952.
Submissions were received from North American and Republic; but as both of these companies were already heavily involved in fighter development and production, Lockheed’s proposal was selected cautiously: two XF-104 prototypes being ordered for development and testing. The long fuselage was tailored round the J79 engine, and the flying surfaces were small, unswept and very thin, with 10 degrees of anhedral. A token monoplane wing mid-set on the fuselage – this latter assembly wrapped tightly round a powerful turbojet engine – needle-nosed and T-tailed. All wheels, with a single wheel on each unit, retract forward into the fuselage. Able to demonstrate a level speed of around 2,250km/h and to climb to a height of 25km in about 4.5 minutes, the Press dubbed the Starfighter the “missile with a man in it”.
XF-104
The XF-104 had a narrower and shorter rear fuselage compared to the production models. The two prototypes had a 10,500 lb Wright J65-W-6 turbojet but all subsequent aircraft had a J79 turbojet.
The first of these flew on 28 February 1954, followed by test and evaluation aircraft. It was not until 26 January 1958 that the first production F-104A began to enter service – as interceptors – with Air Defense Command’s 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron. The US Air Force had already lost interest in the type and took only 296 Starfighters.
F-104A (170) and multi-mission F-104G (77) served with the USAF, as well as F-104B (26) and F-104D (21) two-seat operational-trainer counterparts of the A and C respectively.
Lockheed F-104B Starfighter
The type was then saved by the creation of the F-104G multi-role version for production by a multi-national European consor¬tium as well as for Japan.
Winner of a previous so-called ‘sale of the century’ and used by several NATO air arms for many years. During its heyday the Starfighter formed the backbone of the NATO alliance’s air power and a number of reconnaissance-configured aircraft were produced, sensor packages varying considerably according to the specialized requirements of the parent air arm.
The German Luftwaffe, in their technological zeal, had insisted on overloading the F-104 with equipment which made it much heavier and more complex than the original model. The Starfighter programme began to go wrong after the first had been delivered in May 1961. The German pilots, even after extensive training in Arizona, were not fully experienced. The Starfighter, in the words of General Steinhoff, then inspector of the Luftwaffe, “was forever jealous of the pilot’s full attention. It rewarded discipline with deeds of airmanship; it could punish the dilatory of those who gave themselves to distractions. It was a marvel in capable hands, and merciless to the careless”.
Up to December 1968 ninety-one Starfighters crashed. With each series of Luftwaffe crashes the original choice of the Starfighter became more contentious, and by the time of the 1966 elections the Starfighter bribery scandal played a role in the fall of the Chancellor, Ludwig Erhard. Deliveries of 30 F-104F trainers to the Luftwaffe began in mid-1960.
F-104F
The most widespread variant was the RF-104G, which featured a belly fairing containing cameras, installation of these necessitating the removal of the M61 Vulcan rotary cannon armament. West Germany, Italy and the Netherlands all operated this variant of the Starfighter for a time, although the Netherlands used the standard F-104G for reconnaissance tasks, using the Orpheus pod to accomplish this mission. The German Luftwaffe and Marineflieger used the RTF-104G two-seater.
Following development by Lockheed of the multi-mission F-104G, more than 1,000 came from production lines in Belgium, Germany, Holland and Italy to equip the air forces of those nations. Similar versions were built under licence in Canada and Japan. Lockheed also built 179 F-104G for export or for supply to friendly nations through the Military Assistance Program. These were essentially similar in appearance to their European counterparts and were fitted with three Hycon KS-67A cameras, examples being delivered to Norway and Taiwan, most of the Norwegian specimens being passed on to Turkey.
In 1964 West Germany cut down the intended size of its Luftwaffe because of shortages of funds and manpower. They will reduce the nine F-104G Starfighter squadrons to seven, and two Fiat G.91 reconnaissance squadrons instead of four. First line strength will be 380 F-104G’s and 170 G.91’s.
F-104G 26+11
The Canadian built CF-104 Starfighter was one of the most successful jet fighter aircraft to serve with Canada’s Air Force. A total of 340 fighters were built under license by the Canadian government. The CF-104 was designed as a light-weight nuclear strike aircraft. The aircraft were retired from service in 1986 after being used for over 25 years until they were was replaced by the CF-18. Canada’s CF-104 (Canadian-built F-104G) was also originally engaged in reconnaissance duty, aircraft assigned to this task being fitted with a prominent belly-mounted pod containing a battery of Vinten cameras.
Canadair CF-104 Starfighter
Thirty-nine CF-104D models built by Lockheed were purchased by the Canadian Air Force for training.
The CF-104 (single seat version) was built in Canada under license by Canadair in Cartierville, Quebec. The first aircraft produced by Canadair flew in May 1961, with 200 single seaters (CF-104) being produced for the RCAF. 22 Lockheed-built two seaters (CF-104D) were also used by the RCAF. The aircraft in later years provided a measure of unparalleled stability in the low-level, high speed environment until phased out in 1986. The majority of the Starfighters were transferred to the Turkish Air Force. After the RCAF production order was filled in June 1963, Canadair produced another 140 aircraft for other countries.
On 19 May 1964 Jacqueline Cochran set a world speed record of 1429.297 mph for women flying an F-104G over a 10 mile straightline course at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The Mach 2.2 flight broke her similar mark of 1273.109 mph.
Production ended in America, but in 1966 the first prototype of the Aeritalia built F 104S flew for the first time. The Italian Air Force is receiving a total of 205 aircraft, and Turkey received 40 from 1974. Power is provided by one 17,900 lb thrust (with afterburning) General Electric J79 GE 19 turbojet engine. Armament in an air to air role consists of two Sparrow and two or four Sidewinder missiles, plus the 20 mm M 61 multi barrel cannon. In an attack role bombs, rockets, and other weapons up to a weight of 7,500 lb (3400 kg) can be carried on nine wing and fuselage stations.
Post-war Mitsubishi built Lockheed F-104J Starfighters with Kawasaki. Eventually Japan ordered 230 Starfighters – nearly all of them built under licence by Mitsubishi in Japan. Lockheed was estimated later to have paid bribes of about $1.5 million to Japanese officials, and a fee of $750,000 to Yoshio Kodama, one of the most powerful people in Japan.
Total Starfighter pro¬duction was 2,282 units.
A Starfighter, built from non-serviceable ex-military aircraft components by American Darryl Greenmayer over a ten-year period, was the fastest and most complex “homebuilt” aircraft ever completed. With this aircraft, prepared by American Jet Industries in California and known as the Red Baron RB-104 Starfighter, he raised the world speed record over a 3km low-level course to 988.26 mph / 1,590.45 kph on 24 October 1977 at Tonopah, Nevada. The RB-104 was lost in an accident in 1978.
For training in the aerospace field, three early Starfighters have been modified to NF-104A standard by the addition of a 6,000 lb thrust (2722 kgp) Rocketdyne AR-2 booster and reaction jet controls for exploration missions up to heights of nearly twenty five miles. USAF pilots training for the X-20 Dyna-Soar roles use the NF-104A to learn atmosphere re-entry techniques.
NF-104A
The NF-104A is designed to fly regularly to 25 miles altitude. The Rocketdyne engine is throttleable from 50 to 100% power. The NF-104A provides spaceflight experience at a fraction of X-15 operating costs.
The NF-104A was to zoom climb to over 90,000ft where atmospheric pressure was about 6 millibars. About 1% of the pressure at sea level. In the near vacuum the only way to control the plane at the top of its ballistic arc was with jets of hydrogen peroxide for pitch, yaw and roll control. The jet engine would be shut down at about 70,000ft to prevent it from exceeding temperature limits. If not shut down, the engine would have introduced yaw motion challenging the ability to control the aircraft. During the descent, at about Mach 1.8, enough air would pass through the intake ducts to allow a re-start or a dead-stick landing would be made. On 10 December 1963, Chuck Yeager reached 108,700 ft (Yeager wanted to set a new world altitude record) when a pitch up caused the NF-104A to fall on its back and enter a flat spin. At 14,000 ft hr ejected.
Versions F-104A (interceptor) F-104B (two-seat trainer) F-104C (tactical strike) F-104D(two-seat trainer) F-104G (definitive multi-role warplane with a strengthened structure, more power, and revised electronics) TF-104G (F-104G trainer) F-104J (F-104G ver¬sion for Japan) F-104S (improved air defense version developed in Italy) CF-104 CF-104D (CF-104 two-seat trainer). NF 104A RB-104
Specifications
F-l04A Armament: 1 x six-barrel M-21 20mm Vulcan cannon & 2 x Sidewinder AAMs.
F-l04G Engine: 1x 15,800-lb (7,167-kg) reheated thrust General Electric J79-GE-7 or llA turbojet or Turbo-Union J79-MTU-J1K. Wing span 21 ft 11 in (6.68 m) Wing area 196.1 sq ft (18.22 sq.m). Length 54 ft 9 in (16.69 m) Height 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) Empty weight 14,900 lb (6,758 kg) Maximum take-off weight 28,779 lb (13,054 kg). Fuel capacity: 847 Imp.Gal External fuel: 2 x 162 Imp.Gal under wing, 2 x 142 Imp.Gal tip tanks Maximum speed 1,450 mph (2,333 km/h) or Mach 2.2 at 36,000 ft (10,975 m) Initial climb rate 55,000 ft (15,765 m) per minute Service ceiling 58,000 ft (17,680 m) Range 1,550 miles (2,495 km) Range w/max.payload: 370 km / 230 miles Armament: one 20-mm multi-barrel cannon Bombload: 4,310 lb (1,955 kg) of disposable stores. Crew: 1 Wheel tract: 8 ft 9 in Wheelbase: 15 ft 1 in
TF-l04G Seats: 2.
RF-104G Engine: one General Electric J79GE- 1 IA turbojet, 7167-kg (15, 800-1b) afterburning thrust. Maximum low level speed 1473 km/h (915 mph) or Mach 1.2 Maximum stabilized speed at 12190 m (40,000 ft) 2124 km/h (1,320 mph) or Mach 2.0 Tactical radius with external fuel 1110 km (690 miles) Empty weight 6486 kg (14,300 lb) Maximum take-off: 11352 kg (25, 027 lb). Wing span 6.68 m (21 ft 11 in) Length 16.69 m (54 ft 9 in) Height 4.11 m (13 ft 6 in) Wing area 18.22 sq.m (196.1 sq ft).
F 104S Wing span: 21 ft 11 in (6.68 m). Max speed: M2.2.
Lockheed CF-104D Mk.2 Engine: General Electric J79-19 turbojet 11,810 lbs. thrust, 17,900 lb. with afterburner Maximum Speed: Mach 2 Loaded weight: 26,800 lb (12,156 kg) Span: 21 ft 11 in (6.4 m) Length: 58 ft 3 in (17.7 m) Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.1 m) Wing area: 196 sq ft (18.2 sq m)
The F-94 Starfire was evolved to satisfy a requirement for a two-seat all-weather radar-equipped fighter. It originally used many of the main components and the production facilities of the two-seat T-33 trainer. The prototypes were converted T-33A, each with a new 26.69kN Allison J33-A-33 turbojet, radar equipment installed in the fuselage nose and accommodation for the radar operator in the rear cockpit. Its 1,200 lb. of electronic equipment includes automatic target location, tracking and rocket-firing radar. Armament of four 12.7mm guns was retained in the forward fuselage.
Deliveries of production F-94A began in June 1950. These incorporated the wings, landing gear and centre fuselage of the T-33, with a new nose and rear fuselage (former to house the radar and the latter for the afterburner installation). All hydraulic, electric and control systems were similar to those of the F-80C.
1948
The F-94A were followed in 1951 by F-94B which differed in having square wingtips with centrally mounted Fletcher tip-tanks of larger capacity and improved shape, raised to the wing centre-line, and a revised hydraulic system.
The final version was the F-94C with a thinner wing, longer nose, swept horizontal tail surfaces, larger vertical surfaces, a more powerful engine, and the radome centred in the fuselage nose and surrounded by a ring of 24 air-to-air rockets housed in firing tubes, faired by a retractable shield. Two pods (one mounted on each wing) could together accommodate 24 more rockets. A total of 544kg of electronic equipment included automatic locating, tracking and firing instruments, Westinghouse autopilot, Sperry Zero-Reader, ILS, etc.
F-94C
A total of 854 production Starfires were built. The USAF’s first turbojet-powered all-weather interceptor, the type served primarily with Air Defense Command for national defence.
F-94C Engine: 1 x Pratt & Whitney J48-P-5 turbojet with afterburner, 6,250 lb / 28.2kN thrust Max take-off weight: 10970 kg / 24185 lb Empty weight: 5764 kg / 12708 lb Wingspan: 11.38 m / 37 ft 4 in Length: 13.56 m / 44 ft 6 in Height: 4.55 m / 14 ft 11 in Wing area: 21.63 sq.m / 232.82 sq ft Max. speed: 1030 km/h / 640 mph Ceiling: 15665 m / 51400 ft Range: 1296 km / 805 miles Armament: 48 x 2.75 in Crew: 2
In 1946 the new Strategic Air Command of the USAAF placed an order for the development of a so-called penetration fighter; a long-range fighter able to fly ahead of the bomber force and sweep aside all fighter opposition. The XF-90 evolved over two years and resulted from 65 different designs created by Johnson’s engineers. These included butterfly-tailed aircraft, three-engine aircraft, ‘W’ winged designs. Lockheed’s Model 153 submission was thought to offer great potential and was ordered in the form of two XF-90 prototypes. The two prototypes were to be tested in a fly-off competition with the McDonnell XF-88 and North American YF-93A designs.
Developed by Clarence L. (Kelly) Johnson’s Lockheed fighter team, the design had a number of similarities to the company’s F-80 Shooting Star, but was of more advanced aerodynamic concept. It had a finely tapered forward fuselage, two laterally mounted 4200-lb (1905-kg) afterburning thrust Westinghouse J34-WE-11 turbojets, and flying surfaces swept at 35 degrees. A radius of about 1100 miles (1770-km) was provided by considerable internal fuel supplemented by jettisonable wingtip tanks. This was calculated to provide an escort capability into the western USSR from bases in West Germany, and a potent offensive punch was provided by a combination of four 20-mm cannon with six 0.5-in (12.7-mm) machine-guns. The final XF-90 had 12.7mm rivets in the wings and weighed as much as a DC-3.
The first aeroplane flew on 4 June 1949 at Muroc, piloted by Tony LeVier. It cruised around 15,000 ft for 37 minutes. The twin Westinghouse J-34 were assisted by a pair of externally mounted JATO rockets for the gross weight of 26,000 lb.
XF-90 first take-off
It was immediately revealed to be drastically under-powered with twin 1406kg thrust Westinghouse J34-WE-11 turbojets. The XF-90 reached 1070km/h at 9784m in level flight and could easily be pushed through the sound barrier in a shallow dive. Throughout April and May 1950, above Muroc Dry Lake, Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier put the XF-90 through high-speed dive tests. LeVier dived the XF-90 to Mach 1.12 on 17 May 1950.
The XF-90 stalled at 204km/h, making it no easy machine to control on the approach. Its take-off performance enabled it to clear a 15m obstacle in 2629m without the rocket-assisted take-off (RATO) units used in some tests. In the 1949 fly-off, the XF-88 came in first, the XF-90 second, and the YF-93A third, but by then the results were academic. With the September 1949 detonation of the Soviet Union’s first nuclear weapon, the USAF’s requirement was changing at this time, so the project was cancelled.
The second XF-90 was rigged with instruments on the ground and destroyed in the 1952 atomic bomb tests at Frenchman’s Flat, Nevada. Lockheed records indicate that the first XF-90 was shipped in 1953 to a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio. Apparently, it was eventually broken up in tests at that NACA facility.
Engines: 2 x Westinghouse J34-WE-11 turbojets, 1406kg thrust Max take-off weight: 12300 kg / 27117 lb Empty weight: 8400 kg / 18519 lb Wingspan: 12.19 m / 39 ft 12 in Length: 17.12 m / 56 ft 2 in Height: 4.8 m / 15 ft 9 in Wing area: 32.05 sq.m / 344.98 sq ft Max. speed: 1070 km/h / 665 mph Ceiling: 11800 m / 38700 ft Range: 3700 km / 2299 miles
L to R, Top to Bottom RAF EE Lightning, RCAF Lockheed CF-104 Starfighter, Fokker-built Belgian F-104G w/droptanks, USAF McDonnell F-4D Phantom, USAF NA F-100D Super Sabre, French AF Dassault Super Mystere, German AF Lockheed T-33A
In December 1945 the USAAF began to receive its first jet fighter, the Lockheed P 80 Shooting Star, and it soon became clear that a trainer version was essential. Lockheed’s P-80 Shooting had developed into a lengthened-fuselage two-seat trainer version, designated originally TF-80C. The first of these flew on 22 March 1948.
In addition to the fuselage ‘stretch’, a second cockpit in tandem was provided with dual controls, the transparent canopy was extended to cover both cockpits and the armament of the F-80 was deleted. Original engines were Allison J33-35 single-shaft turbojet engines with a thrust rating of 5,200 lbs.
Test pilot Jim Fitzgerald was killed during an approach to landing in the first T-33 that Lockheed built.
T-33A
The type eventually became the USAFs standard jet trainer, many being supplied to foreign nations under the Military Aid Program. 1,058 were supplied to friendly nations under the program. They were also built for service with the US Navy and Marine Corps under the designation TV-2, later T-33B.
TV-2 Seastar
A total of 128 TF-80C were built before the designation was changed to T-33A in May 1949.
Derived from T 33 as shipboard trainer, a total of 271 T-1 Seastar trainers were built for U.S. Navy during 1957 58.
Variants included small numbers modified as DT-33A drone directors and AT-33A armed close-support aircraft.
After a production run of 11 years the 5691th and last Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star was delivered by Lockheed at the beginning of August 1959.
A total of 5,691 were built by parent company, 656 built in Canada (by Canadair Ltd as CL 30 Silver Star with Nene 10), and 210 built in Japan (by Kawasaki). The aircraft was supplied to the air arms of some twenty-five countries.
In 1963 Libya started its own Air Force when the US turned over two T-33 and a C-47 at Wheelus AFB.
Canadair was given a contract in September 1951 to manufacture the T-33 with the first flight being in December 1952. The Canadair CL-30′ Silver Star’, later designated CT-133, was a tandem two-seat, armed trainer version of the T-33A, powered by a Rolls Royce Nene 10 turbojet, delivering 5,400 lb thrust. 636 were built under licence for the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1952. It was used as an instrument flight trainer whilst in service with the Canadian forces in Germany. The Silver Star Mks. 2 and 3 differed from the U.S. manufactured T-33A in being powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turbojet. Armament consisted of two nose-mounted 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine-guns plus various light bombs, rockets and machine-gun pods. It had a service ceiling of 48,000 feet, a maximum speed of 600 mph at sea level and a cruising speed of 455 mph. The normal range was 1,025 miles and the maximum range was 1,275 miles. Canada gave T-33s to Bolivia, France, Greece, Portugal and Turkey under the Mutual Aid programme.
CL-30 Silver Star
By the end of 2000, 7 nations in the world still listed the T-33 as “in service.”
Circa 1964 a T-33, modified and operated for USAF Flight Dynamics Lab at Wright Patterson AFB, by Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, has a variable drag system provided by servo-driven petals mounted on wing tanks. Simulation of flight path and handling qualities of lifting-body re-entry vehicles was made on both front and back of the power curve.
Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory modified T-33
Cornell Aero Lab at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, had a variable-stability aircraft, a Lockheed NT-33A Shooting Star, which Neil Armstrong flew, testing experimental sidestick controller.
T-33 Engine: 1 x Allison J-33-A-5, 24.0kN Max take-off weight: 5900 kg / 13007 lb Empty weight: 3810 kg / 8400 lb Wingspan: 11.9 m / 39 ft 1 in Length: 11.5 m / 37 ft 9 in Height: 3.6 m / 11 ft 10 in Wing area: 22.0 sq.m / 236.81 sq ft Max. speed: 965 km/h / 600 mph Ceiling: 14700 m / 48250 ft Range w/max.fuel: 2150 km / 1336 miles Crew: 2
T-33A Engine: 5,400 lbs.t. (2450 kgp) Allison J33 A 35. Max level speed: 543 mph (874 kph). Max speed, 600 mph (966 kph) at sea level Cruise, 430 mph (692 kph) Initial climb, 5,525 fpm (28 m/sec) Service ceiling, 47,500 ft (14,477 m) Range, 1,345 mls (2164 km). Empty weight 8,084 lb (3 667 kg) MTOW, 11,965 lb (5428 kg). Wing span, 38 ft 10.5 in (11.85 m) Length 37 ft 9 in (11.49 m) Height: 14 ft 4 in (3.45 m) Wing area, 237 sq.ft (22 sq.m).
T-33A Engine one 5,400-lb. Allison J-33-A/4 turbojet with w/water-alcohol injection. Gross wt. 16,800. Empty wt. 8,440. Total fuel: 813 USG; 230 in each tip tank. Max Speed 525 mph. Long range cruise 455 mph. Range 1,000 nm. Ceiling 47,000′. Seats (ejection) 2.
T 1A Seastar Engine: 6,100 lbs.t. (2 767 kgp) Allison J33 A 22 turbojet. Max speed, 580 mph (933 kph) at 35,000ft (10 668 m) Cruise, 410 mph (660 kph) Initial climb, 6,330 fpm (32.1 m/sec) Service ceiling, 40,000ft (12 192 m) Range, 967 mls (1566 km). Empty weight, 11,965 lb (5 428 kg) Loaded weight, 15,500 lb (7 031 kg). Wing span, 42 ft 10 in (13.05 m) Length, 38 ft 6.5 in (11.73 m) Wing area, 240 sq.ft (22.3 sq.m).
Canadair CL-30 Engine: Rolls Royce Nene 10 turbojet, 5100 lb (2,315 kg) Span: 37 ft 7 in (11.48 m) without tip tanks Wing Span: 38 ft 10.5 in Length: 37 ft 9 in (11.49 m) Height: 11 ft 8 in (3.6 m) Wing area: 238 sq ft (22.11 sq m) Empty weight: 8,440 lb (3,832 kg) Loaded weight: 18,400 lb (8,217 kg) Maximum speed: Mach .787 Armament: Two .50 calibre Browning machine guns
