Air Force Flight Test Projects of the Mid-1950s
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- Опубліковано 7 жов 2024
- This narrated 1956 briefing highlights aircraft under test at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., during hectic Cold War days. It includes rare views of an F-84 with dual jettisonable mainwheels for heavyweight takeoffs, B-47 and Rascal tests, a B-52 landing gear mishap, ZELMAL zero-length launches, the turboprop XF-84H and much more in this nearly 30-minute vintage film presentation. (Have you subscribed to the Airailimages UA-cam channel? Thanks! ) And here's our Edwards AFB historical Playlist: • Edwards Air Force Base
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Dad was the senior ranking officer in USAF Test Pilot Class 56-D. I grew up at Edwards. Grissom and Cooper were his classmates, my little buddies were Mark and
Scott Grissom. Every day was thrilling, the heroes, the sonic booms, the desert itself. Dad went on to be Chief of Bomber Operations and Chief of Flight Test in Dayton. His last assignment was at Headquarters USAF as the Deputy Director of Research and Development for the Air Force. Miss you dad. Ps: he also had 56 missions as a B-17 pilot in WW2. He was 17 years old, lying about his age.
That's a great family story to have! Thanks for watching and commenting. I spent 18 years as a civilian at Edwards in the 90s and up to 2011... so much history.
I personally feel like thr 1950s was the greatest/most important era in aviation testing history.
Certainly the most fascinating
The late 40's and 50's must have been a great time to be in military aviation and R&D. With all the new technology to be explored (jets, missiles, avionics, radar, nuclear weapons) it seems that almost any idea was given a chance. Must have been very interesting.
And crashes .
It was Definitely the time to be on that base.
So many good brave men died to develop the aircraft we have today.
@@BigDaddy-fx4nx You are so correct.
Thanks to German engineering.
When I was a kid in the early 60's Dad would take us by the rocket test area on our way to Arizona. I remember seeing the black soot streaks on the hillsides. I knew what they were because in those days all us kids could name all the astronauts and missions.
+obsolete professor Yes -- Mercury - Gemini - Apollo were big, important, and exciting.
Do you know where that rocket test site is roughly?
@@stefanrazin736 The test site is on Leuhman ridge visible from Hwy 58 near Boron CA.
obsolete professor , Until March 23, 1965, the only manned US space missions were the single-astronaut Mercury missions, both ballistic and orbital. There were no American EVAs during the Mercury missions, and the launch vehicles, either the Redstone or the Atlas, were literally primitive, terrifyingly unreliable early nuclear warhead launch missiles, based very closely on the Nazi V-2 terror weapon, that had been hastily and crudely “man-rated”, in a desperate attempt to catch up to the Soviets in space. The test leftovers that you viewed in California were exclusively related to the testing of military-grade rocket engines, using both solid and liquid fuels and oxidizers. Rocket engines designed for human flight were all test-fired at the NASA Wallops facility in Mississippi.The early 1960s of which you speak must have been an exciting time for a child in America, but there were only a very small handful of astronauts and missions for a kid to know and name at that point. Gemini and Apollo would change this and vault the US into a commanding lead in the space race. The technology seen in this film is all from the early to mid 1950s.
I was there! I'm 66 now, father was a test pilot at Edwards in the nineteen fifties, my earliest memories are the Mojave desert, with jets roaring overhead and sonic booms! Wow those were exciting times, a very important period in our aviation progress. He later became a civilian test pilot for McDonnell Douglas here in St Louis, he really had it go in on!
Thanks for adding your story. We'll have more flight test film coming...
Did your dad know Joe Walker?
Did you ever hear the Thunderscreech?
And the B-52 and C-130 are STILL in service!
Afterburner both won't be out of service for a long time yet. I'd say the C130 will last longer though
Curiosity Of Mankind I have to agree with you, a short field transport plane will still be relevant longer than a large cumbersome unstealthy bomber.
Jacob Zondag “Alleged “and “to your knowledge “are both very interesting key words. Russia are notorious for overtly selling everyone on how strong they are when it’s mostly propaganda. The U. S. however keeps its cards close and never fully discloses the true nature of our military might. The U.S. military budget dwarfs all other countries budgets by leaps and bounds. Don’t worry about those alleged Russian military tools, the United States is overwhelming the top dog of the worlds military forces, overwhelmingly! 🇺🇸
The C-130 is nearly ubiquitous as an airplane.
The C-130 -- now the C-130J -- is STILL in production.
Jets from the 1950s 60s and 70s are the sentimental beasts...the 50s being the most romantic and dangerous era.
Interesting video. I was stationed at NAF El Centro in the 6515th OMS out of Edwards and flew into Edwards a number of times. I was crew chief on a B-66 and flew a lot on board. One evening, we flew into Edwards and just as we were in the landing pattern we could see the rocket test firing a rocket. It lit up the whole valley. After the Air Force, I worked on the drop test range as a camera man, maintenance man and Whirl Tower operator. Brought back a lot of memories.
Thanks for sharing that. Sounds like you had interesting work and a great career.
Thanks for the recollection, friend. When vets weigh in the forum becomes a worthy one.
Could you email me? I'd like to hear more
First person comment I have read that also was in the 6515th OMS at Edwards. I was a mechanic on the TB-58 there in 1964-1965. I was 43151E jet 4 engines and over. Later got my 43171E ( master mechanic airplane ) while crew chief on C-141A at Travis AFB.
I tip my hat to you sir.
The B-52 and C-130 still going strong!
B-52 isn't expected to be phased out until at least the 2040's. Might make it a full century even.
I love everything aviation, it’s in my blood as they say, and watching these older films is just awesome, even with the narrator turning pages and so obviously just reading the script without a clue what he is saying. I would have loved to be in the aviation industry in the post war years and decades, such a huge amount of innovation and invention going on.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Yes, there is just something about the older foilms that grabs the imagination.
Love the wheels with parachutes at the beginning.
I like how you can hear pages being turned
+Jess Hull Lol
Jess Hull that would be beautiful if he had to do and ask someone how to read a word
Strangely relaxing.
and the aircraft background noise
Jess Hull , Was this really one of the better readers that could be located? Ouch!
Love this stuff ! I was born in 1958, tucked quietly away in North Carolina, I envy the experience John Harris posted about his childhood...all that activity..sonic booms:) my alternative life has me as a pilot back then..my hair crew cut, saddling up to ride them shiny aluminum jets..my wife griping about plumbing problems at home...and that watering hole I go to after work...etc etc :)
Thanks for watching and commenting. Yeah, the classic aviation films like this are great, aren't they? I finally had the chance to work at Edwards AFB from the early 90s; newer aircraft, but the pilots had the same sense of adventure; the same intelligent skills.
24 yrs of working at Edwards first being stationed here as an enlisted member then as a contractor for various defense contractors there is so much history here it still amazes me I’ve worked on main base to south base. Yet if you want to you can learn so many new things every day. I can say that I’ve worked on some of the most prolific programs in the aviation world from the F-22, X-35, X-32 to the Airborne laser to the B-52 to B 1 bomber. Pretty awesome place to work and be stationed at.
Thanks for adding your comments and for watching. Yes, Edwards is a unique place.
@14.44 The Republic XF-84H was aka the 'Thunderscreech'. It was so loud it was banned from the usual testing area. It would make anyone near vomit. It was insane with the outer edge of the prop breaking the speed of sound and delivering an intense high frequency pulsing shock wave. No recordings exist as far as I'm aware.
Glad you said that. I came across a recording on UA-cam, but, like all such attempts, it lacks the presence of the real thing. ua-cam.com/video/YItexQxJS9U/v-deo.html
Too bad - I would have liked very much to hear it!
Martin D A Speaking of noise. We had some Stealth 117s FLY OVER here, at McClellan AFB. There was nothing "stealthy" about their engines, very noisy!😣🤔
I live, not even a mile from mclellan
Marky Hursh , Stealth, of course, applies chiefly to radar cross-section reduction, not engine noise at takeoff or landing, which is unavoidable.
It still amazes me just how advanced military aviation was so long ago. We think we live in the only times of great breakthroughs now, not even close. Compare a 50's interceptor like the F106 with 50's cars or home tech, no comparison. A computerised, missile- and radar-equipped self contained machine, with honeycomb structure, new alloys and materials, all the same directions of research people think is the latest now. And it was an extension of long-standing work even by then. So kids, enjoy your phones and tablets but don't think grand-dad's generation didn't know anything. More stuff's been forgotten than we'll ever know
Hasn't been forgotten, usually takes 30 years for it to hit civilian market. Even then not all things are civilian equivalent from a military use. I work in aviation on some high speed stuff that I surmise will be public knowledge or have civilian applications in 30 to 40 years.
Amazing that a few years later there were designs already being shaped of the F-4, SAAB Draken and then Viggen. So many leaps.
I was familiar with most of these aircraft, and found this to be very interesting!
Glad you liked it. It is fun to find this stuff.
Watching the F-22 fly I would say they learned a lot from those tests and many more, well done
It must have been an exciting time aeronautically, to be a kid seeing these crazy new shapes roaring over head, wow.
An era of a 'new' discovery of flight - the Jet age. A lot of experimental, shiny, fast, ear shattering craft.
Agree. Seems like almost any idea was worth a try to these guys. What a good environment for imaginative engineers and pilots who had the government behind them and technological advances in jets, rockets, and electronics to play with. What innovative ideas surfaced post WWII through the 50's.
Gary Withers
I lived on air bases as a kid (50’s and 60’s) and yes was very exciting!
Terrific account of USAF military research. I thought I'd seen all of it before but the XF-84H was completely new to me. Thank you for posting.
You're welcome. Thanks for watching.
Ah!.....the golden age of aviation......The great American Try Anything Once Age. The C-130 and B-52 still fly today, 65 years on, two of the most successful planes ever built. The Alison T56 turboprop and the Russian Tu-95 Kuznetzov NK-12 turboprop share design longevity, 65 years down the road!
Outstanding documentary on how development of supersonic aircraft were conducted. Great film footage of these test. Thank you so much.
And thank you for watching and commenting.
@@airailimages You are welcome.
Test Pilot requires a lot “Esprit de corps” . Amazing ages pushing forward limits, those of pilots and planes .
Thank you for this upload .
You are very welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting.
+@@airailimages - "There was a demon that lived in the air. They said whoever challenged him would die. Their controls would freeze up, their planes would buffet wildly, and they would disintegrate. The demon lived at Mach 1 on the meter, seven hundred and fifty miles an hour, where the air could no longer move out of the way. He lived behind a barrier through which they said no man could ever pass. They called it the sound barrier."
Thanks Fred, much appreciated 👍. That was so interesting 🤔. Amazing footage once again 👋🇦🇺
Glad you enjoyed it
This is neat, seeing these aircraft that are "finishing phase 3 testing" that are STILL top dogs!
"Airman Jones, narrate that film!" "But Sir, I can't read."
What a fun film. Would love to see this restored, as much of it is dark and grainy. Lots of great shots of rare test planes!
I like how they showed the problems too. Flight test reality.
The poor old F-84 got all the dirty work and none of the glory. They shot it off a trailer with a rocket, stuck a propeller on the front, gave it an explosive wheel, and dropped it from aircraft bellies and expected it to return to that aircraft. BTW, you can watch the GREAT PLANES episodes of some of these aircraft on my channel.
Awesome footage esp love the F84H Thunderscreech what an unusual and awesome plane
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Most interesting and thanks for posting this bit of aeronautical history..
And thanks for watching and commenting.
A time of great development and innovation!
Very interesting technology history. I can't believe these tests were conducted 63-65 years ago.
This was 1950's in greatest country in the World the United States of America. We got through cold war, I am sure we will get through this.
Thankyou for sharing these films.
Great stuff;
Thank you for history.
You are very welcome. Thank you for watching and commenting.
HAH! C-130 when she was a baby!! Introduced in 1956 and they're still in service today.
I think you did a good job on both the narration, content and overall information. Thank You.
Dad also did hundreds of test hours of the X and Y B-52. I have the Boeing large color photos of each and one of the chrome scale desk top models. It was on Dad’s desk at the Pentagon. Washington was different then. I enjoyed high-school years in Alexandria and complete access to the amazing cultural and educational aspects of Washington.
Fascinating stuff. Cutting edge tech in my youth.
Another missile with a great name was the 'Rascal' , reminds me of another one called 'The Hounddog' We need to come up with more names like these. lol
Hi. I was crewchiet on the f80 f84 t33 and the first f101 . 1954 until 1961. It was a great time.
At 68 now, i remember growing up in Auburn, Calif. We were close to 4 major Air Force Bases: Mather AFB, where B-52s were based; McClellan AFB in Sacramento; Travis AND, near Fairfield in SF Bay Area; and Beale AFB, near Chico. Also near Aerojet - (contractor) Rocket Motor Design and Testing Facility - some miles away from Sacramento. Fly overs occurred in 1950s, including giant scientific balloons, that "flew over" a few times. Was a fantastic sight for a pre-teen boy! Also saw silver pieces of some kind of aircraft?, falling down a couple of miles away - the big pieces glistening in the late afternoon sun.
Thanks for adding your story, and for watching.
My dad was in the Air Force in 1950. He got to experience the transition from propellers to jets. He always reminded me that in those days men actually FLEW the aircraft manually and by instincts and experience, unlike today's fighter jockeys who have computers to do most of the work. I wish I could have been in the air force in those days. Though I myself am retired Army, (I chose the Army over the USAF because at that time, the Army was the only service giving guarantees on job placement) always kidded him and other USAF members or retirees that the air force actually had it's genesis in the Army!
Thanks for watching, and adding your family story.
This is historic gold!
Subscribed!
Thanks for watching and subscribing.
Fantastic, thanks guys!
Extra wheels that are jettisoned, supersonic Prop aircraft...haha. Those guys were getting paid to try out just about anything! I guess the Red Scare loosened up quite a bit of budget.
A very strange time for aviation...
Lance Kozlowski n
Me 163 Komet jettisoned it's wheels on takeoff.
A fantastic time for aviation...
Lance Kozlowski. Only US plane that I know about that had regular drop wheels, AFTER takeoff, was the U-2 Spy Plane. They were called "pogo sticks" I think.
I used to watch these jets take off from Bangor international airport, they were impressive ,they were flying support for the refueling,missions
5 stars...Great Post.....
That was a fascinating look into the past world of experimentation and development. It covered such a broad yet related number of subjects and I never wanted it to end. I wanted this video compilation to go on for hours. Quality content upload. Many thanks to the uploader.
You are welcome!
I was born in '56 so I don't remember all that much of the decade. But I think the '50's were the best time in the U. S.
Оце були часи, коли реалізовувались найсміливіші проекти !!!
Thanks for this excellent post!!
if you know where to look there are reminders of the aerospace industry all over Long Island. In Nassau County (the Hempstead Plains) you can still see the runways of the old Mitchel Air Force Base under the dormitory towers of Hofstra University (the runway is their parking lot, still concrete) and behind Nassau Coliseum there is the remnants of another runway and the turn around section. The Grumman Bethpage facility is used to make movies now. A lot of history there.
Not so sure Capt. Apt fully appreciated the brief record he set (5.42)
The XF-84H was, for many years, mounted on a pylon at the Bakersfield Meadows Airport. I saw it many times, but that's been many years ago. I don't know if it's there now. They say that the supersonic propeller caused extreme nausea for anyone nearby.
The National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB got the Bakersfield XF-84H.
Thanks! It looked lonely up there on the pylon. That's good to know!!
And never reached supersonic speeds.
@@amramjose
Not at the wingtip but at the propellor, YOW!
@@amramjose almost did though.
This was filmed the year before I was born but for some years after this, sonic booms were common in Bakersfield, CA where I grew up. I kind of miss them.
That was a surprisingly honest and detailed film about a few projects they had going on in the 50's. Lots of (what used to be) classified stuff in there. They must have kept this one away from the outside world for a long time . When was it shown to "those in the need.." ? Is it a briefing for newcomers at the base ? Or high ranking Pentagon staff ? Or anyone they trusted in Washington to get some funding to them ? Imagine the film they maybe release 60 years from now, about a little bit of what's going on today.
""The XF-84H was quite possibly the loudest aircraft ever built (rivaled only by the Russian Tupolev Tu-95 "Bear" bomber. On the ground "run ups", the prototypes could reportedly be heard 25 miles (40 km) away. [T]he blades on the XF-84H's propeller traveled faster than the speed of sound even at idle thrust, producing a continuous visible sonic boom that radiated laterally from the propellers for hundreds of yards. The shock wave was actually powerful enough to knock a man down; an unfortunate crew chief who was inside a nearby C-47 was severely incapacitated during a 30-minute ground run.""
XF - 84H
The Air Force did plenty of experimentation with aircraft, missiles, and parachute systems to see if they were functional. I saw the result of one B-52 sent to be tested and it landed with the rear landing gear closing back up damaging the aircraft and that scared me. I never flew on the D model, or the H model, but did fly on the G models which we had at Barksdale AFB which was sent to the satellite base and some of us munitions personnel had to go with the aircraft to arm the aircraft once it landed.
Thanks for commenting. I had one 10-hour flight in a 92nd BW G-model on a training mission from Fairchild... for a magazine article; great experience. I always thought the G-models were the best looking B-52s.
@@airailimages Many didn't want to fly on the G models, but I didn't mind and had fun flying on them.
I am old enough to remember when American engineers had balls, great memories 👍
Hopefully Yeager will get a nod, these guys had balls!!!! Right Stuff!!!!
Narrator later became singer for Devo
The thing I found most revealing was when the test rocket nose assembly was recovers after launch an parachute deployment. That thing had dents everywhere and they still have the footage. Shit had to be tougher back then even the cameras
You could do just about anything with an F-84. An underrated plane that has only now been recovered from history by the War Thunder game. They were also used to test whether you could give B-36s their own escort fighters by latching them onto the wingtips of the bomber...I think that system was actually operational for a while.
A wonderful visual record of an age long gone. I was born in '54, two years before it was made. Itemizing those aircraft in which I have or had a particular interest:
C-130 60 years and still flying. A very useful design overall. Same with B-52.
B-36? Not so much.
F-84H Thunderscreech. Its name said it all. The YT-40 dual contra-rotating Turboprop failed in the end and, along with its cancellation, so went the Goblin Parasite Fighter and the Pogo Vertijet. For the Goblin, like online dating today, the hookups were problematic. The Pogo was the plane only one man could land . . . and he hated it. I think he's still up there, somewhere.
The F-104, the sexiest, most useless, fighter ever. A tremendous upgrade of the Me-163 (the first real Point Defense Interceptor) it, too was hampered by extremely short radius of action. Unlike the Me-163, F-104 was unforgiving, had barely any maneuverability, and anything slung under the wings (like the tanks it needed for useful range) further degraded an already marginal payload capacity. Worse, by the time it appeared, ballistic rockets and stand off missiles were already taking its intended targets (large, slow moving intercontinental bombers) out of reach.
So, the Air Force built a turboprop version of the Lockheed Constellation. Interesting. Wonder how it compared to the piston engine version.
14:35 F-84H """The pervasive noise also severely disrupted operations in the Edwards AFB control tower by risking vibration damage to sensitive components and forcing air traffic personnel to communicate with the XF-84H's crew on the flight line by light signals. After numerous complaints, the Air Force Flight Test Center directed Republic to tow the aircraft out on Rogers Dry Lake, far from the flight line, before running up its engine.""" - Wiki [ and some book I read as a kid in the '70s ]
Man I miss the old days.
A must see for F-8 fans.
Are there any F-8 fans? The plane had a terrible safety record aboard carriers because it was so clean and the time lag in powering up the engine.
a historical film it just emphasizes how old the b52,really is.
same as C-130
cartmanrlsusall. Yes but it's been vastly improved and heavily modified. Was used for carpet bombing in Afghanistan after 911.
The last airframe off the Wichita production line was in 1962. The last KC-135 rolled out in 1966.
This film was released the same year as "Toward The Unknown".
Love the test track 👍🇦🇺
Rocket Stand Road - a great place to test motorcycles . I wonder if it’s still there.
2:12 Ya estaba ahí en los 50 esa manera de medir superficies en campos de fútbol.
That way of measuring sufaces using football fields was already there in the 50s.
Great Video.
I think the rocket test apparatus at 24:47 was a patent of my grandfather (Hugo R Santora) when he was at North American Aviation...
13:27 - 14:34 Overload wheels that jettison on takeoff. Wow.. First time I've see those.
Jim Jurena. Check out the old U-2 Spy Plane.
Similar only in the most basic concept of 'jettison on take-off'. I used to watch the U-2 take off from Osan Air Base in South Korea during my tour [1979-1980] . Instead of just one wheel from the main landing gear, the U-2 dropped the entire pogo stick from the wing tip and did not require it to land.
Those were a really innovative attempt to deal with high take off loads versus much lower landing requirements. Obviously subsequent programs did not find use for this but it was nevertheless a compelling solution to a real problem.
Cool old videos
@12:30 The last of the gunfighters, best of the 1st generation supersonic jet fighters ( Navy and Air Force)
LOL - the B-52 crew screwed the pooch by failing to put the gear handle into the gear down/locked detent and it thus was free to move up to the retract position. Duh, that's why the gear lever detent is there, sucker. Use it!
It's nice to know the F-101 was built by McDonald, I was so certain it was McDonnell for all these years.
You want frys with that voodoo?
John yes of course it is McDonnell my pop was a test pilot there Thomas Switzer Harris.
Called the McVoodoo.....
13:39 “a series of wheels....” On my iPad watching this video, the word “series” spoken by the announcer triggers Siri.... 😂
Great find . Thank you .
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
Excellent.
A hangar that fits a B-36 like that is a *big* hangar.
Thanks. Great Video.
That Bell X 1 was really hammered in to the ground on landing , maybe heavy wing loading ?
The early Shuttle missions landed at Edwards AFB
To give up your life setting a world record. That's a tough one..
9:40 Lockheed YC-130 the first turbo prop driven transport. Nahh, never going to work !
Great video
9:48 love that black widow in the background
Looks more like a B-25 to me.
Republic Aviation of East Farmingdale NY. I was able to drive through the old factory just before it closed down in 1987. Sad. There are still ruins of the original Seversky factory on the north side of Conklin St between the street and the LIRR tracks.
Similarly, I was startled to see Lockheed Burbank torn down, or Boeing Plant 2 in Seattle..
Cool film.
USA: the master of fair-weather airplanes up to today.
I liked the F-104 Lawn Dart. :-)
The most interesting Top Secret project at that area was hush hush to all except Pentagon and military people occured at a place owned by Poncho Barnes.
the convair f102A at 10:50 looks just like the new rafale
you need better glasses: was the 1956 Mirage III who was (a bit) similar, not the Rafale...but the first delta wing flying test aircraft (in the 30's ) was french (Nicolas Raland Payen)
NF-104A is the craft that Chuck Yeager crashed.