American fighter aircraft are just that. On Dec. 20, 2011 Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced its selection of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as the next generation fighter to meet the needs of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The announcement was a shot in the arm for the beleaguered JSF program, but not a surprise.

Since World War II, the U.S. has exported technology of all kinds to Japan, and vice-versa. Toyota sold its first car in the U.S. – a Toyopet Crown – in 1958, beginning a tidal wave of sales. Often overlooked has been the large-scale purchase, license-production and employment of American fighters in Japan, which began two years before that first Toyopet left the dealership.

Though the terms of the Armistice Agreement signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay in September 1945 prohibited Japanese aerial activity, including aircraft manufacturing, the swiftly changing geostrategic climate resulted in the establishment of

The Japan Air Self Defense Force's (JASDF) flight demonstration team, Blue Impulse, taxi their F-86F Sabre aircraft out during the annual Japanese-American Friendship Festival at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 1, 1981. U.S. Air Force photo

the Japan Self Defense Force in 1952. The Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) was formed on July 1, 1954, and under American tutelage a flight training school stood up at Hamamatsu Air Base with 25 Beech T-34 Mentors in December 1954.

Jet training began the following year in Lockheed T-33As. The initial advanced training classes graduated to jet fighter conversion both in Japan and in Nevada, taking the controls of the Japan’s first post-War fighter, the North American F-86F Sabre.

The first operational wing of JASDF F-86Fs was established at Hamamatsu in 1956, with 70 Sabres on the flightline. Two additional F-86F wings were formed in 1957 at Chitose and Matsushima Air Bases, with a fourth wing added in 1959. All-weather F-86Ds were adopted by the JASDF in the same period, with 60 having been delivered by the end of 1958.

Japan was actually the third Asian Sabre operator after Taiwan and South Korea, but acquired the aircraft in larger numbers than any other foreign air force. Japanese and Asian orders for the fighter convinced the USAF to reinstate Sabre production in 1955 with the new F-86F-40 which enjoyed extended wing tips and leading-edge slats. The first batch of this improved Sabre was shipped to Japan via Sacramento in 1956.

A Lockheed Martin F-104J Starfighter of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) in flight with a target sleeve during a training exercise in 1983. The Japanese F-104J were manufactured by Lockheed Martin but assembled by Mitsubishi. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Steve McGill

Even before the first F-86s were delivered, plans were made for the resumption of indigenous aircraft production with the acquisition of manufacturing licenses from American aerospace firms. Mitsubishi, maker of the iconic A6M Zero, got the North American license for the Sabre, completing its first F-86 in 1956. By 1960 Mitsubishi would turn out some 300 Sabres, firmly establishing a tradition.

The JASDF operated the F-86 through the early 1970s, its “Blue Impulse” jet aerobatic team keeping the Sabre in business until 1982. In the early 1960s the Japanese Defense Ministry was already considering its next fighter option. At the time, Lockheed was looking for potential customers for its redesigned F-104. Europe was a likely target, but the JASDF’s interceptor needs matched well with the 104, which Lockheed realized would sell most readily under license arrangements.

The company built a Starfighter for Japan largely similar to the F-104G, optimized for air defense. The first three F-104Js were assembled in the spring of 1961 and flew in June. They were then disassembled, shipped to Japan and reassembled by Mitsubishi. The first units to get the Starfighter were the 201^st and 202^ndsquadrons at Chitose and Nyutabaru, commencing operations in 1962. Some 210 F-104s were manufactured by both Mitsubishi and Kawasaki as the single-seat 104J and two-seat F-104DJ. They remained in JASDF service through 1986.

A Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) F-4EJ Phantom II aircraft of the 301st Hikotai takes off during the joint U.S./Japan exercise Cope North 85-4. Below is a Japanese Lockheed T-33 aircraft. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. James R. Ferguson

Its air defense needs unabated, the JASDF continued to look to the U.S. for fighter aircraft in the mid-1960s. With its range, power and radar, the F-4 Phantom was a natural choice. Its selection was announced in 1968 and, as Lockheed had done, McDonnell Douglas built the first two prototype F-4EJs, disassembled them and shipped them for reassembly in Japan.

Following initial deliveries in 1971, Mitsubishi undertook production of the F-4EJ and the reconnaissance RF-4EJ. The 7^th Air Wing was the first to equip with the Phantom, standing up at Hyakuri Air Base in August 1972.  Ultimately, the JASDF would field 154 Phantoms (140 F-4EJs, 14 RF-4EJs) acquired in small batches through the 1980s. Updates kept the F-4 viable through the 1990s, and two squadrons of F-4EJs remain in service today with a few RF-4EJs still operational.

Involvement with the Sabre, Starfighter and Phantom gave the Japanese aerospace industry enough experience to embark on its own fighter, the Mitsubishi F-1, which debuted in 1971. While the F-1 proved successful, Japan continued to rely on U.S. designs for the backbone of its fleet. Next up was the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle.

The F-15 was one of 13 candidates to replace the F-104/F-4, and despite initial technology transfer limitations, was selected by Japan’s Ministry of Defense in 1975. Dubbed the

A Japan Air Self Defense Force F-15DJ in flight, as viewed from the boom operator position of a U.S. Air Force KC-135 from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron, Kadena Air Base, after being refueled during air refueling training July 30, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Angelique Perez

“Peace Eagle” the F-15J/F-15DJ were essentially export versions of the F-15C/D. McDonnell built the first two F-15Js and 12 F-15DJs, with most of the early aircraft manufactured in large components and shipped to Japan. Mitsubishi would again handle assembly and go on to produce the remainder of the 203 Peace Eagles acquired.

The first F-15J/DJs joined the 23rd Flying Training Squadron at Nyutabaru in late 1982. Subsequently, Eagles began replacing F-104s at Chitose beginning in 1984. Engine and weapons systems upgrades have kept the F-15J/DJs effective, and they equip seven front line squadrons and other units including an aggressor squadron.

Finally, while not an American fighter design per se, the F-16-based F-2 was introduced into JASDF service in 2000. Having grown out of the “big-wing” F-16 Agile Falcon proposal, the F-2 has a higher proportion of Japanese weapons and other systems. Approximately 75 are in service and up to 94 may be acquired.

With its F-35 announcement, Japan becomes the second FMS buyer for the Lightning II following Israel. The acquisition proves the America’s fighters are still big in Japan, and it’s certainly a big deal for the JSF program.

“We need to make sure we are on the cutting edge,” Panetta said. He added that the JSF is “absolutely vital to maintaining our air superiority,” but insisted that it’s important “to get this right.”

Panetta’s announcement means the JSF program, which has been plagued by cost increases and technical delays, will move ahead. The decision is a boost for advocates of the jet fighter, who say that its stealth qualities and versatility are needed to wage modern war. But skeptics were quick to point out that the decision by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates to give the F-35B two years to improve, and Panetta’s announcement that it had done so was mostly an inside-the-Washington-Beltway ploy. In DOD Buzz, Philip Ewing wrote that Gates “wrote a big check he knew he’d never have to cash, saying that the jet had two years to get its act together or he’d support its cancellation.

“Only Gates knew he wouldn’t be SecDef when that bill came due and that Lockheed, [the] Marine Corps and program officials were already knuckling down to tackle the B’s problems,” wrote Ewing.

Panetta praised the Patuxent community for demonstrating “real progress” in testing the STOVL aircraft during 2011.

The decision was hailed by partner nations in the JSF program. Julian Fantino, Canada’s Associate Minister of National Defense, called the move “welcome news for Canada and our allies’ participation in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter development program.”

The Marine Corps and Italy are presently the only users of the STOVL version of the JSF.

Kaman K-225, the world's first helicopter with a turbine engine. Test pilot William R. Murray is at the controls, 1949. Photo courtesy of the Naval Helicopter Historical Society (NHHS)

Charlie Kaman, one of the last great aviation pioneers of the twentieth century, died on Jan. 31, 2011 in Bloomfield, Conn. at age ninety-one. The Marines’ remotely piloted cargo helicopter assessment is only the latest of hundreds of innovations bearing the Kaman name. Even those who pilot his helicopters may not know that Charlie Kaman was an accomplished musician, guitar maker and service dog breeder.

Kaman was a 26-year-old engineer in 1945 when he founded Kaman Aircraft Company in the garage of his mother’s West Hartford, Conn. home with $2,000 invested by two friends.

When Kaman piloted his company’s first helicopter, the K-125, in the nocturnal hours of Jan. 15, 1947, “it was pitch dark, sleeting ice, and the conditions couldn’t have been worse, but we got six feet off the ground and hovered successfully,” Kaman said in an interview years later.

Today, the K-MAX being evaluated by the Marines – and used in the civilian world – is simply Kaman’s latest aircraft.

U.S. Air Force fire protection specialists fight a fire as an HH-43B Huskie helicopter hovers overhead to create a continuous downward air current, assisting the crew members. The crew was assigned to Detachment 8, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, Vietnam. U.S. Air Force photo

For his first helicopter, Charlie Kaman carved the rotor blades in the basement of his mother’s house. He used parts of a 1933 Pontiac to design a test rig. Kaman’s early K-225 helicopters, inspired in part by the work of Germany’s Otto Flettner, who became a friend in postwar years, are now an obscure part of history, although three examples remain in museums today.

Kaman’s trademark is the use of twin intermeshing, or “synchro-fit,” rotors employed with every Kaman helicopter except the SH-2 Seasprite.

Kaman’s best-known design, the H-43 Huskie, with its Navy and Marine HTK and HOK versions, incorporated his intermeshing rotor principle. A few of these 1950s-vintage helicopters are still being used in Arizona for agricultural work and in Oregon for logging.

Kaman experimented with almost everything in the field of vertical flight, including compound helicopters, converta-planes, jet driven rotors, rotor chutes, drones, and many others. A list of achievements by this innovator includes:

• the first servo-controlled rotor
• the first gas-turbine powered helicopter
• the first twin-turbine powered helicopter
• the first production all-composite rotor blade
• the first remotely controlled helicopter
• the first remotely controlled helicopter to deploy at sea
• the first helicopter (the Huskie) to go through its service life with no accident or loss of life attributable to the aircraft design.

A close-up view of an SH-2F Seasprite light airborne multi-purpose system (LAMPS) helicopter as the pilot prepares to land it aboard the destroyer USS Thorn (DD 988) during Operation Unitas XXV, June 1, 1984. DoD photo by PHC Terry Mitchell

The Huskie resulted from a 1956 competition by the U.S. Air Force for a Local Crash Rescue Mission (LCRM) craft. The LCRM helicopter was intended to maintain “ready alert” to proceed to a crash site with rescue personnel and equipment to suppress a fire and achieve a rescue. Eventually, half a dozen versions were built, culminating in the HH-43F, which carried out more rescues in Vietnam than any other helicopter type.

Kaman pioneered the concept of the unmanned helicopter. In 1950, he flew a remotely-controlled HTK-1 and was quoted as saying it would be useful in a nuclear emergency. In the early 1960s, seeking to develop a system to communicate with U.S. strategic missile submarines, Kaman tested his Shipboard Very Low Frequency System) aboard two QH-43G Huskie drones which were taken to sea on the cruiser USS Wright(CG 2). Though the Navy eventually chose a different system that uses an antenna trailing behind a fixed-wing E-6B Mercury, not a single mishap occurred during extended Huskie sea trials; the system proved to be operationally feasible.

During Operation Desert Storm, the Kaman name was found on the Navy’s LAMPS Mk. 1 (SH-2F Seasprite) helicopter. Seasprites detected floating mines and helped EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) teams to neutralize the mine threat. The SH-2G model, or LAMPS Mk. 2, served until 2001. LAMPS was the Navy’s acronym for Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System.

The HU2K-1 Seasprite prototype flew on July 2, 1959. Following a change in designation, the first UH-2A entered Navy service on Dec. 18, 1962.

The Seasprite was the mount of the only Navy helicopter pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honor, Lt. Clyde E. Lassen, who flew a UH-2 to rescue two downed Navy F-4 Phantom crewmembers in North Vietnam.

A detachment of Marines from Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 in Afghanistan completed their first unmanned aerial system cargo delivery in a combat zone, Dec. 17, 2011. The unmanned helicopter moved about 3,500 pounds of food and supplies from Camp Dwyer to troops at Combat Outpost Payne. The helicopter, an unmanned variant of the K-MAX, completed the delivery in about an hour and a half. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Justin M. Boling

The prototype K-MAX made its initial flight on Dec. 23, 1991 at Bloomfield, flown by Kaman test pilot Al Ashley and powered by a 380-hp Lycoming 17A gas turbine engine. The K-MAX has a high aspect ratio tail fin with a movable rudder surface tied directly to rudder pedals. The pilot’s compartment is designed to be removed so that the aircraft can be flown as a drone. In a press briefing in 1992, Charlie Kaman called K-MAX “the start of a family of hardware designed to show off hi-tech.” He said he preferred the intermeshing rotor configuration and expected pilotless versions of K-MAX to be used in fisheries law enforcement and anti-drug efforts as well as military uses. Kaman said the K-MAX could loiter at 10,000 feet for “close to half a day at a time” and that it has “near infinite life” on its transmission and rotor blades. Often called “Leonardo da Vinci in a business suit,” Charlie Kaman was a good enough guitar player to perform with Tommy Dorsey and to supply guitars of his design to Carly Simon. In his spare time, Kaman and his wife bred German Shepherds and created the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, specializing in service dogs for the blind.

Kaman’s inventions and innovations will be with us for a long time to come – testimony to the brilliance of a pioneer whose name deserves mention alongside Sikorsky, Piasecki and Hiller. Said Hal Salem, a former Huskie pilot: “We would not have today’s helicopter industry without Charlie Kaman.”

Hope does spring eternal, so some observers see a glimmer of hope for cooperative system progress in two different service announcements over the past month that seem to reflect their own unique interest in what appears to be the same system capability for a vertical takeoff and landing unmanned cargo aircraft.

The recent round of activity started when the United States Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) released a broad agency announcement targeting the development and demonstration of sensor and control technologies for autonomous cargo vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft in unprepared and hostile environments.

Designated as the Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS) Innovative Naval Prototype (INP), the announcement outlines the development of advanced autonomous capabilities to enable rapid cargo delivery by unmanned and potentially optionally manned Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) systems.

“AACUS-enabled vehicles should provide affordable and reliable rapid response cargo delivery to distributed small units in demanding, austere locations and environments,” it states. “AACUS encompasses the development and implementation of VTOL-based obstacle detection and avoidance, as well as autonomous landings at unprepared off-field non-cooperative landing sites, including dynamic contingency planning to the point of landing with goal-based supervisory control by any field personnel with no special training.”

The K-MAX unmanned helicopter takes off from Camp Dwyer with its sling load of 3,500 pounds of food and supplies for troops at Combat Outpost Payne in the first unmanned vertical takeoff unmanned aerial vehicle delivery of cargo in a combat zone, Dec. 17, 2011. Is it possible that other services might leverage the Marine Corps' unmanned cargo delivery efforts? U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Justin M. Boling

According to the supporting concept of operations (CONOPS), AACUS is “an Innovative Naval Prototype (INP) sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The goal of the AACUS INP is to develop and demonstrate intelligent autonomous capabilities for a future aerial cargo and utility system that provides rapid, affordable, reliable, shipboard-compatible, supply and casualty evacuation. AACUS technology is intended to support and/or enhance these missions when other cargo and insertion/extraction options are not available, or when the risk of using manned aircraft is too high.”

While acknowledging that the AACUS INP is “focused on the sensor suite and interface development,” the CONOPS does offer a number of vehicle specifications “for context,” including:

• Operations at greater than 12,000 feet density altitude;
• Delivering multiple in-stride cargo drops over round trip distances with a threshold of 150 nautical miles and an objective of 365 nautical miles;
• Able to carry a threshold of 1,600 lpounds and an objective of 5,000 pounds of payload internally, and;
• Travel at speeds of 110 knots threshold and 250 knots objective.

Just a few weeks later, on Jan. 6, 2012, The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Fort Dix, N.J., on behalf of the U.S. Army Logistics Innovation Agency (LIA), released a new request for information reflecting interest in “exploring future (7-10 years out) capability concepts for Cargo Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Information gained from the future concepts presentations will be used to form the basis for future analysis and assessment of the Cargo UAS utility within the Army.”

“Concepts shall include aerial delivery of cargo directly to the point-of-need or point-of-effect to tactical combat range of 300 nautical miles (KM) with cruising airspeeds of 250 knots or greater with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability,” it stated, adding other attributes like the “Ability to carry  between 5,000 and 8,000 pounds of all classes of supply to include but not limited to ammunition, water, fuel, etc. internally and externally” and the “Ability to operate takeoff/land at sea level on a standard day and to takeoff/land at 95 F, 12,000 feet Density Altitude (DA) with appropriate payloads.”

The Army is planning to host a Cargo UAS industry day in mid-February to allow interested contractors “who have experience, knowledge, and/or concepts concerning the development and use (concept of operations) of a Cargo UAS … to present their concepts/ideas to government representatives from LIA, the Army, Marine Corps, and Navy. …”

Hope springs eternal…

What the movie gets right is its depiction of the Tuskegee Airmen’s battle to obtain new aircraft and the fight that the unit’s officers waged to get the 332^nd into a combat role. The 332^nd was assigned duties that prevented them from engaging in combat with enemy planes, and were then criticized by some in the War Department for not shooting down enemy aircraft. The “Red Tails” on film and in World War II had to work doubly hard and take enormous risks to earn the grudging respect of their superiors. Indeed, their near-flawless job of escorting the bombers into the heart of Nazi Germany earned that respect.

Predictably, this movie may annoy some students of history because, as a rule, historical movies have inaccuracies designed to move the plot along or provide entertainment for the majority of the audience. Red Tails is no exception, with a fanciful plot point of a Tuskegee Airman being shot down, captured, interned in a German POW camp, and then escaping to rejoin his unit. This was unnecessary, because the true story of Lt. Alexander Jefferson, a captured Tuskegee Airman, is much more compelling. Jefferson’s book, Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW, tells the incredible story of his time as a POW.

On the other hand, things that may appear to be inaccurate on film are composites of events that did occur. For example, a German destroyer is strafed and sunk by two pilots flying P-40s. Although, this seemed farfetched, further research revealed that two P-47s, assigned to the 332^nd, did strafe and cripple an Italian torpedo boat destroyer operated by the Germans off Trieste, Italy during operations in June 1944.

An example of the CGI used in Red Tails. The use of CGI gives the viewer an idea of what the skies over Europe looked like during World War II. 20th Century Fox photo

Despite heavy use of computer-generated imagery (CGI), the airplanes look superb. The movie has flying scenes with B-17 Flying Fortresses, C-47 Skytrains, P-40 Warhawks, Bf-109s, P-51 Mustangs, and ME-262s. For someone who has never seen these airplanes in flight, it is a treat to see them on film, CGI or not. One quibble with the CGI is that it allows the filmmaker, in this case director Anthony Hemingway, to have the airplanes perform maneuvers that are impossible. The director’s exaggerations were unnecessary. There was no need to have P-51s keeping up with the jet-powered ME-262, when the ME-262 could go over 100 mph faster. History is even more impressive, considering that during the March 24, 1945 mission to Berlin that is depicted in the film, three ME-262s were shot down by the 332^nd.

Despite some of the historical shortcomings of the film, it is still a movie worth seeing, if only to give a picture of what the Tuskegee Airmen faced not only against the Luftwaffe, but also against the racial prejudices of their fellow countrymen. Red Tails is being released in conjunction with Double Victory, which aired on the History Channel and History H2 during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

With future U.S. purchases of the similar AT-6 in the Light Air Support (LAS) program now in doubt, the Mexican purchase is good news for the planemaker.

The T-6C+ uses a 1,600-horsepower PT6-A-68 turboprop engine and is equipped to carry practice weapons for training purposes. There is no indication yet that the planes will be armed or used for other than training purposes.

The first two of the six will be delivered to an advanced training base, not otherwise identified, in Mexico’s northern region early this year. The Texan IIs will replace the military’s aging Pilatus PC-7 fleet. At one time, Mexico operated 65 PC-7s.

“We see this sale of six aircraft as just the beginning of a long and productive relationship with the FAM [Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, or Mexican air force],” said Jim Maslowski, president of Hawker Beechcraft’s defense business, in a statement.

The motto of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) is ad inexplorata, usually rendered as “toward the unknown.”

Dealing with the unexplored is part of flight-testing at AFFTC, a component of Air Force Materiel Command, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. That doesn’t mean people in the command don’t know what they’re doing. “When you strap into the cockpit, you have a clear understanding of what will happen when the wheels leave the runway,” said retired Col. Ken Chilstrom, a test pilot at the center in the 1940s.

It has always been more than just a motto, said Brig. Gen. Robert C. Nolan II, AFFTC commander. “It conveys the spirit of our most important resource: smart, dedicated men and women who have made American air power what it is today who will ensure its preeminence into the future.”

Location, Location

The site for the test center was chosen because, at the time, it seemed almost as far away as the moon. In 1942, searching for a place to test the secret XP-59A Airacomet, America’s first jet aircraft, Col. Benjamin W. Chidlaw and Lt. Col. Ralph P. Swofford chose Muroc in southern California (named in reverse for the Corum brothers who settled the area). They found isolation and a natural runway at Rogers Dry Lake, the largest such lake in America. Today, the former Muroc Army Airfield is called Edwards Air Force Base, and the location seems less remote than it once did.

Before the Air Force Flight Test Center got its name (in 1951), it was already the test site where America's first jet aircraft, the Bell XP-59A Airacomet, was put through its paces. U.S. Air Force via Robert F. Dorr

What hasn’t changed is AFFTC’s mission, spelled out in an official document – to conduct “developmental and follow-on testing and evaluation of manned and unmanned aircraft and related avionics, flight-control, and weapon systems.” AFFTC also operates the Air Force’s Test Pilot School, which trains test pilots, flight-test engineers, and flight-test navigators.

Muroc became the test center for some of the most hush-hush American aircraft, including the XP-80 Shooting Star jet fighter; the XP-86 prototype for the F-86 Sabre; the Bell XS-1 rocket plane in which Capt. Charles E. Yeager flew faster than sound on Oct. 14, 1947; and a series of Northrop flying wings. On June 5, 1948, the exotic YB-49 flying wing crashed on a test flight and co-pilot Capt. Glen Edwards was killed. The following year, on Dec. 8, the Muroc installation was renamed Edwards Air Force Base.

By the time the Air Force Flight Test Center was established on June 25, 1951, it had already existed in everything but name for nearly a decade; fully 40 types of aircraft had already made their first flights at Edwards. Many more have followed.

AFFTC and its neighbor and partner, the NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, have led the way in advancing aerospace technology. Lakebed Runway 18 became the landing facility for the X-15, a hypersonic research vehicle that flew for nearly a decade at Edwards. The base also supported flights by the NASA space shuttle orbiter. Shuttles often utilized Lakebed Runway 23 as a landing strip.

The YB-49 Flying Wing bomber prototype in flight. Northrop test pilot Max Stanley completed the first flight of an all-jet powered version of the YB-49 on Oct. 21, 1947. Capt. Glen Edwards, for whom Edwards Air Force Base was named, was killed in a crash of a YB-49. U.S. Air Force Photo courtesy of the AFFTC History Office

Key figures who tested aircraft at Edwards have gone on to fame in the U.S. human spaceflight program. They include test pilot-astronauts Donald “Deke” Slayton, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and Joseph Engle. Rogers Dry Lake made possible the development and testing of generations of American aircraft, leading to the space shuttle.

During decades of scientific and technological progress, the AFFTC tested and supported nearly every aircraft system to enter the Air Force inventory. Some of the best known aircraft in the Air Force today, like the F-22 Raptor, B-2 Spirit, and C-17 Globemaster III, were first put through their paces by test pilots and engineers at the center.

Referring to the center’s overall tradition of stepping up to the plate, center commander Nolan said, “Each of these developments has imposed seemingly insurmountable challenges that have been overcome through a combination of technical skill, ingenuity and resourceful leadership.”

Added Nolan, as quoted in an Air Force news release: “It [the center] has been on the cutting edge of every major development that has transformed the field of flight – the turbojet engine; supersonic and hypersonic flight; gliding return from space; the development of integrated electronic systems; fly-by wire flight controls; digital flight controls; electronic warfare; aircraft survivability; and the development of stealth technology.”

AFFTC operates the Edwards Flight Test Range, which includes 20,000 square miles of airspace, including three supersonic corridors and four aircraft spin areas. Besides flight test capabilities, Edwards has an array of ground test facilities. Officials don’t comment on speculation that AFFTC also oversees the Air Force’s secret test base at Groom Lake, Nevada – popularly dubbed Area 51.

Adjacent to the center is the AFFTC Museum, which preserves and displays the material history of the center and of Air Force flight-testing. The museum boasts 80 aircraft, with 32 on display (29 at Edwards and three at the AFFTC-managed SR-71 Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale, Calif.). Other artifacts include aircraft propulsion systems, missiles, technical drawings, test reports, personal memorabilia, photographs, and wind tunnel models.

Air Test Anniversary

Brig. Gen. Robert C. Nolan II, AFFTC commander, and retired Brig. Gen. Charles E. Yeager celebrated the anniversary of the flight test center by flying supersonic in an F-16D Fighting Falcon. U.S. Air Force via Robert F. Dorr

The Air Force Flight Test Center had its 60th anniversary on June 25, 2011, and celebrated the milestone on Oct. 14, 2011 – the month and day of Yeager’s famous supersonic flight. AFFTC commander Nolan and Yeager strapped into an F-16D Fighting Falcon and flew faster than sound – again – while hundreds participated in festivities at the center.

During the ceremony Yeager was presented the Federal Aviation Administration’s “Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award,” for his longevity and leadership in the safety of aviation.

The anniversary event also included booths manned by base personnel and stationary aircraft displays of the T-38C Talon, F-16, F-22, B-1B Lancer and the F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. The AFFTC is currently home to six F-35s.

Singing the praises of the test center is nothing new. Toward the Unknown was a 1956 movie about test pilots starring William Holden and Lloyd Bridges. The Right Stuff was a book by Tom Wolfe and a 1983 movie in which Sam Shepard played supersonic pioneer Yeager.

Air Force officials say the “stop work” order is prompted by a lawsuit filed by Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, the manufacturer of the rival AT-6B Texan II.

However, the lawsuit was filed weeks ago. Observers believe the decision to suspend the contract is a response to reactions by lawmakers to the handling of the LAS competition.

On Dec. 22, the Air Force made the award without an announcement to prime contractor Sierra Nevada Corp., which was to work with Brazilian planemaker Embraer. Almost a month earlier, on Nov. 25, the service dropped the AT-6B Texan aircraft from consideration in the LAS competition, again without an announcement. It was that action, not the source selection, that promoted Hawker first to protest to the Government Accountability Office and then take legal action.

Despite its name, the Texan II is manufactured in Wichita. When it was dropped, the move puzzled and angered the plane’s maker and the Kansas congressional delegation. Typical was Sen. Pat Roberts (D-Kan) who said Hawker Beechcraft deserves more answers as to why it was excluded from the competition. “On every turn, the Air Force has denied the company and the congressional delegation the opportunity to understand why it made the decision,” Roberts said in a statement.

Even though they made no announcement about dropping the AT-6B or about choosing the Super Tucano, Air Force officials insist there has been “transparency” in the LAS process. “The Air Force is confident in the merits of the contract award decision and we expect the litigation will be quickly resolved,” Lt. Col. Wesley P. Miller told the Associated Press on Jan. 5. “We are trying to do everything we can to do this right and make sure that it is done because the thing to keep in mind is that this contract is a wartime support contract for a partner in conflict – and so involves a sense of urgency and mission accomplishment.”

The lawsuit, now in U.S. District Court, requests a temporary restraining order that would block the Super Tucano purchase. Miller said the Air Force decided put its own stop work order in place before the court ruled.

But the F-107 became a “might-have-been,” a solid performer that didn’t quite make the grade – described by one observer as “the best Air Force fighter never to go into production.” On the web site Suite 101, author Ivan Castro wrote that the Air Force’s “rejection of the F-107 … is considered one of the greatest military blunders of all time.”

Atomic Bomber

The number two F-107 fighter at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Note the semi-recessed carriage of the fuel tank beneath the fuselage, which was designed to carry a nuclear free-fall bomb. U. S. Air Force photo

The F-107 was conceived as a nuclear-capable, fighter-bomber version of the F-100 Super Sabre, with a recessed weapons bay under the fuselage. One requirement was to carry the 1,680-pound Mark 7 tactical nuclear gravity bomb as well as smaller nuclear bombs that were expected in the near future. When the centerline recess was not used for ordnance, an additional fuel tank could be carried.

The Air Force gave the go-ahead for 33 aircraft, at the time called F-100B models, on June 11, 1954. The designation was changed to F-107A on July 8, 1954, mostly to reflect changes from the Super Sabre design, including a longer fuselage, an all-moving vertical fin, an automated flight control system, and a system (a variable area inlet duct) that automatically controlled the amount of air fed to its 24,504-pound thrust Pratt & Whitney YJ75-P-9 turbojet engine.

One of NASA's two F-107As on the dry lake bed at Edwards AFB. This photo shows the spoilers atop the wing and absence of ailerons, the strong family resemblance to the F-100 Super Sabre in wing and tail surfaces, and the all-moving slab elevators and vertical stabilizer. NASA photo

The second and third F-107s made their initial flights on Nov. 28 and Dec. 10, 1956. The third plane introduced the fully automatic variable area inlet duct, the one feature of the F-107 that retained “bugs” throughout tests. Pilots reported an annoying “buzz” in the variable-geometry duct at high altitude.

In flight trials, the F-107 performed well. It achieved Mach 2.0 on Nov. 3, 1956. Pilots praised the aircraft and, contrary to its appearance, were not worried about being swallowed up by its engine: Because of the unusual location of the air intake, it was necessary for the canopy to open straight up rather than in clamshell fashion. But the F-107 was not “ejection unfriendly.” In an emergency, the pilot could eject right through the canopy without having to jettison it first.

Rather than ailerons, the aircraft used spoilers, which enabled it to roll with ease at supersonic speeds.

The F-107 was armed with four, single-barrel Pontiac M39E 20 mm. cannons (not installed on the No. 1 aircraft) and had six under-wing ordnance points in addition to its fuselage center station. This recessed weapons point was semi-conformal, meaning it was partly external, and it became what the Air Force considered the most important difference between the F-107 and its competitor, the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, which had a fully internal weapons bay.

In aviation literature today, the F-107 is often called the Ultra Sabre. Observers who recall the aircraft during the 1950s don’t remember this name ever being coined or used. North American flirted with the idea of calling the F-107 the Super Super Sabre, but this did not catch on.

Turning Heads

The arrival of the first F-107A at NACA (later NASA) in November 1957. Note the unusual configuration of the open canopy. NASA received the first and third F-107As for flight testing. Among other things, an F-107A tested a sidestick controller, forerunner of those used in the F-16, F-22 and F-35 today. NASA photo

While the sleek F-107 turned heads and thrilled aviation enthusiasts, the less glamorous and more trouble-prone F-105 Thunderchief was being developed by Republic. The planemaker needed the business. Its F-84 series of fighters was at the end of its production run. Many observers believed the Air Force would purchase the F-107 but would arrange for hungry Republic, rather than busy North American, to manufacture the latter company’s aircraft. Besides, North American was expected to win a handsome contract with a separate project, its XF-108 Rapier long-range interceptor.

Henry Crescibene, a Republic test pilot who performed early work on the F-105, remembers being told to prepare for the F-107.
“Our perception was that the Air Force liked North American and liked North American’s design better than ours,” Crescibene said in a telephone interview.

In March 1957, in an announcement that astonished many, the Air Force chose the F-105 in preference to the F-107. Although prototypes had been flying since Oct. 22, 1955, the first two F-105 variants had lacked the intended J75 engine and both made crash landings in March 1956, with their pilots unhurt but the aircraft mortally damaged. Although a J75-equipped version flew on May 26, 1956, the Thunderchief had a wide range of teething troubles. A direct fly-off competition with the F-107 had to be cancelled because the F-105 was not ready.

Once it became clear the F-107 would not be produced, the first and third airframes were transferred on Dec. 1, 1957, to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). With the Soviet Union’s first satellite already placed into orbit, the space age was arriving and NACA became NASA seven months layer.

Test pilot Scott Crossfield severely damaged the No. 3 F-107 in a crash landing and it was later scrapped.

The Air Force order for 33 planes was reduced to three. The No. 1 aircraft in the series is now an artifact at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Ariz. The No. 2 F-107 is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. As for the F-105, the “Thud” achieved fame in missions over North Vietnam, where its all-important internal weapons bay never carried anything more lethal than a 365-gallon fuel tank.