Balls Eight: History of the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress Mothership

Balls Eight: History of the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress Mothership PDF Author: Brian Lockett
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0578030004
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Get Book Here

Book Description
It has been asserted that the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress, carrying Air Force serial 52-0008, can lay claim to being the airplane that has seen and participated in more history than any other single airplane. For forty-five years, the NB-52B was a fixture at Edwards Air Force Base. While the NB-52B is most famous for launching the three North American X-15 rocket planes, it continued to serve in the role of launch platform for a multitude of programs until its final mission on November 16, 2004. It was the oldest flying B-52 by nearly ten years. The book is 200 pages long. It contains 246 color photographs, 89 black and white photographs, and 2 other illustrations.

The Smell of Kerosene

The Smell of Kerosene PDF Author: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book puts the reader in the pilot's seat for a "day at the office" unlike any other. The Smell of Kerosene tells the dramatic story of a NASA research pilot who logged over 11,000 flight hours in more than 125 types of aircraft. Donald Mallick gives the reader fascinating first-hand description of his early naval flight training, carrier operations, and his research flying career with NASA. After transferring to the NASA Flight Research Center, Mallick became involved with projects that further pushed the boundaries of aerospace technology. These included the giant delta-winged XB-70 supersonic airplane, the wingless M2-F1 lifting body vehicle, and triple-sonic YF-12 Blackbird. Mallick also test flew the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle and helped develop techniques used in training astronauts to land on the Moon.

Painting Guide for the Boeing Stratofortress Motherships

Painting Guide for the Boeing Stratofortress Motherships PDF Author: Brian Lockett
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0578031108
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 98

Get Book Here

Book Description
This document tracks the changes to the appearance of the two Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses that were modified to carry and launch the North American X-15 rocket planes. The two NB-52s went on to launch the X-15A-2, Northrop HL-10, Northrop M2-F2, and Martin-Marietta X-24A. The NB-52A retired in October 1969, but the NB-52B soldiered on until November 2004, launching a wide variety of unmanned research vehicles and parachute test devices. The appearance of the NB-52s changed many times over the years. These changes are illustrated in this document. There are fourten sets of illustrations for the NB-52A and eighteen sets of illustrations for the NB-52B. The Stratofortress motherships are popular subjects for modelers. Their special missions capture the imagination. The liberal application of DayGlo orange, DayGlo red, and yellow makes them a couple of the most colorful B-52s. This document will help modelers to reproduce the correct appearance of either Stratofortress for any particular mission.

Hypersonics Before the Shuttle: A Concise History of the X-15 Research Airplane

Hypersonics Before the Shuttle: A Concise History of the X-15 Research Airplane PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 132

Get Book Here

Book Description


Flying Aircraft Carriers of the USAF: Wing Tip Coupling

Flying Aircraft Carriers of the USAF: Wing Tip Coupling PDF Author: Brian Lockett
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0578031868
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 102

Get Book Here

Book Description
During and after World War II, aircraft designers were faced with the problem of increasing the range of strategic bombers. Dr. Richard Vogt, a German immigrant to the United States, proposed that floating wing panels carrying fuel tanks could be attached to the wing tips of an airplane with hinges to extend its range. The floating wing panels would support their own weight, without increasing the load on the airplane's wings. The Air Force initiated a project to simulate floating wing panels with a piloted light plane that coupled to a larger airplane in flight. Soon the scope of the project expanded to explore the possibility of towing fighters coupled to the wing tips of bombers.

General Electric Air Research Demonstration, June 22, 1946

General Electric Air Research Demonstration, June 22, 1946 PDF Author: Brian Lockett
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 110575507X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 38

Get Book Here

Book Description
The General Electric Air Research Laboratory at the Schenectady, New York Airport hosted an open house on June 22, 1946, less than one year after V-J Day. It was an overcast day with intermittent rain. The event featured a variety of prototype airplanes and helicopters and some modified testbed airplanes. Many of the airplanes were pinnacles of piston-powered aircraft technology. Examples of early jet fighters foreshadowed the coming transition to jet power. The first jet air mail service was carried by a pair of Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars that departed from the open house.Richard Lockett, a General Electric employee, photographed the aircraft participating at the open house. He documented the evolving technology of the day. He also captured the behavior and fashions of the people attending the show.

Flying Aircraft Carriers of the USAF: McDonnell Xf-85 Goblin

Flying Aircraft Carriers of the USAF: McDonnell Xf-85 Goblin PDF Author: Brian Lockett
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0578034816
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 54

Get Book Here

Book Description
The P-85 Goblin was the only airplane that ever flew which was designed from scratch to be operated entirely from another airplane. The development of the B-36 by the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation of Fort Worth, Texas resulted in a requirement for fighter protection for the bomber at distances from any friendly base that far exceeded the range of currently available escort fighter airplanes. Due to the inability of contemporary fighters to escort B-36 bombers all the way to their targets, the Army Air Corps initiated Project MX-472, Unconventional Fighter Design Studies, on December 3, 1942. The primary objective of the project was the development of a suitable method of protecting the B-36 on long-range bombing missions. The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation designed the P-85 Goblin to fit entirely within the confines of the bomb bay of the B-36. The little fighter was just fifteen feet long with a wing sapn of twenty-one feet.

Balls Three

Balls Three PDF Author: Brian Lockett
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781678050269
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
The NB-52A 52-0003 and its sister ship, the NB-52B 52-0008 were diverted to the special mission of launching the X-15 hypersonic research airplane in 1958 following their service as early test examples of the B-52 Stratofortress. While the two Stratofortresses were engaged in the task of launching the three X-15 rocket planes, a series of rocket powered lifting bodies were developed that utilized the existing air launch capability. The NB-52A was a flying launch pad, which is a highly complex task. It had to supply the rocket planes that it carried with the propellants, gases, and power normally associated with a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, all while flying nine miles above the ground. This ability made the airplane an indispensable asset for aeronautical research. Its right wing was reinforced and equipped with a pylon to carry the heaviest wing-borne payloads ever dropped from an airplane. Some of the payloads that it dropped exceeded 50,000 pounds, nearly 1/5 of its own weight. The X-15 rocket planes launched by this Stratofortress carried pilots to unprecedented speeds and altitudes. They were the first winged vehicles to reach speeds of Mach-4, Mach-5, and Mach-6. They were also the first winged vehicles to exceed 130,000 feet altitude, eventually reaching over 364,000 feet, high above nearly all the Earth's atmosphere. Five pilots qualified for astronaut's wings by exceeding an altitude of fifty miles in the X-15s. Tragically, one of those astronauts was killed on his qualifying flight when the third X-15 broke up as it re-entered the atmosphere. Later in the career of the NB-52A, the X-15s were joined by a trio of heavyweight lifting bodies. The Northrop M2-F2 and HL-10 and the Martin Marietta X-24A were wingless, rocket-powered research vehicles that evaluated potential configurations of future orbital spacecraft, concentrating on the later stages of re-entry and landing. They established the feasibility of gliding to a landing in a spacecraft with a low glide ratio, the method utilized by the Rockwell Space Shuttle.

Inside the Cold War

Inside the Cold War PDF Author: Chris Adams
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781410218919
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Get Book Here

Book Description
General Adams reflects on his experiences in the cold war, during which he served in both manned bombers and missile silos. He tells stories of famous and not-so-famous cold warriors, including some from the US Navy. Some stories are humorous; some stories are tragic. Having traveled extensively in Russia and some former Soviet Union states after retirement, General Adams tells us about his former adversaries, the Soviet cold warriors. In the process, he leaves no doubt about his respect for all who served so valiantly in the "strategic triad"-- the strategic command, the ICBM force, and the submarine Navy.

Future Spacecraft Propulsion Systems and Integration

Future Spacecraft Propulsion Systems and Integration PDF Author: Paul A. Czysz
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3662547449
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 515

Get Book Here

Book Description
The updated and expanded third edition of this book focuses on the multi-disciplinary coupling between flight-vehicle hardware alternatives and enabling propulsion systems. It discusses how to match near-term and far-term aerospace vehicles to missions and provides a comprehensive overview of the subject, directly contributing to the next-generation space infrastructure, from space tourism to space exploration. This holistic treatment defines a mission portfolio addressing near-term to long-term space transportation needs covering sub-orbital, orbital and escape flight profiles. In this context, a vehicle configuration classification is introduced covering alternatives starting from the dawn of space access. A best-practice parametric sizing approach is introduced to correctly design the flight vehicle for the mission. This technique balances required mission with the available vehicle solution space and is an essential capability sought after by technology forecasters and strategic planners alike.