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Above and Beyond: The Unhappy Bottom Riding Club
Smithsonian Air and Space Magazine ^
| 3/01/2010
| Norvin C. Evans
Posted on 01/30/2010 8:05:13 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Those of us in flight test at Californias Edwards Air Force Base in 1959 accused the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter production engineers of turning the designers drawings upside down. The wings of most aircraft employed dihedralthey were set at a slightly upward anglebut the F-104s wings angled in the opposite direction; the horizontal stabilizer and elevator sat atop the vertical stabilizer instead of below it; and the ejection seat fired down instead of up.We could recover from the spin that resulted from the aircraft pitching up uncontrollably when it stalled,which was due to the T-tail configuration, but most pilots who used the Stanley C-1 downward seat ejection system didn'tt live to complain about it. Twenty-one had died in downward ejection seat accidents, including, in 1958, X-2 and X-15 test pilot Ivan Kincheloe.
The seat required the pilot to wear metal spurs on the heels of his flight boots, thus earning an F-104 pilot the nickname Cowboy. The spurs had slotted receptacles that the pilot slipped over steel balls at the base of the seats foot rest. The balls were anchored to cables on the seat that automatically pulled the pilots boots against the base of the seat so that when he ejected, he could safely clear the aircraft in one piece.
(Excerpt) Read more at airspacemag.com ...
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: aerodynamic; airplanes; edwardsafb; f104; testpilots; testplanes; usaf; x15; x2; xplanes
To: sonofstrangelove
Had to check to see if it was a Barney Frank or Lindsey Graham thread.
BFLR & BTTT !!
2
posted on
01/30/2010 8:08:40 PM PST
by
musicman
(Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
3
posted on
01/30/2010 8:09:52 PM PST
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."-Dr.Werner Von Braun)
To: sonofstrangelove
Hey, that was Cousin Pancho’s place!
4
posted on
01/30/2010 8:12:16 PM PST
by
pbear8
(Climate change is a fraud like Obama)
To: sonofstrangelove
Fascinating essay. Thanks for posting.
5
posted on
01/30/2010 8:12:51 PM PST
by
Tawiskaro
To: pbear8
6
posted on
01/30/2010 8:13:55 PM PST
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."-Dr.Werner Von Braun)
To: sonofstrangelove
Totally random observation:
"Twenty-one had died in downward ejection seat accidents, including, in 1958, X-2 and X-15 test pilot Ivan Kincheloe."
Actor, Ivan Dixon played Kincheloe on Hogan's Heroes"
7
posted on
01/30/2010 8:23:26 PM PST
by
muir_redwoods
(Obama: The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers)
To: alfa6; Samwise; SAMWolf
8
posted on
01/30/2010 8:23:45 PM PST
by
Professional Engineer
(It's too cold to care about Algore's carbon credits. I'm using treehuggers as home heating fuel.)
To: sonofstrangelove
No wonder W was labeled a cowboy.
9
posted on
01/30/2010 8:24:06 PM PST
by
Paladin2
To: sonofstrangelove
"March 01, 2010"?
Back to the Future.
10
posted on
01/30/2010 8:34:02 PM PST
by
Paladin2
To: Paladin2
Smithsonian is publishing this article for March
11
posted on
01/30/2010 8:35:11 PM PST
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."-Dr.Werner Von Braun)
To: sonofstrangelove
To: sonofstrangelove
To: sonofstrangelove
The seat required the pilot to wear metal spurs on the heels of his flight boots, thus earning an F-104 pilot the nickname Cowboy. The spurs had slotted receptacles that the pilot slipped over steel balls at the base of the seats foot rest. The balls were anchored to cables on the seat that automatically pulled the pilots boots against the base of the seat so that when he ejected, he could safely clear the aircraft in one piece.Same as in the U-2S model built in the '80's.
14
posted on
01/30/2010 8:44:05 PM PST
by
SZonian
(I see people who claim they are victims of "hatred" and say we should be more "productive".)
To: Donald Rumsfeld Fan
A tradition was started when Pancho’s friend formed during Mexican hunting and fishing expeditions, Chuck Yeager, broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 Pancho gave him a free steak dinner. After that, pilots were given a free steak dinner when they broke the barrier for their first time.
15
posted on
01/30/2010 8:44:24 PM PST
by
ErnstStavroBlofeld
("I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."-Dr.Werner Von Braun)
To: vbmoneyspender
To: Seven plus One
F104s always looked like jet powered lawn darts to me.
17
posted on
01/30/2010 11:17:41 PM PST
by
spodefly
(I have posted nothing but BTTT over 1000 times!!!)
To: spodefly
They aught to have made the engineering team that designed that thing fly it.
18
posted on
01/30/2010 11:23:09 PM PST
by
DariusBane
(Even the Rocks shall cry out "Hobamma to the Highest")
To: sonofstrangelove
Good stuff, have not got that issue yet..............
To: sonofstrangelove
I hear Steve Ritchie is flying a 104 these days.
20
posted on
01/30/2010 11:28:44 PM PST
by
Former War Criminal
(My senior Senator (who served in Vietnam) said so.)
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