This Week In History: First Nonstop Flights Across the Atlantic...
This Week in History: Doolittle Raid
This week from our #QuarantineCorner: On April 18, 1942, Jimmy Doolittle's raiders carry out some historic firsts when their B-25s drop the first bombs on Tokyo.
This Week In History: First Nonstop Flights Across the Atlantic
Two skilled pilots fly out non-stop over the Atlantic in record-setting times. On May 20, 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from Long Island to Paris in just 33 1/2 hours. Five years later to the day, Amelia Earhart becomes the first female aviator to achieve the same feat, flying from Newfoundland, Canada, to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in 14 hours and 56 minutes.
Oct. 3, 1967
USAF Maj. William J. “Pete” Knight flies a modified X-15A-2 to a speed of Mach 6.72. The aircraft was flown with its full white colored ablative coating and external fuel tanks. A dummy ramjet mounted on the lower ventral stub stabilizer fell away during the flight as a result of severe heat damage to the fairing. The flight marked the highest speed achieved in the X-15 program and remains the highest speed ever reached by a manned airplane.
June 23, 1951
During carrier suitability tests in the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. Navy Commander George Chamberlain Duncan attempts a landing on USS Midway. His Grumman F9F-2 Panther strikes the end of the ramp and explodes, sending the forward end of the fuselage careening down the carrier deck. Amazingly, Duncan survives the mishap. Footage of his crash has been used in several films, including 'Men of the Fighting Lady,' 'Midway' and 'The Hunt For Red October.' A 13.5-victory ace in WWII, Duncan had been awarded the Navy Cross. He remained in the Navy, becoming skipper of the carrier USS Ranger before retiring in 1986.
June 18, 1981
The first flight of the F-117A 'Nighthawk' Lockheed Martin test pilot "Hal" Farley took the jet for its maiden flight from Groom Lake, Nev. The first of five FSD (full scale development) aircraft, it is nearly identical to the production version that would be delivered a year later. The aircraft, "780" is currently on display at Nellis AFB, Nev.
May 8, 1975
On a practice flight prior to deployment for the Paris Air Show, The second prototype General Dynamics YF-16A suffers failure of main undercarriage leg to extend. Test pilot Neil Anderson flies aircraft until fuel is nearly exhausted then makes a perfect grass belly-landing at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. The aircraft is not heavily damaged and Anderson walks away uninjured.
Dec. 21, 1979
The first flight of the Burt Rutan designed, NASA AD-1. The aircraft has a unique wing that can be pivoted obliquely from zero to 60 degrees during flight. Flying the aircraft for the first time is NASA research pilot Thomas C. McMurtry, who would also fly the airplane on its final flight Aug. 7, 1982.
The program gathered information on handling qualities and aerodynamics at various speeds and degrees of pivot. Analytical and wind tunnel studies indicated that a transport-size oblique-wing aircraft, flying at speeds up to Mach 1.4, would have substantially better aerodynamic performance than aircraft with more conventional wings. While successful in meeting the programs technical objectives, the AD-1 exhibited some aeroelastic and pitch-roll-coupling effects that contributed to poor handling qualities.
