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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0441.PDF
The aircraft above is one of the 17 prototypes powered by the Wright J65-W-3 Sapphire. That shown below and opposite is the first 179- powered machine and it is noteworthy that the intakes have been blanked off with metal sheet, presumably owing to a change in design which is still regarded as secret. There is no evidence of armament on either of the aircraft illustrated in these pages. The Starfighter is, however, considered as ready for release to the U.S. Air Force and will enter service with Tactical Air Command in the very near future. It is possible that a special form of nose intake would havebeen employed had it not been for a remarkable armament which the Air Force specified. Apart from the homing air-to-air missile,the only type of weapon capable of employment in supersonic combat was considered to be a gun capable of placing manystrikes on a target in firing periods measured in fractions of a second. To achieve this object, General Electric evolved some-thing like a hot-rod development of the Gatling, known as Project Vulcan. This "firing mechanism" hurls 20 mm shells from mul-tiple barrels, each of which is in a different part of the firing cycle at any given moment. An account of a test firing was publishedin our special armament issue dated January 28th, 1955. Vulcan was tailored to fit the nose of the first type of F-104A, forming asingle murderous package firing 20 mm ammunition at a rate of several thousand rounds per minute. Total firing endurance permission is probably of the order of five seconds. Of particular interest to British readers is the fact that theearly life of the 104 was linked to a British engine. In 1952 only the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire, as the Wright J65, promised to form a satisfactory afterburning powerplant capable of fitting thespace envelope of the F-104. Nevertheless, even this engine almost completely filled theavailable space, and Lockheed had to be very clever in finding room for sufficient fuel. Their solution almost gives die im-pression that they poured fuel all round the intakes, ducting and powerplant and then sealed it up in fireproof bays. The F-104fuselage carries more fuel than did the twin-engined Lightning long-range fighter of World War 2, and Lockheed are able todescribe the 104 as having range "comparable to that of present operational jet fighters." In some respects it is unfortunate that provision has to bemade for a human pilot. Even though he wears a T-l partial- pressure suit, his cockpit has to be pressurized and air-con-ditioned, and means must be provided for his escape in emergency. Lockheed found that the optimum escape arrangement was toemploy an automatic downward-ejection seat (already used on S.A.C. bombers but not in any production fighter) which not onlyeliminated the possibility of the pilot hitting the empennage, but permitted a simpler canopy and better cockpit design. Lock-heed carefully studied the capsule concept, but concluded that, on balance, the best pod was the airframe itself. An incidentaladvantage was that, during ground servicing, the escape hatch could be removed and the seat slid out to provide stand-upworking space in the cockpit. Maintenance requirements received particular attention, and atypical example of the way this problem was tackled is provided by the "integrated electronics system." Virtually all the radioand "operational" electronics are packaged into readily remov- able units, the idea being carried to its logical conclusion by theevolution of several standard arrangements, each suited to the electronic requirements of a particular mission. Another aid toservicing is the grouping of all the centralized hydraulic com- ponents on the inside of the large access door under the enginecompartment. At present the F-104 has a conventional undercarriage, withtiny tyres inflated to approximately 300 lb/sq in. Each main leg is a forged cantilever hinged along an oblique axis to oneof the main engine-support frames. The leg is also hinged along a horizontal axis to enable it to deflect outwards under landingloads under the restraint of a vertical shock-strut. Each unit retracts forwards hydraulically into bays closed by two doors oneach side, each rear door being linked to its appropriate leg. Anti-skid, multi-disc brakes are used, the static discs beingrestrained by external torque links. The steerable nosewheel likewise retracts forwards into an unpressurized box sealed bytwin doors. Landing lights and taxying lamps are mounted on the nose leg and inside the main-wheel doors. Owing to the high bending moments in the wing—which,as a result of the extreme thinness, generate unprecedented root stresses per foot run of chord—it looked at one time as if Lock-heed would have to make the wing as a single slab from tip to tip. This in turn dictated a low wing-position in order to clearthe crowded fuselage interior. As the design progressed it was found possible to make the fuselage frames strong enough totake out all the wing loads, each semi-wing being cantilevered, missile-fashion, from the fuselage. It has thus been possible
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