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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0726.PDF
742 FLIGHT, 30 May 1958 The very neat main undercarriage (left) utilizes Liquid Spring shock struts of the type pioneered by Dowty Equipment, Ltd.; the units are produced by the Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Co. On the right is a close-up of the port intake, showing the centre body and bleed ducts. F-104... the 104 is of necessity associated with a sophisticated intake andexhaust system which enable its full potentialities to be realized at such speeds. The intakes, one of which is depicted in a photo-graph (above, right) comprise lateral scoops provided with a central shock-forming ramp and two boundary-layer bleed ducts.Pressure recovery is claimed to be almost equivalent to the ideal attainable with an infinity of weak shocks. The ducts are formedfrom thick light-alloy slabs which are chemically milled to an integrally stiffened form and then stress-relieved by stretchingto the required profile. Equal importance attaches to the propelling nozzle. In viewof the fact that flight Mach number, mass flow, ambient pressure, density and temperature and degree of afterburning can all varyover an exceptional range, the nozzle is of an advanced design with multiple segments giving considerable area variation. Thesesegments are operated by four Aeroproducts high-temperature hydraulic actuators. They are associated with an aerodynamicmeans for varying nozzle profile, effected by a secondary flow between the jet-pipe and the nozzle segments and a further flowbetween the nozzle segments and the structure of the rear fuselage. Fuel is housed in almost every part of the fuselage aft of thecockpit that is not already occupied by the main undercarriage or powerplant. Much the largest single cell is a drape-type tankmade by Firestone in two-ply nylon impregnated with Buna-N rubber, which is shaped to occupy the spaces between the fuselageframes and thus have the maximum possible capacity. Tanks can be carried under the wings and on the wing tips, much effortbeing necessary before satisfactory jettisoning was achieved. The cockpit is relatively conventional, apart from the unusual—and possibly controversial—choice of a downward-ejecting seat. Most F-104s currently in service have a simple seat somewhatsimilar to those used in B-47s and 52s. Later machines will have a new design of seat of ering morecomplete supersonic protection, provided with stabilizing fins and a flat-plate skip-flow generator carried on a long pole ahead ofthe seat proper and intended to reduce the Mach number of the flow around the occupant to a subsonic value. Entry to thecockpit is gained via the simple side-hinged canopy, which is a Swedlow product with high optical qualities, sealed by a Goodrichinflatable strip with a ribbed striker bead. Hamilton Standard supply the air-conditioning unit.All F-104s so far built for the U.SA.F. have built-in armament in the form of a single General Electric T.171 six-barrel revolvergun (the Vulcan "Gatling" gun), which is mounted on the port side of the forward fuselage. It is fed with ammunition fromtanks behind the pilot's seat and is driven by either an electric or hydraulic motor. Maximum rate of fire of this 20 mm weaponis 6,000 rounds per minute. Additional T.171s can be carried in underwing pods, as the cut-away drawing shows. Secondaryarmament comprises GAR-8 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, carried on the wing tips. The F-104 is also reported to be currentlyengaged in tests with the MB-1 Genie nuclear air-to-air rocket. In offensive roles the aircraft can carry up to five stores, twoon the wing tips, two on the underwing pylons and one on the centreline ahead of the main-wheel doors. At least one, andprobably three, of these locations can accept tactical nuclear weapons, although no 104 has yet been reported to be equippedfor automatic toss-bombing. Assembly of the production 104 was initially assigned solelyto the main plant of the Lockheed California Division at Burbank; and, following a practice common among major U.S.A.F. aircraftprogrammes, manufacture of 40 per cent of the airframe was allocated to a number of sub-contractors. Chief of these are Beech(Wichita), rear fuselage; Goodyear (Litchfield Park), nose; Rheem (Downey), complete tail unit; and Temco (Dallas), port and star-board wings. Lockheed manufacture the mid and forward fuselage sections at both Burbank and their new facility at Palmdale, andthe latter plant is now handling all the assembly and flight testing. It is worth noting that each portion is delivered to Palmdalecomplete and functionally tested, so that assembly involves little more than making the mechanical connections and coupling upthe pipes and cables. Bulk production began late in 1956. Originally many hundredsof F-104A single-seat fighters were ordered for Tactical Air Com- mand, and output was planned accordingly. But at the end of lastyear the reduction in the overall size of the U.S.A.F. from 137 wings was felt most keenly by T.A.C., whose air-superioritystrength (composed of F-104A squadrons) was cut to what was Powerplant of the F-104 in all production versions is the General Electric J79 (left). This is a single-shaft, variable-stator engine, with an afterburner which raises the sea-level static thrust from about 10,900 Ib to a maximum value of about 15J000 Ib. Below is a view looking into the electronics bay. The packaged units are readily removable and can be arranged to suit various missions.
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