A Lockheed NF-104A with Chuck Yeager piloting pulling away on 10 December 1963 - a modified Starfighter with reaction control systems in the wingtips and nose and a Rocketdyne AR2-3 rocket engine at the base of the vertical fin

Posted by Xeelee1123@reddit | WeirdWings | View on Reddit | 33 comments

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Airplane_nerd111@reddit

Wasn't this the one he crashed as well?

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Yes, and I've seen some impressive footage of the accident. He was in a flat spin for quite some time, trying to save the airplane, and bailed out at the last moment. I visited the crash site with Yeager in 2011.

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Airplane_nerd111@reddit

That's amazing! How did you get to know Yeager?

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Peter_Merlin@reddit

I worked at Edwards Air Force Base for many years, mostly with NASA but also several years supporting Air Force flight testing. I was also a volunteer with the Air Force Flight Test Museum. Back then, a lot of pioneering aviators from the "Golden Age of Flight Test" were still alive and I got to meet most of them.

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Airplane_nerd111@reddit

That's awesome! I know NASA used two SR-71s during the 90's loaned from the Air Force for high-altitude testing. Did you ever get to see these in person?

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Peter_Merlin@reddit

Oh, yes, many times. One of my all-time favorite aircraft. Here are a couple of photos. I'm in the one on the left (red arrow), watching preflight operations. I took the picture on the right, of the SR-71B trainer, from a spot 500 feet from runway centerline.

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Airplane_nerd111@reddit

Amazing. Was this the coolest thing you got to see? If not, what was?

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Peter_Merlin@reddit

There were so many cool things. Lots of experimental planes, release of (inert) weapons and other test articles over the Precision Impact Range Area, space shuttle landings and ferry flights, vintage aircraft being used by the USAF Test Pilot School, and the latest aircraft undergoing developmental and operational testing. I will just throw a few more of my photos up here...

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Annual-Advisor-7916@reddit

What aircraft suprised you most by it's actual size vs. how you imagined it?

I personally wasn't aware how tiny the F-117 is!

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Peter_Merlin@reddit

The F-105 Thunderchief was a lot larger than I expected. I got to see them when they were still operational at George Air Force Base.

One time at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, I got to sit in the cockpit of an F-106A that was stationed in the Alert Hangar. The cockpit was surprisingly cramped.

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Annual-Advisor-7916@reddit

I just looked up pictures with humans for scale and the plane surely looks bigger than expected! I wasn't aware that the century-line of aircraft were all rather big (well, apart from the F-104). I didn't know either that the F-101 Voodoo has nearly twice the wingspan of a F-104. Actual sizes of aircraft are hard to imagine...

I got to sit in the cockpit of an F-106A

I'm jealous.

I guess you'd have many stories to tell. Since you said, you saw lots of experimental aircraft: Have you maybe had the pleasure to witness the YF-23 in person? or maybe Tacit Blue?

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madbill728@reddit

Lol. The leak spots.

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Peter_Merlin@reddit

Yeah, they used to place pans and buckets under the plane when it was parked in the hangar. I always heard that JP-7 had such a high flashpoint that you could throw a lit match into a puddle of the fuel and it would be extinguished. Naturally, I had to test that, so I collected a small sample and took it out into the desert. The stories were true.

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SpecialExpert8946@reddit

I saw him at the 2003 air show at Edward’s, he was an aviation hero of mine at the time so being able to see him and also see the f-22 shown to the public for the first time was incredible. One of my top memories right there for sure.

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