Douglas D-558-I
| Douglas D-558-I Skystreak | |
|---|---|
 The third Douglas D-558-I in May 1952 |
|
| Type: | Experimental airplane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
April 14, 1947 |
| Commissioning: |
Flight tests ended in 1953 |
| Production time: |
Was never mass-produced |
| Number of pieces: |
3 |
The Douglas D-558-I (also D-558-1) Skystreak is an American experimental aircraft for research into flight in the transonic range . It was founded in 1945 by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the Bureau of Aeronautics of the Navy and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics developed (NACA). The D-558-I was powered by a jet engine, was able to take off from the ground under its own power and had unearthed wings and tail surfaces. The first of the three Skystreaks ( Bureau Number 37970) completed its maiden flight on April 14, 1947. On August 20, the Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak in the Dryden Flight Research Center set the first world speed record with 1030.870 km / h (640.7 mph).
development
The “Skystreak”, developed in 1945, was one of the early aircraft that reached the near-acoustic speed range, along with the X-1 , X-4 , X-5 and XF-92A . Three of the single-seat aircraft were used from 1947 to 1953 in a joint program of the NACA, the Navy-Marine Corps and the Douglas Aircraft Company. In the course of this, the D-558-I set several world records. The Skystreaks were powered by an Allison J35-A-11 jet engine (originally developed by General Electric as "TG-180") with a thrust of 22 kN . The Skystreaks could hold a total of 871 liters (230 US gallons ) of fuel ( kerosene ).
commitment
The Skystreaks were originally painted in scarlet red, which earned them the nickname crimson test tube (purple test tube). The NACA later changed the color to white in order to improve the optical course tracking and to be able to take better photos of the aircraft. The D-558-I could carry measuring devices with a weight of 288 kg. It was an exemplary simple transonic aircraft of the first generation. In the public consciousness, however, the research results of the D-558-I were soon suppressed by Chuck Yeager and the X-1 rocket aircraft. The D-558-I plays an important role in aeronautical research by allowing long-term use in areas close to noise. This enabled the X-1 to be released for short supersonic missions.
The first of the three Skystreaks (Bureau No. 37970, corresponds to the US Navy serial number) made its first flight on April 14, 1947 at Muroc Army Air Field (later Edwards Air Force Base ). On August 20, 1947, the Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak in the Dryden Flight Research Center set the first world speed record with 1030.870 km / h (640.7 mph). Less than four months after the first flight, this aircraft set a new record under Commander Turner Caldwell with 1032 km / h. This lasted only five days and was outbid by the naval pilot Marion Carl in the second Skystreak (Bureau No. 37971) by 16 km / h. The first D-558-I was brought to the NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit in April 1949, after completing 101 test flights for the Navy, Air Force and Douglas, but was never used again. Today it can be viewed at the National Museum of Naval Aviation .
After 27 flights for the Navy and Douglas, the second D-558-I was brought to the NACA in November 1947. It has been extensively examined by the metrology department of the NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit . The aircraft completed 19 missions for the NACA before it crashed on May 3, 1948 during a take-off process as a result of a compressor failure in the engine. The NACA pilot Howard C. Lilly was killed.
The third D-558-I (Bureau No. 37972) was transferred to the NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit in 1949 after three Douglas test pilots and Howard Lilly had flown it. This third Skystreak completed the flight program that was planned for the second D-558-I. From its first use in 1949 until 1953, the Skystreak flew an intensive research program among seven NACA test pilots. A lot of useful data could be gathered about the operation of aircraft in the speed range close to the speed of sound. By the time it was decommissioned on June 10, 1953, the third D-558-I completed a total of 79 research flights for the NACA. The aircraft was then first exhibited in the Carolinas Historical Aviation Museum ( North Carolina ), today it can be seen in the Marine Corps Air Ground Museum ( Virginia ).
In total only three Skystreak were built.
Serial numbers
D-558-I Skystreak
- D-558-I # 1 - work no. 6564, BuNo 37970, NACA-140 - 101 flights
- D-558-I # 2 - work no. 6565, BuNo 37971, NACA-141 - 46 flights
- D-558-I # 3 - work no. 6566, BuNo 37972, NACA-142 - 81 flights
- D-558-I # 4, # 5, # 6 - Additional aircraft whose order has been canceled.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 10.87 m |
| span | 7.62 m |
| height | 3.68 m |
| Wing area | 14.00 m² |
| Thrust / mass | 5.0 N / kg |
| Wing loading | 330 kg / m² |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 4,583 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 4,423 kg |
| Top speed | 1,050 km / h |
| Engines | an Allison J35-A-11 jet engine with 22 kN thrust |
Preserved copies
Two Skystreak have survived to this day. One (NACA 140) is located in the National Museum of Naval Aviation on Naval Air Station Pensacola Florida . The second (NACA 142) is on view at the Marine Corps Air Ground Museum in Quantico , Virginia .
Web links
- Towards Mach 2: The Douglas D-558 Program. NASA History Series 1999. (PDF, English; 7.31 MB)
- NASA Dryden: D-558-I Skystreak - Photo Collection
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description on history.nasa.gov p. 62 (D-558). (PDF; 1.2 MB) Retrieved April 19, 2013 .