WHERE'S the PROP?

摘要

PILOTS WHO FOUGHT in the last years of World War II were flying airplanes refined by years of combat experience and engineering, the most advanced piston-engine aircraft ever built. Post-war, they were subjected to something entirely new: jet-powered fighters. The basics of flying were the same, but the propulsion was revolutionary. Few two-seat trainers existed. "Besides, since you're all experienced fighter pilots," one squadron leader told his cadre of jet aviation novices, "you don't need any dual instruction before flying jets." But the transition from propeller-driven airplanes was daunting—23 military jets crashed between 1945 and 1950, killing 36 (including victims on the ground). Among the dead was the highest-scoring U.S. ace of the war, Richard Bong, killed during a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star test flight. The following accounts of early jet experiences come from veteran aviators who entered the Jet Age the hard way.