Flight Testing at Edwards AFB in the 1950s

摘要

The high-performance MIG-15 over Korea in the early 1950s spurred development of a new US fighter. The USAF wanted supersonic speeds and 50,000 foot altitude capability. North American designed their Mach 1.2 F-100 utilizing Pratt &Whitney's new 10,000-pound thrust engine, the J57, to meet the USAF desires. In those early days of high performance jets, with an industry having only rudimentary knowledge of supersonic aerodynamics, no computers to help design either airframes or engines, and a wing sweepback design copied from a German jet, it was no surprise that the airframe had very troubling flight characteristics (highlighted when NA's chief test pilot George Welch was killed during a high-speed dive, the first of several crashes), and the engine encountered severe compressor stalls caused by inlet duct curvature. Both NA and P&W expanded their flight test operations to rectify their individual problems.