EAGLE AT 40

摘要

ON JULY 27, 1972, McDonnell Douglas design '199-B' made its maiden flight. Painted with high-conspicuity DayGlo panels, the event lasted 50 minutes. At the controls was 'MacAir' test pilot Irving L. Burrows. The 199-B was of course F-15A serial 71-0280: the world's first Eagle. Burrows was initially somewhat understated in his appraisal of the sleek, twin-tailed aircraft, saying that it 'felt like a fighter'. But he soon expanded with less cautious language: 'Maneuvering qualities [are] in excess of anything ordered by our customer. It's a genuine pleasure to suck the Eagle into a turn that leaves any chase aircraft staggering around unable to hold either the g or the speed.'