FLYING WITH THE 'Ace Maker'

摘要

Lockheed T-33 owner Gregory Colyer talks about how his aircraft has become a valuable training aid for future test pilots. VISIONARY LOCKHEED DESIGNER 'Kelly' Johnson and his legendary, hand-picked 'Skunk Works' team answered the call for a first American jet-powered fighter with the P-80. It took only 143 days, working in absolute secrecy, from pencil-sharpening to the prototype XP-80's maiden flight on January 8, 1944. And while four XP-80s were sent to Europe before the end of World War Two, none ever saw actual combat. Lockheed built more than 1,700 in several variants, but with the rapidly changing times, technology and tactics came an urgent need to not only train new pilots, but also to retrain veteran aviators - those who had learned to fly and fight with old piston-engine aircraft. Many problems were encountered during that so the Shooting Star suffered a high loss rate.