Douglas D-558

Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472836227
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81

Book Description
The six Douglas D-558 research aircraft, built as two variants, were produced for a US Navy and NACA collaborative project to investigate flight in the high subsonic and supersonic regimes and to develop means of coping with the dangerous phenomena of compressibility and pitch-up which had caused many accidents to early jets. Wind tunnels could not provide the necessary data so pilots had to risk their safety in experimental aircraft which, for their time, achieved phenomenal performance. Both series of D-558 were well-designed, strong and efficient aircraft which enabled test pilots to tackle the unknown in comparative safety. Though delayed by their innovative but troublesome power-plants, and limited by the cost of their air-launched sorties, they went well beyond their original Mach 1 speed objective and continued to generate information that provided design solutions for a whole generation of supersonic combat aircraft. Although the final stage of the D-55 programme, the USN's 'militarized' D-558-3, never happened, the Navy was able to apply the lessons of the programme to its much more practical combat types such as the F8U Crusader and F3H Demon. Supported by full-colour artwork including three-view plates of the two D-558 models and a technical view of the D-2 cockpit, this authoritative text offers a comprehensive guide to the record-breaking Navy research craft.

Skystreak, Skyrocket, & Stiletto

Author: Scott Libis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781580070843
Category : Research aircraft
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
- Provides complete coverage of the little-known Douglas X-Planes. - Includes details of the first Mach 2 aircraft (D-558-2) and the first-ever Mach 2 flight. - Covers the ill-fared X-3 Stiletto program.

Toward Mach 2

Author: J. D. Hunley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic government information
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Book Description

North American X-15

Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472819926
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Book Description
The revolutionary X-15 remains the fastest manned aircraft ever to fly. Built in the two decades following World War II, it was the most successful of the high-speed X-planes. The only recently broken 'sound barrier' was smashed completely by the X-15, which could hit Mach 6.7 and soar to altitudes above 350,000ft, beyond the edge of space. Several pilots qualified as astronauts by flying above 50 miles altitude in the X-15, including Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon. The three X-15s made 199 flights, testing new technologies and techniques which greatly eased America's entry into manned space travel, and made the Apollo missions and Space Shuttle viable propositions. With historical photographs and stunning digital artwork, this is the story of arguably the greatest of the X-Planes.

The Lonely Sky

Author: William Bridgeman
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 144015872X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 310

Book Description
"the excitement is magnificently conveyed...one reads with breathless attention..." ."New York Times."Orville Prescott "the drama, color and sheer readability of an exciting novel" ."Los Angeles Times."Henry Ladd Smith "one of the year's most fascinating adventure stories" ."TIME Magazine."Current and Choice "the most vivid account on test-piloting ever written." .D.S. Dodson."Saturday Review Literature" "this is one of the finest books on test flying the reviewer has seen." ."New York Times."B.K. Thorne "a philosophical and curiously prophetic book" .Joseph Henry Jackson."San Francisco Chronicle" "Bill Bridgeman and the Skyrocket, the stormiest, happiest, most enthralling love story you are ever apt to read" .Scott O'Dell This is the powerful and enthralling story of a man who daily enters that lonely region beyond the speed of sound. A narrative of needle-nosed rocket powered ships flying at blistering speeds, it is also the moving testament of a man risking his life to push back the frontiers of scientific knowledge. Like St.-Exupery, Bridgeman is capable of describing the vastness and beauty of the skies. But as America's foremost experimental test pilot, he is constantly aware of the multitude of technical information which he is called upon to use at any given instant. After the war, Bill Bridgeman left the Navy a restless man. Seeking action, he joined Douglas Aircraft as an engineering test pilot. Soon he was asked to take over the final stages of the Skyrocket testing program. The Skyrocket, a javelin-shaped experimental rocket powered ship, was a challenge to Bridgeman. The story of his day-by-day life with the plane is the substance of "THE LONELY SKY." Bill Bridgeman died in an airplane accident in 1968.

Douglas D-558

Author: Peter E. Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472836200
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81

Wingless Flight

Author: R. Dale Reed, Darlene Lister
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 9780813132228
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
"Much has been written about the famous conflicts and battlegrounds of the East during the American Revolution. Perhaps less familiar, but equally important and exciting, was the war on the western frontier, where Ohio Valley settlers fought for the land they had claimed -- and for their very lives. George Rogers Clark stepped forward to organize the local militias into a united front that would defend the western frontier from Indian attacks. Clark was one of the few people who saw the importance of the West in the war effort as a whole, and he persuaded Virginia's government to lend support to his efforts. As a result Clark was able to cross the Ohio, saving that part of the frontier from further raids. Lowell Harrison captures the excitement of this vital part of American history while giving a complete view of George Rogers Clark's significant achievements. Lowell H. Harrison, is a professor emeritus of history at Western Kentucky University and is the author or co-author of numerous books, including Lincoln of Kentucky, A New History of Kentucky, and Kentucky's Governors."

Alcuin

Author: Douglas Dales
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
ISBN: 0227900847
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 315

Book Description
Scholar, ecclesiastic, teacher and poet of the eighth century, Alcuin was a person of deep Christian faith, tenacious in his loyalty to orthodox Catholic theology. He had a seminal influence upon his own generation and those that came after him. Althoughhe remained a Northumbrian Christian at heart, the part of his life about which most is known was spent on the Continent. He never lost contact with his homeland; but his most significant and lasting work was evidently accomplished in Europe and his influence on the early medieval Western Church was an abiding one. This book examines his life and career in England and on the continent; it also considers his legacy as a churchman and a leading political figure. This volume prefigures a forthcoming work onAlcuin's intellectual legacy, 'Alcuin : A Study of his Theology' (due for release, April 2013). This rich study is intended for the general reader as well as for those studying, teaching or researching this period of early medieval history and theology in schools and universities.

World War II US Gunships

Author: William Wolf
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472844599
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81

Book Description
The XB-40 and XB-41 were secret, little-known experimental modifications of the B-17F and B-24D, respectively, into heavily-armed bomber gunships sometimes referred to as “bomber escorters”. They were developed during early World War II in response to the lack of a USAAF long-range fighter aircraft able to escort and protect regular B-17 formations making the round trip from Britain deep into Germany. Using many formerly-classified documents from his large microfilm collection, William Wolf presents their previously-unpublished history. It describes in depth for the first time the politics and development and associated problems of both escorter types. Unfortunately, these “protecters” were found wanting in several ways - after the addition of guns and ammunition they became overweight and tail-heavy causing center of gravity problems and each encountered numerous delays in the development and delivery of their various armament additions and improvements, particularly the Bendix chin turret. In the end, the YB-40 participated in only 14 lackluster operational service test missions during mid-1943 before being withdrawn from service. The XB-41 Liberator never saw operational testing before also being cancelled for its poor performance. The failure of the gunship concept left a huge hole in the capabilities of the Eighth Air Force. Their failure, however, spurred the adoption of the Merlin-powered P-51 Mustang, the outstanding escort fighter that was key to Allied victory in the air war over Europe.

Rocket Fighter

Author: Herman Eugen Ziegler
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Aeronautics, Military
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description