Edwards Air Force Base

[bilwor]

Good stuff, looking forward to more. Is the P-59 still on a stick out there?

Yes, photo coming soon.
bill

[marine air]

Maybe they should have built the A-10B. Everything it had on it in 1979 is highly used today in Afghanistan. Plus, I know when I was in an A-4 squadron, the TA-4's were invaluable both for currency and on the range. Sometimes if a pilot is having a difficulty of some kind maintaining squadron standards , say in markmanship, an instructor would fly with him to work out the deficiencies. Simply not possible in today's A-10 fleet.
THanks Bill, great stuff!

[bilwor]

Edwards AFB 04/03/14
Scaled Composites SC-133-AT3 "SMUT" (001)(N133SC) (Special-Mission Utility Transport) (Advanced Technology Tactical Transport [ATTT] proof-of-concept demonstrator is a 62% scaled version of an airplane designed to challenging STOL and long range requirements under contract to Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA])

Scaled Composites SC-133-AT3 'SMUT' cn001 N133SC Special-Mission Utility Transport a by Bill Word, on Flickr

Scaled Composites SC-133-AT3 'SMUT' cn001 N133SC Special-Mission Utility Transport c by Bill Word, on Flickr

Scaled Composites SC-133-AT3 'SMUT' cn001 N133SC Special-Mission Utility Transport b by Bill Word, on Flickr

[Blackbirdfan]

Edwards AFB 04/03/14
Scaled Composites SC-133-AT3 "SMUT" (001)(N133SC) (Special-Mission Utility Transport) (Advanced Technology Tactical Transport [ATTT] proof-of-concept demonstrator is a 62% scaled version of an airplane designed to challenging STOL and long range requirements under contract to Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA])

Scaled Composites SC-133-AT3 'SMUT' cn001 N133SC Special-Mission Utility Transport a by Bill Word, on Flickr

Scaled Composites SC-133-AT3 'SMUT' cn001 N133SC Special-Mission Utility Transport c by Bill Word, on Flickr

Scaled Composites SC-133-AT3 'SMUT' cn001 N133SC Special-Mission Utility Transport b by Bill Word, on Flickr

It kinda looks like they took an OV10 and mated a Rockwell Shrike fuselage to the wings and tail section after extending them a bit.

Will

[eze240]

Did anyone notice the B-1A escape capsule back behind the C-135C? That should be the pod from the second B-1, the one that crashed back in the 80's.

[CAPFlyer]

It kinda looks like they took an OV10 and mated a Rockwell Shrike fuselage to the wings and tail section after extending them a bit.

Will

While generally similar (in the most general of ways) the ATTT design is 100% original. The powerplants were PT6s instead of Garretts among other things, but biggest was that the original tail was cruciform and was changed to this design after initial test flights revealed some handling issues and DARPA wanted better aft loading capabilities, so the tail design was pretty much a given to make it work.

It's sad to see that plane in such sad shape. No engines, no real protection from the elements, and being mainly fiberglass and composite, it's just slowly rotting away.

[JDK]

Good stuff, looking forward to more. Is the P-59 still on a stick out there?

Seconded all of that. Fascinating set Bill. Thanks.

[bilwor]

Edwards AFB 04/03/14
General Dynamics NF-111A "Aardvark" (A1-13)(USAF 63-9778)(NASA)(was modified for the Transonic Aircraft Technology (TACT) program by adding a highly efficient supercritical wing. At the end of the TACT program a new program to extend the supercritical wing technology to a higher level of performance. A joint NASA and Air Force program called Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) was created. The supercritical wing on the F-111A aircraft was replaced with a wing built by Boeing Aircraft Company System called a “mission adaptive wing” (MAW). This wing had an internal mechanism to flex the outer wing skin and produce a high camber section for subsonic speeds, a supercritical section for transonic speeds, and symmetrical section for supersonic speeds. The surface irregularities from leading edge slates was eliminated and trailing edge flap effects reduced. The use of flexible wing skins to produce a smooth upper surface brought this wing a little closer in concept to that of a bird.

General Dynamics NF-111A 'Aardvark' cnA1-13 USAF 63-9778 NASA b by Bill Word, on Flickr

General Dynamics NF-111A 'Aardvark' cnA1-13 USAF 63-9778 NASA d by Bill Word, on Flickr

General Dynamics NF-111A 'Aardvark' cnA1-13 USAF 63-9778 NASA e by Bill Word, on Flickr

[TAdan]

Wonderful post Bill, thanks so much for sharing your pictures of some really interesting aircraft.

[Warbird Kid]

Isn't the second Piper Enforcer out there? Whats the current disposition of this aircraft?

[bilwor]

Isn't the second Piper Enforcer out there? Whats the current disposition of this aircraft?

Yes photos to come. As far as I know it is waiting for restoration.
bill word

[sandiego89]

Hey Bill, would appreciate any comments you have on access to this south ramp area. Part of a museum visit? Do they shuttle folks out there? I have base access as a military member, but not sure how open this South ramp is. Thanks.

[bilwor]

I was part of a media group helping with an article. All the details were handled by others.
bill word

[bilwor]

Fairchild-Republic T-46A "Eaglet" (USAF 84-0492)(One of three built for the Next
Generation Trainer [NGT] program)

Fairchild-Republic T-46A 'Eaglet' USAF 84-0492 a by Bill Word, on Flickr

Fairchild-Republic T-46A 'Eaglet' USAF 84-0492 b by Bill Word, on Flickr

Fairchild-Republic T-46A 'Eaglet' USAF 84-0492 c by Bill Word, on Flickr

[bilwor]

Edwards Air Force Base 04/03/14
Lockheed NC-141A "Starlifter" ("Against the Wind") (300-6005)(USAF 61-2779)(AMC 4950th Test Wing, Wright-Patterson AFB)(It was the second aircraft of the production fleet named "Against the Wind" by her Crew Chief, WG-13 Paul :Laemers (an avid Bob Seger fan from Detroit). 779 was heavily modified to become the Advanced Radar Test Bed (ARTB) testing airborne radars in a countermeasures (ECM) environment. Structural modifications included a 'universal nose' which could be interchanged with B-1, F-15, and F-16 nose radomes and radar system housings to support in-flight instrumented radar testing.) One of 3 A models still in existence.

Lockheed NC-141A 'Starlifter' ('Against the Wind') cn300-6005 USAF 61-2779 a by Bill Word, on Flickr

Lockheed NC-141A 'Starlifter' ('Against the Wind') cn300-6005 USAF 61-2779 b by Bill Word, on Flickr