The Orion’s Spectacular Performance Was Proven Repeatedly By CDR Lilenthal and Crew
On February 4th 1971, Patrol Plane Commander CDR Donald H. Lilienthal, flying P-3C Orion BuNo 156512 (c/n 5506), set a world horizontal flight altitude record for the heavy turboprop class of 45,018 feet (13,721.5 meters). Lilienthal was flying from Edwards Air Force Base in California at the time. However, this was just one of several speeds, distance, time-to-climb, and altitude records Lilenthal and his crew set over a two-week period early in 1971.
Japan to Maryland. Non-Stop.
On January 22, CDR Lilienthal took off from Naval Air Station Atsugi, Japan. He and his crew then flew non-stop to Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River in Maryland- a distance of 6,857.75 miles (11,036.47 kilometers). The flight took only 15 hours and 32 minutes to complete. But…the Orion had to deviate its course to avoid foreign airspace, which lengthened the actual distance flown to 7,010 miles (11,218.5 kilometers)!
Record-Setting Flight Crew
The record-setting flight crew were: Patrol Plane Commander CDR Lilienthal, Pilot CAPT R.H. Ross, Pilot LCDR F. Howard Stoodley, Navigator LT R.T. Myers, Meteorologist CDR J.E. Koehr, Flight Engineer ADJC K.D. Frantz, and Flight Engineer AEC H.A. Statti.
Speed Records Begin to Fall
After arrival NATC Pax River, CDR Lilienthal wasted little time between record-setting flights. On January 27 CDR Lilenthal, still flying 156512, set a new record for speed over a straight 15 kilometer course of 500.89 miles per hour (806.10 kilometers per hour).
Altitude Record Falls After a “Leisurely” Transit From Pax River to Edwards
After the setting a new record for speed and already owning the record for distance, CDR Lilienthal and crew transited to Edwards Air Force Base in the high desert of California. No records were broken during the cross-county flight, but once at Edwards several more records fell. First the new horizontal flight altitude record fell on February 4. Then it was time-to-climb time.
Might As Well Set Some Time-to-Climb Records Too
On February 8, CDR Lilienthal and crew set time-to-climb records for 9,843 feet (3,000 meters) in 2 minutes 52 seconds; to 19685 feet (6,000 meters) in 5 minutes 46 seconds; to 29,528 feet (9,000 meters) in 10 minutes 26 seconds; and 39,370 feet (12,000 meters) in 19 minutes 42 seconds.
Just Keep On Climbing Baby
Not done yet, CDR Lilienthal continued climbing the Orion until it reached a world record altitude of 46,214.2 feet (14,086.1 meters). Remember readers- this is not a jet-powered aircraft. The Orion is a turboprop!
The Record-Setting Aircraft Served for 24 More Years
At the time of the record-setting flights, Orion 156512 was a standard production aircraft with minimal modifications and assigned to NATC Pax River. 156512 went on to serve for 24 years with VP-31, VP-9, VP-46, VP-65, VP-16, and VP-45 before being stored at AMARG Davis-Monthan AFB in 1995.
I was at NATC Pax River when these records were being set. It was my first duty station as a nugget AEAN. Fast forward to 1979 I reported to VP-45, and ‘who’ was waiting for me, but my old 156512. After retiring I was employed as a tech rep with VP-65, Pt. Mugu, Ca., once again with 156512! She held few secrets from me as I first worked on her in 1970 and last seen her in 1993! She was a wonderful warbird.
I was doing a pilot trainer at Atsugi the day they took off on that flight, we had to wait for them to clean the dry ice off the runway before we could take off.
If you check your records, I think you will find that P-3C 158227 did not make it all the way to Pax River non-stop. It landed at Lockbourne Air Force Base 12 miles outside of Columbus Ohio, yet still a turbo-prop record. The medical doctor on board took blood samples along the way and determined that the flight crew were too fatigued to continue on to their intended destination.
Master Chief Ron Garren was the tech on the flight. Garren and I were in VP-5 in the early 60 and he has attended several reunions and has spoke about the flight. He said there was enough fuel left to go to Bermuda.
Also while touring the SAC museum, outside of Omaha, NE, there is wall of records and a placard card on the record flight from Japan to Pax.