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National Airlines – The Airline of the Stars

David H. Stringer
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National Airlines – The Airline of the Stars

THE BIRTH OF NATIONAL AIRLINES

National Airlines got its start in 1934 when Ted Baker and his associate, Don Franklin, successfully bid for AM (Air Mail) Route 31 between St. Petersburg and Daytona Beach, Florida, via Tampa, Lakeland, and Orlando. Service was inaugurated on 15 October 1934, with Ryan Monoplanes which were soon replaced with Stinson A Tri-Motors.

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George Theodore “Ted” Baker was the force behind National Airlines for nearly three decades. His iron-fisted management style alienated employees and their unions until he professed to have a change of heart after a 1948 strike by the airline’s pilots. National Airlines Photo

Don Franklin left the enterprise and thereafter National Airlines was associated with just one leader (or, some would say, despot), George Theodore “Ted” Baker.

Baker would become a thorn in the side of Eastern Air Lines’ feisty general manager, ‘Captain’ Eddie Rickenbacker, for years to come. Both men were known for their volatile tempers.

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National’s system was confined to the State of Florida until 1938. David H. Stringer Collection

NATIONAL GROWS

In 1937, much to Rickenbacker’s consternation, the Post Office awarded National a contract to fly between Tampa and Miami, enabling customers and mail from Tampa, Sarasota, and Fort Myers to connect with Pan American’s Caribbean and Latin American flights in Miami. Of course, Rickenbacker felt that Eastern should have been selected. National now had a meandering route from Miami to Daytona Beach, via St. Petersburg and Tampa. With the new service came new aircraft, 10-passenger Lockheed L-10 Electras.

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10-passenger Lockheed L-10 Electras were added to the fleet after National was awarded a contract by the Post Office Department to carry mail (and passengers) from Tampa to Miami. David H. Stringer Collection

National successfully bid on the air mail contract from Jacksonville to New Orleans via intermediate points and service was inaugurated over this route on 1 November 1938. Against Rickenbacker’s objections, the CAB awarded National the authority to operate over the short segment from Daytona Beach to Jacksonville in competition with Eastern. This link joined together the two parts of National’s system: from Miami northward to Daytona and Jacksonville via Tampa, and from Jacksonville westward to New Orleans.

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On November 1, 1938, National began service between Jacksonville and New Orleans. When the newly-formed Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) closed the gap between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, National wound up with a meandering route that extended from Miami to New Orleans. David H. Stringer Collection

Ted Baker liked being thought of as a swashbuckling pirate stealing business from Rickenbacker. He christened his airline the “Route of the Buccaneers”, incorporating the image of a pirate with sword in hand as the company symbol.

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Baker chose Lockheed L-18 Lodestars for his fleet, bypassing the larger and more popular Douglas DC-3. National would be the only major carrier – trunk or local service – in the U.S.A. not to fly the DC-3. National Airlines Photo

LODESTARS INSTEAD OF DC-3s

Introduced to the nation’s airways in 1936, the Douglas DC-3 quickly proved itself to be an aircraft that could make a profit on revenue received solely from carrying passengers.  It became the standard airliner for major carriers around the world.

But Baker felt that the DC-3’s 21-passenger capacity was too big for his needs. He decided to buy Lockheed’s ultimate twin-engine airliner, the 14-passenger L-18 Lodestar instead.  National would hold the distinction of being the only major airline in the United States never to operate a DC-3.

The Lodestar was not a graceful looking airplane. It sat low to the ground and sported twin-tail vertical stabilizers. Unlike the DC-3, with its 2 + 1 seating arrangement (later expanded to 2 + 2 by most airlines), the Lodestar was equipped with a single row of 7 seats on each side of the aisle. The wing-spar ran across the front of the cabin requiring two steps up to enter the cockpit. Ungainly as it appeared, the Lodestar’s advantage was speed. It cruised at 220 mph, compared to the DC-3’s 170.

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This advertisement from Lockheed shows the interior of a Lodestar, which accommodated only 14 passengers. David H. Stringer Collection

BAKER VS. HIS PILOTS

Behind the scenes at National, all was not peachy. The pilots wanted to unionize and Ted Baker would have none of it. It was his airline and his employees would do as he said in exchange for what he paid them, and that was that.

In the early days, Baker would fire any pilot that was a union organizer. In 1942, Baker declared that “wartime emergency” forced him to pay pilots a lump sum amount each month instead of the hourly wage they were supposed to earn based on flight time. He relented after the CAB threatened to investigate his payroll practices.

The pilot’s gained membership in the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), but Baker’s inability to build bridges with his own employees almost brought an end to his airline.

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When National inaugurated service to New York in 1944, the only aircraft Baker had in his fleet to cover the new route were the Lodestars. David H. Stringer Collection

ON TO THE BIG APPLE

In 1944, the CAB handed Ted Baker a gift that would bring him into the major leagues. Authority was granted for National Airlines to operate between New York and Miami via several important intermediate cities. Prior to this, Eastern held a monopoly in the New York to Miami market. Some say that it was Rickenbacker’s constant complaining about the Democratic presidential administration of Franklin Roosevelt that prompted the CAB to allow National onto Rickenbacker’s most valuable route but, in truth, the busy East Coast market deserved two airlines competing for traffic.

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National’s first flight from New York arrives in St. Petersburg, Florida. National’s Executive Secretary, Robert Forman, hands a letter from New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia to the mayor of St. Petersburg. David H. Stringer Collection

Unfortunately for Baker, since he had chosen to forego purchasing DC-3s, the only aircraft he had available to fly this prestigious new route were his little 14-passenger Lodestars. Service was inaugurated to New York on 1 October 1944. Eastern was operating DC-3s in competition.

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Douglas DC-4’s were added to the fleet in 1946. Baker had bested his foe, Eastern’s Eddie Rickenbacker, by introducing the 4-engine airliners several months ahead of Eastern. Baker dubbed his DC-4 flights “The Buccaneers”.

HEAVY METAL

After the war, in February 1946, Ted Baker got the upper hand on Capt. Rickenbacker when National introduced 46-passenger, 4-engine Douglas DC-4s, which had the range to offer non-stop service between New York and Miami for the first time. Still stuck with twin-engine DC-3s, Eastern would not introduce DC-4s on the route until several months later. Of course, Baker named his new non-stop service “The Buccaneer.”           

The CAB awarded National another plum in 1946, the year that Ted Baker moved the company’s headquarters from Jacksonville to Miami. This award infringed on the territory of another airline pioneer, Juan Trippe of Pan American. National gained authority to serve Havana, Cuba, non-stop from both Miami and Tampa, and from New York via intermediate points.

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Modern, pressurized Douglas DC-6’s were added to National’s fleet in 1947. Douglas Aircraft Co. Photo

In 1947, Baker and Rickenbacker both put modern pressurized equipment into service non-stop between New York and Miami; Eastern introduced Lockheed L-649 Constellations in June, while National launched Douglas DC-6 flights in July.

LABOR RELATIONS

Unfortunately, employee relations at National had not improved. The pilots contended that Baker blatantly ignored their contract by violating seniority provisions and failing to comply with negotiated work rules. Other employee groups were similarly dissatisfied. On 26 January 1948, the airline’s reservationists and ticket agents went on strike over wage issues and working conditions.   

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Passengers deplane from a DC-6 in this staged company photo. National Airlines Photo

It was Baker’s refusal to arbitrate a case involving a pilot, Maston O’Neal, that almost brought an end to National. During a hydroplaning incident while attempting to land his Lodestar on a wet and notoriously short runway, O’Neal had saved the lives of all of his passengers and crew, but had lost his airplane in the process. Baker fired the pilot.

On 3 February 1948, National’s pilots walked out on strike over the O’Neal incident. The strike did not end until the November 1948 presidential election, which Baker was hoping that corporate-friendly Dewey would win. Labor-friendly Truman won the election and Baker settled with the pilots’ union.

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National got a complete makeover in the early 1950’s. A new aircraft livery was adopted, as seen on these two Douglas DC-6B’s. the Buccaneer image was dropped in favor of a new slogan – Airline of the Stars. National Airlines company photo

THE “AIRLINE OF THE STARS”

After joining a religious movement called Moral Re-Armament, Baker claimed to have had a change of heart after immersion into the group’s teachings of “cooperation, honesty, and mutual respect” to transform relationships between opposing parties. Baker announced to his employees that he had a new attitude toward his workforce at National Airlines. From that point forward, a truce was observed between management and labor, new contracts were negotiated, and everyone’s mission was to build National Airlines into the best carrier operating along the East Coast.

NATIONAL VS. EASTERN

Baker knew that Rickenbacker’s weakness was a lack of emphasis on in-flight service. Safety and reliability were paramount to Captain Eddie, with passenger comfort somewhat of an afterthought.

Baker hired Walter Sternberg to be his new Vice President – Sales. Sternberg previously worked for Rickenbacker who reportedly fired him over their differences about the quality of Eastern’s in-flight service, which Sternberg thought was lacking.

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National’s ‘Star’ Flights incorporated red carpet boarding, plush seats, fresh cut flowers, filet Mignon dinners, and other amenities. David H. Stringer Collection

Sternberg dumped the “Route of the Buccaneers” slogan and rechristened National the “Airline of the Stars”, implying that celebrities of stage and screen, and even famous politicians, chose to fly National instead of the competition. A new livery was created and ‘Star’ flights featured a red carpet rolled out between the gatehouse and the aircraft for boarding and deplaning.

Aircraft interiors were refurbished with plush seats and DC-6s featured recorded music playing over the public address system while the aircraft was on the ground. Two-by-two seating, an advantage over two-by-three seating in part of Eastern’s Constellations, was touted. Fresh cut flowers were placed aboard each Star flight and filet Mignon dinners were served. The DC-6’s aft lounge area was rechristened The Starlight Lounge.

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By the mid-1950’s, National was advertising the ‘Newest Fleet in the Nation’. David H. Stringer Collection

In conjunction with the new ‘Star’ theme, the company photographed celebrities boarding and deplaning its aircraft – everyone from Zsa Zsa Gabor to the Shah of Iran.

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Douglas DC-7B’s were added to the fleet in 1957. Douglas Aircraft Company photo via Jon Proctor Collection

BAKER’S NEW ATTITUDE

As a gesture of good will, management voluntarily awarded the pilots a bonus of 5% before taxes for the 1952 fiscal year. It certainly appeared that Ted Baker had softened, but he still kept his company under tight control. Every expenditure of $500 or more had to be personally scrutinized by the boss, and he still yelled at his managers.

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Another addition to National’s fleet in 1957 was the Lockheed L-1049H ‘Super-H’ Constellation. The Super-H’s were used for ‘Imperial Club Coach’ flights between New York and Miami. Lockheed Aircraft Co. Photo

Keeping pace with competitors, particularly Rickenbacker’s Eastern, Baker added modern equipment to National’s fleet throughout the 1950s: DC-6Bs, DC-7s, Convair 340s and 440s. In late 1957, he put the newest Douglas and Lockheed models into service: the DC-7B and the L-1049H “Super-H” Constellation.           

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Baker struck a deal with Pan Am’s Juan Trippe. National leased two Pan AM Boeing 707’s for use on New York-Miami flights during the 1958-59 winter season, thus making National the first airline to operate a jet on domestic flights within the U.S.A. David H. Stringer Collection

THE 707 COUP

In October 1958, Pan American became the first operator of the Boeing 707 turbojet, while BOAC introduced the Comet 4. The commercial jet age had begun.

Pan American was strictly an international carrier. 707s were not scheduled to be introduced domestically in the United States until early 1959, when American Airlines would place them in service between New York and Los Angeles.

Baker secretly worked out a deal with Pan Am’s Juan Trippe. Since winter was Pan Am’s low season on the North Atlantic and, conversely, it was National’s busiest time of year with sun-seekers heading to Florida, Trippe agreed to lease two of his new 707s to Baker for National’s use on the New York – Miami run, starting 10 December 1958. Once the ink was dry on the contract, Baker publicized his coup over Rickenbacker by issuing ‘America’s First Jet Service Timetable’. The publication proudly advertised the 707 schedules commencing in December, and National legitimately held claim to operating the first domestic jet service in the USA.    

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In 1960, National added its own jetliners – Douglas DC-8’s – to the fleet. David H. Stringer Collection

WESTWARD HO

By 1961, Baker’s airline was operating its own jets, DC-8s, over a network that extended west to California as a result of National’s selection by the CAB to fly the southern transcontinental route. Of course, Rickenbacker was livid and challenged the decision, but to no avail. The route award was tempered somewhat by the forced suspension of service to Havana after Fidel Castro rose to power in Cuba and political relations between that country and the U.S. soured. 

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National’s system map after winning an award from the C.A.B. in the 1961 Southern Transcontinental Route Case. Note new service to the West Coast. David H. Stringer Collection

CASHING IN THE CHIPS

Lewis B. “Bud” Maytag, Jr., was the heir to a washing machine manufacturing fortune, but his first love was aviation. He contacted Ted Baker to see if he was interested in selling his stake in National. Baker claimed that the company was not for sale, but he also let it be known that, for the right price, anything is for sale.

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National Douglas DC-8, Series -21 model. Douglas Aircraft Co. Photo via Proctor-Livesey-Thomas Collection

Negotiations between Maytag and Baker proceeded amicably until Maytag found out that Baker had approached Continental’s president, Bob Six, to see if he would be interested in pursuing a Continental Air Lines purchase of National. He was.

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Lewis B. “Bud” Maytag, Jr., heir to a washing machine manufacturing fortune, purchased a controlling interest in National Airlines from Ted Baker in 1962. National Airlines photo

Buccaneer Baker was playing one side against the other and, in the process, managed to increase the value of his National shares and, thus, force a better offer from Maytag. A new price was agreed upon and, in 1962, Ted Baker sold out to Bud Maytag and bid farewell to the airline that he had built from scratch.

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Boeing 727’s were added to National’s fleet in 1964. This example was photographed by Jon Proctor at Orlando.

Ted Baker passed away in 1963 while on vacation with his wife in Vienna. The old pirate flew west leaving behind a storied legacy in American commercial aviation.

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Maytag retired National’s piston engine aircraft, trimming the fleet down to Lockheed L-188 turboprop Electras, Boeing 727’s, and Douglas DC-8’s, eventually retiring the Electras. This DC-8 was photographed at New York (JFK) by Mel Lawrence in 1965.

MAYTAG CHANGES THINGS UP

Bud Maytag had his own vision for the company that he now helmed and one of the first things to go was the “Airline of the Stars” slogan, which was replaced by the rather uninspired “National Goes Where the Nation Grows”. This was superseded a couple of years later by the more lyrical catchphrase “Coast to Coast to Coast”, which reflected National’s system that served the Atlantic seaboard, the Gulf Coast, and the shore of the Pacific.

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First Class service aboard a National DC-8. National Airlines photo

Maytag placed more turboprop Lockheed L-188 Electras and pure-jet Douglas DC-8s into service while retiring the company’s piston-engine aircraft. He eventually settled on two basic types: the Douglas DC-8 and the new Boeing 727, which was introduced in 1964.

In 1968, the company went through yet another update of its brand. A sunburst logo was adopted along with a new livery of yellow and orange. Onboard meals featured Florida specialties such as key lime pie. Soon after the new look was introduced, another new slogan was coined: “Is This Any Way to Run an Airline? You Bet It is!”

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A National 727, featuring the Sunburst livery, is seen at New York (JFK) with a company Boeing 747 in the background. Photographed by Jon Proctor in 1971.

THE SEVENTIES

Like several other domestic carriers, National ordered the new wide-body Boeing 747. Two of the type entered service with the company in 1970, assigned to the popular New York – Miami and Miami – Los Angeles routes. The jumbo jets were sold in 1976 as a more suitable type for National’s route structure had supplanted them – the Douglas DC-10.

But the biggest step forward for National in the new decade was the inauguration of transatlantic service. In 1969, the CAB awarded the airline authority to operate non-stop between Miami and London. Service commenced on 15 June 1970. Later in The Seventies, National would inaugurate service to Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Zurich.

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National’s “Fly Me” advertising campaign of the 1970’s proved to be very popular – and very controversial. National Airlines photo

FLY ME

National’s most memorable ad campaign was launched in October 1971. Created with the idea of naming aircraft after female employees within the company, the “Fly Me – Fly National” campaign was an instant hit. Extending the gimmick beyond employees, National’s fifth DC-10 to enter service was christened Geraldine by comedian Flip Wilson, honoring the character that he had created on his TV show.

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National’s name would disappear after issuance of this July 1980 Pan Am timetable illustrating the new uniforms to be worn by flight attendants of the now-merged companies. The National Airlines name would resurface twice again with companies unrelated to the original. David H. Stringer Collection

MERGER OF NATIONAL WITH PAN AM

Before President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act into law in October 1978, management teams from Pan American and National worked out the terms of a merger, which would be more accurately described as an acquisition of National by Pan Am. Frank Lorenzo’s Texas International Airlines (TI) had been pursuing its own acquisition of National but Pan Am stepped in and purchased the stock from TI which that company had already accumulated.

The merger became official in January 1980, and a timetable of integrated schedules was issued in February carrying the names of both carriers on its cover. In July 1980, Pan Am issued the last timetable that would acknowledge National Airlines. On its cover was a photo of flight attendants modeling the new Pan Am uniform that would be worn by the in-flight personnel formerly employed by both carriers. It was the unofficial end of the company founded by buccaneer Ted Baker that had once called itself the “Airline of the Stars”.

The Tale of “Candy Bomber” Gail Halvorsen: The Pilot who Dropped Hope Over Berlin

Bill Walton
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The Tale of “Candy Bomber” Gail Halvorsen: The Pilot who Dropped Hope Over Berlin

Gail Halvorsen Lived a Life of Compassionate Service With Some Incredible Plot Twists Along the Way

This is the story of a man born in 1920 who grew up on farms in Idaho and Utah, dreaming about flying airplanes, always looking up when anything with wings flew over. He graduated from high school in 1939 and earned his private pilot license under the Civilian Pilot Training Program in September 1941. He quickly joined the Civil Air Patrol as a pilot.

When war came to the United States, Gail Seymour “Hal” Halvorsen did what many pilots did. In May 1942, at the age of 22, he joined the newly formed United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). From there, Hal’s life took a few unexpected turns.

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Douglas C-54 Skymaster. image via us air force

Flying Anything With Wings

Gail Halvorsen said goodbye to life on the farm and hello to the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Miami, Oklahoma, where he underwent his initial flight training- ironically at a Royal Air Force Flying Training School for fighter pilots located there. After completion of his flight training (and receiving his RAF wings), Halvorsen was transferred to the USAAF and assigned instead to fly transport aircraft to Africa via Natal in Brazil, Ascension Island in the middle of the South Atlantic, and points east.

Pushing supplies to Ascension Island, driving a C-54 Skymaster or a C-47 Skytrain wasn’t glamorous, but it was important. Hal also ferried replacement aircraft to England, but he stresses he was never shot at- not even once. He maintained his single-engine piloting proficiency in Navy Douglas SBD Dautlesses down south of the equator for antisubmarine patrols. After all, he was an RAF-trained fighter pilot.

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Douglas C-74 GLobemasters. image via us air Force

Called to Serve

After the War in Europe ended in May 1945, Gail Halvorsen flew personnel home from the ETO via the southern routes for a time, then returned to the United States and was still flying for Uncle Sam when the United States Air Force was born in 1947. When, on 24 June 1948, the Berlin Blockade began, Hal was a Lieutenant flying Douglas C-54 Skymaster and C-74 Globemaster transports out of Brookley Air Force Base (AFB) near Mobile in Alabama.

Transport pilots were immediately needed in Germany to supply the encircled city of Berlin. Halvorsen parked his new car, dropped everything, boarded a Europe-bound C-54 transport, and arrived in Germany on 10 July 1948.

There, he immediately began flying those old familiar Skytrains and Skymasters full of every kind of cargo imaginable to the desperate Berlin residents behind the wire.

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unloading at Tempelhof. Image via US Air Force

Living In the Aftermath

A typical mission during the Berlin Airlift, quickly dubbed Operation Vittles, took Halvorsen over the ruins still present after World War II while on approach to Berlin-Tempelhof airport, where the supplies were unloaded and distributed.

Halvorsen flew as many as three missions daily down the 20-mile-wide air corridors into Berlin, occasionally with Russian fighters for very unwelcome company. Halvorsen had never seen such devastation as he saw in Germany, but there were signs of life amid the rubble around Tempelhof.

Children, fascinated by the near-constant stream of transports overhead, lined the barbed-wire fences around the airport. Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen saw them from the air.

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C-47s at Tempelhof. Image via US Air Force

That Seminal Moment

On 19 July 1948, Gail Halvorsen took advantage of some time off to look around and capture some footage using his ever-present movie camera. He found himself near one of those groups of children on the other side of the airport fence while filming arrivals and departures of the transports, and decided to talk with them.

Now, the children, by this time, knew exactly how important those transports droning overhead were. In Halvorsen’s words, “I met about thirty children at the barbed wire fence that protected Tempelhof’s huge area. They were excited and told me that ‘when the weather gets so bad that you can’t land, don’t worry about us. We can get by on a little food, but if we lose our freedom, we may never get it back.‘”

LT. Gail Halvorsen in Germany
LT. Gail Halvorsen in Germany. Image via US Air Force

The Beginnings of a Larger Plan

Halvorsen was in a rush to get back to Rhein-Main, but something (he maintains he doesn’t know exactly what) made him stop, reach into his pocket, pull out his last two sticks of Wrigley Double-Mint gum, and hand them to the kids. He instantly felt gnawing regret that he didn’t have enough for everyone. So he promised the kids that he would bring gum for everyone the next day- via air drop. When asked how the children would know which plane he was flying, Hal told them he would wiggle his wings for them as he flew over on his approach into Tempelhof.

Back at Rhein-Main airport near Frankfurt that night, Hal and his crew put their candy rations together and quickly realized air-dropping the candy to the children might not be such a great idea—somebody could get seriously hurt. The solution: handkerchief parachutes. The guys made three of them, and the next day, the first three-box candy air-drop mission went off without a hitch.

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C-54 on approach to Tempelhof with children at the fence. Image via National Archives

The Candy Bomber Never Dropped an Actual Bomb

Hal and his crew, including “bombardier” navigator/crew chief Technical Sergeant Herschel C. Elkins, kept the aerial resupply missions going- on a fairly small scale. They air-dropped their entire candy and gum rations once a week over the next three weeks- always utilizing the C-54’s flare chute.

With each passing week, the crowd of children at the Tempelhof fence grew almost exponentially. Halvorsen was confident the kids didn’t know his identity, so he was getting away with the unauthorized candy-bombing, but increasing amounts of thank-you mail from the children and their parents reached Airlift commander Lieutenant General William H. Tunner.

When asked by Tunner to explain, Halvorsen was afraid his goose was well and truly cooked. But word of the “Berlin Candy Bomber” (Berlin Süßigkeiten Bomber) or “Uncle Wiggly Wings” (Onkel Wackelflugel) had also reached the Berlin press. Tunner said, “You almost hit a reporter in the head with a candy bar in Berlin yesterday. He’s spread the story all over Europe.” But rather than halting the missions, General Tunner actually embraced and expanded the effort, even naming it Operation Little Vittles.   

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Children with models of Berlin Airlifters. Image via National Archives

Maximum Effort

Operation Little Vittles officially began on 22 September 1948. At first, Hal and his friends and fellow transport crews provided the “ordnance” for the drops, but in short order, his entire squadron, and soon the entire base, were involved in the effort.

When word of Operation Little Vittles reached the United States, children, families, and confectioners from all over the country began contributing candy and handkerchiefs. In just a couple of months, the sheer volume reached unmanageable proportions, but Hal and his fellow pilots still had missions to fly.

They got a helping hand from Mary C. Conners, a college student in Massachusetts, who took charge of what had quickly become a project of national scope and scale. She worked with the National Confectioners Association to package the candy and make parachutes for them, staging the items through nearby Westover AFB.

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c-54 dropping its payload (of candy) on target. Image via National Archives

What’s In a Name?

By this time, Hal and his fellow Little Vittles pilots were dropping candy every other day. The children of Berlin were provided with hope, candy, and perhaps a cavity or two.

The Air Force had built a rapport with the people of Berlin, remarkable in both its depth and speed- it would be years before that rubble around Tempelhof, reminding the people of Berlin of what (in large part) the US Air Force had inflicted on them so recently, would be cleared. But thousands of thank you letters and artworks from the children of Berlin were sent to the “Raisin Bombers” (Rosinenbomber) and to Halvorsen himself, who had also been dubbed “The Chocolate Uncle” (Der Schokoladenonkel), “The Gum Drop Kid“ (Das GumDrop Kid), and “The Chocolate Flier” (Der Schokoladenflieger) by then. One of the Berlin children later told Halvorsen, “It wasn’t [just] chocolate. It was hope.“

Gail Halvorsen with kids in Berlin
Gail Halvorsen with the kids at the fence. Image via US Air Force

For the Rest of the Candy Bomber Story, Bang NEXT PAGE below.

THE STORY OF THE DOUGLAS DC-5

David H. Stringer
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THE STORY OF THE DOUGLAS DC-5

The Groundbreaking Douglas DC-5 Machine That Suffered From Bad Luck and Worse Timing

This is the story of the DC-5, the least popular Douglas aircraft ever built. In 1938, most companies in the United States were still trying to claw their way out of the Great Depression, but the Douglas Aircraft Company was flying high. Two years prior, the first Douglas DC-3 had entered commercial service, and the type became an immediate hit.

Douglas was turning out winners

Often described as the first airliner that could make money flying just passengers, without the additional revenue generated by transporting air mail and cargo, the order book for DC-3s was being filled by requests from airlines the world over. More than 10,000 examples would be produced – in both civilian and military variants – before production ceased in 1946.

The DC-3 was an outgrowth of the DC-1 and DC-2. The single DC-1 built served as a prototype for the improved production-line model, the 14-passenger DC-2. The DC-2 design was then enlarged and improved into an airliner that could transport 21 passengers in state-of-the-art comfort. That aircraft was the DC-3.

While dozens of DC-3s were being assembled at the manufacturer’s Santa Monica, California, facility, Douglas designers and engineers were busy creating the next models to join the DC (Douglas Commercial) line of aircraft.

The company’s 1938 Annual Report gave an update on the progress of the single DC-4 that had been built, which had made its first successful flight on June 7 of that year. This aircraft, which boasted four engines, a triple-tail, and a pressurized cabin, would be designated the DC-4E (Experimental) and did not resemble the single-tail, unpressurized production model DC-4 (and military variant, the C-54), which would eventually occupy the Santa Monica assembly line.

Like the DC-3, the DC-4 was a very successful design and hundreds of DC-4s and C-54s would be built during the early 1940s.

A NEW HIGH-WINGED DC-5 EMERGES

Also in the 1938 publication was a description of the next type in line, the DC-5. The Douglas Annual Report described it as a high-performance, high-wing, twin-engine monoplane capable of operation from smaller airports. The prototype was test flown in February 1939, and it demonstrated excellent performance.       

THE DC-4E AND A DC-5 GRACE THE COVER OF DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT COMPANY's 1938 ANNUAL REPORT.
THE DC-4E AND A DC-5 GRACE THE COVER OF DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT COMPANY’s 1938 ANNUAL REPORT. IMAGE COURTESY OF BOEING CO.

Though the DC-5 was designed to carry 16 passengers in three compartments, capacity could be adjusted to accommodate 14, 18, or 22 seats.

A Douglas Aircraft sales booklet explained that, because the wing was above the fuselage, “large oval windows are especially designed to provide wide, unobstructed vision from either side of the cabin [and] as propellers are located much farther from the fuselage than has been standard practice, a marked reduction in sound and vibration levels should be noted.”

DC-5 Had Unique Capabilities

The DC-5 offered short-airfield capability. It could take off in less than 1,000 feet with 16 passengers and a crew of four aboard – 1,500 feet if a 50-foot-high obstacle had to be cleared – no matter which set of approved Wright or Pratt & Whitney engines was installed.

The airliner sported a tricycle landing gear arrangement, which permitted the craft to sit level and low to the ground, allowing for easy passenger boarding and deplaning, and baggage and cargo handling. Because of its high-wing, low-to-the-ground design, refueling was uncomplicated, and the engines were easily accessible for maintenance when the aircraft was parked.     

DOUGLAS DC-5 SALES BOOKLET.
THE STORY OF THE DOUGLAS DC-5 46
DOUGLAS DC-5 SALES BOOKLET.
DOUGLAS DC-5 SALES BOOKLET. DAVID H. STRINGER COLLECTION

Douglas also employed the high-wing concept in the creation of its military DB-7 (A-20 Havoc) aircraft. Production of the DB-7s began at the company’s El Segundo factory in Southern California, the same place where DC-5s would be manufactured.

Orders began to trickle in: Pennsylvania Central Airlines (PCA – later renamed Capital Airlines) ordered six; KLM requested four; SCADTA of Colombia wanted two; and the original British Airways, which was in the process of merging with Imperial Airways to form BOAC, expressed interest in acquiring nine examples in August 1939.

In addition to civilian orders, seven were requested by the military: three for the U.S. Navy (designated R3D-1s) and four for the Marine Corps (R3D-2s).

TRICYCLE LANDING GEAR ALLOWED EASY ACCESS FOR MAINTENANCE CREW BECAUSE THE DC-5 FUSELAGE RESTED LOW TO THE GROUND
TRICYCLE LANDING GEAR ALLOWED EASY ACCESS FOR MAINTENANCE CREW BECAUSE THE FUSELAGE RESTED LOW TO THE GROUND. DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT PHOTO VIA TOM LIVESEY

WAR BREAKS OUT IN EUROPE

The market for the DC-5 was shaky to begin with. It was designed specifically for “the short-haul operator serving a low-revenue territory”, a market that would not truly develop until 1945 when the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) began certificating local service (or “feeder”) airlines.

Just as the DC-5 was ready to make its debut, war broke out in Europe. The British government decided to spend money on military aircraft instead of DC-5s for British Airways. SCADTA in Colombia, which had been a creation of that nation’s German expatriate community, was forced to change ownership and merge with a competitor, forming AVIANCA. The DC-5 order was cancelled.

 And in the United States, PCA’s management decided that their airline, too, could forgo the new Douglas airliner. That left only KLM’s order for four examples on the books along with the military variants. With the loss of several DC-5 orders, the decision was made to commit the El Segundo plant solely to the manufacture of military aircraft.

In all, only 12 DC-5s were built: the prototype plus four for KLM and seven for the Navy and the Marines.

The prototype aircraft found an unusual buyer. William (Bill) Boeing, founder of the Boeing Airplane Company, purchased the first DC-5 to use as his personal aircraft and christened it Rover.

WILLIAM (BILL) BOEING (2nd from left NEXT TO HIS WIFE BERTHA) ACCEPTS THE PROTOTYPE DC-5 FOR USE AS HIS PERSONAL AIRCRAFT ON 12 APRIL 1940. BOEING Co. PHOTO
WILLIAM (BILL) BOEING (2nd from left NEXT TO HIS WIFE BERTHA) ACCEPTS THE PROTOTYPE DC-5 FOR USE AS HIS PERSONAL AIRCRAFT ON 12 APRIL 1940. BOEING Co. PHOTO

IN SERVICE WITH KLM

KLM requested that three of its DC-5s be outfitted with 22 seats and one with 18. All four were intended for use on short-haul routes from Amsterdam, but with war engulfing Europe, KLM’s management redirected the DC-5s to its colonial divisions.

Two – PJ-AIW (christened Wakago, meaning Wild Goose) and PJ-AIZ (Zonvogel, or Sun Bird) – were delivered to Curacao, base of the Dutch West Indies division. The other two – PK-ADA and PK-ADB – were shipped to Batavia (modern-day Jakarta, on the island of Java), the headquarters of KNILM, KLM’s subsidiary in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia).

KLM ADVERTISEMENT FEATURING A DC-5 IN THE MAY 11, 1940 ISSUE OF AVIATION MAGAZINE
KLM ADVERTISEMENT FEATURING A DC-5 IN THE MAY 11, 1940 ISSUE OF AVIATION MAGAZINE. CHRIS BIDLACK COLLECTION
KLM DC-5 in flight
PJ-AIW, CHRISTENED WAKAGO (WILD GOOSE) WAS DELIVERED TO KLM’s WEST INDIES DIVISION. DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT PHOTO VIA BOEING CO.

After serving for a year in the Caribbean, the DC-5s based in Curacao were flown to the Douglas factory in Southern California to be dismantled and shipped to Batavia, where they would join the other two DC-5s serving with KNILM. PJ-AIW became PK-ADC, while PJ-AIZ (Zonvogel) was reregistered PK-ADD.

Now, KNILM possessed all four commercial DC-5s in existence. All went relatively smoothly until the Japanese forces invaded Java. PK-ADA was damaged and captured by the Japanese, who repaired it, then flew it to Japan, where it served the military for training purposes.

Filled with refugees, PK-ADB, -ADC, and -ADD evacuated to Australia that month (February 1942) under the command of KNILM crews.

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE

Wartime control of the three airliners was quickly taken from their Dutch operator and placed under the supervision of the Allied Directorate of Air Transport (ADAT). Under ADAT, Australia’s commercial airlines performed wartime duty by flying transport aircraft that had been requisitioned by the military. The DC-5s were given new call signs in Australia: they became VH-CXA, -CXB, and -CXC.

On 17 August 1942, VH-CXA was destroyed by fire at Port Moresby, New Guinea, after being struck during a Japanese air raid.

Then, on 6 November 1942, VH-CXB took off from Charleville, Queensland, en route to Brisbane. The aircraft made a forced landing on a strip east of Charleville after losing one of its engines. All on board survived, but the aircraft was written off and used as a source for spare parts.

The only DC-5 Left

That left one airworthy commercial DC-5 still in existence: VH-CXC, the former Sun Bird (Zonvogel), which had once plied the Caribbean skies.

In 1944, the sole remaining DC-5 airliner was released to Australian National Airways (ANA) for use on regular commercial services from Melbourne to Adelaide and Sydney, and to Hobart and Launceston on the island of Tasmania.

In July 1946, the Australian carrier retired the one remaining commercial DC-5 from service. All of the surviving military examples had been scrapped at the end of World War II. But that was not the end of the story.

COLORIZED PHOTO OF AN R3D-2, MARINE CORPS VARIANT OF THE DC-5
COLORIZED PHOTO OF AN R3D-2, MARINE CORPS VARIANT OF THE DC-5. IMAGE FROM THE JON PROCTOR COLLECTION VIA TOM LIVESEY.

In June 1947, two gentlemen, Gregory R. Board and Gregory Hanlon, founded New Holland Airways to offer “luxury charter flights to all parts of the world”. The luxury flights consisted mainly of transporting Italian and Greek immigrants from southern Europe to Australia. The nation was sponsoring a postwar immigration drive, beckoning citizens of foreign countries to relocate to Australia. The government’s catchphrase for the drive was “populate or perish”.            

In January 1948, New Holland Airways purchased the retired DC-5 from ANA and christened it Bali Clipper. The DC-5 made two round-trips to Athens, Greece, to collect emigres in March and April 1948. Then, in May 1948, the last remaining DC-5 departed Sydney for Rome on its final trip for New Holland Airways.

DC-5 No longer airworthy

Details are sketchy, but Mr. Board contacted the Australian Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) from Italy to inform them that the DC-5 was no longer airworthy. That wasn’t true. Apparently, on 28 May – in a deal consummated in a hotel room in Catania, Sicily – Mr. Board sold the DC-5 to an American named Martin A. Rybakoff. The DC-5 was purchased in the name of Service Airways, an outfit that was secretly acquiring aircraft for the then-forming State of Israel’s fledgling air force.

The aircraft served in Israel, where it was damaged in a hard landing at Ramat David Airbase in October 1948. That ended its flying career. The aircraft was moved to Lod Airport (today’s Ben Gurion Airport) for use in ground-training exercises. Eventually, the DC-5’s final resting place was a children’s playground.

WHY WAS THE DC-5 PROJECT A FAILURE?

Douglas Aircraft Company’s timing for the introduction of the DC-5 could not have been worse. The world would be engulfed in war in the years immediately following the aircraft’s introduction.

After the war, there were so many war-surplus C-47s (DC-3s) available at low prices that a new DC-5 would have been too expensive for most of the fledgling feeder carriers. Lockheed’s model 75 Saturn, a postwar product that closely resembled the DC-5, failed to sell for just that reason. Had the war not transpired, the fate of the DC-5 – and the Lockheed Saturn – may have been a lot different.

The basic design of the DC-5, which was revolutionary at the time, would finally find success in the late 1950s in the form of the Fokker Friendship and its American counterpart, the Fairchild F-27. Introduced in 1958, the F-27 sported a high wing with a low-slung fuselage. But the Fairchild and Fokker types could accommodate 36 – 40 passengers instead of just 16 – 22.

 The DC-5 was the only DC-series airliner that did not prove successful. And only one airline in the world can claim to have operated a version of each Douglas Commercial (DC) model from the DC-2 through the DC-10: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

DC-5 in flight
DC-5 IN FLIGHT. DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT PHOTO FROM THE JON PROCTOR COLLECTION VIA TOM LIVESEY.

3.20.22

The Lockheed Connie Shrunk The Pond With Non-Stop Flights Across the Atlantic

Bill Walton
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The Lockheed Connie Shrunk The Pond With Non-Stop Flights Across the Atlantic

“Shapely” and sexy…the L-749 Connie was also a key evolutionary step in the advancement of air travel.

On 14 March 1947, the first Lockheed L-749 Constellation took to the skies. The first Connie to have the fuel capacity and the resultant range to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, the L-749 also had strengthened landing gear and was eventually equipped with a nose-mounted weather radar system. One of the most easily recognized airliners ever, the Connie was said to have a “shapely” design.

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The L-749 received certification in March of 1947. Air France took delivery of the first operational L-749 Constellation on 18 April 1947. In June, L-749 service soon began on Pan American World Airways’ “Round the World” service. Trans World Airlines (TWA), KLM, Cubana de Aviación, Línea Aeropostal Venezolana, and Avianca all began use of the L-749 Connie in 1947.

The United States Air Force ordered a militarized version of the L-749 Constellation designated C-121. The United States Navy also ordered the L-749 and designated it PO-1W. Eventually, the Navy re-designated it the WV-1.

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In 1949, Lockheed began producing the improved L-749A. The L-749A had a strengthened fuselage, additional strengthening of the distinctly long-legged landing gear, a composite floor, slightly different engine cowlings, and new Curtiss Electric propellers.

Lockheed also offered a kit for current L-749 operators to perform their own upgrades to the L-749A standard.

South African Airways was the first customer for the L-749A. TWA operated 26 L-749As, making them the largest single customer for the type. TWA operated their –As until 1967. Production of the L-749A ended in 1951, after 119 had been built, allowing Lockheed to focus on the L-749A’s replacement, the L-1049 Super Constellation.

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First taking flight on 14 July 1951 (the prototype first flew on 13 October 1950), the L-1049 Super Connie incorporated 550 improvements and modifications to the L-749. These included increased fuel capacity, improved heating and pressurization, rectangular passenger windows, and larger cockpit windshields. Eastern Air Lines ordered 10 aircraft and used them on their Miami-to-New York route. TWA ordered 14 of them.

On 17 February 1953, the L-1049C took to the air for the first time. Propelled by Wright R-3350 Turbo-compound engines, which had just been made available for civilian use, the –C was capable of faster speeds and climb rates than the original L-1049.

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A distinctive feature of the L-1049C and its engines was the introduction of the new Power Recovery Turbine (PRT) system. Using each engine’s exhaust to turn turbines (similar to a turbocharger), the system was capable of adding 550 horsepower to each engine. The flame visible from the exhaust pipes of restored L-1049C engines is still a crowd-pleaser today.

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The 48 L-1049Cs built by Lockheed were operated by Air France, Air India, Avianca, Cubana de Aviación, Eastern Air Lines, Iberia, Línea Aeropostal Venezolana, Pakistan International Airlines, QANTAS, Trans-Canada Air Lines, and TWA. KLM introduced the L-1049C on their Amsterdam to New York route in 1953.

The next Connie variant was the L-1049E. Twenty-eight of these radar-equipped Constellations were delivered to a total of eight airlines. The first of more than 100 L-1049G or “Super G” Super Constellations took to the skies for the first time on 17 December 1954. The Super G incorporated more than 100 additional refinements to the L-1049C. Sixteen airlines operated the Super G, but TWA was the one that gave it the Super G moniker.

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The commercial follow-on to the Super G, the L-1049H, was a convertible cargo/passenger aircraft and first flew on 20 November 1956. Entering service with QANTAS a month after its first flight, the –H was fitted with uprated engines. It featured the ability to stow nearly all of the “furniture” associated with passenger service in the hold when carrying freight.

When the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 jetliners started regular service, it spelled the beginning of the end for the Connie and Super Connie. Dominican carriers were the last commercial operators of the L-1049; however, the FAA banned them from flying over the United States in 1993 due to safety concerns.

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Both the United States Air Force and the United States Navy operated military versions of the Constellation as transports, but were more effectively used as weather reconnaissance, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C), airborne television transmission, airborne command and control, and radar surveillance aircraft.

In Air Force service, the Connie was designated EC-121 or RC-121. Navy Connies were WV-1s. Navy “Willie Victors” worked in conjunction with radar picket ships off each coast of the United States as part of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line during the Cold War, flying 14-hour missions and tasked with warning the nation in the event of a Soviet attack. They also functioned as Hurricane Hunter aircraft.

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Air Force EC-121 and RC-121 aircraft flew Big Eye, College Eye, Rivet Top, Disco, and Bat Cat missions during the Vietnam War. Air Force EC-121s also contributed to Operation Kingpin, the 21 November 1971 attempted rescue of American prisoners from Son Tay prison in North Vietnam.

These specialized electronic warfare aircraft sported radomes bulging out of their shapely fuselages from the bottom, the top, or both. Blade antennae for the various electronics inside sprouted seemingly from everywhere.

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The last military L-1049, the only NC-121K, was used by the Navy’s Electronic Warfare Squadron, VAQ-33 Firebirds, stationed at Naval Air Station Key West in Florida. Used to simulate the electronic emissions of “attacking” Russian aircraft until 1982, it was replaced by a dedicated DC-8-54 aircraft designated EC-24A in naval service.

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Only two Lockheed Constellations remain airworthy today: the HARS “Connie” (VH-EAG) in Australia, and Bataan (S/N 48-0613) in the US, which was once General MacArthur’s transport and now flies with Lewis Air Legends after a complete restoration and custom VIP interior.

Built to Hunt Soviet Subs, the Sea King Dominated Every Mission It Tackled

Bill Walton
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Built to Hunt Soviet Subs, the Sea King Dominated Every Mission It Tackled

The Flexible SH-3 Was Designed to Hunt Soviet Submarines But They Did So Much More.

On 11 March 1959, the prototype Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King took flight for the first time. The Sea King and its derivatives have been hunting submarines, performing rescues, flying plane guard missions alongside aircraft carriers, shuttling American Presidents to and fro, plucking astronauts from the ocean after their return from space, and patrolling the seas from above, in the employ of dozens of nations, for 55 years and counting.

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ASW First and Foremost

The impetus for the development of the SH-3 was submarines. Russian submarines, and lots of them. Fixed-wing aircraft, whether shore-based or carrier-based, are highly capable platforms but cannot prosecute a hostile submarine contact the same way a helicopter can. The Navy needed an improved anti-submarine helicopter to take over the missions performed by the piston-engine helo designs then in use.

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More Power

The Navy observed the development of turboshaft engines with interest and approached Sikorsky with a requirement for an amphibious, twin-engine, turboshaft-powered helicopter that could take the in-close anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission and run with it. Sikorsky delivered everything the Navy needed in the SH-3 Sea King.

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An Entirely New Design

Equipped with a dipping sonar, armed with aerial torpedoes and depth charges, and with all-weather mission endurance capability of more than four hours, the SH-3 became a ubiquitous sight on aircraft carriers and shore air stations almost immediately. Sikorsky developed every system in the rotorcraft, from landing gear to rotor hub and nose to tail feathers.

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Proof of Innovation

The twin-turboshaft power configuration of the SH-3 gave it enhanced reliability, increased payload capacity, and improved performance over single-engine rotorcraft. Carrier suitability trials conducted on board the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) were completed by mid-1961. The trials included testing of the Sea King’s innovative automatic folding main rotor blades and tail assembly along with high-wind takeoffs and handling.

Sikorsky SH 3G Sea King of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 1 in flight over Bikini Atoll in November 1978

Biggest and Best

The Navy accepted the first operational SH-3As in September of 1961. At the time of its introduction, the Navy’s newest ASW helo was the largest amphibious helicopter in the world and the first operational turbine-powered, all-weather mission capable ASW rotorcraft in naval service.

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A Good Thing Gets Recognized and Copied

Sikorsky continued to develop the SH-3 to enhance its capabilities, but right from the start, they realized that the Sea King could be a workhorse for other friendly nations as well. Over the years, the SH-3 (and its civil derivative, the S-61) has been license-built by other nations and utilized by scores of countries and companies.

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The White House Lawn

Marine Corps squadron HMX-1 is the official “airline” of United States Presidents. Specially equipped SH-3s have been shuttling Chief Executives and other VIPs to and from the White House lawn since 1962. When the President is on board the rotorcraft, its callsign changes to Marine One, the same way the callsigns of the VC-25 Presidential transports do. Images of American Presidents boarding the green and white HMX-1 SH-3s at the White House are etched into the American consciousness.

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It Can Be Done, But…

About that amphibious capability. The Sea King is capable of landing on water, but it isn’t a common occurrence. The amphibious hull enables the SH-3 to make a water landing. Between the watertight hull and deployable airbags in sponsons mounted to either side of the forward fuselage, the Sea King can float upright. However, surface conditions and winds are critical factors when considering a landing on water. Of course, the helo is equipped with conventional wheeled landing gear as well.

US Navy 031029 N 8590B 056 UH 3H Sea King helicopters assigned to the Golden Gaters of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Eighty Five HC 85 strapped with Bambi buckets depart Marine Corps Air Stat

Staying in the Game

As time went by, SH-3s were reworked and updated to include more powerful engines and defensive capabilities such as infrared countermeasures (IRCM) to improve battlefield survivability. Improved ASW sensor suites enabled Sea Kings coming out of rework to prosecute contacts more efficiently.

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Bang NEXT PAGE below for the rest of the Sea King Story

That Time a Navy Patrol Bomber Was Stolen and Flown Halfway Across the Country

Bill Walton
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That Time a Navy Patrol Bomber Was Stolen and Flown Halfway Across the Country

The Story of the Navy’s Best Kept-Quiet Cold War Boondoggle

Thefts of civilian and military aircraft for joyriding have occurred many times in the past. There’s that time US Army PFC Robert K. Preston stole a Huey and took it for a joyride around Washington D.C. Marine Corps LCPL Howard A. Foote once took a nighttime joyride around southern California in a VMA-214 Blacksheep Douglas A-4M Skyhawk. The military, for good reasons, tends to keep such thefts quiet. Perhaps the most publicized civilian joyride in recent memory occurred on 10 August 2018, when Richard Russell took off in a stolen Horizon Air Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and flew it around the Puget Sound area before he perished when the aircraft crashed. But for sheer scale, range, raw flying ability, and relative obscurity, strap in and hold on because this one’s got them all beat.

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VP-11 Neptune. Image via National Naval Aviation Museum

The Aircraft in Question

Oddly enough, the story begins with an aircraft. Lockheed P2V Neptune (Model 526) Bureau Number (BuNo) 131522 (MSN 426-5403) was constructed as a P2V-5 by Lockheed at their Burbank facility and accepted for service by the US Navy on 29 July 1954. The aircraft was initially fitted with an Emerson nose turret with two 20 mm cannon replacing the solid nose of earlier variants. The aircraft retained its dorsal and tail turrets. Other changes from previous Neptune variants included larger jettison-able wingtip tanks. The starboard tip tank was equipped with a traversable searchlight slaved to the nose turret. The port tip tank was equipped AN/APS-8 radar in the nose. The aircraft also carried the AN/APS-20 search radar in a ventrally mounted housing.

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P2V-5. image via national naval aviation museum

Fleet Service and Early Storage

From Burbank 522 found her way first to Overhaul and Repair (O&R) at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville. From there the aircraft went west again to Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron ONE ZERO EIGHT (FASRON-108) at Burbank on 7 January 1955. The first patrol squadron (PATRON) to fly the aircraft was Patrol Squadron ONE ONE (VP-11) Proud Pegasus based at NAS Brunswick in Maine when 131522 arrived there on 15 February 1955. But, strangely, VP-11 flew the Neptune for less than a year before she was transferred to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB) in Tucson, AZ. There she was placed in storage.

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P2V-5F. Image via National Naval Aviation Museum

Back in the ASW Game and Bolting On More Power

Four months later on 19 March 1956, 131522 was transferred to VP-16 War Eagles at NAS Jacksonville. On 28 February 1957 the aircraft was transferred to the NARTU (Naval Air Reserve Training Unit) based at NAS Anacostia in Washington D.C. Nearly a year later on 3 March 1957 the patrol bomber was sent back to Lockheed for rework to P2V-5F specification. More power was bolted on, with a pod-mounted Westinghouse J34 jet engine added under each wing and the radial piston engines replaced with more powerful Wright R-3350-32Ws. The jet and piston engines both burned Aviation Gasoline (AVGAS). Four of the underwing rocket pylons were removed but payload was increased to 10,000 pounds.

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P2V-5F. image via national archives

Heavy Mining and Globe-Trotting

After rework, BuNo 131522 emerged as a P2V-5F and was sent to O&R at NAS Alameda on 25 May 1957. From there the aircraft crossed the country for more O&R, this time as NAS Norfolk. Most likely this time was used to make modifications necessary to enable the aircraft to carry out airborne mining missions, because on 27 March 1958 she was transferred to Attack Mining Squadron ONE THREE (VA[HM]-13) on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean. Upon return to CONUS on 30 November 1958 131522 went to NAS Chincoteague in Virginia for service with the Naval Air Ordnance Test Station (NAOTS). Active duty beckoned again in 1959, and the Neptune first answered the call on 31 January 1959 with VP-24 Batmen (formerly VA[HM]-13) out of frigid NAS Keflavik in Iceland. The next assignment for 131522 was with another fleet squadron- VP-8 Tigers out of NAS Norfolk beginning on 14 October 1959.

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Neptunes in the cold. image via national archives

Back to Lockheed for Another Round of Mods

After a fairly short stint with VP-8, 131522 was flown to NAS Alameda for O&R and service with the Naval Bureau of Weapons (BuWep) on 4 January 1960. After her time in the Bay Area the aircraft headed south to Lockheed at Burbank for more rework. The nose gun turret was removed and a glass observation nose installed in its place. The dorsal gun turret was removed and its opening glazed over. The tail turret was removed and a Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) boom was installed in its place. Crew accommodations and wingtip tanks were revised as well. By the time work on 131522 was complete it was nearly Labor Day weekend, 1960.

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VP-26 P2V-5F. image via national naval aviation museum

For More of the Story Bang NEXT PAGE Below

Sun N Fun is Gearing up for Their 50th Anniversary Air Show

Mike Killian
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Sun N Fun is Gearing up for Their 50th Anniversary Air Show

Sun N Fun is gearing up for their 50th anniversary air show. The annual fly-in is a big draw for Central Florida, welcoming avgeeks and aviators from around the world to celebrate aviation for an entire week from April 9 – 14.

In 2023, the event hosted more than 200,000 people, with 3,500 aircraft. This year, they expect even more, with a theme highlighting the passion for aviation and recognition of the nearly 3,000 volunteers who help make the event happen.

For any pilots wanting to fly-in, the FAA has put out a video about arrival procedures and the NOTAM. Watch that above. More info here.

Pilots can book campsites with their planes. Tent and RV campers can also camp if they’d like. It’s a unique way to enjoy a week of flying. You can read more about those options here.

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Sun n fun 2023 (mike killian photo / avgeekery.com)

Opening day concert and 600 exhibitors

An “Opening Day Concert” will kickoff the week on April 9, with musician Dylan Scott and special guest Sara Evans. More on that here.

Nearly 600 exhibitors and companies from across the U.S. and around the world will be on-site, showcasing their latest services, products, innovations and tech for aviation. Click here for a list of exhibitors who will be there, or to apply to be an exhibitor.

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sun n fun 2022 (mike killian photo / avgeekery.com)

The biggest draw every year is, of course, the flying! Sun N Fun will hold an air show every day of the week from 1 – 5pm. Night air shows are also scheduled for April 10 and 13, which are always fun.

The daytime air shows

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are headlining the show this year, performing on April 13 and 14. They are scheduled to arrive on April 11, and practice on April 12. Might be a little loud.

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Pilot jim tobul giving a presentation about his F4U-4 corsair “korean war hero” at sun n fun 2023 (mike killian photo / avgeekery.com)

The show this year will host a lot of vintage warbirds, including Mustangs, Corsairs, T-28s, T-6s, B-25, an SBD Dauntless, an RC-45J Expeditor and many more. Some will be flying in the shows, others will be static, and some will even be offering rides.

The military is sending a lot of aircraft for static display. Some include A-10s, Apache and Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters, C-130s, F-16s and QF-16s, C-17, KC-135 and KC-46, even an MH-6 and MQ-1C, among others. Many privately owned jets will be attending as well, like L-39s and S-211s.

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Rob holland (mike killian photo)

Aerobatic performers will be tumbling through the skies too, including the legendary Patty Wagstaff and World Champion aerobatics pilot Rob Holland. Several others will be performing as well.

A Hot Air Balloon launch from the main flight line is also planned for Saturday morning between 6:30 – 8:00am. If weather allows, the balloons will take to the skies and “chase” another balloon.

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Sun n fun 2023 balloon launch (mike killian photo / avgeekery.com)

For a full list and schedule of each day and night show, click here. The list includes the order of performances, as well as the performers and planes they’ll be flying.

The recently restored Lockheed Constellation “Bataan” from Lewis Air Legends will even be there, arriving April 9 and flying in the show April 10. It will remain on static display until leaving April 13.

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Photo credit: lewis air legends

The night air shows

The night show April 10 will kickoff with the Polaris MiG-29 and Ghost Squadron at sunset. They are currently training to launch to space with SpaceX later this year on the Polaris Dawn mission. They will also fly in several day shows.

We met them recently and flew in their MiG-29 for a story about their upcoming space mission and the jet-flying aspect of their astronaut training. CLICK HERE to read all about it!

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Polaris mig-29 (mike killian photo / avgeekery.com)

The USAF F-35A Demo Team will take to the skies after Polaris on April 10, with their new pilot and commander as the sun goes down. Read about the new pilot and team here.

The night show on April 13 will not feature the F-35. The US Navy will take care of that night with an F-18 Super Hornet demo.

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Titan aerobatic team after a night show at sun n fun in 2022 (mike killian photo / avgeekery.com)

The Titan Aerobatic Team (formerly Aeroshell) will take their 4-ship of T-6 Texans into the sunset and fly as the sky turns dark on both April 10 and 13. Many other performers will take to the air after on both nights too, with lights and fireworks that shoot off their planes.

Fireworks will end the evening on both April 10 and 13.

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Photo credit: Sun n fun

Visit Sun N Fun’s website for more info & tickets

Tickets to attend the show start at $45 per adult for a single day, and $20 for youth ages 11-17. Kids 10 and under are free. Weekly tickets are available also. General parking is $10 per day, with a weekly parking pass available too. Click here for details and to purchase.

There is far too much info to write about here about the upcoming Sun N Fun 50th anniversary. Needless to say, it will be a memorable event. Learn more by visiting https://flysnf.org.

A United Plane’s Tire Fell on Some Cars While Taking off from SFO

Mike Killian
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A United Plane’s Tire Fell on Some Cars While Taking off from SFO

A United plane’s tire fell on some cars while taking off from SFO. The incident occurred shortly before noon, and it was even caught on video by YouTuber avgeek Cali Planes.

The 777-200 with 249 souls onboard was heading to Osaka, Japan. As soon as the plane was airborne, a tire fell off one of the main landing gear struts. It crushed some cars parked below in an employee parking lot. Fortunately, nobody was hurt.

ABOVE: YouTuber ‘Cali Planes’ caught the incident on video, skip to the 10:30 mark to see it

Several cars crushed

The other landing gear appeared to retract without issue. The plane was diverted to LAX and landed there without issue.

As many avgeeks already know, the planes can land just fine with a tire missing. The 777-200 has 6 tires on each of its mains. Still, some car owners tonight must be pretty unhappy. Several cars were hit, with shattered windows, crushed tops and severe damage observed on several.

Back at SFO the runway was closed for a short time to make sure there was no debris that could be a danger to other aircraft. It was reopened soon after and operations carried on as usual.

United releases statement

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some of the damaged vehicles after a quick google search

“United flight 35 lost one tire after takeoff from San Francisco and landed at LAX.,” said United Airlines in a statement this afternoon. “Our team quickly arranged for a new aircraft to take customers to Osaka this evening.

“We’re grateful to our pilots and flight attendants for their professionalism in managing this situation,” added United. “We’re also grateful to our teams on the ground who were waiting with a tug to move the aircraft soon after it landed and to our teams in the airport who assisted customers upon their arrival. We will work with customers as well as with the owners of the damaged vehicles in SFO to ensure their needs are addressed.”

The FAA has of course opened an investigation.

SpaceX is Aiming for Third Starship Flight Test on March 14

Mike Killian
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SpaceX is Aiming for Third Starship Flight Test on March 14

SpaceX is aiming for their third Starship flight test on March 14.

Starship completed its wet dress rehearsal for launch a few days ago at their “Starbase” in south Texas, located in Boca Chica near Brownsville. They loaded more than 10 million pounds (4600 metric tons) of propellant on Starship and its Super Heavy rocket, to ensure they are ready for launch on March 14.

Third time’s a charm?

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Starship on its launch pad at starbase, texas (mike killian photo / americaspace.com and avgeekery.com)

The Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket are developmental prototypes. With each test and launch the vehicles are upgraded, evolving based on data engineers obtain from each test.

The first launch in 2023 destroyed its own launch pad, and blew up during ascent at high altitude. SpaceX made changes to the pad infrastructure and made some changes to the Starship and rocket, and launched the second test in late 2023. That test went much better, however the rocket again blew up shortly after separating from the Starship. The Starship itself failed to reach orbit.

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SpaceX is Aiming for Third Starship Flight Test on March 14 (mike killian photo)

For this third test flight, SpaceX wants to see a successful liftoff and ascent to stage separation, and get Starship into orbit successfully. Both the rocket and spacecraft are being developed for reusability, similar to their successful Falcon-9 rockets and Dragon capsules. NASA contracts those to haul their astronauts and cargo/supplies to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

Here’s what SpaceX hopes to accomplish on Starship’s third flight

The Starship and rocket are further upgraded for this third test, but the test objectives and flight profile are also different from the previous 2 tests. This time, SpaceX wants to get Starship into orbit for an hour, with a safe splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

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Starship-2 launch (mike killian photo / americaspace.com and avgeekery.com)

ABOVE: Watch Elon Musk discuss Starship’s upcoming 3rd flight test

In orbit, SpaceX plans to fire one of the spacecraft’s Raptor engines to demonstrate an in-space engine burn. They also want to test opening and closing a payload bay door, which would be used in the future to deploy Starlinks and other satellites. Think of it like a Pez dispenser.

Perhaps most importantly, SpaceX will try a propellant transfer in-flight, moving propellant from one tank to another within Starship. Elon Musk has a vision for eventual on-orbit refueling between Starships, and it’s a part of SpaceX’s blueprint to support NASA’s returning people to the surface of the moon for the Artemis program. However, that capability is a concern for NASA, because it’s an added complication.

The taxpayer and government has a vested interest in Starship

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starship’s second flight test (mike killian photo / americaspace.com and avgeekery.com)

There is a lot riding on the Starship program. Not only does Elon Musk see Starship as the future for SpaceX to reach the moon and Mars, but NASA and the U.S. taxpayer are relying on SpaceX to get it right, and soon. NASA has contracted Starship to land their Artemis crews on the moon, at least for the first 2 landing missions on Artemis-3 and 4.

However, the longer SpaceX takes to get Starship safely operational, the longer it may take to land on the moon. China wants the moon too, and the U.S, government is not interested in letting them have it. The South Pole is rich with frozen water to sustain a long-term human presence. After all, water is a key ingredient in rocket fuel.

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NASA artemis-1 with their sls rocket and orion spacecraft on an un-crewed flight test to the moon and back. The mission was virtually flawless (mike killian photo / AmericaSpace.com)

NASA plans to launch their first Artemis crew to the moon in late 2025, on a flight similar to Apollo 8. That crew will conduct various tests and ensure the Orion spacecraft is ready for the future crewed landing missions. Think of it as a dress rehearsal for landing Artemis-3.

For Artemis-3, Artemis will launch the crew on the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. SpaceX however will need to launch 2 Starships; 1 as a propellant tanker and another as the actual lunar lander. Both Starships would dock in-orbit to refuel the lander, and then the lander would fire its engines for the moon. The Artemis crew in Orion would dock with the Starship lander, and land on the moon. Then return to lunar orbit to dock again with Orion, and head home to Earth.

You need to watch this segment 60 Minutes just did about Starship and Artemis

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An illustration Of spacex’s starship for nasa’s artemis human landing system (spacex image)

However, NASA won’t put their crews on an unproven vehicle. SpaceX had to prove with many successful missions that Falcon 9 and Dragon were reliably safe, before NASA ever put their astronauts onboard. It will be no different for Starship. SpaceX will need to fly many safe and successful Starship missions, before NASA trusts it to land their astronauts on the moon.

It doesn’t seem possible that SpaceX and Starship can be ready in just 2 years. NASA wants to land in late 2026. Elon, however, recently stated that he expects Starship to be ready to land the first crew “in less than 5 years.”

“It absolutely concerns me because we need them to launch multiple times,” said NASA’s associate administrator Jim Free, in a recent interview with 60 Minutes (watch that above). “We have a contract with SpaceX that says they’re going to land our crew in the end of 2026.” SpaceX ignored their repeated requests for interviews for the story, which highlights some of the key issues to returning to the moon.

NASA also contracted another lander, Blue Origin

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Artist’s concept of the Blue Moon lander.
(Blue Origin image)

Free also touched base on the fact that NASA has a contract with Blue Origin for a lander. That is supposed to be the lander for Artemis-5, but he hinted that, if Starship isn’t ready and Blue Origin is, it’s something to consider.

You can read NASA’s press release about Blue Origin’s lander here.

F-15s Shattered Homeowner’s Windows While Training in Florida

Mike Killian
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F-15s Shattered Homeowner’s Windows While Training in Florida

F-15s shattered homeowner’s windows while training in Florida during a recent low-altitude training exercise. Many residents across several towns reported various other property damage as well.

Residents in NW Florida (Putnam County) called the Sheriff Dept about it on March 2, 2024, unhappy that their homes were damaged and wanting to know what the heck was going on.

It destroyed my friggin house!

ABOVE: Listen to some of the 911 calls

”It destroyed my friggin house,” said one 911 caller. “I have major damage,” said another caller, adding “the lights were blown off the walls and ceiling, there’s glass everywhere.”

It’s unclear whether this was all due to a very low-altitude sonic boom, or a bomb drop. However the area in question is not a place where the USAF or USN are authorized for ordnance drops. Military pilots have used sonic booms before as a weapon in combat, to deter adversaries without actually having to kill them. It’s a very effective scare tactic.

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Photo via news4jax

Other residents who called 911 reported attic doors blown off, and trailers moved off foundations. One caller said he could see the jets dogfighting the day prior to his south, and noted that the loud booms happened twice back to back. No callers reported seeing any clouds of smoke or fire from an explosion, such as bombs dropped by mistake. One caller did note a strange “gas” smell following the boom.

Florida is a state where most residents are very supportive of the men and women who serve. None of the callers seemed angered at the military in general, but rather were upset and alarmed that the incident happened. One caller even said the crews should go offshore to train, where they won’t affect residents below.

Florida Air National Guard Takes the Blame

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F-15C Eagle with the 159th Fighter Squadron, Florida Air National Guard (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Staci Miller)

The F-15s involved are from the Florida Air National Guard (FL ANG). The FL ANG’s 125th Fighter Wing and 159th Fighter Squadron is based about 90 miles north in Jacksonville. FL ANG confirmed the incident to News4Jax, and has since opened an investigation. Naval Air Station Jacksonville said their crews were not involved, since many initially assumed it was them to blame.

“Florida National Guard command has directed that an investigation take place to determine the facts and implement any necessary measures to prevent this type of incident in the future,” the national guard said in a statement to News4Jax. “The Florida National Guard extends its deepest apologies for any resulting damage and the negative impact to the local community.”

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FL air national guard F-15 with the 159th Fighter Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Staci Miller)

The FL ANG has established a phone line for those residents affected, should they choose to file a claim for the damages caused.

The FL ANG has not confirmed whether the damage was caused by a sonic boom, or a bomb drop.

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Mike killian photo / avgeekery.com

USAF and Navy aircraft typically train over the nearby Ocala National Forest, where land is set aside for them to drop bombs and conduct the kind of training required for them to fly, fight and win.

The FL ANG 125th Fighter Wing’s mission is to “provide air defense for the southeastern United States, as directed by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), from Charleston, South Carolina to the southern tip of Florida and across the Florida panhandle.”

Flying in the Polaris MiG-29 for a Look at Their Astronaut Jet Training

Mike Killian
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Flying in the Polaris MiG-29 for a Look at Their Astronaut Jet Training

Later this year, Polaris Dawn will launch on a private spaceflight with SpaceX from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We caught up with commander Jared ROOK Isaacman, and went flying in the Polaris MiG-29 for a look at their astronaut jet training.

The mission will lift-off from historic pad 39A atop a Falcon 9 rocket, on the Crew Dragon spacecraft “Resilience”. It will be quite a mission, and help further humanity’s reach for the stars while raising money for their charitable cause, St Jude Children’s Hospital.

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Spacex dragon launch off pad 39a (mike killian photo)

Real spaceflight and a great cause to eradicate childhood cancer

Polaris Dawn will take four commercial astronauts further into space than any humans since the Apollo moon landings. They will conduct 38 experiments from 23 institutions from around the world. It’s serious business, with serious objectives and specialized research. The crew will also conduct the first ever private spacewalk, some 700 kilometers above Earth.

“A big part of our mission is about testing and developing new technologies to open up space for everyone, but you can’t ignore some of the real problems we have here on Earth,” says Isaacman. “That’s why St Jude is a huge part of our mission.”

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Mike killian / avgeekery.com

Learn more about their efforts with St Jude and DONATE

Isaacman himself has already been to space once before. He commanded the first all-civilian crew in 2021 on Inspiration4. They raised $250 million for St Jude, and inspired Isaacman to start Polaris, which will launch three missions in the coming years.

Highest Earth-orbit of any crew in history

“We’re embarking on a series of tech demonstration missions,” says Isaacman. “Building blocks, that will ultimately culminate in the first crewed launch of the SpaceX Starship.”

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polaris dawn crew (spacex photo)

“For Polaris Dawn we’re going to fly the highest crewed Earth-orbit in history (over 1,400 km), surpassing the Gemini record. We will fly Dragon deeper into space than it has ever been. There’s a lot we can learn in the Van Allen radiation belts, and hopefully develop counter-measures against the radiation for future long-duration spaceflights.”

Polaris Dawn will also test and use SpaceX’s Starlink internet constellation in space, to demonstrate laser-based communications. Testing that will inform future evolutionary upgrades for the technology. Laser communications will be critical for future long-term crewed missions on the Moon and Mars.

A highly experienced hand-picked private crew

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Jared isaacman, commander of the upcoming polaris dawn mission (photo by john kraus / polaris)

The crew are all well versed and experienced in aerospace operations. Isaacman has over 7,000 hours of flight experience, along with one spaceflight. He has ratings in multiple experimental and ex-military aircraft.

Isaacman co-founded the world’s largest private air force with Draken International, which helps train USAF and other pilots by role-playing the bad guys, He also holds several world records including two speed-around-the-world flights.

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Kidd after a training flight for polaris dawn (mike killian photo / avgeekery.com)

Retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel and fighter pilot Scott “KIDD” Poteet will be mission pilot. He’s a former Thunderbird and commander of the 64th Aggressor Squadron. Kidd brings over 3,200 flying hours in the F-16, A-4, T-38 and other aircraft, including 400 combat hours.

He served as Mission Director for Inspiration4. Both he and Rook will be joined by Mission Specialist/Medical Officer Anna Menon and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis, who are both lead operations engineers at SpaceX.

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polaris dawn crew (spacex photo)

Gillis is an experienced mission control operator, and was a lead astronaut trainer for Inspiration4. She was the first voice the crew heard when they strapped into the SpaceX Dragon, and the voice they heard as they launched off Earth. With SpaceX, she is responsible for the development of mission-specific curriculum and training execution for NASA and commercial astronauts who fly aboard the Dragon.

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Polaris dawn mission specialist sarah gillis (john kraus photo / polaris)

Menon is a lead mission director and space operations engineer at SpaceX. She runs Mission Control, and was assigned to the families of Inspiration4 to be the one to translate the good and, if necessary, the bad news to them. Prior to SpaceX, she worked for seven years at NASA as a biomedical flight controller for the International Space Station, where she supported space station crews from mission control and helped integrate international partner engineers and medical care.

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Polaris dawn MISSION SPECIALIST & MEDICAL OFFICER, anna menon (john kraus photo / polaris)

All four crew members worked closely together on Inspiration4. They built a unique bond and trust that will serve them well on Polaris Dawn.

Jet flying is still the most important training astronauts do

Fighter jet training has been at the heart of human spaceflight since the dawn of the space age. It still is too. NASA knew they would employ civilian astronauts from many backgrounds after Apollo, but without any extreme flying experience. Crews have been required to fly at least 4 hours per month in the agency’s T-38 Talons ever since, while commanders and pilots are required to fly 15 hours.

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Nasa astronauts fly over a space shuttle (nasa photo)

Even with modern spacecraft’s ability to fly mostly autonomously, NASA still sees the need for jet training. It familiarizes crew with checklists, communication and situational awareness in a real, dynamic extreme flying environment.

“Jet flying is the most important training that we do,” says former NASA astronaut Terry Virts. “It’s the one place where we’re not in a simulator. It’s real flying and if you make a mistake, you can get hurt or break something or run out of gas. There’s a lot of things that happen in a jet that you can’t do in the simulator.”

“It’s a dynamic, G-intense environment where you can work on crew resource management, precision flying, working with avionics systems that have a lot of carry-over to what we see in Dragon,” adds Isaacman. “Most important, is it’s high consequence.”

“There’s no reset button like in a simulator.”

“There’s no reset button like in a simulator. You can’t just step out and say ‘ok we got that one wrong, let’s do it again’. You can walk out of the simulator, but in a jet, there is no escape. Neither is there in space. Flying is a totally different environment, and I think that’s important and keeps focus. On Inspiration4 we kept flying up until just a couple days before launch, and will continue to do that with Polaris.”

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Commander isaacman flying the mig-29 (mike killian photo / avgeekery.com)

“We do a lot in the classroom and simulators, and go in centrifuges and do underwater training for EVA (spacewalks). However, you still need dynamic G-intense flying where you can work on complex operations in a high consequence environment,” adds Isaacman. “We fly the same spacecraft that NASA does, so we want the same training to prepare ourselves.”

The Polaris “Ghost Squadron”

Polaris operates a fleet of privately-owned jets. They call it the Ghost Squadron, with the aircraft all painted in a ghost camouflage scheme. Polaris operates several L-39s, Alpha jets and a Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum, as well as a Bombardier business jet.

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Polaris ghost squadron (john kraus photo / polaris)

The slick ghost camo was the next generation paint from the Arctic camo of the former Black Diamond Jet Team. Issacman and others in Polaris were part of that team. Now, with a new era of flying to include the MiG-29, the paint scheme was elevated to the new ghost camo, and represents the snow-capped mountains of Montana where Polaris operates the jets out of.

The only civilian-owned currently flying MiG-29 in the world

Polaris’ MiG-29 (N29UB) is currently one of the only airworthy civilian-owned MiG-29s in the world that is actually flying. Russia began producing MiG-29s in 1981, as an answer to America’s F-15 and F-16.

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Mike killian photo / avgeekery.com

Isaacman purchased it from the estate of Paul Allen, after selling Draken in 2019. “I just knew it was the best MiG-29 in the world, and it has been serving us incredibly well for all of our commercial astronaut training,” he says.

It’s powered by a pair of Klimov RD-33 afterburning turbofan engines and was built in 1989, formerly operated by the Ukrainian Air Force. At the time Isaacman purchased it, it only had 570 flight hours on the airframe. It’s the fastest civilian owned warbird in the world.

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mike killian photo / avgeekery.com

The MiG and other jets of the Polaris Ghost Squadron also support training for other aerospace organizations too. They fly at various air shows across the United States as well (click here for schedule), to help inspire the public and spread the word about St Jude. Polaris even flies St Jude donors, as a way to show their appreciation.

AvGeekery takes flight in the Polaris MiG-29

Isaacman took us flying in the MiG-29 for a taste of their commercial astronaut training, and to produce aerial images of Kidd flying one of the Alpha jets. The MiG-29 is capable of Mach 2, which is quite fast of course, but not nearly as fast as a rocket launching to Mach 22.

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Mike killian photo / avgeekery.com

Nevertheless, the MiG-29 was a real kick in the pants. After a thorough briefing we suited up and got in the jets. The crew chief ensured I was strapped in correctly and gave me a thorough safety brief. Rook then gave me another safety brief, leaving nothing to chance, before getting in the cockpit to startup. We taxied out with a crowd waving, and headed for the runway.

Two Alpha jets joined on our right wing. That’s when Rook powered up and released the brakes, and off we went.

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Flying in the Polaris MiG-29 for a Look at Their Astronaut Jet Training 122

Takeoff in one of the few civilian MiG-29s

Raging down the runway pressed in my seat we thundered skyward with twin afterburners blazing. We launched quickly into a hard right away from the airfield with a trail of black smoke in our wake, as the sound of our engines echoed across the region.

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Backseat of the mig-29 (mike killian photo / avgeekery.com)

Flying in the Fulcrum felt as smooth as a Cadillac. We even dipped into a canyon and did some formation rolls with stunning views around Bozeman, Montana.

It’s not every day you get to fly with the commander of multiple space missions. It was a huge honor, and to do so producing aerial images of a veteran USAF pilot like Kidd was icing on the cake.

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Flying in the Polaris MiG-29 for a Look at Their Astronaut Jet Training 123
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Kidd Flying one of the polaris alpha jets (mike killian photo / avgeekery.com)

Other training

The crew is deep into training for their upcoming flight. They’ve conducted jump dive training, scuba training to simulate working in weightlessness, and centrifuge and hypoxia training. They have summited 19,000-foot-high volcanos as team-building exercises, done skydive training, and have taken zero-G flights in a 727.

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polaris dawn skydive training (john kraus photo / polaris)
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polaris dawn scuba training for working in weightlessness (polaris photo)
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Hiking a volcano (polaris photo)

Of course, they spend a lot of time in simulators and working closely with SpaceX too. They participate through every iteration of developing the new EVA (extravehicular activity) spacesuits for their historic spacewalk. It’s no small undertaking either.

Polaris Dawn will be the first crew to use a new SpaceX spacesuit for spacewalking

Both Polaris and SpaceX are very tight-lipped about the new suits. They will likely be similar to the EVA suits used by NASA on the International Space Station.

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Eva training on a dragon mock-up at spacex hq (spacex photo)

Isaacman and his crew will be the first people to ever use the new suits in space, paving the way to a suit that can be mass produced at a reasonable cost. Building future bases on the Moon and Mars will require thousands of spacesuits. The development of this suit and the execution of the Polaris Dawn EVA will be a major step toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long- duration missions.

As a developmental program a lot of the technology had not even been built yet when Polaris Dawn was originally announced two years ago. Not only does the new EVA spacesuit need to be developed, but the Dragon itself requires many modifications in order to fly to the high altitude that Polaris Dawn is aiming for, and support the planned spacewalk.

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A crew dragon docked at the iss (nasa photo)

Modifying Dragon for the new spacesuits and first ever private spacewalk (and first spacewalk with a Dragon)

The entire Dragon will need to be depressurized for the spacewalk, in a similar way that NASA’s Gemini capsules were in the 1960s. So, all four crew members will need the new EVA suits, not just the actual spacewalker(s). With such limited space onboard, they won’t wear the traditional pressure suits other crews have for launch and re-entry. They will wear the new EVA suits.

“It’s not an airlock that has to be qualified to vacuum. The entire Dragon has to be done,” says Isaacman. “We’re also going to be using a higher rate of consumables, because we need to use using oxygen for cooling. So, we need a lot more tanks than a typical Dragon is equipped for, plus, the air needed to re- pressurize it.”

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Polaris dawn mission pilot scott poteet learning to OPERATE the dragon (spacex photo)

NASA will be watching closely, as the next Polaris mission wants to boost the Hubble Telescope

NASA will be paying close attention to the Polaris Dawn spacewalk too, because Isaacman wants to service the Hubble Space Telescope on Polaris’ second mission. The telescope has not been serviced since 2009, when space shuttle Atlantis STS-125 visited to extend the telescope’s life and capabilities.

However, time has no mercy, and over the last 15 years Hubble’s orbit has slowly been degrading. It’s currently at an altitude of about 330 miles, but will fall faster and faster as time goes on. If nothing is done, it will burn up in the atmosphere in the mid 2030s.

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Nasa astronauts working on the hubble while docked to a space shuttle (nasa photo)

Isaacman says the mission would come at no cost to the government or tax payer, and would keep Hubble operating for an additional 15-20 years. SpaceX and Polaris pitched the idea to NASA. The agency then signed an unfunded Space Act Agreement to seriously study the idea.

Even if NASA decides against such a mission, they’ll probably have to launch a propulsion module to the telescope by the end the 2020s anyway, to ensure Hubble makes a controlled splash in the Pacific Ocean. So if they have to launch that anyway, why not launch Polaris to give it another 20 years of life instead?

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Polaris dawn crew (john kraus photo / polaris)

The success of Polaris Dawn could be a key factor in that decision.

Polaris’ 3rd mission will be the first-ever crewed flight of the SpaceX Starship

Further down the line is Polaris’ third mission, the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s behemoth Starship. The company is currently conducting launch and orbital flight tests with prototypes of the new rocket and spacecraft in south Texas, as well as building infrastructure for Starship flights at Kennedy Space Center.

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Starship in texas (mike killian photo)

NASA is also paying close attention to Starship. They’ve contracted Starship to land the first two Artemis crews on the moon later this decade, as part of NASA’s plans for a permanent human presence at the moon.

“Each mission should build off the previous one and hopefully much can be learned from the science, the research and all the technology we aim to demonstrate,” says Isaacman. “When Polaris is over, the first crewed Starship should have flown, and that is the vehicle that will open space to the many.”

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Nasa has contracted starship for the first 2 artemis moon landings later this decade (nasa image)

A target launch date for Polaris Dawn has not yet been announced, but they and SpaceX hope to see it launch this year. The required modifications to Dragon and development of the new EVA spacesuit are the driving factors at this point, before a firm launch date is announced.

Starfighter: The Mach 2+ F-104 Typified The Danger and Excitement of Century Jets

Bill Walton
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Starfighter: The Mach 2+ F-104 Typified The Danger and Excitement of Century Jets

Lockheed’s F-104 Was Both Built by and Operated by NATO Countries For Nearly 50 Years

On 4 March 1954, after less than year had elapsed since contracted by the Unites States Air Force to design and build it, the first prototype Lockheed F-104 Starfighter took to the sky at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

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All-Star Design Team

Known by nicknames like “zipper” and “lawn dart” but none so much as “the missile with a man in it”, the F-104 was designed by the famous Lockheed engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson. Later to be associated with such other notable aircraft as the SR-71 Blackbird and its derivatives, as well as the U-2 and the F-117 Nighthawk, Johnson basically built the smallest and lowest drag airplane possible around the most powerful engine available- the General Electric J79.

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Creating a Need for a Breakthrough Design

Lockheed and Johnson presented the design for the F-104 to the Air Force in November of 1952. Based on the design alone, the Air Force created a General Operating Requirement (GOR) for a lightweight fighter to replace the North American F-100 Super Sabre. Although three other designs were contemplated, Lockheed was granted a development contract in March of 1953 for two prototypes to be designated XF-104.

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Raw Power and Mods to Control It

Capable of sustaining speeds above Mach 2 and reaching altitudes as high as 48,000 feet in less time than it has taken you to read this far, the raw performance of the F-104 was impressive right from the beginning. The usual refinements were defined and incorporated into the design between prototypes and production aircraft, including landing gear and intake modifications, additional airframe strengthening, and the addition of a ventral fin to improve directional stability. These modifications to the pre-production F-104 prototypes yielded the initial production model. The first F-104A Starfighter entered service with the 83rd Fighter Interceptor Wing (FIW) on 26 January 1958.

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Air Defense in Name and Mission

The 83rd, based at Hamilton Air Force Base in California, attained operational status on 20 February 1958. A total of four Air Defense Command (ADC) units were equipped with the F-104A. After a rash of accidents, the Air Force evaluated the A-model Starfighter and made the decision to reduce orders for the fighter from 722 examples to only 155. The F-104As were eventually transferred to Air National Guard (ANG) units.

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The Choice for TAC

The next variant of the design, the F-104C, entered service with the US Air Force Tactical Air Command (TAC) as a multi-role fighter and fighter-bomber. In September of 1958, F-104Cs first equipped the 479th Tactical Fighter Wing based at George Air Force Base in California.

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To War in Vietnam

F-104C Starfighters took a limited part in the Vietnam War. The 476th Tactical Fighter Squadron arrived in-country first, followed by the 436th Tactical Fighter Squadron three months later. Between April of 1965 and October of 1965, F-104Cs from these two squadrons flew a total of 2,935 combat sorties and lost a total of five Starfighters (to all causes).

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