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A bit of Aviation History - the P-59 |
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Written by Unknown Author
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Sunday, 20 May 2007 |
Article submitted by DEY_THOR_USA...
 This is America's first Jet airplane - the P-59 first flown in Oct. 1942. Volunteers have spent the last 10 years restoring this airplane, and they put the wings back on last weekend just in time to be on static display at an air show this
weekend.
In 1942, this was a Top Secret project located at to be Edwards AFB.
When the dry lake flooded, they had to transport it by road so it was disguised
with a dummy wooden propeller on the front and covered with a shroud.
There is also a story behind the hats. On one test flight it was spotted by pilot's getting checked out in P-38's operating from Van Nuys Airport. When the P-38 pilots reported seeing an airplane with no propeller, their account met with skepticism but the story kept circulating , so on a subsequent flight the test pilot of the P-59 dressed up in a gorilla mask, put on a derby hat and a smoked a cigar. He then made a point to fly next to the P-38 pilots and waved at them. When the P-38 pilots got back to the base, they told everyone about the plane with no propeller flown by a gorilla wearing a derby and smoking a cigar. The result of their report was total disbelief, so the airplane remained a secret until after the war.
The crew has special shirts, derby hats and a fancy baseball cap designed by one of the guys. Maybe they will have gorilla masks by this weekend?
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General
characteristics
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Power plant
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Two General Electric J31-GE-5
turbojets
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Thrust
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907 kg
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8.89 kN
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Max. speed
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413 mph
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664 km/h
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Range
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normal
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240 miles
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386 km
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ext. tanks
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520 miles
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836 km
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Wingarea
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386 sq ft
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35.86 sq m
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Weight
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empty
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7,940 lb
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3,600 kg
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max. takeoff
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12,700 lb
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5,760 kg
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Wingspan
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45.5 ft
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13.88 m
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Length
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38.85 ft
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11.84 m
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Height
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12.3 ft
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3.76 m
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Armament
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One 37 mm cannon, three 12,5 mm machine guns; under
wings 2x 450 kg bombs or 8x 27 kg rockets
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Date deployed
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1944
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Number built
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66 (incl. three training XF2L-1 for US
Navy)
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