Mach 3+: NASA/USAF YF-12 Flight Research, 1969-1979, Lockheed Blackbird Spyplanes as NASA/USAF Research Platforms (NASA SP-2001-4525)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), World Spaceflight News, Peter W. Merlin
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2012 Progressive Management
Questions? Suggestions? Comments? Concerns? Please contact the publisher directly at
Remember, the book retailer can't answer your questions, but we can!
* * * * * * * * * * *
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
* * * * * * * * * * *
This is a privately authored news service and educational publication of Progressive Management. Our publications synthesize official government information with original material - they are not produced by the federal government. They are designed to provide a convenient user-friendly reference work to uniformly present authoritative knowledge that can be rapidly read, reviewed or searched. Vast archives of important data that might otherwise remain inaccessible are available for instant review no matter where you are. This e-book format makes a great reference work and educational tool. There is no other reference book that is as convenient, comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and portable - everything you need to know, from renowned experts you trust. For over a quarter of a century, our news, educational, technical, scientific, and medical publications have made unique and valuable references accessible to all people. Our e-books put knowledge at your fingertips, and an expert in your pocket!
Mach 3+: NASA/USAF YF-12 Flight Research, 1969-1979
by Peter W. Merlin
NASA SP-2001-4525
NASA History Division * Office of External Affairs * NASA Headquarters * Washington, DC 20546
Monographs in Aerospace History Number 25 2002
* * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 1: YF-12 Design and Development
Chapter 2: Joint USAF/ NASA YF-12 Research
Chapter 3: Heating and Loads Research
Chapter 4: Propulsion Research
Chapter 6: A Flying Laboratory
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Preface
During the 1950s, American aircraft designers emphasized configurations that flew increasingly high and fast, a trend that continued for nearly two decades. Then, during the 1970s, efficiency, noise reduction, and fuel economy also became important considerations, in part because military analysts no longer deemed speed and altitude the paramount capabilities necessary to ensure national security.
Among the aircraft designs that transitioned from paper to hardware during the high-speed era, the Lockheed Blackbirds hold a unique place. The A-12, YF-12A, M-21, D-21, and SR-71 variants outperformed all other jet airplanes in terms of altitude and speed. To this day, they remain the only production aircraft capable of sustained cruise in excess of Mach 3. Developed in utmost secrecy, they eventually became some of the world's most famous aircraft.
Conceived originally as spyplanes, several Blackbirds saw service with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as research platforms. This monograph describes the first major NASA project involving the Blackbirds. Conducted with the U.S. Air Force (USAF) as a partner, the NASA/USAF YF-12 research lasted 10 years, and produced a wealth of data on materials, structures, loads, heating, aerodynamics, and performance for high-speed aircraft.
More than two decades after the program ended, no comprehensive history of the joint program has yet been written. This monograph is an attempt to rectify that deficiency. Until recently, security restrictions prevented the release of some information relative to the YF-12. Since then, numerous documents have been declassified, and program participants are free to speak about previously restricted aspects of the project. Unfortunately, some who contributed to the NASA/USAF YF-12 investigations have not outlived the blanket of security that covered their work. Those who have must reach back more than 20 years to retrieve anecdotes and historical details. In a sense, the oral history interviews in this monograph amount to a sort of salvage archeology into the fading memories of the remaining YF-12 participants.
Over the years, numerous books and articles have been written about the Blackbirds, but few give more than a brief description of the YF-12 and its role as a research aircraft. In this monograph, I briefly describe the origins of the Blackbird family of aircraft and how NASA became involved with them. Each of the following chapters then describes a facet of the NASA/USAF YF-12 research program in detail. This monograph would not have been possible without access to numerous technical reports (some recently declassified), briefings, and other source material from the NASA Dryden Historical Reference Collection, as well as the oral interviews that fleshed out the story and provided an insider's view of the project.
Finally, this work rests on the kind assistance of a number of individuals: Dr. Dill Hunley, the DFRC Historian and his successor, Dr. Michael Gorn, both served as editors of the study. Archives Assistant Betty Love provided invaluable aid in identifying individuals in the group photos. Berwin Kock, a Dryden project manager and engineer; Don Mallick, a retired NASA research pilot; Gene Matranga, a former Dryden project manager and engineer; Fitz Fulton, a retired NASA research pilot; Col. Joe Rogers (USAF, Ret.), a former commander of the SR-71/F-12 Test Force; and Col. Hugh Slater (USAF, Ret.), a former commander of the 1129th Special Activities Squadron that flew the early Blackbird variants all provided valuable information about the project. Under a tight schedule, Dryden X-Press editor Jay Levine outdid himself in designing the page layout of this monograph. The many photos were printed by Kerrie Paton and scanned by Jay. Further, both Steve Lighthill and Muriel Khachooni helped shepherd the monograph through the process of printing.
Peter W. Merlin
Edwards, California
January 2002
* * * * * * * * * * * *
YF-12 Design and Development
The family of aircraft known collectively as the Lockheed "Blackbirds" includes the A-12, YF-12, and SR-71. Designed by Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson under Project OXCART, the A-12 resulted from a series of designs for a successor to the U-2 spyplane. The twelfth design in Johnson's series was a sleek aircraft built almost entirely of titanium. With powerful turbo-ramjets, the A-12 was capable of reaching a speed of Mach 3.29 and an altitude of 90,000 feet.1
In August 1959, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) approved funding for construction of the A-12. In 1960 and 1961, Lockheed engineers conducted tests of a scale model of the A-12 in the NASA Ames Research Center's 8x7-foot Unitary Plan High-Speed Wind Tunnel at Moffett Field, California.2 Tests included various inlet designs, control of cowl bleed, design performance at Mach 3.2, and off-design performance of an optimum configuration up to Mach 3.5.3 This marked the beginning of a long relationship between NASA and the Blackbirds.
As a reconnaissance platform, the A-12 was flown exclusively by the CIA. The first airframe was delivered in February 1962. Test flights and operational missions continued until June 1968. The A-12 pilots required full pressure suits, enabling them to fly for extended periods at Mach 3.2 and at operational altitudes of 70,000 to 85,000 feet.
In March 1960, even before delivery of the first A-12 prototype, Lockheed and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) discussed development of an interceptor version of the A-12. Designed as the AF-12 under project KEDLOCK, the interceptor featured a Hughes ASG-18 pulse-Doppler radar system and launch bays for three AIM-47 missiles. A second crew position, located just behind the cockpit, accommodated a Fire Control Officer (FCO) to operate the missile launch system.
With the assistance of the CIA, the Air Force entered an agreement with Lockheed to build three prototypes, now designated YF-12 A, for testing. On 7 August 1963, Lockheed test pilot James D. Eastham piloted the maiden flight of the YF-12A (USAF serial number 60-6934). Two other YF-12A aircraft were built: 60-6935 and 60-6936. Early testing of the YF-12A occurred in secret throughout 1963 and early 1964.
The public first became aware of the aircraft on 29 February 1964, when President Lyndon B. Johnson announced its existence. By agreement with Kelly Johnson, the President intentionally misidentified the aircraft as an "A-ll."4 Now public knowledge, the YF-12A flight-test program moved to Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) northeast of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert. The Air Force soon began testing the aircraft's weapons system and worked on solving troublesome problems with transonic acceleration and various subsystems. On 1 May 1965, the aircraft set several official speed and altitude records, including a closed course speed of 2,070.101 mph and a sustained altitude of 80,257.65 feet.
Lockheed engineers faced unique challenges in designing and building the YF-12. The aircraft's flight profile demanded structural materials able to withstand prolonged exposure to high temperatures from aerodynamic heating, in some places exceeding 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (F). Fully 93 percent of the vehicle's structural weight consisted of titanium alloys. Since all-titanium construction had not yet become common, Lockheed engineers and technicians pioneered new inspection, test, quality control, and manufacturing techniques. Moreover, large sections of the leading and trailing edges, vertical stabilizers, chines, and inlet spikes were made of "plastic" laminates of phenyl silane, silicone-asbestos, and fiberglass. These materials—featured primarily on the A-12 and SR-71 families—helped reduce the aircraft's radar signature. However, the first A-12 and the YF-12A prototypes employed titanium instead of the composite laminates.