Category Archives: Aviation

10 April 1933

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , ,
M.C. 72 (FAI)
Macchi-Castoldi M.C.72 MM 177 (FAI)

10 April 1933: At Lago di Garda, Brescia, Italy, Warrant Officer Francesco Agello, Regia Aeronautica, flew the Macchi-Castoldi M.C. 72, MM 177, the first of five float planes in the series, over a 3-kilometer course to set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record of 682.08 kilometers per hour (423.83 miles per hour).¹

The following year, 23 October 1934, Agello would fly the fifth M.C. 72, MM 181, to 709.21 kilometers per hour (440.68 miles per hour) over a 3 kilometer course, breaking his own record by almost 30 kilometers per hour. ²

Warrant Officer Francesco Agello, Regia Aeronautica
Warrant Officer Francesco Agello, Regia Aeronautica
Side line drawing of the Macchi-Castoldi M.C. 72. (NASM-SI-73-554)
Ing. Mario Castoldi

The Macchi-Castoldi M.C.72 was designed by Ing. Mario Castoldi for Aeronautica Macchi-S.p.A. It was a single-place, single-engine, low-wing monoplane float plane constructed of wood and metal. It was 8.32 meters (27 feet, 3½ inches) long with a wingspan of 9.48 meters (31 feet, 1¼ inches) and height of 3.30 meters (10 feet, 10 inches). Surface radiators were placed on top of each wing and surface oil coolers on the floats.

The M.C.72 had an empty weight of 2,505 kilograms (5,523 pounds), loaded weight of 2,907 kilograms (6,409 pounds) and maximum takeoff weight of 3,031 kilograms (6,682 pounds).

In this photograph of a Macchi-Castoldi M.C. 72 during an engine test, the surface-mounted oil coolers on the pontoons are visible.

The M.C. 72 was powered by a liquid-cooled, supercharged, 50.256 liter (3,066.805 cubic inch), Fiat S.p.A. AS.6 24-cylinder dual overhead cam 60° V-24 engine with 4 valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 7:1. The engine produced 3,100 horsepower at 3,300 r.p.m. with 11.5 pounds of boost (0.79 Bar). It drove two contra-rotating, two-bladed, fixed-pitch propellers with a diameter of 2.59 meters (8 feet, 6 inches) through a 0.60:1 gear reduction. Each contra-rotating blade cancelled the torque effect of the other. The Fiat AS.6 was 3.365 meters (132.48 inches) long, 0.702 meters (27.638 inches) wide, and 0.976 meters (27.64 inches) high. It weighed 930 kilograms (2,050 pounds).

Illustration of the Fiat AS.6 V-24 aircraft engine, right side. (Old Machine Press)

Five Macchi M.C.72 float planes had been built for the 1931 Schneider Trophy race, but problems with the Fiat AS.6 engine, which was essentially two AS.5 V-12s assembled back-to-back, prevented them from competing. Four test pilots, including Francesco Agello, had been selected to fly the airplanes for speed record attempts. Two of them, Captain Giovanni Monti and Lieutenant Stanislao Bellini, were killed while testing the M.C.72, and the third died in the crash of another type. The cause of the accidents were explosions within the engines’ intake tract. Though they ran perfectly on test stands, in flight, they began to backfire, then explode.

It was discovered by Francis Rodwell (“Rod”) Banks,³ a British engineer who had been called in to develop a special high-octane fuel, that the Fiat engineers had overlooked the ram effect of the 400 mile per hour (644kilometers per hour) slipstream. This caused the fuel mixture to become too lean, resulting in predetonation and backfiring. A modification was made to the intake and the problem was resolved.

Francesco Agello

Francesco Agello was twice awarded the Henry De La Vaulx Medal by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, and also awarded the Medaglia d’oro al valore aeronautico. In part, his citation read, “A high speed pilot of exceptional courage and, after competition in difficult and dangerous test flights during the development of the fastest seaplane in the world, twice he conquered the absolute world speed record.”

Capitano Agello was killed in a mid-air collision, 26 November 1942, while testing a Macchi C.202 Fogore fighter.

Macchi M.C.72 at Aeronautica Militare
The world record setting Macchi-Costoldi M.C.72, MM 181, at the Museo Storico dell’Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force Museum) in Vigna di Valle, Italy.

¹ FAI Record File Number 11836

² FAI Record File Number 4497

³  Air Commodore Francis Rodwell Banks, CB, OBE, Hon. CGIA, Hon. FRAeS, Hon. FAIAA, FIMechE., Finst. Pet., FRSA, CEng., MSAE; Commandeur Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur; Commander, Legion of Merit; Орденъ Св. Станислава (Military Order of St. Stanislaus (Imperial Russia) (22 March 1898–12 May 1985)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

9 April 1969

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Brian Trubshaw and John Cochrane, aboard Concorde 002, 9 April 1969. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
Brian Trubshaw and John Cochrane, aboard Concorde 002, 9 April 1969. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett, Test and Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)

9 April 1969: Concorde 002, G-BSST, the first British-built prototype of the supersonic airliner, made its first flight from Filton Airport, Fairfield, England, with British Aerospace Corporation’s Chief Test Pilot, Ernest Brian Trubshaw CBO MVO, as pilot, John Cochrane as co-pilot and Flight Engineer Brian Watts. Also on board, monitoring a range of instruments in the forward cabin, were three other Test Flight Engineers, Mike Addley, John Allan and Peter Holding.

"Concorde 002 on April 9th 1969 ready for a test flight. The flight crew pose before take-off. From left to right, John Allan and Mike Addley (Flight test Observers) John Cochrane, co-pilot, Brian Trubshaw, pilot; Brian Watts, engineer and Peter Holding (Flight Test Observer)." (Stan Sims/Filton Library)
“Concorde 002 on April 9th 1969 ready for a test flight. The flight crew pose before take-off. From left to right, John Allan and Mike Addley (Flight test Observers) John Cochrane, co-pilot, Brian Trubshaw, pilot; Brian Watts, engineer and Peter Holding (Flight Test Observer).” (Stan Sims/Filton Library)

After a preliminary test flight, they landed the new prototype at RAF Fairford, 50 miles northeast, where the flight test program would continue. This flight was just five weeks after the French-built Concorde 001 had made its first flight.

The two prototypes were used to establish the airliner’s flight characteristics and performance envelope, and to develop flight procedures. Follow-on pre-production Concordes were constructed to go through government certification as a commercial airliner.

G-BSST’s career ended with 836 hours, 9 minutes total flight time, of which 173 hours, 26 minutes were supersonic. Concorde 002 is preserved at Royal Naval Air Station, Yeovilton, Somerset, England.

BAC Concorde 002, G-BSST, makes its first takeoff at Bristol Filton Airport, 9 April 1969. (BAC)
BAC Concorde 002, G-BSST, makes its first takeoff at Bristol Filton Airport, 9 April 1969. (BAC)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

9 April 1967

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The prototype Boeing 737-130, PA-099, N73700, first flight 9 April 1967. (Boeing)
The prototype Boeing 737-130, PA-099, N73700, first flight 9 April 1967. (Boeing)

At 1:15 p.m., 9 April 1967, the prototype Boeing 737-130, N73700, (internal number PA-099) took off from Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington, with test pilots Brien Singleton Wygle and Samuel Lewis (“Lew”) Wallick, Jr., in the cockpit. After a 2 hour, 30 minute flight, the new airliner landed at Paine Field, Everett, Washington.

When asked by a reporter what he thought about the new airplane, Boeing’s president, Bill Allen, replied, “I think they’ll be building this airplane when Bill Allen is in an old man’s home.”

Boeing test pilots Brien Wygle and Lew Wallick with the prototype 737 airliner, N73700. (Boeing)
Boeing test pilots Brien Wygle and Lew Wallick with the prototype 737 airliner, N73700. (Boeing)

He was right. In production since 1968, the Boeing 737 is the most popular airliner ever made and it is still in production. On 13 March 2018, the 10,000th 737 was delivered.

The first Boeing 737 under assembly. (Boeing)

Boeing 737-130 N73700 was a twin engine, medium-range airliner, operated by a pilot and co-pilot. It was designed to carry up to 124 passengers. The airplane is 97 feet (28.57 meters) long with a wingspan of 87 feet (26.52 meters) and overall height of 37 feet (11.3 meters). It has an empty weight of 56,893 pounds (25,807 kilograms) and gross weight of 111,000 pounds (50,350 kilograms).

N73700 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7 turbofan engines rated at 14,000 pounds of thrust, each. The JT8D is a two-spool engine with a 2-stage fan section, 13-stage compressor (6 low- and 7 high-pressure stages), nine combustion chambers and a 4-stage turbine (1 high- and 3 low-pressure stages). The JT8D-7 is 42.5 inches (1.080 meters) in diameter, 123.5 inches (3.137 meters) long, and weighs 3,096 pounds (1,404 kilograms).

The airliner’s cruise speed is 575 miles per hour (925 kilometers per hour) and its range is 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometers).

After the flight test and certification program was complete, Boeing handed N73700 over to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Langley Field, Virginia, 12 June 1973, where it became NASA 515 (N515NA).  The airliner was used for research in cockpit design, engine controls, high lift devices, etc. Because of it’s short and stubby appearance, NASA named it “Fat Albert.”

NASA 515, the first Boeing 737, photographed 29 November 1989. (NASA)

The prototype Boeing 737 ended its NASA career and was returned to Boeing, landing for the last time at Boeing Field’s Runway 31L, 3:11 p.m., PDT, 21 September 2003. Today, PA-099 is on display at the Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington.

NASA 515, the prototype Boeing 737 airliner, rolling out on Runway 31L, Boeing Field, 3:11 p.m. PDT, 21 September 2003.
NASA 515, the prototype Boeing 737 airliner, rolling out on Runway 31L, Boeing Field, 3:11 p.m. PDT, 21 September 2003. (Robert A. Bogash)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

9 April 1960

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Tupolev Tu-114 CCCP-76459, holder of nineteen FAI World Records for Speed. (Уголок неба)

9 April 1960: Over a 5,000-kilometer course at Sternberg Point Observatory,¹ a Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya four-engine turboprop airliner, serial number 88402, registered CCCP-76459, set seven Fédération Aéronautique Internationale flight records, including a world speed record of 877.21 kilometers per hour (545.07 miles per hour), while carrying a load of 25,000 kilograms (55,115.6 pounds).²

Colonel Ivan Moiseevich Sukhomlin

The airplane was flown by Colonel Ivan Moiseevich Sukhomlin (Иван Моисеевич Сухомлин) and Konstantin Petrovich Sapielkine (Константин Петрович Сапёлкин). On 24 March 1960, Colonel Sukhomlin and Colonel Boris Mikhailovich Timoshok flew Rossiya to set eight FAI world speed records,³ and on 1 April 1960, Colonel Sukhomlin flew the Tu-114 to set another seven speed records.⁴ The FAI credits Sukhomlin with 37 world records.

These are the fastest speed records ever established for any propeller-driven airplane. The records were retired by the FAI due to changes in rules.

Tupolev Tu-114 three-view illustration. (Уголок неба)

The record-setting Tu-114 was the second production airliner.

The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya was a four-engine, turboprop-powered airliner developed from the Tu-95 Bear nuclear-capable long-range heavy bomber. It had a flight crew of five, two pilots, a navigator and two flight engineers, and could be configured to carry from 120 to 220 passengers, or 30,000 kilograms of cargo.

The Tu-114 made its first flight 15 November 1957 under the command of Colonel Alexei Petrovich Yakimov,  and began regular service with Aeroflot 24 April 1961.

The Tu-114 is 54.10 meters (177 feet, 6 inches) long, with a wingspan of 51.10 meters (167 feet, 8 inches) and overall height of 15.50 meters (50 feet, 10 inches). The wings are swept aft to 35° at ¼-chord, and they have significant anhedral. Total wing area is 311.1 square meters (3,348.7 square feet).

Tupolev Tu 115 CCCP 76459, World Record holder. (Уголок неба)

The Tu-114 was powered by four Kuznetsov NK-12MV turboprop engines, each driving two contra-rotating four-bladed propellers. The NK-12 was rated at 14,795 shaft horsepower (10.89 megawatts). The NK-12 is a single-shaft axial-flow turboprop engine with a 14-stage compressor section and 5-stage turbine. The engine is 19 feet, 8.2 inches (6.000 meters) long, 3 feet, 11.3 inches (1.151 meters) in diameter, and weighs 5,181 pounds (2,350 kilograms).

The Tu-114 had a cruise speed of 770 kilometers per hour (478 miles per hour) at 9,000 meters (29,528 feet) (0.70 Mach), and a maximum speed of 894 kilometers per hour (556 miles per hour) at 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) (0.80 Mach). The airliner has a practical range of 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) and maximum ferry range of 8,800 kilometers (5,468 miles). The service ceiling as 12,000 meters (39,370 feet).

The airliner’s empty weight is 93,500 kilograms (206,132 pounds) and maximum takeoff weight is 179,000 kilograms (394,628 pounds).

A Tupolev Tu-114 at Paris-Le Bourget after a flight from Budapest, Hungary, 5 June 1959. (Magyar Hírek folyóirat/Wikipedia)

The Tupolev Tu-114 was produced from 1958 to 1963, with 32 built. They were in service until 1976.

CCCP-76459, the world-record-setting airliner, was displayed at Novogorod Airport, Veliky Novogorod, Russia, in 1977. It was destroyed by fire in 1990.

The world-record-setting Tupolev Tu-114, CCCP–76459 (s/n 88401) was destroyed by fire at Novogorod in 1990. (Detlev Grass via АВИАЦИЯ, ПОНЯТНАЯ ВСЕМ)

¹ The Sternberg Point Observatory, also known as the Sternberg Astronomical Institute (Государственный астрономический институт имени Штернберга), is located in Moscow, Russia.

Sternberg Astronomical Institute

² FAI Record File Numbers 3663, 3664, 3665 and 3666

³ FAI Record File Numbers 8125, 8126, 8127, 8128, 8129, 8130, 8131 and 8880: 871.38 kilometers per hour (541.45 miles per hour)

⁴ FAI Record File Numbers 8133, 8134, 8135, 8136, 8137, 8138 and 8139

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

9 April 1951

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Jackie Cochran with her North American Aviation P-51C Mustang, N5528N, circa December 1949. (FAI)

9 April 1951: Jackie Cochran set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world record and National Aeronautic Association U.S. National Record on 9 April 1951, flying her North American Aviation P-51C Mustang, N5528N, to an average speed of 464.374 miles per hour (747.338 kilometers per hour) over a straight 16 kilometer (9.942 miles) high-altitude course at Indio, California.¹

National Aeronautic Association Certificate of Record in the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive. (Bryan R. Swopes)
National Aeronautic Association Certificate of Record in the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive. (Bryan R. Swopes)

Thunderbird was Jackie Cochran’s third P-51 Mustang. She had purchased it from Academy Award-winning actor and World War II B-24 wing commander James M. Stewart, 19 December 1949. It was painted cobalt blue with gold lettering and trim.

That same day, Jackie Cochran flew her new airplane to two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed Over a 500 kilometer Closed Circuit Without Payload, and a U.S. National Aeronautic Association record, with an average speed of  703.275 kilometers per hour (436.995 miles per hour).

Thunderbird had won the 1949 Bendix Trophy Race from Rosamond Dry Lake, California, to Cleveland Municipal Airport, Ohio, with pilot Joe De Bona in the cockpit.

According to Civil Aviation Administration records, N5528N had been “assembled from components of other aircraft of the same type.” It has no USAAC serial number or North American Aviation serial number. The CAA designated it as a P-51C and assigned 2925 as its serial number. It was certificated in the Experimental category and registered N5528N.

Thunderbird, Jackie Cochran’s North American P-51C Mustang, N5528N, circa 1951. (FAI)

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is a single-place, single-engine long range fighter. It is a low-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear and is of all-metal construction. The fighter is powered by a liquid-cooled V-12 engine. It was originally produced for the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force as the Mustang Mk.I. Two examples were provided to the U.S. Army Air Corps, designated XP-51. This resulted in orders for the P-51A and A-36 Apache dive bomber variant. These early Mustangs were powered by the Allison V-1750 engine driving a three-bladed propeller, which also powered the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.

In 1942, soon after the first production Mustang Mk.I arrived in England, Rolls-Royce began experimenting with a borrowed airplane, AM121, in which they installed the Supermarine Spitfire’s Merlin 61 engine. This resulted in an airplane of superior performance.

In the United States, the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, had begun building Merlin engines under license from Rolls-Royce. These American engines were designated V-1650. North American modified two P-51s from the production line to install the Packard V-1650-3. These were designated XP-51B. Testing revealed that the new variant was so good that the Army Air Corps limited its order for P-51As to 310 airplanes and production was changed to the P-51B.

The P-51B and P-51C are virtually Identical. The P-51Bs were built by North American Aviation, Inc., at Inglewood, California. P-51Cs were built at North American’s Dallas, Texas plant. They were 32 feet, 2.97 inches (9.829 meters) long, with a wingspan of 37 feet, 0.31-inch (11.282 meters) and overall height of 13 feet, 8 inches (4.167 meters) high. The fighter had an empty weight of 6,985 pounds (3,168 kilograms) and a maximum gross weight of 11,800 pounds (5,352 kilograms).

A Packard Motor Car Company V-1650-7 Merlin liquid-cooled, supercharged SOHC 60° V-12 aircraft engine at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. This engine weighs 905 pounds (411 kilograms) and produces 1,490 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. (NASM)
Packard Motor Car Company V-1650-7 Merlin, liquid-cooled, supercharged SOHC 60° V-12 aircraft engine at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. This engine weighs 905 pounds (411 kilograms) and produces 1,490 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. (NASM)

P-51Bs and Cs were powered by a right-hand tractor, liquid-cooled, supercharged, 1,649-cubic-inch-displacement (27.04-liter) Packard V-1650-3 or -7 Merlin single overhead cam (SOHC) 60° V-12 engine which produced 1,380 horsepower at Sea Level, turning 3,000 r.p.m at 60 inches of manifold pressure (V-1650-3) or 1,490 horsepower at Sea Level, turning 3,000 r.p.m. at 61 inches of manifold pressure (V-1650-7). (Military Power rating, 15 minute limit.) These were license-built versions of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 63 and 66. The engine drove a four-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic constant-speed propeller with a diameter of 11 feet, 2 inches (3.404 meters) through a 0.479:1 gear reduction.

North American Aviation P-51B-1-NA Mustang in flight. (Air Force Historical Research Agency)

The P-51B/C had a cruise speed of 362 miles per hour (583 kilometers per hour) and the maximum speed was 439 miles per hour (707 kilometers per hour) at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). The service ceiling was 41,900 feet (12,771 meters). With internal fuel, the combat range was 755 miles (1,215 kilometers).

In military service, armament consisted of four air-cooled Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns, mounted two in each wing, with 350 rounds per gun for the inboard guns and 280 rounds per gun for the outboard.

1,988 P-51B Mustangs were built at North American’s Inglewood, California plant and another 1,750 P-51Cs were produced at Dallas, Texas. This was nearly 23% of the total P-51 production.

North American Aviation P-51B-1-NA Mustang 43-12491 at NACA Langley Field, Virginia, 1945. (NSAS)
North American Aviation P-51B-1-NA Mustang 43-12491 at NACA Langley Field, Virginia, 1945. (NASA)

¹ FAI Record File Number 4477

² FAI Record File Numbers 4476, 12323

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes