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In 1963, three former USAF F-104As (56-0756, -0760, and -0762) were taken out
of storage at Davis-Monthan AFB (MARAD) and modified as NF-104A aerospace
training aircraft. All of the military equipment was removed and the original
F-104A vertical fin was replaced by the larger fin that was used on the F-104G.
The wingspan was increased by four feet (to almost 26 feet) and a set of
hydrogen peroxide control thrusters were mounted at the nose, tail, and
wingtips. A 6000-lbs. thrust Rocketdyne LR121/AR-2-NA-1 auxiliary rocket engine
was mounted on the tail above the jet exhaust pipe. This rocket engine could be
throttled from 3000 to 6000 pounds of thrust, and the burn time was over a 100
seconds.
The first NF-104A was delivered on October 1, 1963, with the other two
following a month later. They were operated by the Aerospace Research Pilot
School at Edwards AFB, which was commanded at that time by Colonel Charles E.
"Chuck" Yeager.
On December 6, 1963, the first NF-104A set an unofficial world altitude
record of 118,860 feet for aircraft taking off under their own power. The
official record at that time was 113,829 feet, set by the Mikoyan/Gurevich
Ye-66A, an experimental version of the MiG-21 Fishbed. Later, the same NF-104A
flown by Major R. W. Smith reached an altitude of 120,800 feet.
On December 10, 1963, the second NF-104A (56-0762), with Chuck Yeager at the
controls, went out of control at an altitude of 104,000 feet and fell in a flat
spin to 11,000 feet. Yeager managed to eject successfully at that altitude,
although he was badly burned on his face by the rocket motor of his ejector
seat. The aircraft was totally destroyed in the ensuing crash. An investigation
later showed that the cause of the crash was a spin that resulted from excessive
angle of attack and lack of aircraft response. The excessive angle of attack was
not caused by pilot input but by a gyroscopic condition set up by the J79 engine
spooling after shut down for the rocket-powered zoom climb phase. The
events of this sortie are retold in Yeager's autobiography, as well as the 1983
film The
Right Stuff (on DVD from Barnes &
Noble).
For more information about the crash site click
here.
Retrieved from the crash site, this piece of aluminum is a reminder of that
crash and the epic survival of one of America's greatest pilots, a man who truly
has, "the Right Stuff."
Included is a Certificate of Origin, certifying that your
artifact came from this historic site.
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