| North American | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
F-107 #
|
||||||||||||
%20(8.7X4).jpg) |
||||||||||||
|
Photo: Robert Deering 1985 National Museum of the USAF Wright-Patterson AFB (FFO) Dayton, Ohio |
||||||||||||
|
The F-107A was
originally designed as a tactical
fighter-bomber version of the F-100, with a
recessed weapon bay under the fuselage;
however, extensive design changes resulted
in its redesignation from F-100B to F-107A
before the first prototype flew. Special
features included an all-moving vertical
fin, a control system that permitted the
plane to roll at supersonic speeds, and a
system (Variable Area Inlet Duct) that
automatically controlled the amount of air
fed to the jet engine.
On Sept. 10, 1956, the No. 1 F-107A made its initial flight, attaining Mach 1.03 (speed of sound, Mach 1, is about 760 mph at sea level). The aircraft first achieved Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound) in tests on Nov. 3, 1956. Three F-107As were built as prototypes and were test flown extensively, but the aircraft did not go into production, the Republic F-105 having been selected as the standard fighter-bomber for the Tactical Air Command. In late 1957, Nos. 1 and 3 were leased to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics for high-speed flight research. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
%20(8X4).jpg)