Testing Gallery

Northrop T-38A-10-NO Talon 58-1194

Northrop T-38A-10-NO Talon 58-1194, Buzz Number TF-194. The first production aircraft, with the rear cockpit canopy blanked off for flight testing. (At Edwards Air Force Base?) Transferred to US Navy as a DT-38A, with non-standard BuAer Number 581194, converted to QT-38A, for use as an aerial target and struck off charge on 19 November 1980, due to damage received during a missile engagement. Date: 1959

© The Peter Butt Aviation Collection / Mary Evans

Wright (Armstrong Siddeley) J65 Sapphire turbojet engine

Wright J65 (Armstrong Siddeley) Sapphire turbojet engine. The Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire was a British turbojet engine licence- Built in the United States by Curtiss-Wright of the Wright Aeronautical Corporation as the Wright J65. Initial versions were direct copies with only minor equipment differences, but Wright developed the J65 engine independently of Armstrong Siddeley, powering quite a few of the 1950s US jet combat aircraft. Notable uses were the Martin B-57 Canberra, North American FJ Fury, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Republic F-84F Thunderstreak, and the two Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter proto Types. A 6, 500-10, 380 shp (4, 850-7, 740 kW) turboprop version of the J65 (Sapphire) was developed by Curtiss-Wright as the Wright T49, and a commercial derivative, the Wright TP51A2 was also designed. The T49 first ran in December 1952 at 8, 000 shp (6, 000 kW), followed by flight testing in a Boeing XB-47D test bed from 26 August 1955. By this time however, the market for the engine had vanished. Date: 1951

© The Peter Butt Aviation Collection / Mary Evans

The new R.A.F. Centrifuge 1955

Testing the effects of gravitational stresses experienced by pilots at high speeds: the new R.A.F. centrifuge at the Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine at Farnborough, Hampshire. The main purpose of the apparatus is to investigate the effects of the force of gravity (G force) which causes pilots to black-out when changing direction at high speed. Date: 1955

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans