The J65 engine was replaced with a more powerful General Electric J79-GE-3 turbojet. The fuselage was lengthened 5 feet, 6 inches (1.68 meters). The YF-104A pre-production aircraft and subsequent F-104A production aircraft had many improvements over the two XF-104 prototypes. T-1 capstan-type partial-pressure suit with K-1 helmet. Tony LeVier with the XF-104 armament test prototype, 53-7787, at Edwards AFB, 1954. Salmon was found two hours later, uninjured, about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the crash site. The XF-104 crashed 72 miles (117 kilometers) east-northeast of Edwards Air Force Base. (“Fish”) Salmon was unable to find a suitable landing area and ejected at 250 knots (288 miles per hour/463 kilometers per hour) and 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The lower escape hatch had come loose due to an inadequate latching mechanism. The XF-104 had a maximum speed of 1,324 miles per hour (2,131 kilometers per hour), a range of 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) and a service ceiling of 50,500 feet (15,392 meters).ĥ3-7787 was lost 19 April 1955 when it suffered explosive decompression at 47,000 feet (14,326 meters) during a test of the T171 Vulcan gun system. The J65-B-3 was rated at 7,330 pounds of thrust, and the J65-W-6, rated at 7,800 pounds (34.70 kilonewtons), and 10,500 pounds (46.71 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The J65 was a single-shaft axial-flow turbojet with a 13-stage compressor and 2-stage turbine. Both were improved derivatives of the Armstrong Siddely Sa.6 Sapphire, built under license. While the first prototype, 53-7776, was equipped with a Buick J65-B-3 turbojet engine, the second used a Wright Aeronautical Division J65-W-6 with afterburner. The prototypes had an empty weight of 11,500 pounds (5,216 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 15,700 pounds (7,121 kilograms). The XF-104 was 49 feet, 2 inches (14.986 meters) long with a wingspan of 21 feet, 11 inches (6.680 meters) and overall height of 13 feet, 6 inches (4.115 meters). This six-barreled gun was capable of firing at a rate of 6,000 rounds per minute. This was the armament test aircraft and was equipped with a General Electric T171 Vulcan 20mm Gatling gun. Air Force)ĥ October 1954: Chief Engineering Test Pilot Tony LeVier made the first flight in the second prototype Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter, 53-7787, at Edwards Air Force Base in the high desert of southern California. Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter 083-1002, serial number 53-7787, the second prototype, in flight near Edwards AFB.
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