In a message dated 12/20/2004 1:01:19 PM Central Standard Time,
micallahan@worldnet.att.net writes:

<< Yeah, I was very suspect of the droop nose and the big windshield
 myself. Not only that, why in the world would this "pilot" have her name

 the side of a prototype and why doesn't it have the usual twelve foot

 letters of the model number (YF/A-37)? Forward swept elevons? I don't

 so. The clincher was the bottom pic with the guys in the foreground

 a big movie camera.  Mike C.


  >>

Not so fast there boys. That is an Air Force camera team. It won't be an

anything until after acceptance testing is completed. It will be a YF
something until then.



The canopy is the new Buckey strand reinforced Pyrex glass structure. The
nose raises up to streamline at cruise (mach 3.8 without AB) it droops for
landing like the Concord. The forward swept horizontals and the lack of

part of the shock wave management system. The rudder works split strakes

the wing tips to replicate rudder feel. There are rudder pedals so you can
overpower the computers for air shows and such. Normally the feet are in

in the front of the seat pack.
The whole nose is the escape pod. Developed and tested to 40,000 feet by
Rutan's Scaled Composites people. The escape pod is flyable and has a

statute miles. Powered by powdered nitril rubber and nitrous. It has auto
pilot and will auto track to the nearest friendly area before deploying

A picture of this thing got out, so they made up the movie story to cover

Now DOD has to front the movie to throw off the bad guys. It's been flying
between Tonopa and Groom Lake every night for a year.

There is a guy on that mountain every night with a 16" reflector telescope
who says a C-5 leaves there at dusk and this thing lands blacked out

midnight. His guess is that they either take it close by to launch it, or

launch it right out the back door of the C-5. Pretty cool stuff.

The one on the carrier was the third airframe. The first was the

test frame so it got bent and vibrated through two lifetimes. It will be
repaired and shipped to the AF Museum In Dayton next year. Although it can

from a carrier it is not what the Navy wanted. So the Naval version will

more wing area and a slightly lower cruise speed, and carry more ordnance.

frame three is all Air Force

The first flight test airframe is back at Lockheed Burbank for repairs

a fueling fire in October. This will be the follow on to the F-36, the one
that can hover. The F-36 replaces the F-22 that just formed its first

Some folks say this one can not only hover, but can leave unimproved

with full fuel and ordnance load,
by using dropable assist rocket motors in tubes along side the lift fans.
Same fans as the F-36.

During this carrier event they were just firing those rockets one at a

and filming the effect on the airframe from the epoxy based nonskid

that is used on all carriers. Also they placed various support equipment

to see what effect that would suffer.

How do I know this?






I don't. I just made it up.





If you felt real proud there for a minute,

Keep right on feeling proud.

This kind of stuff is in the works right now. The looser in the flyoff

the F-22 won is now at the Air Force Museum and it has the rudders laid

almost flat just like the movie plane. The YF-23 I believe. It is just
beautiful. Long and snake like. And it flew real well. Just a bit too

The F-36 really does hover, and is the replacement for the F-22.

There is an F-22 at the Museum also. The one that crashed I suspect. Worth
the trip to Dayton. One of the top three airplane museums on earth.


This and much more, is coming soon to an air show near you. God bless

Lynn E. Hanover

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