Warbird Information Exchange

Few cool pic's, may be old news?

Cool shots! Thanks for posting. I believe that one of these aircraft (probably even one of those shown) survives at the Quonset Point Air Museum. Really interesting transition between piston and turbine power.

Cheers,
Richard

PS. In looking at these photos I can't for the life of me see where the air intake sits for the jet engine. Can anyone tell me where it is?

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Richard Mallory Allnutt - Photography - http://www.rmallnutt.com

very cool stuff. I'd never seen those before. Thanks for posting.

By the way, I noticed in the pictures that there's a little problem with the airplane, which may have lead to its short career.

With the way the main gear retract into the wing, it would make it impossible for the gear to tuck in properly when the wings are folded in flight.

(Tough in cheek)

Oh, just thought of another thing. Wouldn't the fact that the airplane had TWO engines render it ridiculously heavy? How did this airplane perform?

And just a guess, but was the jet engine used in this one the same from the T-33?

-David

I hate to bust your bubble ya'll, but those pics don't resemble the Curtiss XF-15 in the slightest.

Try Ryan FR-1 instead:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FR_Fireball

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

Just one problem. That is the Ryan Fireball......

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

There is 1 survivor, it is with Planes of Fame, and it is a Ryan Fireball

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Matt Gunsch, A&P, IA, Warbird maint and restorations
Jack, You have Debauched my sloth !!!!!!
We tried voting with the Ballot box, When do we start voting from the Ammo box, and am I allowed only one vote ?
Check out the Ercoupe Discussion Group on facebook

It makes you wonder what the warbird world would look like today had Mr. Maloney never existed. It's not just a matter of looking at the current Planes of Fame collection, think of all the a/c and parts he saved that are no longer in the family collection. Too bad he never ran into a TBY Seawolf of a B-32 Dominator. I doubt the Navy would have saved an example of the Fireball.

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Albert Stix Jr.
"Work is the curse of the drinking class"

...I can't for the life of me see where the air intake sits for the jet engine. Can anyone tell me where it is?

It took the Soviet intelligence community many months to figure this one out also. The unusual, but very cleverly designed canopy when opened, would suck the propwash into an internal intake behind the pilot's seat.

This worked well for leaked photos such as the one showing a run-up on the flightdeck.

After the first in-flight test, however, Curtiss quickly sold all rights to Ryan who changed the designation, hence the initial confusion with the post.









Okay I had to do it since I didn't get a post in 9 days ago....

Inboard leading edge of the wings...

I had no clue found the website.Got pic's in a email?
http://prototypes.free.fr/fr1/fr1-1.htm

there was a story of a test pilot pulling along side a formation of Hellcats, shutting down the radial engine and feathering the prop, then pulling away from them.

There were 2 Fireball survivors, but the other was lost in the arson fire at the San Diego air museum.

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Matt Gunsch, A&P, IA, Warbird maint and restorations
Jack, You have Debauched my sloth !!!!!!
We tried voting with the Ballot box, When do we start voting from the Ammo box, and am I allowed only one vote ?
Check out the Ercoupe Discussion Group on facebook

Assuming you mean Curtiss XF15C.

Nope, I actually meant the XF15C-1. But now that you mention it, it doesn't look like an XF15C or an XF-15 either.

Thanks for helping me get back in touch wth my anal-retentive side.

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

For 10 points can anyone give us the name assigned to the Curtiss XF-15C?
I know what it is, so I'm out of the competition!
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

The air intakes for the General Electric I-16 turbojet were located in the inboard leading edge of both wings. How about a quote from the Flight Manual which states 'Approximately 7 minutes full-power operation can be obtained from the aft engine but this is reduced one minute for every five minutes at idling speed'? The Fireball had a forward tank of only 45 gallons of kerosene for the weedy little jet and a rear tank of 125 gallons of gasoline for the Wright Cyclone. A single drop tank could be carried to augment the piston engine.