Lockheed Ercoupe!!!!

[Michel Lemieux]

hoping the pic goes through.......

[Snake45]

Why call it Ercoupe? Lockheed built so many twin-tailed airplanes it was practically their trademark. Not surprising they'd have tried it on an F-80/T-33 sooner or later.

[StangStung]

Why call it Ercoupe? Lockheed built so many twin-tailed airplanes it was practically their trademark. Not surprising they'd have tried it on an F-80/T-33 sooner or later.

Truth. And heck, there was that one time they even tried THREE tails and that went over gangbusters!

[bipe215]

According to Baugher, it was part of the TV-2 deck landing trainer batch

[Michel Lemieux]

Why call it Ercoupe?

It's the first thing that popped in my head!!!! hehe.....

[StangStung]

Why call it Ercoupe?

It's the first thing that popped in my head!!!! hehe.....

Rightfully so. But seriously, I wonder what was actually going on here. Any caption to go with that pic?

[MacHarvard]

From Aerofiles.com:

When modified permanently for special tests, a number of T-33As was redesignated NT-33As. Among these aircraft was [51-4120], which was successively used for tests by Lockheed, the Allison Division of General Motors, the USAF Wright Air Development Center, and the Flight Research Dept of the Cornell Aeronautical Lab (later reorganized as Calspan Corp).

With Calspan the aircraft was fitted with a larger-volume nose section from an F-94A to accommodate test equipment and computer electronics. Used for variable-stability research and for simulating the flying qualities of a variety of aircraft then under development, this NT-33A was at various times fitted with alternative controls (wheel, stick, two- and three-axis side controller), "fly-by-wire" systems, modified tip tanks with electrohydraulically-operated drag petals, and in-flight refuelling probe. In 1980 Calspan was still using the ship in a project sponsored jointly by USAF and USN, known as Display Evaluation Flight Test (DEFT).

Two other NT-33As were [48-357] and [51-4263]. The former—the second TF-80C—was used for ejector-seat trials and fitted with aft-focusing camera recording equipment on top of the nose and with an open rear cockpit. The latter was modified by Lockheed to have twin fins and rudders at the ends of the tailplane instead of the standard single-tail surfaces. The modified tail was at the time considered for the proposed TV-2 carrier landing trainer. Testing was not fully satisfactory and the new aircraft, model L-245 (USN T2V-1), had conventional tail surfaces. (— Johan Visschedijk 9/10/03)

[Matt Gunsch]

My coupe looks nothing like that,

Attachments

[phil65]

Is it on fire...?

Phil

[Archer]

Just marking its territory.

[Craig59]

Hmm. Looks more like an Errorcoupe.

[Matt Gunsch]

Is it on fire...?

Phil

No, my Coupe has a smoking problem, it goes thru 2.5 gallons of smoke oil in 2 minutes

[Lon Moer]

hoping the pic goes through.......