New Aircaft Quiz-#3 , not Tricky but Difficult.

[Doug Robertson]

Congrats to Zane. You got it right.

The additional clue enabled you to come up with all right answers. If in my original quiz query, that would have been too easy and a give-away answer.

The Grumman F11F-1 TIGER was designed from the outset as an "Area Rule" supersonic US Naval aircraft and has that "first" distinction of being designed to the transonic rule. It was developed from the Grumman F-9 PANTHER straight wing jet and F-9 COUGAR swept-wing jet. ( I was in a squadron in the 1950s that made the transition from PANTHERs to COUGARS). The first assigned nomenclatures were F9F-8 and F9F-9s. The wasp waist "area rule" fuselage was popularly known as the "coke bottle", but this not descriptive as the "Area Rule" has it's narrowest fuselage tapers on the wing or just behind the wing's trailing edge. The F11F-1 was re-designated in 1962 to F-11A TIGER. The Blue Angels operated the TIGER from 1957 to 1969, a record length at the time.

In 1958 an F11F TIGER shot itself down, piloted by a test pilot making a gunnery run who managed to fly into his own stream of cannon shells that downed the plane. He ejected and parachuted safely. He was reported to be the first US pilot to shoot himself down and the TIGER the first US jet aircraft to do so.

Specs vary some-these are for the F-11A TIGER.

Power plant: One 7,800 lb st Wright J65-W-18 after-burning Turbojet
Max speed: 890 mph (Mach 1.35)
Cruise speed: 560 mph at 40,000'
Range: 700 miles
Tactical radius: 300 miles
Service ceiling: 50,500'
Weight: Empty-13,307 lbs, normal loaded-21,035 lbs-max loaded-24,078 lbs.
Span: 31'7.5"
Wing area: 249.72 sq ft.
Length: 44'11"
Height: 13'3"
Armament: 4 20-mm cannons, up to 4 AAM-N-1 (AIM-9C) Sidewinders 1A or 1C infra-red air-to-air missiles

Early versions had shorter nose. No radar was fitted; a major limitation. Grumman produced 201 TIGERS from July 1954 to December 1958. Entered service in 1957. Interestingly, the Wright J65 was a license-built version of the British Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire engine. The Vought-F8U CRUSADER replaced the TIGERs in the late 1950s.

Thank you to all who participated or scratched your skulls over this one.

[Ztex]

Yeah you gotta keep giving me hints before I can get it.

Cool!