HAVE DRILL

by Les Waltman

 

In late 1969, Lt.Col. Joe Maisch and myself, members of the 175th Tac.Ftr.Grp., Maryland ANG, were given orders to take a pair of F-86H aircraft and proceed to Nellis AFB, Nevada, to participate in a classified flying program code-named Project HAVE DRILL. The project lasted three days and involved a series of programmed maneuvers between our aircraft, the F-86H Sabre, and a captured MiG-15 or -17 (my memory is not that good anymore).

We were to conduct these maneuvers some 60-80 miles north of Nellis AFB, at a place I learned later was the highly classified area known as Groom Dry Lake AFB. I had never heard of the place nor had any idea what went on there. We would fly three missions against the MiG. I flew the second mission.

On my mission we performed between the desert surface and 5,000 ft. AGL The program consisted of speed brakes in and speed brakes out to evaluate deceleration and acceleration comparisons, step turns, sharp climbs, and various other maneuvers designed to observe differences in performance between our aircraft and the MiG.

The MiG had the advantage of an afterburner, a very large speed brake, and a rather large wing area. All of these factors served to its advantage. One thing I quickly observed was that the MiG had a rather slow rate of roll. It was obvious to me that a rapidly reversing scissors maneuver would create problems for the MiG. Like wise, the MiGs limited fuel supply meant that it couldn't remain in the operational area for too long a time.

Because the evaluation area was right under us, the MiG pilot was able to stay a little longer in the area. This became a factor, for after the canned exercise was over, we proceeded to `really have it.' Because of the roll rate differential, I was able to negate many of the advantages that the MiG had over my model. I should note that the MiG pilot was a Marine major who was quite adept at flying the MiG, so there was no pilot skill advantage there.

Needless to say, the result of our little tete-a-tete was both of us running seriously low on fuel. Naturally, being over `home plate' merely meant spiraling down for the MiG pilot. But I was faced with a rather terse trip back to Nellis - about 60 miles or so away. A trip I won't forget soon.

It should be noted that, with virtually no lead time whatever, the Maryland ANG was able to hustle off to Nellis using only two `right off the ramp' aircraft for the project, needing no maintenance people to accompany us. We dropped the tanks off one aircraft and that concluded our `special preparations'. The F-86H did all that was expected of it and with a minimum of effort. I might add that Joe Maisch flew the other two missions and his experiences pretty much mirrored mine. Three days of incredible flying and Las Vegas to boot. Life doesn't get any better than that.


PROJECT FOLLOW-ON

by Larry Davis

 

This is the story of Project FOLLOW-ON, the upgrading of the F-86D. But first a little history. The F-86D first flew on 22 December 1949. At that time it was designated the F-95A which was later changed to F-86D as it was easier to get Congressional funding for an existing aircraft type, rather than an all new type. Besides, the F-95A/F-86D did use a large number of parts and systems common to the F-86E, including wings and tail surfaces.

The F-86D was the first Air Force fighter aircraft to have an all-rocket armament, with 24 2.75" Mighty Mouse rockets housed in a retractible tray under the forward fuselage. It was also one of the first to have an afterburner on the engine, which increased available thrust by a full third, from 5200 lbs i n the J47-GE-27 used in the F-86F, to a whopping 7500 lbs. in the J47-GE-17B in the F-86D. It needed the extra thrust as the D was almost 600 lbs. heavier than the F-86F.

Production of the F-86D started in March 1951, and ended after North American had built a total of 2504 aircraft. The F-86D served with every major Air Force Command throughout the Free World, and was the primary air defense weapon against the Soviet bomber threat.

But by the mid-1950s, the Soviet threat was such that the Air Force needed an all-new supersonic jet interceptor. It was known as the "1954 Interceptor", which became the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. But it wouldn't be available until 1956 and the Air Force needed an interceptor to fill the gap technologically. The answer was Project FOLLOW-ON, the upgrading of a number of F-86D airframes with improved technology, i.e. something called SAGE.

SAGE was short for Semi-Automatic Ground Environment, and it had been developed at MITs Lincoln Laboratory in 1953 for use in the "1954 Interceptor". It was quite simply, a real time Data Link between the ground radar stations and the interceptor pilot, giving him `real time' information - target speed, altitude, range and bearing. SAGE equipment included the AN/APR-39 Data Link, AN/ARC-34 Command Radio, AN/ APX-25 Identification Radar, and AN/ARN-31 Glide Slope Receiver.

And while the SAGE modifications were taking place, the Air Force took the opportunity to upgrade the rest of the
F-86D airframe. The wings were modified with the extended 6-3 leading edge, but with slats. And the wingtips were extended one foot on each tip. The powerplant would be the J47-GE-33 which offered 7650 lbs. of thrust. Cooling problems found on the early F-86Ds were handled with an additional pair of scoops on the fuselage above the trailing edge of the wing.

Even' though the new version of the F-86D was some 2200 lbs heavier than the F-86F-30 fighter, the aircraft was equal in top speed at 693mph @ sea level and 616 mph @ 40,000 feet. The Air Force authorized Project FOLLOW-ON in late 1955 to convert a total of 981 F-86D aircraft to (now-designated) F-86L specifications.

The first aircraft was test flown in October 1956, and it wasn't long before Air Force crews began taking delivery.
1Lt. Richard Graham took delivery of the first production F-86L on 23 November 1956 and flew it back to the
317th FIS at McChord AFB. The final F-86L conversion came off the assembly line in November 1957.

Project FOLLOW-ON aircraft were all based on existing F-86D-10 through D-60 airframes. The Air Force made a minor change to the block number adding "1" to each block number. Thus a D-10 became an L-11, a D-30 was an
L-31, etc. However, the later block numbers, D-50, D-55, and D-60 simply changed the letter; i.e. L-50, L-55, and L-60.

Although the first F-86Ls were delivered in late 1956, the introduction of the F-102A and the F-104A meant a short first line life for the L. The first F-86Ls were phased into the Air National Guard as early as 1957 when the 159th FIS, Florida ANG, began conversion to the upgraded interceptor. The last unit to fly the F-86L was the 196th FIS, California ANG, which retired the type in 1965 in favor of the `1954 Interceptor', the Convair F-102A.


A Christmas Story

MY BEST FLIGHT

by Donald J. "Beetle" Bailey

 

I'm probably the lowest time F-86 pilot in the Association. But I really did fly it and it is the most outstanding two flights in my 6000 hour flying career that includes 118 different planes, including the F-100F and F-104D. Here's how it happened.

I was a T-33 instructor in Del Rio. It was Christmas 1956 and I was home on leave in Peru, Indiana, which is near what was Bunker Hill AFB. My Dad was friends with many base people including the 323rd Fighter Bomber Wing Commander, (then) Col. Joseph H. Moore, who died recently as a retired Lt. General. Col. Moore was in Dad's living room with us and said to me, "I recently let my son Joe (also a T-33 instructor in Laredo - I knew him.) check out in the F-86F here." Before I came straight up out of my chair, he asked, "Would you like to do that?" Well yeeaahh!!!

It was the middle of winter in Indiana and the weather sucked. I waited three weeks, sitting in the airplane every day checking it out. I had it down cold! Finally, on December 29th, three days before my leave was up, it was clear and beautiful. I'm sitting in the airplane ready to go, with chase pilot Amos Leighton beside me.

Col. Moore came up to my airplane and told me the runway was clear but the taxiway was iced and he was going to have me towed out. I said, "No sir. If I'm going to fly this airplane, I'm sure as heck going to taxi it. I'm used to differential braking for steering and the Sabre has a steerable nose wheel. I can do this." He looked at me for a second and said "All right, but don't you hurt my airplane!"

The first flight was about 40 minutes and we did all the basic maneuvers and it was fine. Also, Col. Moore asked me if there was anything special I wanted to do. Now what do YOU think I said? I said I wanted to go through the Mach. Well, I couldn't do THAT. The turkey farmers would go berserk. "Okay", with a disheartened tone.

So on the second flight I was having a ball rolling the airplane - what a thrill - and the chase called me and asked where I was because I had run away from him and he was unable to find me! I told him my location, at 20,000 feet, and he said stay there until he could catch up. Several minutes passed and he called again. He still couldn't find me. "Oops, sorry about that, I'm at 10,000 feet, not 20!" He replied, "So stay there and when I pass you, follow me."

Pretty soon he whizzed by off my right wing and headed upstairs. I'm trying to catch him but not doing a very good job of it. Finally he leveled off at 35,000 and asked where I was. I'm off your right wing and coming up on you fast."

"Okay, leave your throttle wide open and follow me." And then he rolled over and started straight down. Just before I caught up, he said, "Just go right past me off the right wing." OH YEAH! WAHOO! I watched the needle jump just as I got a little nose dip on the stick and I went through the Mach! The rest of the flight was uneventful. We said nothing to Col. Moore. I got a total of 1.8 hours in the F-86F in my log book, and like I said, it was the most exciting two flights I have ever had.

Forty nine years later, it finally dawned on me that the only reason I got to go through the Mach was because Col. Moore told Amos to let me do it. So I told (now) General Moore about it in March 2005. He didn't even remember that he had a squadron of F-86's at the time, because they were in the process of transitioning into the F-100. So I told him this whole story all over again and showed him my form 5 and I think he finally believed me. Joe was a great guy and a great officer. He is sorely missed.

At 76 years old I'm still having a ball. Today I fly an L-29 Delfin (a Czeck fighter-trainer) in air shows. I do a full aerobatic routine that lasts about 8 minutes. With any luck I'll keep doing it for a few more years.


FUN & GAMES AT YUMA

by Paul Dickens

 

Our unit was the 11th FIS at Duluth, MN. They were flying F-51s when I was assigned in the Fall of 1953, but we soon transitioned into the F-86D. We went to Yuma in early 1955, flying from Duluth to Colorado Springs to Yuma. This was during the period that the Dog was blowing up in the air due to the fact the fuel control hadn't been perfected. As such, our afterburners were restricted, which certainly made for some exciting take-offs from the mile-high runway at Colorado Springs.

A group of us went to dinner that first night, in a very nice restaurant. In the group were John Ward, a lawyer and considered to be THE intellectual of the unit; and Billy Singleton, who looked and sounded like what he was - a product of the Deep South. However, he was an exceptional pilot and very smart. When the waiter asked John for his order, he explained in detail what he wanted and how he wanted it cooked. Billy stared incredulously at John. When the waited got to Billy, he said, "Ya'll got 'ny peanut butter `n jelly samiches?" We cracked up.

As you can see from the photos, conditions at Yuma were rather primitive. The `old heads' (the Talkers) still espoused the old fighter pilot image; and the young troops (the Listeners) did our best to emulate them. Fortunately, the locals took a liberal view of our antics and except for a couple exceptions, we lived in harmony.

The bars in Winterhaven, California, closed a couple of hours later than Yuma, so on occasion we adjourned to Winterhaven. There was a very talented young lady in one of the clubs who did an exotic dance. She was so good that you couldn't consider her as pornographic even though she was rather scantily clad. We convinced her to attach our squadron patch, a raging bull, at about the only place with enough cloth to attach it. The 'pay-back' was that one of us had to sweep the floor before her `Spider Dance' so she wouldn't abrade her back and shoulders. It was worth it.

None of use had any transportation so took up a collection and bought an old car. The biggest problem was getting through inspection and get it on base. I think we paid $150 for the `gem'. We six proud owners accompanied it to the MP for inspection. With some reluctance and much harrassment, he passed everything except the brake lights, which just wouldn't work.

Finally, one of us told him they were fixed, and had him watch while we drove away and skidded to a stop. Sure enough, the tail lights were blazing. Actually, the driver had pulled the emergency brake and turned on the head-lights, which appeared to be working taillights. We had to promise the major in charge of the MPs that we wouldn't abandon the car on base when we left.

However, we had a problem with the gears and had the gear shift partially disassembled. And we were a little slow getting the required part for repairs. One day the car just turned up missing! We were about to report it stolen when someone noticed the Fire Department was using it for training. We decided to just forget it.

The gym at Yuma had a trampoline. Considering myself somewhat of an athlete, I decided to teach myself how to use it. After a few good days, I decided to combine several maneuvers and promptly came down on my head, causing my neck to pop and stars flew. That night I had a terrible `crick' in my neck and was afraid it would affect my flying. Charlie Collins, had a year in chiropractic school, said he'd be glad to `adjust' it. He took my chin in one hand, and the back of my head in an-other and told me to "Just relax!" - I've had trouble with my neck ever since.

But the flying at Yuma was great. We had B-45s towing the targets. A T-33 chase ship would fly behind us to make sure we weren't locked up on the tow ship, which did happen. Precise terminology was used between the tow ship, chase, and us. If positive clearance wasn't given for every phase, we did not fire. A single rocket was fired on each mission.

After the mission, a pilot was very anxious to know if he'd gotten a hit. Each F-86D had a camera under the wing. A team of judges assessed the film, which was then projected onto a table top. If the rocket came within proximity of the target, a silhouette of a B-36 was placed in a position so that the target juxtaposed an engine. I did get a hit. The 11th did win the Meet. And the boss did get promoted to full Colonel. It was a successful trip, and very enjoyable.


unit quickie's

330th FIGHTER SQUADRON

 

The 330th Fighter Squadron was activated in July 1942 at Hamilton Field, CA, within the 329th FG. Their mission was to train replacement pilots in P-38 Lightnings. However, they were also a prime part of the West Coast Defense Force, moving from Hamilton Fld to Paine Fld, Wa, before returning to California at Glendale and San Diego, where the squadron was inactivated in March 1944.

The 330th was reactivated at Stewart AFB, NY, on 27 November 1952, flying F-80 Shooting Stars, as part of the 4709th ADW. Under Project ARROW, the 330th was assigned again to the 329th FIG. In 1953, the 330th transitioned into the F-86F, before moving to the air defense mission with F-86Ds in January 1955.

The 330th FIS deployed to Yuma for the Rocket Meet in 1956 and 1958, winning in 1958 and smashing many records in the process. The 330th FIS was inactivated and Stewart AFB was closed on 1 July 1959, soon after transition to the F-86L.