The Rocking Fifties

The "Rocking Fifties" at Edwards played host to the US Air Force's Century Series of six different turbojet-powered fighter aircraft as shown here from above.
Clockwise from the left these included the :
Convair F-106 Delta Dart,
North American F100 Super Sabre,
McDonnell F-101 Voodoo,
Convair F-102 Delta Dagger,
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter,
Republic F105 Thunderchief.
Three of them (F-100, F-1 01, and F-102 ) were powered by the Pratt & Whitney J57 engine;
Two of them (F-105 and F-106) were powered by the Pratt & Whitney J75 engine;
One (F-104) was powered by the General Electric J79 engine-all hallmarks.
Three (F-100, F-101, and F-102) were capable of level-flight supersonic speeds,
Three (F-104, F-105, and F-106) were capable of level-flight doublesonic speeds.
After their respective flight-test programs at Edwards, each type became operational and had fine careers before they were retired

First flown at Edwards on 25 May 1953 by North American chief test pilot George Welch, the first of two YF-100 Super Sabre prototypes (shown) exceeded the speed of sound in level flight (Mach number 1.10 or 745mph at 35,000ft).
Supersonic flight speeds were not new in 1953, but in level flight, by a combat-type airplane, they sure were.
And to prove it wasn't a fluke, he did it again on a second test hop that very same day.
Powered by one afterburning 13,200lb-thrust Pratt & Whitney YJ57-P-7 turbojet engine, the YF-100 ultimately attained a speed of 890mph (Mach number 1.3).
The single-seat YF-100 had a wingspan of 36ft 7in, a length of 47ft 1-1/4in, a height of 16ft 3in, and a gross weight of 24,780lb.
The F-100 has the distinction of being the first of the so-called Century Series of jet-powered Air Force fighters.
One of these, the North American F-107 Ultra Sabre, was in fact derived from the F-100 Super Sabre. Due to the success of the two YF-100s, in all North American went on to produce more than 2,300 Super Sabres in four versions-the F-100A, F-1 DOC, F-100D, and HOOF.
Rockwell

The main mission of the McDonnell F-101 B Voodoo, developed under Weapon System 217, was that of all-missile-armed all-weather air-defense interceptor.
The first F-101 B (shown), after a successful first flight at McDonnell's St. Louis, Missouri, facility on 27 March 1957, was ferried to Edwards for ongoing flight-test and armament-evaluation activities.
The tandem-seat F-101 B had a wingspan of 39ft 8in, a length of 71 ft 1in, a height of 18ft, and a gross weight of 45,460Ib.
Powered by two afterburning 17,000lb-thrust-class Pratt & Whitney J57 -P-55 turbojet engines, the B-Voodoo had a top speed of 1,100mph (Mach number 1.69) at 35,000ft.
The all-missile-armed F-101B was very similar to the all-cannon-armed F-101A.
It could carry two Douglas AIR-2 Genie nuclear air-to-air unguided rockets or three Hughes AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air guided missiles.
The first F-1 01 A, with McDonnell test pilot Bob Little at the controls, made its first flight at Edwards on 29 September 1954.
Little also made the first flight of the first F-101 B.
McDonnell Douglas.

The F-102 was a supersonic second generation fighter designed in the early 1950s for the US Air Force.
The primary mission of the aircraft was to intercept columns of Soviet nuclear bombers attempting to reach targets in the US and destroy them with air-to-air missiles.
The technologies incorporated into the aircraft were state-of-the-art for the day.
The F-102 set many firsts, including the first all-weather delta-winged combat aircraft, the first fighter capable of maintaining supersonic speed in level flight, and the first interceptor to have an armament entirely of missiles.
Among the many innovations incorporated into the design were the use of the area rule to reduce aerodynamic drag and an advanced electronic fire control system capable of guiding the aircraft to a target and automatically launching its missiles.
The F-102 made its first flight in 1953 and entered service with the Air Defense Command (ADC) in 1956. About 1,000 Delta Daggers were built making the type one of the most widely built fighters of its era.
Even when supplemented by the related and improved F-106 Delta Dart, the F-102 remained one of the most important aircraft in the ADC through the mid-1960s.
Convair

Republic F-103 Thunder Warrior
This is not a cruise missile but Republic F-103.
It was up-too-date jet fighter.
Pilot needed to watcth periscope to see forward.
Only little skylights attached for see upward, or to soften closed and tight feeling.
Material of body mainly used by titanium.
Powered by turbo-ram-jet engine for over mach 3 speed in high altitude.
By the reason of too reckless speck, exploration cost raised awfully.
And the comparison SAM with F-103, SAM estimated better cost performance than F-103.
So this project cancelled at mockup stage, August 1957.
Intercepter require assigned by F-102, rather conventional airplane than F-103, as planned from the beginning.

Developed under Weapon System 303A, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter's primary mission was that of a high-speed, high-altitude (with a rapid climb rate) air-superiority day fighter.
Though its mission was later changed to that of an air-defense fighter-interceptor, it retained its dog-fight capability.
The first of two XF-104s was first powered by an interim non-afterburning Wright J65 turbojet engine. Later, with an afterburning version of the interim J65 engine, the second XF-104 (shown) hit a top speed of 1, 150mph (Mach number 1.79).
First flown at Edwards on 5 March 1954 (the official first flight date) by famed Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier, the XF-104 became the first jet-powered airplane in the world to exceed 1 ,000mph (Mach number 1.52) in level flight.
Dubbed the "missile with a man in it," due to its rocket-like shape, the F-104 holds the distinction of being the worlds first doublesonic fighter.
The single-place XF-1 04 had a wingspan of 22ft 9in (without wing-tip fuel tanks), a length of 49ft 1 in, a height of 13ft 4in, and a gross weight of 16,700Ib.
Both XF-104s crashed to destruction during their careers.
Their success, however, led to the production of more than 2,575 F-104s.
Lockheed

Developed under Weapon System 306A, the Republic F-105 Thunderchief's main mission was that of an all-weather, supersonic fighter-bomber for the US Air Force's Tactical Air Command (now Air Combat Command).
Moreover, it had to be capable of performing the air-superiority role, and it had to be able to carry and deliver a "special," or nuclear weapon.
Powered by an interim, afterburning 15,000lb-thrust Pratt & Whitney J57-P-25 turbojet engine on that first flight, it hit 710mph (Mach number 1.05) at 30,000ft in level-attitude flight.
Later, with NASA's Area Rule application to eliminate unwanted drag in the transonic speed regime (600-800mph) and with the more-powerful, afterburning 25,500lb-thrust Pratt & Whitney J75-P-3 turbojet engine, the subsequent YF-1 05Bs (four were built; number three is shown), easily romped to 1,541 mph (Mach number 2.3).
In the end, as a doublesonic tactical fighter-bomber and air-superiority fighter, the F-105 was a success. Its ability finally led to the production of more than 800 Thunderchiefs in three basic models: the F-105B, F-1050 and F-105F.
It was the last fighter produced by the Republic Aviation Corporation.

Convair F-106 Delta Dart
F-106 was Advanced F-102. Same object, same shape, same factory.
More simply shaped body, advanced weapon system, high-level networked airplane.
So the job of its pilot is to bring genie for appointed airspace.
Pilot maybe a AAM booster controler, no dog-fight was mentioned.
Then F-106 could be effective only inner U.S. Mainland where could maintain such a network systems.
Genie was not guided missile.
So it have a nuclear warhead. 3,150 nuclear heads made.

A seventh Century Series fighter-the North American F-107 Ultra Sabre, appeared at Edwards in late 1956.
Powered by one afterburning 24,500lb-thrust Pratt & Whitney J75-P-9 turbojet engine, the first of three F-107 aircraft (shown) made its first flight on 10 September 1956 with North American test pilot J. Robert "Bob" Baker at the controls.
Developed as a dual-role airplane-that is, it pulled double duty as an air-superiority fighter and a fighter bomber-it competed with Republic's F-105 Thunderchief.
Following a very hard-fought competition, the Thunderchief prevailed, and the F-107 became a foot note in aviation history.
Still, with its unique dorsal inlet system and top speed of 1,541 mph (Mach number 2.3), it was not immediately put out to pasture.
Because of the Ultra Sabre's speed, NASA used two of them for several years at Edwards to bolster its aeronautical knowledge.
Despite its capabilities, the F-107 was not a significant leap ahead in the so-called state of the art. However, both the Air Force and the NASA got their money's worth out of the three F-107 aircraft as they did provide valuable flight-test information during the late 1950s.
Rockwell

North American F-108 Rapier
F-108 was planned for support for B-70, mach 3 class bomber.
It is needed the ability of high speed cruise for long-range.
Then the body was to be big, nearly 30 meters length.
The shape of F-108 was smart, with co-delta wings, three vertical wings.
When F-108 cancelled, the figure changed stepped delta wing and the upper part of side vertical wings cutted.

X-planes at Edwards - Steve Pace