Apollo Cabinet Within the past years, we have celebrated the 50th anniversary of two major milestone of the space program: the first landing of man on the moon, Apollo 11, and the rescue of three astronauts on an aborted mission to the moon, Apollo 13. To place men on the moon required a very large…
The Women in Aerospace Exhibit and accompanying school visit curriculum allows students to learn about the accomplishments and careers of the women profiled. Gender stereotypes often dissuade women from pursuing their interests in the subject areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Visitors are invited to question stereotypes about the capabilities of women in…
The Lockheed YO-3A “Quiet Star” is a single-engined, propeller-driven monoplane that was developed for battlefield observation during the Vietnam War. It was designed to be as quiet as possible, and was intended to observe troop movements in near-silence during hours of darkness. The YO-3A was not armed The YO-3A was designed to a U.S. Army…
Flight Proven NV-144 provides Low Risk Airframe for Reconnaissance and Target Payloads A three-year Northrop development program validated the aerodynamics, propulsion, and controllability of the NV-144. Now the Navy, Marines, and Air Force can use this flight-proven vehicle to minimize technical risks in obtaining a common reconnaissance and target unmanned aeronautical vehicle. By adapting payloads…
Teledyne Ryan AQM-34K The AQM-34K was a night reconnaissance version of the Firebee series of targets drones and RPVs (Remotely Piloted Vehicles) and was one of the most successful and versatile unmanned aircraft developed at the time. It was equipped with an infrared strobe and Doppler radar. It had the short wings of the original…
The link trainer pictured is a 1942 Model C-3, the term Link Trainer, also known as the “blue box,” is commonly used to refer to a series of flight simulators produced between the early 1930s and early 1950s by Edwin Albert Link, based on technology he pioneered in 1929 at his family’s business in Binghamton,…
The BD-5 Sport Plane was designed by Jim Bede, assisted by Bert Rutan, in the early 1970’s. It was an experimental homebuilt kit, single seat high performance aircraft. It is a low wing pusher propeller configuration. Design features include all-metal construction, mechanical retractable landing gear, detachable wings, and wrist action side stick control as used…
STS Space Shuttle (model) The Space Shuttle is a reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. As with previous spacecraft, the shuttle is launched from a vertical position. Liftoff thrust is derived from the orbiter’s three…
In mid-1964 Northrop Corporation was contracted by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to produce two allmetal wingless lifting body re-entry research vehicles, based on experience gained with the Northrop M2-F1 glider, which made more than 500 flights in 1963-64. The two new vehicles were designated M2-F2 and HL-10 (Horizontal Landing, 10th concept)…
In 1955, Radioplane developed the Model RP-7l Falconer as a derivative of the OQ-19/MQM-33 series of target drones. The drone was launched by a solid rocket booster from a zero-length launcher, and was recovered by parachute. The RP-7l had onboard still picture (and optional TV) cameras, and was used by the US Army as the…
Designed and flown by Ron Beattie and Walt Fellers, two North American Engineers who came to work for the Northrop Division. The aircraft was built by the Acme Aircraft Company (Sierradyne Inc.) Crawford and Keeney, at the Torrance Airport in late 1948. The first flight was on 23 November 1953. It was built according to…
The YF-23A “Black Widow II” was the Northrop/McDonnell Douglas team’s entry into the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition. The four-way ATF competition pitted the Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23A “Black Widow II” team against the Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics YF-22A “Lightning II” team. The Pratt & Whitney YF119 engine competed with the General Electric YF120 engine. At the end…
The Northrop KD2R5 “Shelduck” basic training drone was used internationally by the armed forces of at least 18 countries. The KD2R5 was used as a training device for ground-to-air gunnery practice. It was also used as a training target for surface-to-air missiles such as the Seacat, Tigercat, Redeye, Blowpipe, Sparrow, Chaparral, Hawk, Sidewinder and Nike.…
The US Army called it the OQ-2A and OQ-2B, while the US Navy called it the TDD-l which stood for “Target Drone, Denny”. No matter what they were called, the RP-5A, OQ-2, TDD-l was very effective antiaircraft training target drones. Up to the introduction of these small target drones, the antiaircraft gunnery crews target practice…
The Northrop RP-76 (US Army AQM-38A) was a high-performance, rocket powered, radio controlled, and recoverable target missile. It was used for surface-to-air, and air-to-air missile firing practice. It was carried to altitude by fighter aircraft and air launched. Since mid-1959, over 2,000 of these targets were ordered by the US armed forces. They were used…
