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49-634: In late 1944, the USN sought proposals for a follow-on aircraft to supplement its first jet fighter, the McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom ; three competing proposals from NAA, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and Vought were selected. The NAA NA-134 was ordered on 1 January 1945 as the XFJ-1 and would be developed in parallel with the Vought F6U Pirate (the competing McDonnell proposal would eventually evolve into

98-625: A great circle route. Hence, in case of an engine failure in a twinjet (like Boeing 777 ), the twin-jet could make emergency landings in fields in Canada , Alaska , eastern Russia , Greenland , Iceland , or the British Isles . The Boeing 777 has also been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for flights between North America and Hawaii , which is the world's longest regular airline route with no diversion airports along

147-510: A podded engine usually mounted beneath, or occasionally above or within, each wing. Most notable examples of such a configuration are the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 . The second has one engine mounted on each side of the rear fuselage, close to its empennage , used by many business jets , although some airliners like the Fokker 70 , Douglas DC-9 and COMAC ARJ21 utilise such a design as well. In

196-591: A September air show in Cleveland, Ohio , nearly caused a head-on low-altitude collision with a large formation of other aircraft; their Phantoms were turned over to test squadron VX-3 . The VMF-122 Phantoms were later used for air show demonstrations until they were taken out of service in 1949, with the team being known alternately as the Marine Phantoms or the Flying Leathernecks . The Phantom's service as

245-489: A frontline fighter would be short-lived. Its limited range and light armament – notably, its inability to carry bombs  – made it best suited for duty as a point-defence interceptor aircraft . However, its speed and rate of climb were only slightly better than existing propeller-powered fighters and fell short of other contemporary jets, such as the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star , prompting concerns that

294-431: A number of engine combinations, varying from eight 9.5 in (24 cm) diameter engines down to two engines of 19 inches (48 cm) diameter. The final design used the two 19 in (48 cm) engines after it was found to be the lightest and simplest configuration. The engines were buried in the wing root to keep intake and exhaust ducts short, offering greater aerodynamic efficiency than underwing nacelles , and

343-639: A production contract was awarded on 7 March 1945 for 100 FD-1 aircraft. With the end of the war, the Phantom production contract was reduced to 30 aircraft, but was soon increased back to 60. The first prototype was lost in a fatal crash on 1 November 1945, but the second and final Phantom prototype ( serial number 48236 ) was completed early the next year and became the first purely jet-powered aircraft to operate from an American aircraft carrier , completing four successful takeoffs and landings on 21 July 1946, from Franklin D. Roosevelt near Norfolk, Virginia . At

392-408: A specified distance from an available diversion airport. Overwater flights near diversion airports need not be ETOPS/LROPS-compliant. Since the 1990s, airlines have increasingly turned from four-engine or three-engine airliners to twin-engine airliners to operate transatlantic and transpacific flight routes. On a nonstop flight from America to Asia or Europe, the long-range aircraft usually follows

441-528: A trijet aircraft) and Boeing worked on new widebody twinjet designs that would become the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 , respectively. The MD-11's long range advantage was brief as it was soon nullified by the Airbus A330-300 and the extended-range Boeing 767-300ER and Boeing 777-200ER. The Airbus A320 twinjet stands out as the most produced jet airliner. The Boeing 777X is the world's largest twinjet, and

490-571: Is a jet aircraft powered by two engines . A twinjet is able to fly well enough to land with a single working engine, making it safer than a single-engine aircraft in the event of failure of an engine. Fuel efficiency of a twinjet is better than that of aircraft with more engines. These considerations have led to the widespread use of aircraft of all types with twin engines, including airliners , fixed-wing military aircraft , and others. There are three common configurations of twinjet aircraft. The first, common on large aircraft such as airliners, has

539-624: Is a twinjet , straight-wing , carrier-based fighter aircraft designed and first flown during late World War II for the United States Navy . As a first-generation jet fighter , the Phantom was the first purely jet-powered aircraft to land on an American aircraft carrier and the first jet deployed by the United States Marine Corps . Although only 62 FH-1s were built it helped prove the viability of carrier-based jet fighters. As McDonnell's first successful fighter, it led to

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588-474: Is not an issue, as one of the engines is more than powerful enough to keep the aircraft aloft (see below). Mostly, ETOPS certification involves maintenance and design requirements ensuring that a failure of one engine cannot make the other one fail also. The engines and related systems need to be independent and (in essence) independently maintained. ETOPS/LROPS is often incorrectly thought to apply only to long overwater flights, but it applies to any flight more than

637-509: The 777X in November 2013, while then-CEO Fabrice Brégier preferred to focus on product improvement rather than all-new concepts for 10 years. It would have a 10-abreast economy like the 777; its 565 m (6,081 sq ft) wing, slightly more than the 747-8, would have an 80 m (262 ft) span, as wide as the A380 , for a 892,900 lb (405 t) MTOW compared to 775,000 lb (352 t) for

686-399: The Boeing 777 , Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 have matched or surpassed older quad-jet designs such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A340 in these aspects, and twinjets have been more successful in terms of sales than quad-jets. In 2012, Airbus studied a 470-seat twinjet competitor for the Boeing 747-8 with lower operating costs expected between 2023 and 2030, revived after Boeing launched

735-484: The McDonnell F2H Banshee ). The XFJ-1 was a straight-wing, tricycle gear fighter with a single General Electric J35 turbojet fed by an intake passing through the fuselage ; to avoid bifurcating the intake and thus increasing drag, the cockpit was placed entirely above the intake duct, giving the aircraft a squat appearance. It was armed with six .50 BMG machine guns mounted next to the air intake, making it

784-735: The 777-200LR variant has the world's second longest aircraft range (behind Airbus A350-900 ULR). Other Boeing twinjets include the 767 , 757 (With the latter having stopped production, but still in commercial service) and 787 . Competitor Airbus produces the A320 family , the A330 , and the A350 . Some modern commercial airplanes still use four engines ( quad-jets ) like the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 , which are classified as very large aircraft (over 400 seats in mixed-class configurations). Four engines are still used on

833-432: The 777X, with a composite structure for an operating empty weight of 467,400 lb (212 t), and a 8,150 nmi (15,090 km) range at Mach 0.85. When flying far from diversionary airports (so called ETOPS/LROPS flights), the aircraft must be able to reach an alternate on the remaining engine within a specified time in case of one engine failure. When aircraft are certified according to ETOPS standards, thrust

882-608: The FJ-1s were phased out afterwards in favor of the new F9F-2 Panther . Ending its service career in U.S. Naval Reserve units, the FJ-1 was eventually retired in 1953. The one highlight in its short service life was VF-51's win in the Bendix Trophy Race for jets in September 1948. The unit entered seven FJ-1s, flying from Long Beach, California to Cleveland, Ohio, with VF-51 aircraft taking

931-836: The Panther or Banshee. In June 1949, VF-171 (VF-17A) re-equipped with the Banshee, and their Phantoms were turned over to VF-172 ; this squadron, along with the NATC, VX-3, and VMF-122, turned over their Phantoms to the United States Naval Reserve by late 1949 after receiving F2H-1 Banshees. The FH-1 would see training duty with the USNR until being replaced by the F9F Panther in July 1954; none ever saw combat, having been retired from frontline service prior to

980-456: The Phantom would be outmatched by future enemy jets it might soon face. Moreover, recent experience in World War II had demonstrated the value of naval fighters that could double as fighter-bombers , a capability the Phantom lacked. Finally, the aircraft exhibited some design deficiencies – its navigational avionics were poor, it could not accommodate newly developed ejection seats , and

1029-399: The designation XFD-1 was assigned. Under the 1922 United States Navy aircraft designation system , the letter "D" before the dash designated the aircraft's manufacturer. The Douglas Aircraft Company had previously been assigned this letter, but the USN elected to reassign it to McDonnell because Douglas had not provided any fighters for navy service in years. McDonnell engineers evaluated

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1078-541: The development of the follow-on F2H Banshee , which was one of the two most important naval jet fighters of the Korean War ; combined, the two established McDonnell as an important supplier of navy aircraft. McDonnell chose to bring the name back with the third-generation, Mach 2-capable McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II , the most versatile and widely used Western combat aircraft of the Vietnam War era. The FH Phantom

1127-503: The engine exhaust path and reducing the risk that the hot blast would damage the aircraft carrier deck. The construction methods and aerodynamic design of the Phantom were fairly conventional for the time; the aircraft had unswept wings, a conventional empennage , and an aluminum monocoque structure with flush riveted aluminum skin. Folding wings were used to reduce the width of the aircraft in storage configuration. Provisions for four .50-caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns were made in

1176-411: The engines were angled slightly outwards to protect the fuselage from the hot exhaust blast. Placement of the engines in the middle of the airframe allowed the cockpit with its bubble-style canopy to be placed ahead of the wing, granting the pilot excellent visibility in all directions. This engine location also freed up space under the nose, allowing designers to use tricycle gear , thereby elevating

1225-559: The first USMC combat squadron to deploy jets. VF-17A became the USN's first fully operational jet carrier squadron when it deployed aboard USS  Saipan on 5 May 1948. The Phantom was one of the first jets used by the U.S. military for exhibition flying. Three Phantoms used by the Naval Air Test Center were used by a unique demonstration team called the Gray Angels , whose members consisted entirely of naval aviators holding

1274-543: The first XFD-1, serial number 48235 , was completed in January 1945, only one Westinghouse 19XB-2B engine was available for installation. Ground runs and taxi tests were conducted with the single engine, and such was the confidence in the aircraft that the first flight on 26 January 1945 was made with only the one turbojet engine. During flight tests, the Phantom became the first U.S. Navy aircraft to exceed 500 mph (434 kn, 805 km/h). With successful completion of tests,

1323-467: The first four places, ahead of two California Air National Guard Lockheed F-80 Shooting Stars . Data from United States Navy Aircraft since 1911 General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists [REDACTED] Media related to North American FJ-1 Fury at Wikimedia Commons McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom The McDonnell FH Phantom

1372-526: The introduction of ETOPS rules that allowed twin-engine jets to fly long-distance routes that were previously off-limits to them, Airbus was able to further develop the A300 as a medium- to long-range airliner to increased sales; Boeing launched its widebody twinjet, the Boeing 767 , in response. In the 1980s the Boeing 727 was discontinued, as its central engine bay would require a prohibitively expensive redesign to accommodate quieter high-bypass turbofans, and it

1421-449: The largest cargo aircraft capable of transporting outsize cargo , including strategic airlifters . Twin-jets tend to be more fuel-efficient than trijet (three engine) and quad-jet (four engine) aircraft. As fuel efficiency in airliners is a high priority, many airlines have been increasingly retiring trijet and quad-jet designs in favor of twinjets in the twenty-first century. The trijet designs were phased out first, in particular due to

1470-479: The last aircraft ordered by the USN to use .50 BMG guns as its primary armament. The wing, empennage , and canopy strongly resembled that of the piston-engined P-51D Mustang, North American Aviation's highly successful World War II fighter, enclosing a relocated cockpit accommodation further forward in relation to the Mustang's design, to ensure good forward pilot visibility for carrier operations. The first flight of

1519-551: The location of the machine guns in the upper nose caused pilots to be dazzled by muzzle flash . The F2H Banshee and Grumman F9F Panther , both of which began flight tests around the time of the Phantom's entry into service, better satisfied the navy's desire for a versatile, long-range, high-performance jet. Consequently, the FH-1 saw little weapons training, and was primarily used for carrier qualifications to transition pilots from propeller-powered fighters to jets in preparation for flying

North American FJ-1 Fury - Misplaced Pages Continue

1568-410: The more complicated design and maintenance issues of the middle engine mounted on the stabilizer. Early twinjets were not permitted by ETOPS restrictions to fly long-haul trans-oceanic routes, as it was thought that they were unsafe in the event of failure of one engine, so quad-jets were used. Quad-jets also had higher carrying capacity than comparable earlier twinjets. However, later twinjets such as

1617-614: The nose, while racks for eight 5 in (130 mm) High Velocity Aircraft Rockets could be fitted under the wings, although these were seldom used in service. Adapting a jet to carrier use was a much greater challenge than producing a land-based fighter because of slower landing and takeoff speeds required on a small carrier deck. The Phantom used split flaps on both the folding and fixed wing sections to enhance low-speed landing performance, but no other high-lift devices were used. Provisions were also made for Rocket Assisted Take Off (RATO) bottles to improve takeoff performance. When

1666-488: The original aircraft was still under development – a proposal that would lead to the design of the Phantom's replacement, the F2H Banshee . Although the new aircraft was originally envisioned as a modified Phantom, the need for heavier armament, greater internal fuel capacity, and other improvements eventually led to a substantially heavier and bulkier aircraft that shared few parts with its agile predecessor. Despite this,

1715-687: The outbreak of the Korean War . In 1964, Progressive Aero, Incorporated of Fort Lauderdale, Florida purchased three surplus Phantoms, intending to use them to teach civilians how to fly jets. A pair were stripped of military equipment and restored to flying condition, but the venture was unsuccessful, and the aircraft were soon retired once again. Data from Naval Fighters #3 : McDonnell FH-1 Phantom, and McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920 General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Twinjet A twinjet or twin-engine jet

1764-460: The production run, the navy reassigned the designation letter "D" back to Douglas, with the Phantom being redesignated FH-1. Including the two prototypes, a total of 62 Phantoms were finally produced, with the last FH-1 rolling off the assembly line in May 1948. Realizing that the production of more powerful jet engines was imminent, McDonnell engineers proposed a more powerful variant of the Phantom while

1813-489: The prototype XFJ-1 was conducted on 27 November 1946, and the first of 30 deliveries of the improved NA-141 , designated FJ-1 , took place in March 1948. Flown by Navy squadron VF-5A , the FJ-1 made the USN's first operational aircraft carrier landing with a jet fighter at sea on 10 March 1948 aboard USS  Boxer , pioneering US jet-powered carrier operations and underscoring the need for catapult -equipped carriers. The Fury

1862-401: The rank of rear admiral ( Daniel V. Gallery , Apollo Soucek and Edgar A. Cruise .) The team's name was an obvious play on the name of the recently formed U.S. Navy Blue Angels , who were still flying propeller-powered Grumman F8F Bearcats at the time. The "Grays" flew in various air shows during the summer of 1947, but the team was abruptly disbanded after their poorly timed arrival at

1911-670: The third configuration both engines are within the fuselage, side-by-side, used by most fighters since the 1960s. Later fighters using this configuration include the Su-27 'Flanker', the F-15 Eagle , and the F-22 Raptor . The first twinjet to fly was the German fighter prototype Heinkel He 280 , flying in April 1941 with a pair of nacelled Heinkel HeS 8 axial-flow turbojets. The twinjet configuration

1960-506: The time, she was the largest carrier serving with the U.S. Navy, allowing the aircraft to take off without assistance from a catapult . The second prototype crashed on 26 August 1946. Production Phantoms incorporated a number of design improvements. These included provisions for a flush-fitting centerline drop tank , an improved gunsight, and the addition of speed brakes . Production models used Westinghouse J30 -WE-20 engines with 1,600 lbf (7.1 kN) of thrust per engine. The top of

2009-532: The two aircraft were similar enough that McDonnell was able to complete its first F2H-1 in August 1948, a mere three months after the last FH-1 had rolled off the assembly line. The first Phantoms were delivered to USN fighter squadron VF-17A (later redesignated VF-171) in August 1947; the squadron received a full complement of 24 aircraft on 29 May 1948. Beginning in November 1947, Phantoms were delivered to United States Marine Corps squadron VMF-122 , making it

North American FJ-1 Fury - Misplaced Pages Continue

2058-472: The type from Boxer in March 1948 and from USS Princeton in August 1948, but operations did not go well, and the aircraft proved to have weak landing gear . One of the four FJ-1s to operate from Princeton was destroyed in a hard landing on arrival and went over the side; fortunately the pilot was rescued, but further accidents resulted in the cancellation of the operations after only two days. Although VF-51 went to sea on Boxer one more time in May 1949,

2107-420: The vertical tail had a more square shape than the rounder tail used on the prototypes, and a smaller rudder was used to resolve problems with control surface clearance discovered during test flights. The horizontal tail surfaces were shortened slightly, while the fuselage was stretched by 19 in (48 cm). The amount of framing in the windshield was reduced to enhance pilot visibility. Halfway through

2156-450: The way. On large passenger jets, the cost of the engines makes up a significant proportion of the plane's final cost. Each engine also requires separate service, paperwork, and certificates. Having two larger engines as opposed to three or four smaller engines will typically significantly reduce both the purchase and maintenance costs of a plane. Regulations governing the required thrust levels for transport aircraft are typically based upon

2205-513: The wings made them unfeasible. To conserve carrier deck space, a "kneeling" nose gear strut along with a swiveling "jockey wheel" allowed the FJ-1 to be stacked tail-high, close to another FJ-1. Before the first production FJ-1 was even delivered, the initial order for 100 units was trimmed to only 30 because more promising naval fighter designs had entered development. The production aircraft were initially used in testing at NAS North Island , California. VF-5A , soon redesignated as VF-51, operated

2254-447: Was capable of launching without catapult assistance, but on a crowded flight deck the capability was of limited use. Taking off without a catapult launch limited the FJ-1 to a perilous, slow climb that was considered too risky for normal operations. As German research into swept wing aerodynamics was not yet available when the design was finalized, the FJ-1 used a straight wing. Folding wings were not used because dive brakes mounted in

2303-577: Was originally designated the FD Phantom , but this was changed as the aircraft entered production. In early 1943, aviation officials at the United States Navy were impressed with McDonnell's audacious XP-67 Bat project. McDonnell was invited by the navy to cooperate in the development of a shipboard jet fighter, using an engine from the turbojets under development by Westinghouse Electric Corporation . Three prototypes were ordered on 30 August 1943 and

2352-648: Was soon supplanted by twinjets for the narrow-body market; Airbus with the A320 , and Boeing with the 757 and updated "classic" variants of the 737 . During that decade only McDonnell Douglas continued development of the trijet design with an update to the DC-10 , the MD-11 , which initially had a range advantage over its closest medium wide-body competitors which were twinjets, the in-production Boeing 767 and Airbus A300/A310. In contrast to McDonnell Douglas sticking with their existing trijet configuration, Airbus (which never produced

2401-474: Was used for short-range narrow-bodied aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737 . The Airbus A300 was initially not successful when first produced as a short-range widebody, as airlines operating the A300 on short-haul routes had to reduce frequencies to try and fill the high-capacity aircraft, and lost passengers to airlines operating more frequent narrow-body flights. However, after

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