B-58 Hustler
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Certainly some successes, but it's difficult to know what percentage of the accidents here would have been survivable with other escape methods:
B-58A Ejection Seat History
STH
B-58A Ejection Seat History
STH
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B-58 Hustler Link
Here is a link to A web site by Phil Rowe (B-58 DSO) that has some interesting stories and information.
Phil Rowe Web Site
Phil Rowe Web Site
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Last edited by Willard Whyte; 25th Jul 2011 at 15:22.
One of Grover Ted Tate's stories was that if you did not fit into the capsule when it was open, you certainly would by the time it closed...
The need for the capsule was driven by an accident (one of many) in testing, obliquely referred to above. The test involved simulating the failure of an outboard engine at high Mach. The vertical stabilizer failed (yaw load + rudder load?) and the aircraft broke up. None of the crew survived due to the high ejection speed.
The need for the capsule was driven by an accident (one of many) in testing, obliquely referred to above. The test involved simulating the failure of an outboard engine at high Mach. The vertical stabilizer failed (yaw load + rudder load?) and the aircraft broke up. None of the crew survived due to the high ejection speed.
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Flight Characteristics of a 1/15 Scale Model
A link to a NASA Technical Report for you (declassified - ish).
Investigation of the low-speed flight characteristics of a 1/15-scale model of the Convair XB-58 aeroplane
Investigation of the low-speed flight characteristics of a 1/15-scale model of the Convair XB-58 aeroplane
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Willard Whyte
From that site, it said that it was surprisingly maneuverable for it's size. So I assume it's agility was more fighter like than bomber like.
LowObservable
I was always under the impression that the ejection capsule was conceived after the basic design was outlined but wasn't finished until the plane flew. I'm surprised they didn't factor the low pressure at high altitude and the affect of airspeed on the crew.
If I recall the rudder or the tailfin was prone to a flutter problem which evidently was present at the very least at high mach and airspeed.
One of the better websites for general info on many aircraft is this one:
LowObservable
The need for the capsule was driven by an accident (one of many) in testing, obliquely referred to above.
The test involved simulating the failure of an outboard engine at high Mach. The vertical stabilizer failed (yaw load + rudder load?) and the aircraft broke up. None of the crew survived due to the high ejection speed.
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You might look at this site for more info... B-58 Hustler Association HomePage
This site also has good info: Convair B-58 Hustler
From the second site:
This site discusses the ejection capsules: http://www.ejectionsite.com/eb58caps.htm
The USAF says this: Factsheets : B-58 Escape Capsule
This site also has good info: Convair B-58 Hustler
From the second site:
Several accidents had revealed that the Convair-developed ejection seats were not sufficient to protect the crew throughout the B-58's performance envelope. Consequently, an encapsulated seat built by Stanley Aviation Corporation of Denver, Colorado was adopted.
.....
The B-58 accident rate in 1959 and 1960 had been alarmingly high, which led SAC to delay acceptance of executive responsibility for the aircraft.
The first accident had taken place on Dec 16, 1958, near Cannon AFB, NM when 58-018 was lost. The accident was attributed to a loss of control during normal flight when autotrim and ratio changer were rendered inoperative due to an electrical system failure.
On May 14, 1959, 58-1012 was destroyed by fire during a refueling operation at Carswell AFB.
58-1017 was destroyed on September 16 of that year when a tire blew during takeoff from Carswell AFB.
On October 27, 55-669 was destroyed near Hattiesburg, Mississippi when it lost control during normal flight.
On November 7, 55-664 was destroyed during a high-speed test flight near Lawton, Oklahoma when it disintegrated in midair. Convair test pilot Raymond Fitzgerald and Convair flight engineer Donald A. Siedhof were both killed. The flight was attempting to collect vertical fin side loads data under the conditions of the loss of an engine at high speed. A friend of mine witnessed this accident from the ground. Although the cause of the accident was never adequately explained, it appears that a design flaw in the aircraft's flight control system and defects in the integrity of the vertical fin structure were to blame. There is also the possibility that when the number 4 engine was purposely shut down for the test, number 3 lost thrust as well.
On April 22, 1960 a failure of the Mach/airspeed/air data system caused the loss of 58-1023 near Hill AFB, Utah. On June 4, 1960, 55-0667 was lost due to pilot error while flying at supersonic speed near Lubbock, Texas.
The unusually high accident rate made SAC apprehensive about the reliability of the aircraft in service, and led to postponement of Category III testing. In addition, the Fitzgerald accident raised questions about certain aspects of the control system. As a result, B-58s were restricted to subsonic flight only for nearly a year afterwards until the control system and tail structure could be fixed.
.....
The B-58 accident rate in 1959 and 1960 had been alarmingly high, which led SAC to delay acceptance of executive responsibility for the aircraft.
The first accident had taken place on Dec 16, 1958, near Cannon AFB, NM when 58-018 was lost. The accident was attributed to a loss of control during normal flight when autotrim and ratio changer were rendered inoperative due to an electrical system failure.
On May 14, 1959, 58-1012 was destroyed by fire during a refueling operation at Carswell AFB.
58-1017 was destroyed on September 16 of that year when a tire blew during takeoff from Carswell AFB.
On October 27, 55-669 was destroyed near Hattiesburg, Mississippi when it lost control during normal flight.
On November 7, 55-664 was destroyed during a high-speed test flight near Lawton, Oklahoma when it disintegrated in midair. Convair test pilot Raymond Fitzgerald and Convair flight engineer Donald A. Siedhof were both killed. The flight was attempting to collect vertical fin side loads data under the conditions of the loss of an engine at high speed. A friend of mine witnessed this accident from the ground. Although the cause of the accident was never adequately explained, it appears that a design flaw in the aircraft's flight control system and defects in the integrity of the vertical fin structure were to blame. There is also the possibility that when the number 4 engine was purposely shut down for the test, number 3 lost thrust as well.
On April 22, 1960 a failure of the Mach/airspeed/air data system caused the loss of 58-1023 near Hill AFB, Utah. On June 4, 1960, 55-0667 was lost due to pilot error while flying at supersonic speed near Lubbock, Texas.
The unusually high accident rate made SAC apprehensive about the reliability of the aircraft in service, and led to postponement of Category III testing. In addition, the Fitzgerald accident raised questions about certain aspects of the control system. As a result, B-58s were restricted to subsonic flight only for nearly a year afterwards until the control system and tail structure could be fixed.
The USAF says this: Factsheets : B-58 Escape Capsule
When the supersonic B-58 Hustler entered service in 1961, it had individual ejection seats for its three crew members. However, ejection at speeds above 665 mph was extremely hazardous. To improve ejection survivability, the Stanley Aircraft Corp. developed a high-speed high-altitude capsule ejection system that would allow safe ejection at supersonic speed. The capsule was adopted for retrofit beginning in late 1962, making the B-58 the first USAF aircraft with a capsule ejection system. It was effective throughout the flight envelope up to 70,000 feet and twice the speed of sound.
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I was at Paris in 1961 when the B58 crashed. The rumour among the display pilots was that the Americans had said never mind the Vulcan, they would show how a real aircraft could roll. In the ensuing display it seemed that the aircraft entered a roll/yaw coupling regime and broke up
Dick
Dick
Dick, I found this interesting comment about the crash of 59-2451 on the Internet (I've redacted the names and amended the date to the correct year):
The later B-58 accident at Paris in 1965 occurred when the aircraft landed short of the runway. The pilot was killed and the other 2 crew members were injured.
I was a Staff Sgt. in the 43rd A&E (Armament & Electronics Maint Sqdn.) and worked on the B-58 Bomb/Navigation system from 1960-1966 at both Carswell AFB Texas and Little Rock AFB Arkansas. I remember some of the incidents that were involved in the crash of A/C 451 during the Paris Air Show of 1961. What you have on your web page may be the official news release of the incident, but it's not the story we got. Maj. M**** was our Maint. Officer with the A&E sqdn. The word we got was that the flight crew was ordered to do a slow roll over the trophy presentation when the A/C went into a fog bank and the attitude indicator in the 1st station was referenced to the bomb/nav system instead of the Auxillary Flight Reference System. The B/N system had mechanical limits that were exeeded when the A/C did the slow roll and with the A/C in a fog bank, the AC lost horizontal reference and the A/C ended up upside down on a farm outside Paris. The Wing Commander, Col. J****** was relieved of command shortly afterward. The A/C were all modified to include a secondary attitude indicator referenced to the Auxillary Flight Reference System at all times to make sure something like that never happened again.
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Beagle,
Interesting. Old men forget, but I do not remember fog banks at Le Bourget, certainly not on the day I flew, nor visible from the field on the day of the crash. Anyone out there got wx data? Possibly amend breakup to read departure and loss of control?
Dick
Interesting. Old men forget, but I do not remember fog banks at Le Bourget, certainly not on the day I flew, nor visible from the field on the day of the crash. Anyone out there got wx data? Possibly amend breakup to read departure and loss of control?
Dick
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I seem to remember reading that when violent yaw occured because of an engine fialure an automatic system kicked in opposite rudder to correct it. It was said that the effect on the crew was to smash the helmets on one side of the cockpit as the engine stopped and then on the other side as the rudder applied, all within less than a second.
Cunliffe, I suspect you're thinking of the SR-71 inlet unstart condition? If the inlet shock became unstable, automatic resequencing would occur to restore the correct conditions. At Mach 3+, this was allegedly indeed something of a head-banging event!
Argonautical, many thanks for the vid link. Can't see anything like that ever being auth'd for public viewing (outside Switzerland) these days!
Airpower videos...
...I remember seeing a similar film when I was at South Cerney (video hadn't been invented for the yoof).
The display was opened by a general with a gazillion medals and mirror shades who would not have been out of place as Dr Strangelove.
The highlight was an F-100 demonstrating a lay down delayed bomb which didn't delay. The a/c looked as if it had been booted up the backside and pitched nose down followed by a small figure descending under his 'chute.
Oh and the B-47 pulling up so hard I was sure the wing tips would clap together. I think he rolled off the top and did a 180.
As T-a-B says "you won't get that today".
The Ancient Mariner
The display was opened by a general with a gazillion medals and mirror shades who would not have been out of place as Dr Strangelove.
The highlight was an F-100 demonstrating a lay down delayed bomb which didn't delay. The a/c looked as if it had been booted up the backside and pitched nose down followed by a small figure descending under his 'chute.
Oh and the B-47 pulling up so hard I was sure the wing tips would clap together. I think he rolled off the top and did a 180.
As T-a-B says "you won't get that today".
The Ancient Mariner
Cripes...
I counted nine combat aircraft types of which exactly one (the B-47) had flown more than seven years before that show. And the CIA and Lockheed were hammering out details of the A-12 contract.
I counted nine combat aircraft types of which exactly one (the B-47) had flown more than seven years before that show. And the CIA and Lockheed were hammering out details of the A-12 contract.