EG-0113-01
In 1951 North American F-86A Sabre (48-291), performed flight investigations for maneuvering accelerations and buffeting characteristics at high altitude with/without wing tip tanks.
During the years 1955 and 1956 the Douglas Aircraft Company D-558-2 Skyrocket filled the need for a research airplane to provide data from full-scale flight testing on the behavior of a swept-wing aircraft in transonic research. North American’s F-86 Sabre furnished the Air Force with an operational sweptwing fighter/fighter bomber airplane. The Sabre and the Skyrocket complemented one another in swept-wing research.
The capabilities of the two were not equal, for the F-86 was simply a fighter airplane with its armament removed and instrumentation installed, while the D-558-2s were research airplanes from the start. Handling qualities data were obtained from both aircraft and comparisons were made. The F-86 flew as chase plane for the Douglas D-558-2 series flights…Learn more