The Lockheed NF-104A was an American mixed-power, high-performance, supersonic aerospace trainer that served as a low-cost astronaut training vehicle for the North American X-15 and the projected Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar. Three aircraft were converted from Lockheed F-104A Starfighter airframes and flew with the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilots School between 1963 and 1971. Besides the General Electric J79 jet engine each carried a Rocketdyne AR2-3 rocket burning JP-4 and hydrogen peroxide, plus a reaction control system of small thrusters in the nose and wingtips for flight where air is too thin for ordinary control surfaces. The wingspan was extended, the tail enlarged and the cannon and radar removed. The aircraft climbed above 120,000 feet, and one was destroyed in an accident flown by Chuck Yeager that was told in The Right Stuff.
Facts
Engine Class Engine Class Maximum Mass (kg) Comparison
Body StyleAircraft (no road body style) 1 Connections
Exemplifies
Source Lockheed NF-104A (Wikipedia)
Of Make
Source Lockheed NF-104A (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Lockheed NF-104A (Wikipedia)
Lead
is an American mixed-power, high-performance, supersonic aerospace trainer
Rocket engine
In addition to the standard General Electric J79 jet engine, a Rocketdyne AR2-3 rocket engine was fitted at the base of the vertical fin.
Operational history, First NF-104A
It is on display at Nevada County Air Park, Grass Valley, California.
Operational history, First NF-104A, year
was accepted by the USAF on 1 October 1963
Specifications (NF-104A)
Empty weight: 13,500 lb (6,123 kg)
Specifications (NF-104A), maximum mass
Gross weight: 21,400 lb (9,707 kg)
Lead, manufacturer
Three aircraft were modified from existing Lockheed F-104A Starfighter airframes
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