Word: a11
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President Johnson had hardly revealed the existence of Lockheed's supersonic A11 last February before the plane and its mission were grounded in controversy. Across the U.S., aviation experts argued that the A11 was built to fly so high (100,000 ft.) and so fast (up to 2,500 m.p.h.) that it could only have been conceived as a successor to the U2, the slow-speed (500 m.p.h.) reconnaissance plane that flew into so much trouble over Russia. But last week the A11 was publicly shown and flown. And the experts quickly reconsidered their judgment. From spearlike nose...
...maiden public flight the A11 clearly demonstrated the agility and speed that will be the hallmark of to morrow's interceptor. But even more to the point, the A-11's role as a fighter plane was obvious to those who inspected it on the ground. There were bomb-bay doors in the craft's belly that hid a covey of four-vaned air-to-air AIM (Air Intercept Missile) missiles...
...silence any further doubt about the A-11's role, the Air Force gave out a brief performance profile of the A11 as interceptor: the two-man (pilot and fire-control officer) plane, for example, can fly from Minneapolis to the northern tip of Hudson's Bay in an hour, and still have enough fuel to return to base. On target, the A11 is all killer, can make a second pass at an enemy bomber in one-fourth the time needed by a more maneuverable but slower F-106. Plans are now to use the plane...
...A11 is aimed at the future, the brand new twin-engined plane rolled out on the test runway at Convair's San Diego plant last week looked like a relic of the past. The tiny (34 ft. long) Charger seemed to be a stubby cousin of World War II's P-38 Lightning...
...squad of paratroopers, take off from a bumpy jungle airfield less than 500 ft. long, land on a strip only 100 ft. in length. For all its old-fashioned air, though, from its twin-boom fuselage to its lofty, boxlike tail, the Charger is as radically new as the A11...