Convair XF-92A Model 7002 (1948)
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Published 2011-01-05
The Convair Model 7002 was completed in 1948 as a flying mock-up for the proposed delta wing XP-92 interceptor. (In 1948 the Air Force changed the designation from P for pursuit to F for fighter.) The XP-92 was to be powered with a new propulsion system that consisted of a ramjet engine with several small rockets inside the combustion chamber. It would have been a short range, Mach 1.65 interceptor with a flight time at altitude of 5.4 minutes. The Model 7002 was designed to investigate delta wing behavior at low and high subsonic speeds.
When the XP-92's engine proved impractical to build, the project was shelved in 1948. Even as the XP-92 program was ending, the Model 7002 was being prepared to fly. The 7002 was initially powered by an Allison J33-A-23 turbojet engine and later the J33-A-29 turbojet with afterburner. It was formally delivered to the USAF on May 14, 1949, and named the XF-92. It was flown by Air Force test pilots until its nose gear collapsed on landing on Oct. 14, 1953, ending its flying career. With the experience gained from the XF-92 program, Convair was able to win the competition for the "1954 Interceptor" program and to build the successful delta-wing F-102.
Only one XF-92A was built; it was delivered to the museum in 1969 from the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.
U.S. Air Force Test Base in Muroc, California. This film covers the first test flight of the Model 7002 (Air Force designation, XF-92A). The scenes show the XF-92A No. 6682 as it was being towed from its hangar by tug, the pilot as he boarded the aircraft, fast taxi tests, a low flight over the runway, takeoff and landing. The film also includes aerial shots of the XF-92A in flight and as it approached for landing.
National Archives and Records Administration - ARC Identifier 66653 / Local Identifier 342-USAF-22783 - Research Tests of Convair Model 7002 Airplane - Department of Defense. Department of the Air Force. (09/26/1947).
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All Comments (21)
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It should be noted that delta wing aircraft like the XF-92 and follow on F-102 were not capable of supersonic speeds in level flight untill the countour of the fuselage was changed to a coke bottle like shape that was the basis of the so called "area rule."
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Highly educational. Thank you for uploading.
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Great watching these old videos....thanks for posting!
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Hope this old girl is sitting preserved in a museum.
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Thanks. Very interesting video.
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For 1948 this plane was way ahead of its time. It looks like, later, Delta Darts or Delta Daggers.
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It's great to watch these videos of #aviationhistory
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Just in time, I was researching on a delta wing design for my RC plane
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Snazzy aircraft, considering that Chuck Jaeger flew super-sonic just 2 years earlier. But boy-oh-boy is that a big rudder.
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Wow! Nice vid Air...I was born in 1948...Along time ago!
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Forward swept wing design is also good. In rocketry I used such designs.
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Futuristic.
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You can see the big tail that the 102 had to be retro fitted with. Mainly the 102 suffering from low power jets of the time. Put an F 16 engine in one and see how she performs. It was intended to intercept in coming bombers. With more power and area rule waist it probably would still be formidable in certain roles.
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This video has sold me on a 60 degree sweep for ALL aircraft
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From what I read, Chuck Yeager and Scott Crossfield did not have a high opinion of this aircraft (it's J33 engine being underpowered did not help).
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Area rule fuselage. Did the supersonic prototype English Electric Lightening (F1) have area rule? The Mach 1.2 P1 definitely did not - I was looking at the original just 2 days ago.
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Brought to you by the makers of lawn dart!
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60° is rather a lot 55° are more common. That they encountered lower drag than predicted was normal, the theory of supersonic flight was off back then, they didn't know that the drag becomes lower once the shock-wave is penetrated. The engine in- and out-lets look small.
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TZis ist zee Lippisch mobile....the same fellah that gave us the sound breaking Me163 Komet.
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Very educational. What is up with that burned out airplane at 6:15? Looks like it was a B-29 that did a belly landing & caught fire.
