Message posted by Mark Lincoln on July 30, 2011 at 20:42:26 PST:
North American had a lot on the table in the late 1950s. The F-108, B-70 and Navaho. Clearly it decided to propose a modified F-100 rather than create a design intended to address the specification. The F-105 met the specification and had the ability to perform the tasks which later were demanded of it. But then Republic was hungry following the end of the F-84 program. Could the F-107 had performed the job the F-105 did over North Vietnam? No. It lacked the low-altitude performance necessary as well as the ability to carry the amount of conventional bombs the Thud could. The F-107 was the end of a development cycle of a great design. The F-100D proved that the Hun could be evolved into a tactical fighter but it was tapped out, suitable for Route Pack 1 or Steel Tiger, but not Barrel Roll or going Downtown. The F-105 had room to develop into the aircraft needed and not just the aircraft requested. It could have benefited from increased hydraulic redundancy, but then the war it was intended to fight was as often as not a one-way mission with the pilot walking home.
In Reply to: Re: Edwards History video for August posted by Andre' M. Dall'au on July 30, 2011 at 16:54:16 PST:
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