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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 28, 1962)
Flight in Starfighter Jet Said Fast, Astonishing Page in History I plane Lt. run away with him " Ihis plane, grinned. And I Sensen. standing beside I think he winked. (Editor't not: From iha waspish Messtrschmitts of Hitler's Air Force to American-built Starfighter Jets flown by West Germany's 1962 aces is a fast. - and astonishing page In the history of our times. In this dispatch a UPI reporter tells of a flight with one of the new German mill tary pilots in a Starfighter. in which he took oyer con trol of the plane for a time, and what German fliers think of the plane). MEDFORDJSiTRIBUNE SECTION B MEDFORD. OREGON, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 1962 PAGES 1 to 8 By CAY BROCKDORFF United Press International Noervcnich. Germany-flJPD-Licut. Hermann Sensen, con fident, crewcut and 24 years old, gunned the jet engine. Quieting, as if about to take his automobile around the corner, he said "Let's go." He unlocked the brakes and with a roar the Luftwaffe jet shot forward. Barely 90 seconds later the American-designed jet fight er, its iron cross glinting in stark contrast to its silver fuselage, was gliding smooth ly above the Rhine river at nn altitude of 26,000 feet. Found Out I had always wondered what it was like to fly in a supersonic jet. I found out in those 90 seconds. At takeoff the plane had moved a few feet down the runway when something hap pened that slammed me, strapped into the co-pilnts seat, back into my seat with nearly crushing force. Pushing the throttle to its most forward position, Sen sen had ignited the two-stage afterburner in split second intervals. Then, long flames spouting from its tailpipe, the needle-nosed F104 "Star fighter" raced screaming down the runway. After a short, 1, 700-foot run, it was airborne. Sensen retracted gear and flaps and nosed us up into the sky like a rocket- There was continuous acceleration as the plane zoomed up and up, increas ing speed like a race car on a flat road. The altimeter needle, indi cating the plane's climb, circled madly as the jet crashed the sound barrier even before reaching the peak of its skybound trajectory. Leveling off in a deep blue sky, Sensen, his even breath ing sounding reassuring through the supersensitive communication system, an nounced "You have just wit nessed what we call a full afterburner's climb out." The Lockheed-d e s i g n e d F104, picked by West Ger many to become its standard jet interceptor and tactical nuclear strike bomber, estab lished a world record with its incredible one and one half minute performance from standstill to 26,000 feet. The airplane was chosen by German Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Joseph Kammhu ber for its outstanding per formance and ability to carry an enormous quantity of elec tronic gear. The young pilots of the new Germany call it a "pilot's plane." "She handles beautifully and when it comes to per formance there is nothing, just nothing like it," Sensen said. Germany's still fledgling Luftwaffe will eventually fly 12 interceptor, fighter bomber and reconnaissance wings equipped with the bullet-shaped Starfighter, whose short trapeze-shaped wings feature razor-sharp edges pro tected on the ground by felt lined metal covers. Sensen, one of the best su personic pilots of the Luft waffe, was picked to check out German pilots with ex perience on slower jets and get them used to the hot new plane. Mach Two Run Our jet had hardly leveled off at 26,000 feet when Sen sen's voice was again over the intercom. "Here comes the Mach two run," he an nounced. Hardly had he spo ken before the afterburner, spouting more flames, kicked the F104 through the sky In another fantastic hurst of acceleration. The Machmeter, indicating the plane's velocity relative to the speed of sound, hit Mach 1.6 and Mach 18 in barely a few seconds. "Mach two (twice ti e speed of sound)," Sensen said through his microphone. 'I'll cut out the afterburner." Hurtling through the wild blue yonder at 1.400 miles per hour, we might have been sit ting in a glider as far as rim fort and sense of motion was concerned. Climb Mora "We'll use our speed to climb some more," said Sen sen. And again we nosed upward until the plane's al timeter needle indicated 50, 000 feet. "If you want to lake her now go ahead," said Sensen. "And don't worry. I'll help you before you get into trouble." Timidly, but with a feeling of immense exhilaration, I "took her." With Sensen giv ing tense attention I guided the plane through several careful banks. My confidence built up by Sensen's encouraging "try some more," I rolled the Star fighter. first slowly, then fas ter. The plane responded smoothly under my inexperi enced hands. "Now climb," Sensen or : dered- At the same time he I indicated that I should jerk the stick back. I did and the stick started bucking wildly. Sensen later explained that the "bucking" was a built-in automatic warning. "It tells us in time of a full power stallout common in some of the very fast jets," he said. The plane, meanwhile, had slowed 'under Sensen's guid ance to just under the sound barrier. "We must not go through the sonic barrier at under 36,000 feet or hell is breaking loose when we get back," Sensen said. "We will have complaints over windows bro ken by the iconic boom." lt was the smoothest land ing I had ever experienced, scores nf airline landings in cluded. Major !i;tns Ulrich Flarie, the squadron leader, was waiting as the canopy was opened and our oxygen masks unfastened for the first gulps of fresh air. We had been up and down in just 43 minutes. "The men we need to pilot this airplane must stay on top of it," the major said. "This is a psychological pre requisite to which pilot skill is secondary. Never must the pilot let this extraordinary ALL UNION BARBER SHOPS WILL BE CLOSED TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY JULY 3 AND 4 LOCAL 269 BARBERS i SHOP OWNERS UNION Register Today! 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