THE AIRCRAFT THAT SAVED THE PROJECT

    In 1954 the F-102 program was in big trouble. The Air Force was threatening to cancel  because the 102 couldn't meet specifications, one of which was to exceed Mach 1 in level flight. Convair embarked on a major redesign program to save the 102. The most prominent new feature of the modified aircraft was a longer fuselage with a "pinched" or "coke-bottle" waist. This was the first application of the "Area Rule" developed at NACA by Richard Whitcomb.

   This aircraft, 53-1787,  the first of four YF-102As, was rolled out at San Diego just 117 days after redesign was started. It was trucked to Edwards AFB and took off on its maiden flight on Dec. 20, 1954. The aircraft went supersonic on climb-out much to the surprise of all including Dick Johnson the chief test pilot at the controls. Further flights demonstrated that the 102A met all the requirements of the contract. Over 800 102s were built and they played a major role in the defense of our country.

   I want to thank Eddie Peebles, an engineer who worked on the 102 project at Edwards AFB, for calling these facts to my attention and supplying many of the details.--Tom Isbell