Evening star., 1949-02-09
5tratojet Spans U. 5.
In Record 81 Hours
On Routine Flight
By CharIes J. Yorbrouah

By ChorIes }. Yorbroueh
The Air Force is planning a new
and improved Stratojet bomber
Is per cent more powerful than
the XB-47 which streaked into
Andrews Air Force Base yesterday
after crossing the continent in less
than four hours.
Ten OF the later models have
been ordered.
The Boeing jet craft which
landed at Andrews yesterday three
hours and 46 minutes after teav-
ing Moses Lake, Wash, is one OF
two unimproved early models now
In existence.
Air Force officials generalizeo
the sleek Boeing's performance
termed it a routine" mission and
acknowledge little more than the
facts that it's average speed OF
6072 miles an hour for the 2,28s
miles was above 10000 feet all
the way"
The six-engine jet bomber en-
ploying sharp sweepback of wings
and tail. took off from Moses
Lake, Was b., at 1922 am, Pacific
Standard Time, and landed here
at 2:08 pm, Eastern Standard
Time. In addition to it's 24,00C
pounds of thrust from the six
General Electric J-35 engines, il
is equipped with 18 jet-assisted
take-off units, each giving 1000
pounds thrust, but it used none for
the Moses Lake takeoff.
Routine Flight" to Pilots.
To the pilot, Maj. Russell E.
Schleeh of San Francisco. and the
Maj. Joseph w. Howell
of Borden. Ind. the flight was
routine" said Maj. Schleeh.
I'VE were above the overcast
most of the way, and for about
half the trip we did not see the
ground. 1t handles very nicely
and is quite an improvement. 1t
is simple to fly"
The fight, which took the
plane on a circle route 20 miles
south of Chicago, trimmed q
minutes and % seconds from the
all-type. west-to -to-east speed rec
ord of four hours 13 minutes. es-
tablished in 1916 by an F-80 jet
fighter.
The fastest previous bomber
time from the West Coast Bur
bank, Calif.D to Floyd Bennett
Field, New York. was five hours
27 minutes-established by a BIG
bomber in 1945.
Chute Checks Landing.
The Stratojet whipped out its
red deceleration chute as it
touched down at Andrews, the
3O-foot umbrella braking its air
speed; but the whine OF its six
engines could be heard plainly
across the field.
It first appeared over the neld
at $4,000 feet and shortly there
after, while circling at $50 miles
an hour, cone-shaped bullet
nose which feeds the air flow into
the engine snapped off and fell.
1t did not hamper the engines
the crew said. -.
II saw it flip off and back, that's
all. Maj. Howell said.- ,
It's landing speed Is Some
thing over 100 miles per hour;
depending on the weight Of the
airplane,' Maj. Schleeh said
warily. He refused to disclose its
fuel consumption rate, the indi-
Gated air speed, the, exact altitude
and wind velocity. ...... =
..z-z--r,,e,,. Oxygen Supplied
the cabin. which seats pilot and
co-pilot in tandem under a can
opy similar to those of jet fight
ers. was pressurized to $4,000 feet.
and both men were on oxygen
from he-takeoff.
jet engines operate at greatest
efficiency at high speeds" the
pilot said. I'VE set up a long
range cruise condition to allow
the most economical fuel use"
The Stratojet is classed as a
light bomber in the -mile-an-
hour" speed range and has de-
sign gross weight Of $4,000
pounds. 1t has a wing span OF
l16 feet and is 108 feet long
equivalent to the B-29 in
overall dimensions. It's maximum
range never has been disclosed,
but the Air Force comedies it has
a combat radius of more than 800
miles.
Four of it's engines are mounted
in pairs slung under the wings.
One additional jet is mounted near
each wing tip. It's landing gear is
of the tandem type. with two
double wheel units folding for
ward and aft into the fuselage.
Smaller outrigger wheels retract
into the inboard power plant
nacellaS.
The bomber, one of two now in
operation, is the first of its kind
east of the Mississippi.