Happy Landing

One of the hottest issues around only two years ago, the bitter, all-but-forgotten TFX controversy, surfaced in a new form last week. What the fracas had boiled down to was that the U.S.

Navy needed a new, supersonic jet fighter that could get off an aircraft carrier's deck in a hurry and could land on that same deck without splashing itself into the sea. At the same time, the U.S. Air Force needed a new, all purpose jet fighter to meet the requirements of its own particular missions and assignments.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara got both services to agree that one highly adaptable plane could be developed to meet the demands of each. But that was where the agreement ended: McNamara awarded the contract for building the plane to the General Dynamics Corp., which had submitted proposals for a more costly and, in the eyes of the military brass, less efficient aircraft than one designed by Boeing. There were all sorts of charges of political skullduggery; outspoken unhappiness with McNamara's decision was partly instrumental in the failure of Admiral George W. Anderson Jr. to win reappointment as Navy chief of operations in 1963.

Off the Ground. With that back ground, it is remarkable that the TFX- now officially known as the F-111-ever got off the ground. But it did, in its maiden flight last week.

In many ways it was not much of a flight. The F-111 is designed to fly about 3,500 miles at 1,600 m.p.h. at up to 60,000 ft. What it did was to go to 15,000 ft., achieve a top speed of 230 m.p.h., and abort after 21 minutes because its flaps, extended for takeoff, could not be retracted in flight because of "minor" mechanical failure.

Not even scheduled for testing last week was the plane's main feature: the in-flight ability to move its wings from a far-forward position (for short take-offs and landings) to a swept-back posture (for speed).

Present at Texas' Carswell Air Force Base for the flight were all sorts of brass, including Air Force Secretary Eugene M. Zuckert. All professed themselves pleased as punch. But there were outside complaints that the F-111 was costing much more than originally planned, that it was too heavy for aircraft carrier use, and that it was full of bugs-as proved by the flap failure.

Pleasant & Lovely. Still, such complaints are S.O.P. when it comes to testing a new aircraft. And perhaps the most meaningful comment about the F-111 came from Test Pilot Dick John son, 47, who was more than pleased with the plane's performance.

"It is," Johnson said, "a real pleasant, lovely airplane." He had been able to take off within the remarkably short distance of 3,000 ft., and was impressed by the short smooth landing. He shrugged off the flap failure as just one of those things. He said that the F-111 was "more ready than any plane I've tested."

Two other aircraft that Johnson had taken on their maiden flights were the Air Force's F-102 and F-106. In both planes, something went wrong with the landing gear. Said Johnson, in dry tribute to the fact that the F-Ill's landing gear had worked perfectly: "The principal object of the first flight of any airplane is to make a successful first landing."

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