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Author Topic: Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-15  (Read 545 times)

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leopard

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Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-15
« on: March 30, 2020, 10:09:23 AM »

Poorly calibrated airspeed indicator? Some artistic exaggeration in the presentation of facts by enthusiastic press agents? Modern press releases claim that a completely conventional propeller-driven fighter developed a fixed 502.2 mph (808.21 km / h) in horizontal flight over Melbourne. This is 21 years before Darryl Greenamyer, flying under ideal conditions at Edwards, Calif. Air Force Base, at the highly modified Grumman Bearcat and setting an international record speed for piston aircraft at 482.46 mph (776.45 km / h) !

The exact speed that was reached on the morning of May 25, 1948 will probably never be established with certainty, but there can be no doubt that the fighter really moved very fast, or that Rolls-Royce Griffon sang a worthy swan song for the era, era of piston fighters. The aircraft that participated in this flight was the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-15.

When, during the first flight on March 4, 1946, the CAC test pilot Jim Schofield tore the Sa-15 off the Rybakov Bend runway, he had no idea that his lift was supposed to be the flight of the prototype of the last new piston fighter . Factory tests, which were supposed to continue until June 27, showed that the CA-15 was surprisingly free from the usual malfunctions that occurred when testing a new combat aircraft. He possessed extremely pleasant handling characteristics without visible flaws, but the CAC team perfectly understood that there was no chance for her newborn: a gas turbine displaced the piston engine from the fighter power plants during the maturation of the Sa-15.

The official test program continued in excerpts until the beginning of 1950. APU pilots echoed the opinion of SAS test pilot Jim Scottfield about the SA-15 as a pleasant control and performance without flaws. The lift and range tests went as expected: the speed officially reached 448 mph (721 km / h) at an altitude of 26,400 ft (8047 m) with engine combat power and 432 mph (695 km / h) at an altitude of 32,700 ft (9967 m) at rated power. What the CA-15 could accomplish if it were still equipped with a Griffon with a three-speed supercharger was now a matter of speculation, but as the last truly new prototype piston single-seat fighter, it was certainly more advantageous than any other aircraft the same category, and was undoubtedly better than most of them. The CAC project team was not very experienced, but did a great job with the SA-15, which, however, ironically ....!

Modification CA-15
Wingspan, m 10.97
Length, m 11.03
Height, m 4.34
Wing Area, m2 23.50
Weight kg
   empty aircraft 3420
   normal take-off 4882
   maximum take-off 5597
Engine type 1 PD Rolls-Royce Griffon 61
Horsepower 1 x 2305
Maximum speed, km / h 721
Cruising speed, km / h 650
Practical range, km 1850
Maximum rate of climb, m / min
Practical ceiling, m 11890
Crew 1
Armament: Six 12.7mm Browning Machine Guns
   10 NUR or 2x227 kg or 2x454 kg bombs







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