F-105 Thud's INSANE Speed Explained | The Aviation Show Clips

So let's talk about the F-105. Now I have a soft spot for the F-105, so go gently on it. Oh, I like the F-105 as well. It's a big brute. I mean, it's, yeah, it is a big airplane. So it actually has the same engine that the F-106 has. Relatively conventional wing. It's kind of back to the F-100 wing design. Just a lot of sweep, but pretty traditional wing. Very aerial ruled. I don't know if you can see this, but the fuselage kind of necks down where that wing's at, and then it does like flare out towards the back. So the aerial ruling was a big deal. And actually, if you look from the top, which we can't, it's even more pronounced. It gets really coke bodily kind of right in that middle part. So this airplane was not really designed as a fighter. You know, it's called the F-105, but it really was a fighter bomber. So it was really for hauling a lot of ordnance and dropping it. Certainly could turn and so forth as well. Probably better than an F-104. So it's a big airplane. I think this airplane holds the record of being the largest single engine jet ever built. Like it's a big, heavy airplane, but really good performance. I think it also does Mach 2. Part of that is just the big engine. Again, it has 50% more thrust than the F-104 engine. And it's very clean because it's got internal bomb bay, very little hanging off the wings. Yeah. This one's got the, this is a wild weasel, isn't it? So it's got the shrike rail on it. Yeah. And this inlet, I actually love this inlet. So this is a bifurcated inlet again. So two inlets, one on each side coming together to feed the engine, but it's kind of backwards from what you're used to seeing. So most inlets like this, the long part is on the fuselage, and then it slopes away from the airplane as it goes back. This thing you can see is inverted. And what I like about this is when we were talking about those ramped inlets, they're actually turning the air as they go past the inlet. And that's kind of the secret on how it gets down. Once it's inside the fuselage, they got to turn it back the other way to get it to the engine. Let's sneak around to the shady side. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We might be able to see, that was very shadowy when you were doing your hand waving. Yep. There we go. And we'll keep tripping over the... So yeah, this shot's great. So you can see that very sharp cut in. So this is turning the air to slow it down, but it's actually turning it in the direction that you want it to go. You want it to go in the fuselage, not out. So by flipping this inlet over, it's going exactly where you want it to go. So I think that's another secret. I think that single turn, and then they've got to turn it back, but they don't have to turn it back as much as if it was turned around. I think that makes the air, again, getting into the engine even more efficient. This one, you can't really see here because they've got it blocked off to keep the critters out, but this has moving parts inside of it as well. So you can kind of see the curved part there. There's a curved ramp that slides inside there that moves forward and aft to change the geometry as it goes through that speed range. And all of that's automatic. So as the pilot dials in... Yes. As far as I know, I don't know that any of these have like a controllable inlet ramp. I think there's crude, you know, analog computers that are sensing, hey, this is the condition outside. I'm going to put the ramps in this position. And it's all automatic. This is where we need Russ Violet because that one, I think, is one of his. Who we interviewed last time. Yeah. So yeah, for all the jokes of the thud, she's an absolute beast. Oh, and she can take a beating. Republic Aircraft. Exactly. The Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona is home to one of the largest non-government funded aviation and space museums in the world. Featuring nearly 400 aircraft, the museum is home to an incredible collection like NASA's NB-52 X-15 dropship and 747 SP Sophia Airborne Observatory, to a wealth of rare military types from air forces all around the world to the first production 777. Whether you're a military or civilian aviation geek, there will be an incredible aircraft around every corner of this epic 80 acre site for you to explore. As the aviation show's partnership with the Pima Air and Space Museum enters its third year, we're delighted to say that Pima is truly a top of your bucket list museum to visit. And it keeps getting better as this year the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum will be opening right next door. To find out more about the incredible collection and the fantastic events coming up at the Pima Air and Space Museum, and of course the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum, head over to www.pimaair.org to plan your trip to one of the world's great aviation collections, and one that now includes tanks next door, if that's your sort of thing. I actually like, that's one of the things I like to talk about is there's so much lineage within aircraft companies during this time frame. So you look at like the airplanes that they made in World War II, you look at this era and what they made in Vietnam, and they all kind of follow a similar philosophy to themselves that's somewhat different. So you know, you look at, think of a P-51, an F-86, and an F-100 are different in performance, but they kind of same mission, kind of design philosophy, just being simple, clean airplanes, very maneuverable, great fighters, you know, maneuverable dog fighters and so forth. This, obviously made by Republic, is the kind of the incarnation of the P-47 in much the same way, a much larger airplane than its contemporaries, much more brutish, much more survivable, can carry more, and so same thing. And then of course where it goes from there is you get the A-10, right? So same company, same philosophy. So P-47, F-105, A-10, like all brothers, right? Happy days. Yeah. So I think, I think F-107 is the only thing left. So before we head inside, we have looked at an incredible group of fighters, all within about 100 yards of each other here at Pima Air and Space, and we've seen from the drawing board, what? A difference of, so that's for seven years. Yeah. So the design philosophy of these one, two, three, four companies that we've looked at is just jumping forward all the time. Yes, okay, we've got a different mission type here with the thud, but very sharp period of time and quite drastic changes in just the shape and the development of the aircraft. Just philosophy. We're now going to go see one that didn't make it. Right. But is pretty special. Yes. Be sure to check out the full-length Sentry Series video filmed at the Pima Air and Space Museum, and the two follow-up videos on the F-101 Voodoo and F-110 Spectre, better known as the F-4 Phantom II.