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Hall Hibbard (left) and Nathan Price (right) beside an example of the experimental XJ-37 L-1000 axial flow gas turbine. Lockheed-Martin Skunk Works Artwork showing the Lockheed high-altitude VTOL ramjet-powered flying disc in flight. Bill Rose XP-80 was essentially the amalgamation of a British jet engine with a new Lockheed air- frame and it proved to be very successful. The two company employees who made the whole thing possible were Hall Hibbard and Nathan C Price. Nathan Price had originally been employed by Doble Steam Motors as an engineer and worked on several very unusual projects like the Besler biplane, which flew in 1933 and remains the only fixed-wing aircraft to have been powered by steam. He joined Boeing soon after this and then moved to Lockheed, where his engineering expertise gave him a definite advantage with gas turbine develop- ment. During the early 1950s Price became particularly interested in the design work of aerodynamicists like Alfred Loedding and may have been under pressure to create a competitor to Avro Canada’s Project Y flying saucer. Lockheed has always been an aggressive force in the marketplace and they are not the kind of company to leave any stone unturned, so the design of an alternative aircraft was hardly unexpected. Having assembled a small team to work on disc-shaped aircraft, the first project was a high-performance, high-altitude flying disc aircraft. Illustrative graphics show this design as a passenger- carrying VTOL aircraft with a large central duct containing a powerful turbo-ramjet propulsion system. nate torque. Powering the rotors would be a advanced, often highly classified design The engine unit, described as an ‘island’, jet engine with a forward-facing ventral air work. The name Skunk Works accidentally would swivel downwards for VTOL opera- intake, with the exhaust gas being used to came into use during World War Two when _ tions and in level flight the system would turn a lower turbine coupled to the rotor aLockheed designer called Irv Culver picked operate entirely as a ramjet, with the com- assemblies. Davis believed this arrangement up the phone one day and said, ‘Skonk _ pressor ‘windmilling’ and exhaust gases flow- would allow full VTOL operation, hover and Works, inside man Culver speaking!’ Culver _ ing through a series of louvres and outlets at high-speed level flight. Small ailerons oneach _ had taken the name from an Al Capp comic _ the rear of the aircraft. There was a single rec- side of the fuselage and a vertically extending __ strip and Skonk Works was soon in wide- tangular-shaped engine inlet at the lower rudder would assist flight control and the air- spread use by company employees. As the front of the craft to feed the turbo-ramjet sys- craft was supported by retractable tricycle name began to stick, Lockheed’s manage- tem and the crew were accommodated in undercarriage. Davis said that his design ment made aslight change and then officially two cockpits on either side of this inlet. Pas- would be cheap to build and efficient in adopted it as The Skunk Works. sengers were seated, facing rearward, on action. However, translating this idea into a Many black project aircraft have been cre- each side of the centrally positioned turbine reliable working machine might have pre- ated by Lockheed’s Skunk Works. It was orig- and there were shaft-driven fans at each sented some major engineering challenges. _ inally based at Burbank, Los Angeles, but the wingtip providing additional control of entire facility had relocated to Palmdale by exhausted gases. Variants might have used Lockheed Skunk Works Saucer Studies 1992. The first significant classified project more than one gas turbine ina central cluster. Lockheed’s Skunk Works in California has undertaken by the Skunk Works was the The overall design looks very complex, gained an enviable reputation within the avi- XP-80 jet fighter, which began life in great rather ugly and conditions inside the cabin ation industry as a prestigious centre for secrecy at Burbank Plant 6 during 1943. The area might have been unacceptably noisy. It nate torque. Powering the rotors would be a jet engine with a forward-facing ventral air intake, with the exhaust gas being used to turn a lower turbine coupled to the rotor assemblies. Davis believed this arrangement would allow full VTOL operation, hover and high-speed level flight. Small ailerons on each side of the fuselage and a vertically extending rudder would assist flight control and the air- craft was supported by retractable tricycle undercarriage. Davis said that his design would be cheap to build and efficient in action. However, translating this idea into a reliable working machine might have pre- sented some major engineering challenges. advanced, often highly classified design work. The name Skunk Works accidentally came into use during World War Two when a Lockheed designer called Irv Culver picked up the phone one day and said, ‘Skonk Works, inside man Culver speaking!’ Culver had taken the name from an Al Capp comic strip and Skonk Works was soon in wide- spread use by company employees. As the name began to stick, Lockheed’s manage- ment made a slight change and then officially adopted it as The Skunk Works. Many black project aircraft have been cre- ated by Lockheed’s Skunk Works. It was orig- inally based at Burbank, Los Angeles, but the entire facility had relocated to Palmdale by 1992. The first significant classified project undertaken by the Skunk Works was the XP-80 jet fighter, which began life in great secrecy at Burbank Plant 6 during 1943. The Lockheed Skunk Works Saucer Studies Lockheed’s Skunk Works in California has gained an enviable reputation within the avi- ation industry as a prestigious centre for 92 Secret Projects: Flying Saucer Aircraft