Page Content (OCR)
mum speed of Mach 4 had been reached at _ that the Lockheed flying saucer was envis- an altitude of 100,000ft (30,500m). An unrefu- aged as weapon system capable of out-per- elled range of 7,500 miles (12,070km) was forming any near-future Soviet air defences. considered realistic. The Skunk Works continued to show an Various fuels were considered, including interest in disc and oval-shaped aircraft propane, butane, liquid hydrogen and __ throughout the 1950s, despite the company’s kerosene. Fuel would be circulated below later attempts to distance themselves from areas of the aircraft's skin to act as a refriger- flying saucers or closely related designs. ant and the suggested material for the surface Nathan Price also completed a number of covering was stainless steel, which during — very interesting studies for small VTOL utility sustained flight at Mach 4 would glow slightly aircraft, which culminated in a small elliptical red at 1,140° Fahrenheit (615° Celsius). Onthe — design for which he filed a patent application ground four fully retractable struts would sup- (D183108) in June 1958. This concept was port the Lockheed saucer with the option of | aerodynamically very clean with two short wheels to improve handling. There was even downward-facing tail fins and powered by a consideration given to the possibility of mak- turbojet in a housing above and behind the ing this vehicle amphibious. The level of cockpit. The cockpit, which might house anticipated performance far exceeded the between two and four occupants, was fully North American XB-70 Valkyrie developed _ integrated with the forward fuselage. The air- almost ten years later and itseemsacertainty craft's retractable undercarriage took the US Patent Office regulations exist for the classification of designs and inventions that are regarded as sensitive to national security and these rules appear to have been applied to this detailed and expensive flying saucer study. Lockheed’s lenticular-shaped design was 50ft (15.2m) in diameter and had a gross weight of 55,000Ib (24,950kg). The aircraft would lift off the ground (or touch down) ver- tically by directing the thrust from its engine island downwards. Having taken off, the saucer’s exhaust would be adjusted rearward as it continued to gain altitude. It would climb steadily to 10,000ft (3,048m) at a 10° angle and then increase the angle to 20° until the vehi- cle exceeded Mach 1 and reached 50,000ft (15,240m). With the propulsive system oper- ating in ramjet mode the flying disc would then reduce its angle of ascent to 10° again, while continuing to accelerate until a maxi- 94 Above left: One of several small utility VTOL designs produced by Nathan Price. Lockheed Above: A compact VTOL utility aircraft designed in the 1950s by Nathan Price. Lockheed Left: Design evolution of a small oval-shaped utility vehicle, which was produced by Nathan Price during the late 1950s. Lockheed Secret Projects: Flying Saucer Aircraft