The LTV L450F, also known as the L45ØF, was a prototype quiet

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...

, developed by

Ling-Temco-Vought Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was a large American conglomerate which existed from 1961 to 2000. At its peak, it was involved in aerospace, airlines, electronics, steel manufacturing, sporting goods, meat packing, car rentals, and pharmaceuticals, am ...

in the late 1960s for use in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Based on the airframe of a Schweizer 2-32 sailplane, the aircraft flew in 1970, and was developed into the XQM-93 reconnaissance

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

before the project was cancelled.

Design and development

Developed as a follow on to the Igloo White program, the L450F was intended to provide a quiet reconnaissance and communications relay aircraft.Jane's 1971, p. 344-345 Under a $1 million USD contract by LTV Electrosystems, the L450F was developed from a

Schweizer SGS 2-32 Schweizer (German meaning 'Swiss') may refer to: People * Eduard Schweizer (1913–2006), Swiss New Testament scholar * Irène Schweizer (born 1941), Swiss Jazz pianist * J. Otto Schweizer (March 27, 1863–1955) Swiss-American sculptor * Julián ...

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

, modified by Schweizer to LTV's specifications. These modifications included stronger wing spars, thicker wing skin, installation of a

Pratt & Whitney PT6A The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously upda ...

turboprop engine driving a three-bladed propeller, and main landing gear based on that of the

Grumman Ag-Cat The Grumman G-164 Ag Cat is a single-engined biplane agricultural aircraft, developed by Grumman in the 1950s. Development In 1955, Grumman preliminary design engineers Joe Lippert and Arthur Koch proposed the design for a "purpose-built" cr ...

agricultural aircraft. An alternative configuration, using a

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

, was also proposed. The prototype L450F first flew in February 1970, but was destroyed during its third flight, on 23 March that year, the pilot successfully bailing out. A second prototype was then completed and flown, successfully completing the testing program, and a third prototype was ordered as the unmanned XQM-93 drone, under the Compass Dwell project. Four examples of the XQM-93 were contracted for by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, however the Compass Dwell project was subsequently cancelled.Goebel, Greg
"The Prehistory of Endurance UAVs"
. ''VectorSite''. Accessed 18 June 2010.

Operational history

27 March 1972 Donald R. Wilson reached the altitude of 15,456 m (50,708 ft) in horizontal flight flying the remaining L450F, registered N2450F, setting a new

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...

international record, Class C-1c, Group II (Powered aeroplanes, takeoff weight 1000 to 1750 kg, turboprop). This record still stood as of 27 March 2012.

Specifications (prototype)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Taylor, John W.R. (ed.) ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1971–1972''. London: Sampson Low Marston & Co, 1971. .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ltv L450f L45OF 1970s United States experimental aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined turboprop aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1970