Aeroplane Monthly 1991-11
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B.Gunston - Ace Reporter
The second XF-15 prototype was a modified P-61C note the turbo-supercharger air intakes beneath the Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp R-2800-C radial engines.
Хороший в целом самолет F-15 на момент поступления в войска уже устарел. На фотографии - прототип XF-15A, переоборудованный из P-61.
Another view of the second XF-15. Though 175 Reporters were ordered, only 36 F-15As were built.
Based upon the P-61 Black Widow, Northrop's F-15 Reporter was rather more attractive than its forebear.
A Northrop crew chief attends to the camera window of an F-15A Reporter.
The two-man crew of a prototype XF-15 preparing to fly the 66ft-span aircraft. Production aircraft carried six cameras in the central nacelle but 24 alternative combinations were possible, according to the duty to be performed. The F-15 had a range of 4,200 miles and a top speed of 440 m.p.h.
This photograph of one of the XF-15s shows the low frontal area of the central nacelle compared with the comparatively large area of the Double Wasp radial engines.
Оба члена экипажа разведчика F-15 Reporter имели великолепный обзор из кабины. Для своего времени подвижный сегмент фонаря кабины являлся самым большим монолитным изделием из плексигласа. Самолет спроектировали на основе P-61C, добавив одного члена экипажа и удлинив фюзеляж под размещение фотооборудования.
Although similar in outline to the P-61 Black Widow, the F-15 had a completely revised central nacelle with provision for two crew and a large battery of cameras. The huge Plexiglas bubble canopy gave the crew 360 vision.