loading image
In 1963, American President John F. Kennedy announced the launch of a government-funded SST program to compete with the joint British and French Concorde project. Three proposed airframe designs were selected for review—the North American Aviation NAC-60, the Boeing 733, and the Lockheed L-2000. Aspects of Lockheed’s design were similar to those of the Concorde, including a long, highly streamlined nose section that could be dropped during landing and takeoff, a delta wing, and a long narrow body that could accommodate four to five passengers abreast. By 1967, Lockheed constructed a full-size display mockup of the L-2000 SST and was actively promoting the aircraft to the public and to major airlines. However, wind tunnel tests demonstrated the Lockheed design suffered from shifts in the aircraft’s center of pressure—the point where lift acts on the aircraft—as it accelerated. The transfer of fuel partially solved this problem, but it was ultimately rejected in favor of the Boeing design, which was renamed the 2707. See “Supersonic Transport: The First Generation” on display, pre-security, in the Aviation Museum and Library and online at: https://bit.ly/SSTFirstGeneration
This image was posted on February 09, 2023.