Nov 202011
A piece of concept art from McDonnell-Douglas showing an early design for the F-15.
The most obvious difference from the final design is the wholly different main wing planform. Almost as obvious is the pointier nose. Less obvious, at this stage the design had two fairly substantial ventral fins directly under the dorsal vertical stabilizers… and the engine nozzles were 2-dimensional vectoring nozzles much like those in use on the F-22.
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5 Responses to “Early F-15 Art”
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1966-1967?? Or does it predate the RFP?
I *believe* it’s circa 1967.
Wasn’t the top speed still Mach 2.7 at this point?
Why the fascination with ventral fins in fighter designs of that era?
For stability and control at high angles of attack and/or low speed. More refined design often negated the need for these, but early on, ventral fins make a lot of sense.