Boeing YC-14: US Air Force Experimental STOL Aircraft

by John K. Wimpress

Overview

The Boeing YC-14, being first flown in 1976, was an impressive aeronautical achievement. This aircraft signaled many firsts in aircraft design, the most prominent being the use of upper-surface blowing (which turned the jet engine flow downward), combined with boundary-layer control, to allow flight at amazingly low airspeeds. The YC-14 program management consistently embraced new technologies, such as the use of “fly-by-light” flight controls and use of digital airframe design—technologies that would later become mainstream for Boeing. Although this book is about a specific airplane type, it is just as much about the YC-14 design team that created a multiorganizational culture, unafraid to “draw outside the lines,” to create a dramatically capable airplane. To place the reader in the pilot’s seat, Boeing and Air Force test pilots provide their reflections of the handling and performance of the YC-14. Equally intriguing, the challenges of designing a new airplane from start to finish are explored in detail.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780764366536
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Publication date:	08/28/2023
Series:	Legends of Warfare: Aviation , #60
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

John Wimpress, Boeing aerodynamicist and airplane designer, was involved with the design of most of Boeing’s jet airplanes from the Air Force B-47 to the commercial 757. John was director of engineering on the US Air Force YC-14 STOL transport. He lives in Des Moines, Washington.