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Open: 10am - 4pm, Tuesday - Saturday

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📅 On This Day in Aviation History — August 28, 195 📅 On This Day in Aviation History — August 28, 1957

How do you push a jet bomber more than 20,000 feet above its normal service ceiling? In 1957, the answer was simple—at least in theory: add a rocket engine.

On August 28, test pilot Michael Randrup and flight engineer Walter Shirley climbed aboard English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163 and departed Luton on a record attempt. Their goal was to explore an altitude regime well beyond what the Canberra's two Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets could ordinarily reach.

Randrup initially climbed under conventional jet power to approximately 44,000 feet. Then came the unusual part. Installed inside WK163's bomb bay was a Napier Double Scorpion rocket engine. Once ignited, the additional thrust sent the Canberra into a steep climb that ultimately topped out at 70,308 feet (21,430 meters)—establishing a new FAI world altitude record.

Flying that high presented challenges beyond simply getting there. Near its maximum altitude, the Canberra was operating in what's commonly called "coffin corner," where the margin between stall speed and the onset of critical Mach effects becomes extremely narrow. Engineers calculated that Randrup had only about a 15-knot airspeed window to work with. Both men also wore pressure suits despite the Canberra's pressurized cockpit.

The aircraft itself was already designed with high-altitude performance in mind. The Canberra B.2 was a twin-engine jet bomber powered by a pair of 6,500-pound-thrust Avon RA.3 Mk. 101s, but its normal service ceiling was around 48,000 feet. The experimental rocket installation allowed WK163 to venture far beyond that limit.

Even better, this wasn't the end of WK163's story. The aircraft spent its career as a research test bed rather than an operational bomber and survived long after its record-setting flight.

Sometimes breaking an aviation record requires an entirely new aircraft.

Other times, apparently, you just put a rocket in the bomb bay. 🚀✈️

Aviation Trivia: The Canberra was also manufactured under license in the United States for the U.S. Air Force. Do you know the American designation given to it?
Tony may roll his eyes at the attention, but we go Tony may roll his eyes at the attention, but we gotta give the fans what they want! And his decades of work and wisdom in airplane restoration are absolutely priceless. 

After all these years, it’s hard to find anything that would bother or surprise him, as you can see here by his resistance to the varnish he applied last week. It can be hard to hear him, but at one point, he mentions he’s just too used to “too much dope!” 😂

What he MEANS is, he’s had to apply a lot of butyrate dope to the fabric-covered aircraft, and it smells TWICE as strongly as any of this varnish, at least. He always wears a respirator, but still… it’s hard to imagine being used to that kind of stink. 😷

What’s the stinkiest chemical you’ve had to work with during your time with aircraft?
Don't tell Geebs (our museum cat), but it's Nation Don't tell Geebs (our museum cat), but it's National Dog Day! Geebs may not have a canine counterpart to celebrate, but we do have some adorable plushies relatively new to our gift shop. Who wouldn't want to cuddle with one of these?
What's your favorite fun fact about the Douglas SB What's your favorite fun fact about the Douglas SBD Dauntless?
#MondayMotivation #MondayMotivation
Happy Birthday to us! 🎉 What is your favorite memo Happy Birthday to us! 🎉 What is your favorite memory with us, over our past 45 years?

We've been over here enjoying cake and presents (the first 32 Yanks Air Museum Members to arrive receive a complimentary anniversary gift bag today), and are looking forward to our presentation at 1 pm in the Flight Center. Join us to learn about the past and future plans of the museum, or at least reminisce with us and our fans here in the comments. 🎁

Yanks Air Museum

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15121 Stearman Drive
Chino, CA 91710

Phone: (909) 597-1735

Open Tuesday thru Saturday
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

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  • Home
  • Collections
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    • 1903-1918 / Early Birds
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15121 Stearman Drive, Chino, CA 91710

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