High Gallery
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Military Aircraft YC-15 Photo By Coll B. Thouanel |
| At the beginning of the 1970s the US Air Force issued its Advanced Medium STOL Transport requirement for a tactical airlift with exceptional field performance. Five American companies submitted proposals, and in 1972 two of these were accepted for construction as the Boeing YC-14 and McDonnell Douglas YC-15 prototype. The YC-15 had a high set wing, fuselage blister fairing for the main landing gear ramp door arrangement. STOL performance was provided by the wing power plant combination. The wing was supercritical section fitted with double slotted flaps over 75 % of its trailing edges. When fully deflected, these were blown by the efflux of the four turbofans. The first of two UC-15s flew in August 1975 with JT8D-17 engines, and was later fitted with a larger area wing spanning 132 ft. 7 in. In this aircraft the port outer engine was replaced by a 22,000 lb thrust CMF International CMF56. The second plane was later refitted with an 18,000-lb thrust JT8-208 in the same position for comparative evaluation. No production orders were placed. |
TECHNICAL DATA
| Description | Specifications |
| Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas | Length: 124 ft. 3 in. |
| First Flight: August 1975 | Height: 43 ft. 4 in. |
| Model: | Wing Span: 110 ft. 4 in. |
| Crew: Two / three. | Wing Area: 1,740.0 sq. ft. |
| Nickname: | Empty Weight: 105,000 lb. |
| Basic Role: Advanced STOL transport. | Max. Weight: 219,180 lb. |
| Other Version: YC-15 STOL transport prototype. | Payload: Up to 150 troops or 78,000 lb. of freight |
| Principal User: USA. |
Propulsion |
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Performance |
Power Plant: Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17 turbofans. |
| Range: 461 miles radius. | Horsepower: 16,000-lb thrust |
| Max. Speed: 535 mph. | No. Of Engines: Four |
| Ceiling: | |
| Climb Rate: |