P.C.: Everything up to launch was as perfect as I have ever seen it. Everything worked properly.

2. Describe the launch engine start and setting up the pattern.

P.C.: Let's take the launch first. The pilot launched himself, and I moved the side stick left laterally so that I had about an inch deflection on the center stick and the launch seemed to come out fairly level. Then the engine start was attempted. When I could feel the thrust it started to raise the angle of attack. Simultaneously shut itself down. Then I went through the relight procedure which take 10 or 15 seconds and then the automatic start takes 4 or 5 more seconds. It operated exactly the same way on the second start. I decided that it wasn't going to run and had better start getting rid of the duel. I had made the decision and was in jettison by about 35,000 feet.

3. Did you have enough time to set up for the landing?

P.C.: Yes, after initiating jettison I headed directly toward the lake and as we got a little closer to the lake it was obvious that we had plenty of altitude to make most any runway except the east-west runway landing to the west; the ideal way to do it would be make a 360 turn after high key to the east, but I didn't have quite enough altitude to do that. Winds were light so I decided to head for the 180° position for the north runway,-- north-south runway landing north. The closer I got to the lake the more obvious it became that I had plenty of altitude to make it; in fact, I was going to have a little excess altitude for the 180° pattern, which is alright because of the long runway.

4. Did you have any trouble adjusting height during the long straight-in approach?

P.C.: It wasn't a long straight-in approach the way I did it. I headed for the 180° position, for the north-south runway and headed directly for the lake and as we got parallel to the north-south runway going south it was standard approach, although a little high from 180° position. (See fig. 1).

5. How high were you on the downwind leg of the pattern as compared with a normal landing?

P.C.: We were running about 5,000 to 8,000 feet high.

6. Altitude on base leg seemed to be about 18,000 feet. Was it that high?

P.C.: I don't think it was that high. I got rid of the excess altitude by making a little longer downwind leg after the 180° point and a wider base leg with a sharp S turn as we turned on final approach. When I came over the edge of the lake I was satisfied with the altitude.

7. Did you use speed brakes?

P.C.: I opened them about 1/3 of the way and put them right back again. I don't think they were open more than a couple, three seconds.

8. What airspeed did you glide at?

P.C.: That is one of the things that I would like to comment on. Of course, I have never done much gliding heavy. Minimum speed at start of jettison was about 340 indicated -- that was about as low as you could get the speed and as high as you could get the nose, that is even riding in the buffet a = 9°, 10°, 11° -- is pretty well in the buffet. I had a up as high as 14° someplace along in there, but this 340 indicated is a higher speed than I had anticipated it would be. I knew it would be higher up to 40,000 feet if you have all the weight aboard and you are at the right angle of attack, but I didn't expect it to be this high. I haven't made any calculations to see how high I really ought to be, but by the time the weight had jettisoned off so that you could get the nose up and reduce the speed I didn't particularly want to because of space positioning.

9. Can you feel the weight decreasing?

P.C.: Oh, yes, after we got rid of the weight it wouldn't have been any problem to slow it down, stretch your glide at 240 if you needed to, but this didn't occur until I was down around probably 15,000 feet.

10. When did you change to center stick?

P.C.: I was probably between 25,000 and 30,000 feet heading for the 180° position to the north runway, left-hand approach. I decided to change to the center stick because I had planned to do this previously, and since it was an emergency landing, I figured I might just as well cut out all the variables I possibly could.

11. Were you surprised that the speed for max glide was up to approximately 330 KIAS at heavy weight condition?

P.C.: Yes, well I wasn't particularly surprised that it wanted to fly that fast at the proper angle of attack for max range, but I was surprised over the fact that I couldn't seem to slow it down more. I mean I couldn't get the nose up high enough to reduce the speed even if I had wanted to.

12. Please describe the buffet.

P.C.: The buffet, I'd call reasonably mild, but there isn't any doubt in your mind that it is buffeting. It is a vibration that you can feel in the whole airplane. There are no differences in the feel on the control system or anything of this sort. No system failures other than the failure to light.

13. Did the chase perform the same as for normal landings?

P.C.: Yes.

14. Did you practice landing at Mud Lake with the F-104? How did they compare with the emergency landing?

P.C.: Yes, except I did not waste the fuel to go all the way back to the launch point. I pick up the pattern someplace along the line so that you don't have to climb all the way up to 45,000 feet, and this way you can make several landings. I have landed on every runway every direction left and right-hand approaches with the F-104.

15. Could you have made the landing without the F-104 practice landings?

P.C.: I think you still could have accomplished the landing safely, but it does a lot to improve your confidence level.

16. Could you have adjusted to a higher workload?

P.C.: You're familiar with your aiming points and where you ought to be and the pattern and so on, so that if you had something else which required quite a bit of your attention you could devote the time to that and only refer to your pattern periodically.

17. What visual cues were used?

P.C.: Just land marks, so that you know what your aiming point is and where you ought to be and what the ground looks like underneath you, how the horizon and the mountains line up when you are in about a 45° ban angle and a normal approach.

18. What were you shooting for?

P.C.: I was shooting essentially for about a two-mile touchdown point on the four-mile runway. It gives you an aiming point one mile down the runway, so that if you do end up short you are not in any trouble. You have plenty of runout distance if you touchdown where you intend to. If you are a mile long you still have a mile to run out and a mile over that. In that particular light, there is no problem at all, but I was sort of shooting for a two-mile marker, although there are no markers on the runway.

19. Describe the flare and landing.

P.C.: I started the flare and put the flaps down at about 700 feet. Of course, I was faster --a little faster than normal. The field altimeter setting had been given to me on the way up,. When I was setting up the pattern, I had that cranked in and I knew the field was about 5,300 feet When I went through about 700 feet I started the flare and put the flaps down. I had the gear down at 260 indicated, and of course, just flew on down.

I tried to make a reasonably nice landing and I did not attempt to reduce the speed, I set it down with a reasonable rate of descent.

I didn't attempt to hold it off and let the speed go on down even though I knew that I was up around 200 knots. I wasn't worried about the extra speed.

20. Was your work load saturated?

P.C.: No, the work load was very low. I think the only critical item is making a decision soon enough so that you have time to get rid of the fuel before you land.

21. Did you have time to attempt another engine restart?

P.C.: I think I could have had time to make another one if there had been any point in it. I didn't feel there was at the time, but had there not been the same routine on both engine start attempts, I would have had time to make another one.

22. Did the chamber pressure come up at all?

P.C.: Oh yes, it came up to about 50% level and then shut down because the chamber pressure switch did not make properly. The little thrust received put me in a better position as far as getting into the lake was concerned.

23. Could you see the lake at launch?

P.C.: Yes, you can see the lake. You know right where it is so it is no problem.

24. Did the heavy weight condition hinder setting up the pattern?

P.C.: I wouldn't say that it has any effect on the maneuverability except that you are faster and there is more of a tendency as a result of being fast to pull up and try to fly slower.

25. How do you monitor the jettison and know when it is finished?

P.C.: The only way you can really be sure is have the chase report that it had started and is jettisoning normally and then if you don't have an apparent large change in c.g. position during the jettison, he tells you when it is about gone. That is the only way we can tell. We know that it takes two minute to get rid of it. We don't actually time it, however, I think you can tell when most of it is gone if you had a large amount of fuel it would be felt in the performance and the fuel sloshing effects on the handling qualities. If one quantity quit jettisoning I would feel the effects on the c.g. position.

26. Please give pilot ratings during the glide.

P.C.: Pitch 6 , roll 6 , yaw 2.5.. These number are for a greater than 10 where the airplane is in a heavy weight condition and in buffet.

Pitch 2 , roll 2 , yaw 2 . These numbers are for a less than 10° and the airplane is in the landing weight condition.

27. In talking about the actual touchdown, the pilot mentioned that the emergency lake had the runway marked off with the exact markings as on the Rogers Dry Lake. These are shown in figure 1. The Pilot stressed the importance of having these markings for depth perception and as a familiar guide.