POST-FLIGHT: 3-62-92

DATE: August 25, 1967

PILOT: Maj. Mike Adams

 OK. 3-62-92 , revision B went as scheduled. I can't believe it. The checklist and everything went real good. The first problem I thought I encountered was with communications. I could not get the launch panel to give me enough gain on intercom and on the X-15 radio. I checked that and I had it all the way up as far as I could get it, max gain on the volume control. It was at a comfortable level but it is kind of nice when you can turn it up until you can't stand it and then turn it back down. I question whether the system was operating properly or not. Now I advised the guys with the helmet about that because it seems like if I had panel trouble and radio trouble it might be in the helmet so they are going to check that out too. So that was the first small problem. After that everything worked satisfactorily. I had one little problem with the checklist, and that was when I was pushing in circuit breakers. I usually go back and cross check what I've done when I have time, and I found that on the circuit breakers I did not get them all in. I thought I did, I pushed them but there was still, I think, it was the alternate trim or the trim. One of those was still out. That is kind of a hard thing to get in, those circuit breakers. They do not seem to really show clearly whether they are in or out. You can just see them a hairline away. So I did make a mistake which I corrected on my own. Either that, or I pushed them and they just did not go in. I did push them at one time. Then the last glitch was before launch. That N2 circuit breaker was in because things were really working fine. I was checking the mixing chamber temperatures all the way out, periodically looking at them, and they were OK up until suit check, and then when I made the suit check - when I went to blowers only I guess, when I went back to blowers and LN2 the N2 circuit breaker must have popped out, because I would have never noticed until you said "what's that mixing chamber in". It was just as warm as could be. So when I found that circuit breaker that is what cured it and it went right back down (That was the #l) Yes. It was #l but it was the circuit breaker that said 'N2' that was out. I did not know what the 2 meant but I pushed it in and that seemed to cure our problem whatever it was. Then I thought things were real well up until the last time I got mildly irritated, when I got down to about 10 seconds. I pushed the pump and I got a stage 2 igniter and it looked good to me and I said "how does it look, how does it look, how does it look", and then it said "it looks good" and I guess it said "how do you read"; then it was too late, because as soon as I heard "good" I hit the switch and threw the throttle on as fast as I could and got a vibration malfunction shutdown. I usually launch and get the throttle on pretty fast. If you think this was too fast maybe you can check the tape and figure out why. Maybe I should not get the throttle on so fast, but nevertheless, I got a malfunction shutdown. So I went throttle off, reset, prime, igniter ready, throttle on, and I waited and I waited. About that time I was getting very discouraged - and it started. I was holding more than 10 all the time I think during this procedure. It was not really stalled too badly. It might have been buffeting and shaking a little bit. After the engine started I let it back down to 10. I was holding that, made a heading correction; I don't know what q was but I thought I started to feel a little bit of limit cycle like you do in the simulator sometimes. But I held the 10 a until I got to 2 g's and then I held 2 g's, and I might have let it ease off a little bit to about 1.8 or 1.9 somewhere but I was holding approximately 2 until theta came. Much later, when I did not catch the time on it. After I got theta we were going up and I thought to myself I will push over early. Maybe 57, something like we had been doing, but I realized that h dot was a pretty good indicator so when 800 h dot came I had 53.5 and I pushed. That's what I saw on the inertials when I went to 1 a. 53.5 and 800 h dot. That seems to work out real well because I did not have too many good cross checks. After that I just went 1 a. 3900 I rolled left. At 4500 on the inertials I shut down which was 71.5 seconds which we'd expect to be longer anyway because of the delayed light. I did the pull up. I just pulled past three. Pulled rapidly, it was quite smooth though. Did not feel any buffet. Went back to zero and rolled wings level and then I got a good check to see where I was going to come out, and it looked pretty good. It looked like I was about 80,000 with 500 h dot, so I thought I lucked out this time. So I must have been on speed there. I leveled off over the top, and the inertials were approximately 84.5. After that I flew it just like the simulator. Energy management coming home. Set up a minus 100 h dot and when I saw 4 I pulled smoothly up to 12 alpha. No buffet at all. It was very smooth. Pushed back over and held minus 100 again. I got 3.7 and I pulled up to 12 a and it was very smooth again. The g's I did not really stop to stabilize to see what g I was getting. It looked too much like the simulator. I would say between 2 and 2.5, somewhere in there. In fact, Jack, the whole thing looked like I thought I was in the simulator most of the time. We came across Cuddeback at exactly what I think we planned, somewhere around 72 and 3.2. Full speed brakes, made a turn and 2.5 came up when I started to pull up. I was kind of eager here to get some buffet because you know I wanted to see where it would come in. I think I exceeded 12 a. I pulled and pulled and pulled and I got a little lateral instability. I thought beta started to glitch out a little bit, maybe to the left, so I eased off. I don't know what alpha was. I think the g was somewhere up around 3. (?) I think I started to just feel it just at the instant that happened. Yes. But I am sure it was in excess of 12 so I am sure it was there. I hope the instrumentation will show where it was because I really did not get a good handle. I was more interested in watching the g meter and seeing what I was going to get than what alpha was going to be. About that time I rolled out, pushed back to zero g, looked out of the window and we were home. So that was pretty uneventful. Hit all the circuit breakers and flew the pattern. I guess the only other thing I did which we had not planned in the simulator, because you can't do it, was I just tried to get down close to the ground and hold it off until I thought I was about a foot. It held off quite well. In fact, I think I touched down at less than 170 indicated. I would say about 165 - 168. That seems to make you a little long. I don't know where I touched. It goes and goes. I checked to make sure I had the throttle off, but I wasn't sure. The thing really floats. You can hold it off a long time. So I guess from now if I get to fly Ship #3 any more I will try to touch it at 210. It's a good airplane.