Hughes XF-11
The Hughes XF -11 was a twin-engine long-range reconnaissance aircraft. The letter " F" in the name stands for the common from 1930 to 1947 Mission ID Photographic reconnaissance and should not be confused with the commonly used today in the USAF identifier for Fighter
History
Constructed was the XF -11, which had a similar design with its two tail booms such as the famous Lockheed P -38 Lightning, by the U.S. billionaire Howard Hughes. The U.S. Air Force initially ordered 98 aircraft of this type for use as a photo reconnaissance aircraft. With the end of World War II, this order was withdrawn, so that only two prototypes were built, the first of which was launched on April 15, 1946 on its maiden flight, but already crashed on July 7 of the same year and burned. Hughes, who steered the machine should personally moved by this accident serious injuries.
On April 5, 1947, after Hughes recovery, started the second prototype, this time with conventional four-blade propellers, while the first version was equipped with two counter-rotating propellers per engine. However, to desire the stability at low speed left much and with the Boeing RB -50 a comparable and cheaper aircraft existed, renounced the U.S. Air Force for cost reasons, the development of the XF - 11th
Construction
The XF -11 was a two-seat cantilever monoplane with double tail booms. The machine was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney R- 4360-31 28- cylinder radial engines with 3,000 hp each startup performance. The chassis consisted of one equipped with 2 wheels retractable leg per body part and a well -equipped nose gear. The fuselage nose was glazed because of the behind housed camera.