Derek Lyons wrote:

Pat Flannery wrote:

http://www.testpilot.ru/usa/convair/...h/kingfish.htm



2. The mock-up has no apparent canopy, making one wonder if this is
either a reconnaissance drone or missile derivative of the Kingfish
design. Was this the Convair competitor for the D-21?



Look at the drawings (which show a cockpit), and the second photograph
(which is the only one which shows the whole aircraft). The cockpit
is plainly present (though very small in relation to the size of the
aircraft.)


Yeah, I could see it when I looked closer, it's just very blended in.
Look at this shot though:
http://www.testpilot.ru/usa/convair/...ingfish_06.jpg
Assuming the guy on the ladder who's at the back edge of the wing is 5'
5" inches tall, then the wingspan is around 5.75 to 6 times his height-
which means a wingspan of around 30 to 35 feet. But wingspan is supposed
to be around 55 feet, so is this a half sized model?
The other oddball thing is that this is apparently supposed to be used
for RCS cross section tests, but the metalwork on it looks really crude-
note the bad seams on the nose, and the crack in the underbelly on this
photo:
http://www.testpilot.ru/usa/convair/...ingfish_02.jpg
You stick this in front of a radar, and it's going to be echoing all
over the place.
Lockheed's A-12 RCS test specimen was like a piece of chromed sculpture
compared to this thing

The remainder of the photographs show the *bottom* of the aircraft
(the model was built 'upside down'), so of course the cockpit isn't
visible.


I knew is was upside down from the location of the vertical fins, which
otherwise might have interfered with landing. ;-)

Pat