Manufacturer: SCALED COMPOSITES

Model: 103

Name: Ascender II

Type:

Date: 1985

Status: Experimental

Country: United States

Service: U.S. Air Force

Designation: YF-55A



Synopsis:

at some point during the early 80s, the U.S. Air Force commissioned Burt Rutan to build a third Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender prototype using the latest in aerodynamic improvements and composite technology, but retaining the general lines and proportions. Thus was born Scaled's Model 103 ACCA (Advanced Combat Canard Aircraft), dubbed the "Caca" or the "donkey-Ender" by the crew at Scaled. The prototype was formally accepted by the United States of AmericaF. in 1987 and designated YF-55A in the old F-for fighter category. When it was lost in a crash after only 20 hours of flying time because of an Air Force pilot's mistake, Burt Rutan was so pissed that he set about working on a new, unsolicited combat aircraft for the military, the Model 151 ARES...


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