Jet to Jet

Showing off the quality of its fast-building force of Century-series jet planes and especially the capabilities of its new KC-135 jet air-to-air refueling tankers, the U.S. Air Force brought down a whole set of "high-speed flight records. Blasting off a runway at Ontario International Airport near Los Angeles one morning last week, four McDonnell RF-101 jets headed for New York. Coursing at 40.000 to 50,000 ft. over Albuquerque, Oklahoma City. St. Louis and Pittsburgh, the pilots of the twin-jet Voodoos dropped down only to 35,000 ft. for four or five refuelings at a whizzing 600 m.p.h., giving them a zooming advantage over pre-135 record seekers, who had to descend to 18,000 ft. and 250 m.p.h. to be refueled by prop-driven KC-97 tankers.

With such help, plus the advantage of one of the fastest aircraft now flying, Lieut. Gustav B. Klatt, 29, set a new 2,419-mile west-to-east record of 3 hr. 5 min. 39.2 sec., landed at New Jersey's McGuire A.F.B. Captain Robert M. Sweet, 30, flying nonstop round trip (4,838 miles), broke the east-to-west record (despite 40-to-150-m.p.h. head winds) in 3 hr. 34 min. 8.8 sec. When he blinked past his home base, Sweet clocked a round-trip record--6 hr. 42 min. 6.7 sec.--averaging 721.9 m.p.h. For the trip he was well above Mach 1.0 (the speed of sound), and at several points along the way he cracked through a ground speed of a little more than 1,000 m.p.h.

No slowpokes were the other two Voodoo pilots: Captain Ray Schrecengost, 31, flew the round trip at an average speed of 671.4 m.p.h.; Captain Robert Kilpatrick, 32, flew the first leg (landing at McGuire) averaging 765.68 m.p.h. Rewards for all four: the Distinguished Flying Cross to Sweet and Klatt, Air Medals to Schrecengost and Kilpatrick.

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