In last month's report on a strange-looking aircraft at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, Calif., owner Anthony duPont refused to talk about it and declared it to be "top secret" and ordered no photos.
We took some anyway and subsequent to the story appearing in the April issue, we've received a lot of information about the plane, which has been well known to Gillespie residents for years. The most accurate came from William Chana, a respected and well-known aircraft designer and former president of the San Diego Air & Space Museum.
He sent along a brochure on the "duPont Jet Transport, Model DP-2," and noted that he knows Anthony duPont andtold him he was critical of the aircraft's design. The brochure he sent was dated Sept. 15, 1981 and included a brief report from the Air Transport World magazine's "Commuter/Regional World Daily," dated Nov. 30, 1982.
Here is part of their report:
"A 1/10th scale model of DuPont Aerospace's VTOL twin-fanjet DP-2 has been tested at NASA's Ames Research Center, and the wind tunnel investigations are said to have confirmed designer Anthony A. duPont's predictions. The operating fan and the vectored thrust control system were both tested successfully.
"The DP-2 is said to represent a unique concept of achieving a combination of efficient short-field and long distance performance with near-turboprop economy. DuPont believes it has its greatest potential as a commuter/corporate/military utility transport configured for 30 passengers.
"The design incorporates a supercritical wing of a type developed by NASA and flight-tested on a modified F-8 military jet. The objective is to achieve a drag break Mach number of 0.95,
"The DP-2's two fanjet engines are buried in the fuselage below the flight deck. A thrust vectoring system is deployed for landing.
"The aircraft would have a fuselage length of 61 ft. 2 in., a wingspan of 53 ft. 4 In. and a height of 18 ft. 9 in. It would seat 30-44 passengers.
"DuPont, who with marketing agent R. James Pfeiffer is at the RAA (Regional Airline Association) meeting, is currently exploring the market potential and is determining flight test production requirements. He believes that once market resistance to the unorthodox design has been overcome his concept will offer speed and advantages not available in present-day aircraft."
VECTORED THRUST
On a separate report was a report about how the plane's thrust vectoring system would work:
"The DP-2 achieves a short landing distance by vectoring the engine thrust to provide additional lift. Deflection is achieved by a cascade which is stored under the cabin floor in flight.
"When vectored thrust is desired, the cascade swings into the engine stream. Deflection angles vary through the vertical from forward to reverse thrust.
"At transitional flight speeds between hover and normal forward flight, a combination of thrust vector control and the aerodynamic control surfaces control the aircraft. The cascade thrust deflector used on the DP-2 is the simplest approach yet devised for the functions of thrust vectoring, vertical takeoff and landing, and thrust reversing.
"Thrust vectoring is a proven concept which has been demonstrated on a number of research and prototype aircraft over the past 20 years. An aircraft using vectored thrust, the AV-8A Harrier is presently operational."
The airplane at Gillespie is a half-scale version and even the San Diego Union-Tribune had a photo of it in their Dec. 26, 2001 edition with a caption that said Dupont (not relation to the chemical company of the same name) planned to develop a full-scale aircraft "that's big enough to carry troops, or a Humvee combat vehicle." The aircraft could also be used to "conduct combat search and rescue operations," the caption said.
In 1981, the company was based at Torrance but a website lists their address now as being in La Jolla. It's not known if the one-half scale version has flown but Gillespie's airport manager told us last month that he's never seen it fly in his two years at the helm, although they conduct frequent run-ups.
One would think that if they've been at this since at least 1981 (25 years!) they'd pretty much have a handle on any problems that might occur, but, of course, it's top secret so no one is saying.
DP-2 (Full Size) Specifications (in 1981):
Max cargo load, 7,500 lbs
Range at max gross, 2,600 n.m.
Cruise Alt. 35-55,000 ft.
Cruise speed Mach .95 (545 kts)
Length 62.7 ft.
Height 18.8 ft.
Wing span 53.6 ft.
Wing area 419 sq. ft.
Max ramp gross wt. 32,500 lbs
Max takeoff gross wt. 32,000 lbs.
Max landing gross wt. 28,000 lbs
Empty wt. 17,600 lbs
Wing fuel cap. 10,400 lbs (1,733 gals)
Engines CF 34 GE-1A
Thrust 8,980 lbs.
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