Goodyear GA-17

All-Weather Heavy Fighter / Night-Fighter Aircraft Proposal

United States | 1950

"The Goodyear GA-17 design was part of the proposals for the USAAF looking to fulfill a heavy all-weather fighter requirement."

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GA-17 was the project designation allotted to a Goodyear Aircraft design attempting to fulfill a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) requirement for an all-weather heavy fighter / night-fighter. The requirement was eventually filled by a design that would become the Northrop F-89 "Scorpion" in service but nonetheless attracted several major industry players including Consolidated Vultee and Douglas. The GA-17 came in second to the Northrop submission out of a possible nine presented models.

In August of 1945 details were hashed out for several new aircraft types that included an all-weather heavy fighter with speeds nearing 550 miles per hour, a range out to 1,000 miles and a rate-of-climb around 3,000 feet-per-minute. A night-fighting capability would also be an inherent over-battlefield role indicating that radar would have to be carried and this, by default, necessitated a crew of two (a dedicated radar operator being added).

The GA-17 was to fit three Westinghouse 24C turbojets of 3,000 lb thrust each with two seated within the wing roots with the third buried within the fuselage. The design was made to operate on one of these engines alone so all three were held as close to the aircraft's center as possible. JATO (Jet-Assisted Take-Off) could come in the form of two or four jettisonable rocket boosters to assist the aircraft in getting aloft in short order. An advanced wing planform was used, influenced heavily by German aircraft data captured by the Americans at the end of World War 2 (1939-1945) and this made for a very elegant-looking aircraft with blended wing roots, swept-back wing mainplanes and a single-finned tail unit. A tricycle undercarriage would be standard.

The crew of two was seated in a side-by-side arrangement, the cockpit mounted well-ahead of midships with vision out-of-the-cockpit deemed excellent. All primary fixed armament resided in a belly-mounted bulge, these guns consisting of 4 x 20mm cannons. The belly mount was radar-controlled and offered the guns a 15-degree firing arc to either side. The gun muzzles also lay away from the crew's vision which would prove a good quality when firing at night (muzzle flash). An additional gun pairing was set within the vertical tail fin, aft-facing, to content with any trailing interceptors and these, too, were given 15-degree firing arc flexibility. The AN/APG-3 series radar fit would direct these guns and its installation lay within the vertical tail fin itself - causing a noticeable structural outcropping. It is assumed that a rocket- and bomb-carrying function would also have been worked into the GA-17's design should it have evolved out of its paper stage.

Like other submissions in the all-weather heavy fighter requirement, the Goodyear proposal was reviewed by USAAF authorities. It was thought that the aircraft would have good all-around performance but there were concerns as to the complexity of its armament fit as well as the ductwork required of the engine trio. The Northrop N.24 (Model A) presented a better, more complete, alternative which earned the right to be developed, leaving the GA-17 to the pages of history.

Estimated performance for the GA-17, per Goodyear engineers, included a maximum speed of 610 miles per hour and a service ceiling of 44,000 feet.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Goodyear GA-17 All-Weather Heavy Fighter / Night-Fighter Aircraft Proposal.

3 x Westinghouse 24C turbojet engines developing 3,000 lb thrust each; 2 OR 4 x JATO rockets for take-off assistance.
Propulsion

609 mph
980 kph | 529 kts
Max Speed

43,996 ft
13,410 m | 8 miles
Service Ceiling

708 miles
1,140 km | 616 nm
Operational Range

6,565 ft/min
2,001 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Goodyear GA-17 All-Weather Heavy Fighter / Night-Fighter Aircraft Proposal.

2
(MANNED)
Crew

53.3 ft
16.25 m
O/A Length

53.0 ft
(16.15 m)
O/A Width

16.2 ft
(4.95 m)
O/A Height

23,005 lb
(10,435 kg)
Empty Weight

30,865 lb
(14,000 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Goodyear GA-17 All-Weather Heavy Fighter / Night-Fighter Aircraft Proposal .

PROPOSED:
4 x 20mm cannons in underfuselage blister position (remote-controlled / radar-directed.
2 x 20mm cannons in tail unit (rearward facing, remote-controlled / radar-directed).

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Goodyear GA-17 family line.

GA-17 - Base Project Designation

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Goodyear GA-17. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 0 Units
Contractor(s): Goodyear Aircraft - USA

[ United States (not selected) ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 750mph

Lo: 375mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (609mph).

Graph Average of 563 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

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Aviation Timeline

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WWI

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WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

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Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT

CLOSE-AIR SUPPORT

X-PLANE

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Going Further...
The Goodyear GA-17 All-Weather Heavy Fighter / Night-Fighter Aircraft Proposal appears in the following collections:

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