AVIATION: The Cats of MIG Alley

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Flying Arm Chair. But as the kill ratio, over the MIGs has soared, so has the pilots' respect for the sturdiness and dependability of the F-86. They have found that odds are with the MIG only until actual combat starts. Then the reliable Sabre takes over. Said Jet Ace (11 MIGs) Major James Jabara: "It's like flying an arm chair." The MIG cannot pull out of a left spin, but U.S. pilots never have to worry about the Sabre. The Sabre is also stronger than the MIG; pilots have seen the wings shear off a MIG or the tail disintegrate, but an F-86 has never come apart in the air.

Above all, the Sabre is versatile. The MIG was designed as a shortrange, fastclimbing bomber interceptor to defend Russia. It is ideally suited for Korea. But the Sabre was designed for air-to-air combat — and light bombing — anywhere in the world.

New Problems. In producing the F-86, North American Aviation ran into problems such as were never encountered in the days of propeller-driven aircraft. Says Dutch Kindelberger: "There's as much difference between the Mustang's electrical system and that of a Sabre as there is between a doorbell and a television set." For a full year, engineers worked on ejection seats to bail the pilot out in case of emergency. Because the friction heat at 600 m.p.h. raises a plane's cockpit temperature enough to roast the pilot, the F-86 had to have a cooling unit with the power of 35 household refrigerators; because it would run into temperatures of 65° below at high altitudes, it needed a heating unit capable of warming 30 average houses.

As new models came off the line, refinements were added. To give greater control at top speed, a "flying tail" was designed, enabling the entire horizontal tailpiece to move. It was then found that pilots "lost the feel" of the ship because of the new power control system; to supply "artificial feel," a spring and a bob-weight were built in so that the pressures on the stick would vary with changes in speed and altitude. The nose of one model, the F-86D interceptor, was loaded with special radar equipment which will track down an enemy plane, figure its speed and angle of approach, automatically steer the F-86D on an intercepting course and fire its load (24 "Mighty Mouse" rockets) before diverting the F-86 so it won't collide with the enemy.

All these things added weight: one extra pound of gadgetry can add ten pounds to the plane because of needed structural changes, extra fuel capacity, etc. They also added to the cost: F-86s cost $500,000 apiece, v. $100,000 for World War II's Mustangs. But with all due credit to the superb pilots, Dutch Kindelberger is convinced that the gadgets have more than paid off in Korea. Says he: "The best jockey in the world can't win on a lousy horse?'