John Carrier wrote:
"Jeb Hoge" wrote in message
om...

Originally, I'm pretty sure Sidewinder was designed using Zuni
bodies and motors.

Nope. The Zuni burn time was very short, perhaps 1 second. SW was
at least
5. I've fired both from fuselage pylons on the F-8. The Zuni
approximated a freight train speeding past your head with about 6
inches clearance.


FWIW, _Sidewinder_ (by Ron Westrum) says Sidewinder used the motor of the
"High-Performance Air-to-Ground" rocket that China Lake was developing. It
was picked specifically because it was a slow-burn, low-acceleration rocket
that woudn't damage Sidewinder's fairly fragile seeker.

The China Lake alumni organization's website has one picture of a Skyraider
with HPAGs under the wings. They are non-podded rockets with fixed tail
fins, quite different from Zuni.

http://www.chinalakealumni.org/1954.htm

(You'll have to scroll the photo list a bit; I can't find a way to link
directly to the right picture and still show the caption.)

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