The Me 262 Project is a company formed to build flyable reproductions of the Messerschmitt Me 262, the world's first operational jet fighter. The project was started by the Texas Airplane Factory and administered by Classic Fighter Industries. It is based at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, United States, near Seattle. The project team of designers, engineers, and technicians completed the flight test program in 2012 [1] and delivery of the first of five jets. [2]
The aircraft are powered by General Electric CJ610 turbojet engines, concealed inside detailed reproductions of the original Junkers Jumo 004B engines and nacelles. [3]
Five aircraft were built: [4]
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft primarily designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It is the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft in history as well as the first piloted aircraft of any type to exceed 1,000 kilometres per hour (620 mph) in level flight.
The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed Schwalbe in fighter versions, or Sturmvogel in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft and "the only jet fighter to see air-to-air combat in World War Two".
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, two pre-production models saw limited service in Italy just before the end of World War II. Designed with straight wings, the type saw extensive combat in Korea with the United States Air Force (USAF) as the F-80.
The Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger is a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe late in World War II. Developed under the Emergency Fighter Program, it was designed and built quickly and made primarily of wood as metals were in very short supply and prioritised for other aircraft. Volksjäger was the Reich Air Ministry's official name for the government design program competition won by the He 162 design. Other names given to the plane include Salamander, which was the codename of its wing-construction program, and Spatz ("Sparrow"), which was the name given to the plane by the Heinkel aviation firm.
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by one or more jet engines.
The Junkers Jumo 004 was the world's first production turbojet engine in operational use, and the first successful axial compressor turbojet engine. Some 8,000 units were manufactured by Junkers in Germany late in World War II, powering the Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter and the Arado Ar 234 reconnaissance/bomber, along with prototypes, including the Horten Ho 229. Variants and copies of the engine were produced in Eastern Europe and the USSR for several years following the end of WWII.
Originally called the He 180, the Heinkel He 280 was an early turbojet-powered fighter aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Heinkel. It was the first jet fighter to fly in the world.
The Messerschmitt Me 328 was a prototype pulsejet-powered fighter aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG.
A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or the South African Air Force Museum Historic Flight.
The Jet Age is a period in the history of aviation defined by the advent of aircraft powered by jet turbine engines and the social and cultural changes fostered by commercial jet travel.
Operation LUSTY was the United States Army Air Forces' effort to capture and evaluate German aeronautical technology during and after World War II.
The General Electric CJ610 is a non-afterburning turbojet engine derived from the military J85, and is used on a number of civilian business jets. The model has logged over 16.5 million hours of operation. Civilian versions have powered business jets such as the Learjet 23 and the Hamburger Flugzeugbau HFB 320 Hansa Jet. The engines are also used in the flyable Messerschmitt Me 262 reproductions built by the Me 262 Project in the United States.
The Aérospatiale N 262 is a French twin-turboprop high-wing airliner built first by Nord Aviation. The aircraft was also known as the Nord 262.
The Messerschmitt P.1112 was a proposed German jet fighter, developed by Messerschmitt AG during the closing stages of World War II, and intended for use by the Luftwaffe. The progress of the war prevented the completion of a prototype before the fall of Nazi Germany. Its design, however, had a direct influence on postwar US Navy carrier fighters.
Kbely Aviation Museum is the largest aviation museum in the Czech Republic and one of the largest of its kind in Europe. It is located to the north-east of Prague, at the military airport Kbely.
The SNCASO SO.4000 was an experimental French twin-engine bomber of the 1950s. It was the first French jet bomber developed, but it never entered operational service.
The Messerschmitt P.1099 was a two-seat prototype jet plane designed by Messerschmitt for the Luftwaffe before the end of the Second World War.
The Messerschmitt Me 262 was a German World War II fighter aircraft built by Messerschmitt in the later stages of the war, and under license by Avia post-war.