Suntan
Developed in the 1950's by Lockheed Martin, the Suntan, officially designated as CL-400, was designed to replace the U-2. The huge, but light aircraft was intended to fly at Mach 2.5, powered by 2 Pratt & Whitney hydrogen burning Air-Turbo-Ramjet (ATR) engines. A facility in Florida was built just to test these engines. However, these engines proved to be the cause of its failure. The project was cancelled, because of the immense cost of the fuel, with only four prototypes made.
After cancellation in 1958, it was renamed to "Gusto" and moved to the CIA. In September 1959, Lockheed was again given the chance to build it. The project was then renamed to "Oxcart" and the Suntan became the SR-71 Blackbird.
It is rumored that the information gained during the development of the Suntan (mainly the engines) has been incorporated into the Aurora.
By the way, nothing was heard about the Suntan for over 20 years.
Characteristics
- TOGW: 69,955 lbs
- Zero FW: 48,515 lbs
- Fuel load: 21,440 lbs
- Payload: 1,500 lbs
- Crew: 2
- Wing area: 2,4000 Sq. ft
- Aspect ratio: 2.5
- 304-2 engines: 2
If anyone has any more information on this aircraft, I would greatly appreciate if you send me it.
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