Convairiety, Volume 9, Number 22, Wednesday, October 31, 1956 Page: 1 of 8
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Convair/General Dynamics Newsletters and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Fort Worth and
Daingerfield
EDITION
Fort Worth news office:
ext. 5290; Daingerfield news
office: ext. 424
SAN DIEGO, POMONA AND ANTELOPE VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
DAINGERFIELD AND FORT WORTH, TEXAS
FW's 'Hustler Makes First Taxi Runs
Goal Surpassed as Over
20,000 Pledge Donations
As Members of Con-Trib
Convair employees at Fort Worth have gone far over
their Con-Trib-Club goal and have jumped the member-
ship total to 20,607, with more cards still to come in.
Total pledges amount to $295,215 at this point, 123Vk
per cent of the goal of $238,720.
-----Participation now stands at 83
Convair FW
To Modify
F-102A Fleet
Convair Fort Worth has
been awarded a contract to
modify a fleet of F-102A su-
personic interceptors, Au-
gust C. Esenwein, division
manager, announced this week.
First of the airplanes is due
to arrive at Fort Worth in De-
cember.
The interceptors are among the
first produced at San Diego and
since then have been flown at
various bases in one of the most
comprehensive test programs in
air history. Convair FW’s task
will be to convert them from test
configuration and fit them for de-
livery to the Air Force for tac-
tical use in squadrons of the Air
Defense Command. The conver-
sion project is known as “test to
tact.”
Work will involve removing
all special equipment and in-
strumentation and rework to
match the F-102As now coming
off the production line at San
Diego.
The first ships will go into
work at the north end of the as-
sembly building.
Inside work will be accomp-
lished at a series of work stations
at the north end of the assembly
building alongside the moderniza-
tion department offices of E. E.
Finch, modernization manager.
Much of the work will be per-
formed by employees in moderni-
zation; others in electronics un-
der Supt. C. B. Clark; and in field
operations under Supt. M. W.
Holley.
In addition, the planes will be
put through a number of test
flights by flight department
pilots directed by B. A. Erickson.
The F-102As also will be in-
spected and repaired as required,
a type of work in which Convair
employees have considerable ex-
perience. Since 1952, they have
carried on a major maintenance
program for the entire fleet of
B-36s flown by Strategic Air
Command.
That program is the first time
the Air Force had returned an
(Continued on page 8)
Lawyer to Address
FW Management Club
Convair Fort Worth Manage-
ment Club members will hear
Charles Kothe, Tulsa specialist in
administrative and labor law, ex-
plain “Changing Times” at the
Nov. 20 meeting.
Convair to Observe
Thanksgiving Nov. 29
Thanksgiving will be ob-
served Nov. 29 at Convair Fort
Worth.
This is the day observed by
Fort Worth public schools.
At the plant, the only people on
duty will be those notified by
their supervisors.
per cent of those on the FW
payroll.
“For this achievement, we have
the generosity of a huge majority
of Convair employees to thank,”
said August C. Esenwein, Fort
Worth Division manager.
“It is always gratifying to
witness once more the fine re-
sponse Convair men and women
display when they’re called
upon to do a job that needs
doing.
“My sincere thanks go to
each man and woman.”
At the end of the first week,
second shift efforts edged first
shift slightly. Second shift scored
102 per cent of goal, while first
shift showed 97.
First departments to reach 100
per cent or more of dollar goals
were these: Depts. 2, 3, 4, 5, 8,
9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 33, 41,
42, 46, 48, 53^ 54, 55, 56, 58, 64,
73, 75, 76, 77.
First to score 100 per cent par-
ticipation were Dept. 8, industrial
engineering, with 157 per cent of
dollar quota; Dept. 17, office serv-
ices, with 163 per cent; and Dept.
46, nose assembly, with 138 per
cent.
First departments reaching 90
per cent or more participation,
but less than 100 per cent, were:
Depts. 5, 10, 11, 18, 33, 35 and 55.
First departments to reach 80
per cent or more participation,
but less than 90 per cent, were:
Depts. 4, 9, 12, 14, 19, 22, 24, 26,
28, 30, 58, 73, 76 and 77.
More Schools
Join Convair
'Co-op' Program
Three more schools—making a
total of 15 colleges and universi-
ties—are now participating in
Convair Fort Worth’s engineering
co-op plan.
The latest additions are North-
western University, Purdue Uni-
versity and Missouri School of
Mines, according to H. C. Ander-
son, training assistant super-
visor.
Already in the program were:
Southern Methodist University,
Arlington State College, Weath-
erford College, University of Ken-
tucky, Georgia Tech, Louisiana
State University, Oklahoma A &
M, Oklahoma University, Texas
Tech, Virginia Polytechnic Insti-
tute, University of Texas and
University of Houston.
Largest number of students is
from SMU. Forty-nine of a total
of 94 students in the program
are from SMU.
The co-op plan is five times
bigger than it was only two years
ago.
“That gives you an idea how
well it’s being accepted by engi-
neering students and their
schools,” said Anderson.
“It’s proving popular with
students because it not only
gives them a chance to get
their formal education, but
practical engineering know-how
as well.”
(Continued on page 8)
NO STRANGER—When Convair FW gets going on modification
of F-l02As from test to tactical configuration, FW will not be
dealing with a "stranger." In the past, Fort Worth has produced
many of the parts that go into the interceptor. Shown above is
Hershel Whatley, right, and J. T. Berkley, both Dept. 45, working
on fuselage component.
Savings Bonds Buying Reaches
Record Rate During September
Dollars are going into U.S. Savings Bonds faster and
faster at Convair Fort Worth.
And in September, employees turned $789,797 into
bonds through payroll deductions. This is the highest
monthly savings figure of the year so far.
This is pleasantly surprising,”
said M. L. Hicks, assistant divi-
sion manager, “since our cam-
paign on savings bonds was held
several months ago. And the rate
of our purchases continues to go
up.”
Deductions for bonds at start
of the year were authorized by
almost 53 per cent of employees.
The total was $516,001 for the
month.
After the campaign, participa-
tion went to 65 per cent in July.
The dollar figure was $668,968.
During September, the partici-
pation figure had dropped to 62
per cent. But the dollar total was
$789,797—highest point of the
year.
This resulted from two fac-
tors: a larger number of em-
ployees, and larger deductions
as compared to total payroll.
The increase in deductions is
shown by the fact that deductions
in January amounted to slightly
more than 5.25 per cent of the
total payroll for the period. In
September, the figure had risen
to more than 5.50 per cent.
The record made by Convair
men and women is credited for a
substantial part of the improved
savings bond record made by Tar-
rant County during the period.
In the nine months, a total of
8,980 payroll savings were added
to the program in the county.
Convair people alone accounted
for almost 4,000 of that number.
The county’s record was recog-
nized last week in a special
award from the U. S. Treasury
Department. It was presented by
Charles Ringler, county savings
bond chairman, and accepted by
Hicks, who is county chairman
for payroll savings.
Toys That Originally Cost $50,000
Collected For Christmas Rework
Crews of Santa’s helpers are
hard at work this week on the
largest “Operation: Fix-a-Toy”
ever staged at Convair Fort
Worth.
Gift of Paper Sack
Carries $1 For Toys
Sorting toys for Convair Fort
Worth’s “Operation . . . Fix-a-
Toy,” Lyle King, Dept. 95, came
across a paper sack, apparently
empty but carefully stapled. In-
side he found a note . . .
“Having no children in the
home, maybe this will help.”
Attached was a $1 bill.
Being sorted for repair are 110
truckloads of toys, original value
estimated at $50,000, collected in
the FW plant and city-wide pick-
up Oct. 21 under direction of H.
L. Tucker, collection chairman.
Convair FW Management Club
members and other workers were
assisted by Boy Scouts of the
Longhorn Council who distributed
advance notices and helped with
the actual door-to-door collection.
Although plant departments
are assigned specific work
nights at the Fix-a-Toy head-
quarters in the stock show
building, south of Will Rogers
Coliseum, employees may re-
(Continued on page 8)
Delta B-58
Readied
For Flight
America’s first supersonic
bomber, the delta wing- B-58
built at Convair Fort Worth,
has made its first taxi run,
Convair and the U.S. Air
Force announced early this week.
Taxi runs are the final phase
in the bomber’s ground test pro-
gram before first flight, August
C. Esenwein, manager of Fort
Worth Division, said.
The B-58, called “Hustler,” has
a crew of three, a pilot, naviga-
tor-bombardier and defensive sys-
tems operator.
The test crew includes B. A.
Erickson, chief test pilot and
manager of flight for the FW Di-
vision; J. D. McEachern, flight
observer; and C. P. Harrison,
test engineer.
Designed for supersonic speeds
and altitudes of above 50,000
feet, the B-58 has a wing span
of approximately 35 feet. It is
about 95 feet long and 30 feet
in height. The airplane is pow-
ered by four General Electric
J-79 turbo-jet engines, mounted
in separate nacelles slung below
the delta wing. Esenwein said
the fuselage is “area ruled”
(pinched in) to minimize tran-
sonic drag, as is the Convair
F-1C2A.
The B-58’s triangular wing has
elevons in the trailing edge.
These combine the control func-
tions of conventional ailerons and
elevators. A sharply swept-back
vertical stabilizer and rudder
give directional control and sta-
bility.
Sixteen complex major subsys-
tems in the B-58, including the
bomber’s own defense system,
are virtually automatic and xa-
pable of accomplishing their
work with a minimum of super-
vision from the crew.
The Air Force assigned Con-
vair full responsibility for de-
signing and building not only
the airframe but also for procur-
ing and installing all other equip-
ment except the engines. These
the government supplied. (Nor-
mally, the Air Force contracts
separately with airframe and
equipment manufacturers for de-
velopment and production of a
new aircraft and its equipment.)
The Hustler program involves
some 3,000 subcontractors and
other suppliers.
Out-of-Plant Training
On F-102As Under Way
For Test to Tact'
Thirty-five Convair Fort Worth
employees from three depart-
ments already have started
special out-of-plant training for
the new program on the F-102A.
For work on one of the F-102A
systems, they began a 17-week
training program Oct. 15 at
Hughes Aircraft in Culver City,
Calif.
★ ★ ★
Clement Assigned to
Test to Tact* Post
A. E. Clement is now on tempo-
rary assignment to the Convair
FW resident office at San Diego
with responsibility of guiding
Fort Worth’s test-to-tactical mod-
ification program on the F-102A.
Clement is located in the Fort
Worth resident office, Bldg. 4,
Plant 2. W. E. Magnuson is the
FW resident office manager.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
General Dynamics Corporation. Convair Division. Convairiety, Volume 9, Number 22, Wednesday, October 31, 1956, periodical, October 31, 1956; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth777496/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth.