Home > General Electric J79

It was developed in the 1950s as an outgrowth of the J73 engine program, originally called J73-GE-X24A, intended for reliable Mach 2 performance. It was a single-shaft turbojet with a 17-stage compressor, with a novel arrangement of variable stator blades that allowed the engine to develop pressure similar to a two-stage engine at a much lower weight.

The J79 is about 17 feet (5.18 m) long, with a diameter of slightly over three feet (0.94 m) and a dry weight of 3,500 to 3,800 pounds (1,585 kg to 1,725 kg), depending on version. In later versions it produced up to 11,890 lbs (52.89 kN) dry and 18,730 lbs (83.40 kN) afterburning thrust.

The first flight of the engine was on 17 February 1956, on a Lockheed F-104A Starfighter. It proved highly successful, although experience in the Vietnam War was to show the disadvantages of its smoky exhaust, particularly in afterburner. It enjoyed a production run of more than 30 years in the United States and under license in Israel.

The J79 was used on the F-104 Starfighter, B-58 HustlerB-58 Hustler Description RoleStrategic bomber CrewThree (pilot, bombardier/navigator, defensive systems operator) Dimensions Length96 ft 9 in29. 5 m Wingspan56 ft 9 in17. 3 m Height29 ft 11 in8. 87 m Wing area1,542 ft²143. 25 m² Weights Empty (no pod)55,5, F-4 Phantom IIThe F-4 Phantom II (simply "F-4 Phantom" after 1990) is a two-place (tandem), supersonic, long-range, all-weather fighter-bomber built by McDonnell Douglas Corporation. It was operated by the US Navy, the USMC and later the USAF, from 1961 until 1995., A-5 VigilanteThe North American A3J/A-5 Vigilante was a powerful, highly advanced carrier-based supersonic bomber designed for the US Navy. Although its service in the strike role was very short, it saw extensive service in the reconnaissance role. Development In 1953, IAI KfirThe IAI Kfir is an Israeli-built military aircraft based on the French Mirage 5. Following a French government embargo that prevented Dassault selling Israel the Mirages that they had already paid for, IAI produced an unlicenced copy of this aircraft as t, and, in civilian form, the Convair 880Above Photo of first Convair 880 Photo Courtesy of Convair The Convair 880 was a jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics. It was designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller, faster and safer, a niche and Convair 990The Convair 990 ''Coronado was a jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics, a "stretched" version of their earlier Convair 880 produced in response to a request from American Airlines. The 990 was lengthened by 10 feet, which incre airlinerAn airliner is a type of aircraft initially designed for the transportation of paying passengers. There may be variants developed for air freight, military or luxury corporate use. Occasionally the military version precedes the civilian airliner. Exampless. A J79-powered version of the F-16 was developed for export, but not produced.