How much of a challenge does production of the CF-104 Super Starfighter represent to the Canadian industry? And how are Canada’s aircraft and system manufacturers progressing in meeting the challenge?

        "We’re building a missile and fitting it out so a man can ride along and work in it."

        That’s the assessment of veteran aircraft builder Basil Daniels, Superintendent of CF-104 production at Canadair Ltd., Montreal.

        "The whole concept of this program is new. On the basis of my experience, nothing quite like this has previously been built in Canada."

        Has Canadian industry been able to respond to the challenge?

        "The record speaks for itself," Daniels declares. "We haven’t missed a single production schedule on the project-that includes our sub-contract commitments to Lockheed Aircraft."

        And nothing has been returned as unsatisfactory.

        "To the contrary," Daniels continues, "we get the impression Canadian workmanship is in many respects considered superior to that achieved by other production sources."

Tolerances Crucial

        Crux of potential difficulties on Super Starfighter production, according to Daniels, is the tolerances Which have to be achieved on the final product. They are, to paraphrase his description, missile precise.

        "On programs we have had here in the past," Daniels explains, "we have worked to tolerances of fractions of an inch over a wing area or section of fuselage.

        "On the CF-104, the specification calls for us to hold to tolerances of 10 and in some instances five thousandths over as much as a 12 ft. area.

        "This, we realized from the start, required a whole new approach."

        In effect made the Super Starfighter an aircraft on which it would be impossible to correct an error or make do with a little adjustment. Everything, to the smallest component, had to be right from the start.

        The key to success? Quality control!

        Rigid, uncompromising quality control exercised back through to the lowliest sub-contractor supplying What might normally be considered the most inconsequential sub-component.

        As the man in charge of over-all quality control on the CF-104 explains it, there appears to be no such thing as an inconsequential sub-component on the Super Starfighter.

        "In effect," says Harry McKeown, "we had to set our sights on establishing a level of quality control which would permit us to turn out aircraft components within tolerances which we had previously associated with the production of tooling.

        "Another major area of departure on this program," McKeown continues, "is the fact that the prime responsibility for engineering lies with Lockheed. We didn't design this aircraft, they did. They are the people who have guaranteed that it will perform in the manner specified.

       "We, of course, have a function in engineering since we are doing the actual production, but we don’t have the prime responsibility to the customer in this regard.

        "The potential problems here arise from any differences which may exist between our engineering standards and those of Lockheed. We have to reconcile the two. Where no final engineering specification was laid down, we had to negotiate with Lockheed to show that our method was satisfactory and would result in a product that would perform to specification or better."

        This arrangement differs from other programs. On the F-86 Sabre, for example, the Canadian government purchased the complete package, including engineering, so that the Canadian contractor, in that instance also Canadair, had full responsibility for engineering. On the Super Starfighter, Lockheed has to answer for performance and therefore exercises final engineering control.

        From the physical production point of view, the Super Starfighter program involved a change from the manufacture of a large number of light, comparatively simple components to the turning out of a small number of heavy, complex pieces.

        This meant, says McKeown, much more precise tooling than had been required in the past.

        "With the light pieces," he elaborates, "it was always possible to push things around a little and make a fit. Not so with the larger, heavy components of the CF-104. Here there is a minimum of forgiveness-and we have to reflect this in the standards we set for quality control."

        The aerodynamic envelope within which the Super Starfighter is designed to operate is such that there is no margin for straying from the precise specification on configuration.

        "On less advanced aircraft, with lower performance, we could accept a degree of mismatch on components. They didn't disturb the flight envelope. Not so with the Super Starfighter. Here there are critical areas on which there can be no mismatch," McKeown explains.

        This is a reference to the strict limitation on deviation from the designed symmetry of the airframe, particularly with regard to aerodynamic surfaces. Once again, McKeown’s comparison was with the F-86 Sabre project.

        "On the Sabre it was possible to follow conventional processes in building and checking out major parts of the airframe. Our method of manufacture of wings, for example, was to hand build masters and then establish structural jigs set to the masters. Our experience was that the product of the jig would be satisfactory as long as the jig retained its set to the master."

        Not so the CF-104. The basic procedure is similar, but here it is necessary to do a precise quality control check on critical airframe parts as they come off the line. This is the only certain guarantee the specification is being met so far as aerodynamic symmetry is concerned.

        To meet the rigid standards on the final product, Canadair found it prudent to insist on manufacturing tolerances below those established by engineering specifications for some key components.

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