Posted on 06/22/2010 1:33:35 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The Eagle is a timeless design, like a shark....
The Last Gunslinger The F-15C is the only dedicated dogfighter left in the U.S. military fleet. Why isn’t the Air Force replacing it?
Cuz Obama is a bi-sexual Muslim Marxist who wants America to fail?
Where do I line up to get my prize ???
Great article! Thanks for posting.
My best friend from Phoenix and I were the dedicated Ground Control Intercept (GCI) controllers for the entire F-15C Follow-on Operatonal Test and Evaluation in the early 70’s at Luke AFB. We did dogfights with virtually every fighter in all the Services, including Topgun from Miramar, ANG (F-100s) and many others too numerous to mention. Mostly fought between Phoenix/Tucson and the border...we fought, tanked, fought, tanked, and fought until they couldn’t pull on the pole any longer. All the controlling was on separate freqs. That’s when I became an aggressor controller because the 64th Aggressors wouldn’t allow anyone to control them that hadn’t been certified and the Eagles wouldn’t let anyone control them except Steve and I...it was a question of trust. Greatest controlling I ever did, including 15 months in Vietnam. You were trully like their second wingman.
Fantastic article !!
Cant say I diss-argee with those experts. There is already an F-18 Growler with a confirmed kill on a F-22 (training of course)
BTTT
I remember a controller “Hotdog” who was the best I ever saw. He truly was the other wingman only with “far” vision to see others entering the fight from miles away.
Hawg
I noted two major features about this article - it’s well written and the writer appears to know his subject, two features completely lacking amongst the current stable of no-talent Marxist hacks scribbling in today’s print media.
Good work, Michael Behar.
It’s been so many years I don’t recall my individual tactical call sign at Autumn control in Phoenix. My call sign in Vietnam was Portcall 24...but that’s my call sign here also. I work with the Army and yesterday a briefing was cancelled. I called up this USMC F-4 pilot who was involved to tell him. I started the conversation with “knock it off”, “knock it off”, “knock it off”. Really got him laughing.
I still use the term “knock it off”. Fortunately the family indulges me. :)
F-15C article ping.
One of the most beautiful aircraft ever designed. My favorite picture is of a pair of them, accelerating in a vertical climb over the Chugach range in AK.
Love the F-15. I think Chuck Yeager felt it was the finest jet fighter in the U.S. Air Force fleet.
The F-15 is simply one of the greatest fighters ever built. It has a combat record of over 100 kills to zero losses. No airplane ever built comes even close to this.
However, the F-22 simply outclasses it. The article talks about dogfighting, and while such engagements might occur, it will be rare. Most engagements these days are likely to be done via BVR missiles, and in that sort of fight, the F-22 dominates like a seeing man vs. a blind man in a pistol duel. Even in a dogfight the F-15 doesn’t have any advantage, and is really a bit behind. This is what happens when 20+ years of technology go into the next aircraft. It is no slight on the Eagle, it just shows our aerospace engineers weren’t standing still.
The main shortcoming of the F-22 is the insufficient quantity built. Since our government decided to go broke frittering away money on entitlements, we won’t be getting any more. The F-35 is a necessary program, though the DoD really should be doing a better job keeping the costs under control.
Thank you McDonnell Douglas for the best of the best!
What a wonderfully well written article... thanks.
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