5 new F/A-22 Raptors land at base

miami.com ^

[iso]

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE -- (AP) -- Five more F/A-22 Raptors landed Friday at this Florida Panhandle base where Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, is among the first pilots being trained to fly the new stealth fighter.

The five Raptors arrived from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. plant in Marietta, Ga., a day after all F/A-22s were cleared to resume flying for the first time since a Dec. 20 crash at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

The additional planes increased the number of Raptors at Tyndall to 18, more than half of the 33 now in the Air Force inventory. A 34th plane had been scheduled to arrive but its flight was postponed due to mechanical problems, said Capt. Susan A. Romano, a Tyndall spokeswoman.

Jumper is scheduled to make his final F/A-22 qualification flight here Wednesday.

The planes were grounded as a precaution after the Nellis crash. Safety and accident investigation boards have not disclosed a cause, but Air Force officials said they were confident the jets could be flown safely based on preliminary findings. The pilot suffered scrapes but was otherwise unharmed.

Eight F/A-22s are stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and seven at Nellis for testing and evaluation. All pilot training is done at Tyndall. Langley Air Force Base, Va., is expected to receive the first operational Raptors this year.

[martin_fierro]

[Paul_Denton]

Awesome. F-22 spellz doom for crappy Chinese aircraft *grin*

Any plane going up against that will get the ultimate ZOT!

[demlosers]

Air dominance for the next 30 years.

[blogbat]

I'm glad the AP has all those numbers for the world in living detail. And of course, also good that they broke it down to what was being stationed and where.

I feel safe.

[GBA]

It's kinda funny. There are people here who believe that the F-22 Raptor isn't going to be a apart of our inventory. I wonder how many squadrons of Raptors we have to have before they concede that the F-22 is going to replace the F-15 as the world's top gun, premier fighter. Not just as a concept, but squadrons of them. Yee haw!

[1rudeboy]

5 new F/A-22 Raptors land at base

What a relief. Can you imagine the s+++storm if somebody left them up in the air?

[connectthedots]

Why is a general being trained to fly this plane, besides ego gratification?

[Tench_Coxe]

Gee. All they needed to do now is report how the planes were stationed on the deck, and who maintains them, and where who maintains them lives.

[nuconvert]

[Raffus]

Labor of love! And what a labor it is. ;)

[nuconvert]

[zarf]

The F-16 and the B-1 are still the sexiest planes in the air. The 22 looks like the bastard child of the British Tornado and the F-18.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[Max Combined]

"Why is a general being trained to fly this plane, besides ego gratification?"

Rank has it privileges.

If he like it, and I am sure he will, he will be an advocate for the plane.

[Gunslingr3]

I'm glad the AP has all those numbers for the world in living detail. And of course, also good that they broke it down to what was being stationed and where.

The government doesn't make a secret of procurements or deployments like that. WTF do you expect an F-22 to protect you from anyway?

[okie01]

The F-16 and the B-1 are still the sexiest planes in the air.

My vote would be the P-38. But I don't believe there are any "in the air" anymore...

[nuconvert]

[nuconvert]

[nuconvert]

Pong