Posted on 01/08/2005 5:48:14 PM PST by 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.
That's on TONIGHT?! CRAP! I was hoping to tape it. I'll have to check if it'll be on again.
But the A-10, lives in your heart. Ain't no explaining why A-10 lovers have a thing for them, you either do or you don't. I do.
bump
"Air Force aircraft have hooks, just a little lighter than the Navy/Marine ones. Undercarriage is much lighter as well. Compare F-16's gear to that of an F/A-18. The hooks are for engaging the emergency arresting gear at the end of the runway, the departure end, where a landing aircraft, even one with failed brakes, will have slowed considerably."
Hey thanks. Funny, I never noticed hooks on aircraft designed for the AF. Very interesting. I have touched and walked around F16's for instance while developing it's Fire Control Radar System Computer while at Westinghouse years back and just never took notice to it. But I believe you.
We had our own hangers. Even had an old F101 Vodoo believe it or not. F4's used to come in regularly to be outfitted with our ECM pods, AWG-10 Doppler Radar etc., during the NAM years. The only military jet I ever sat in the cockpit of was a F9F. Hah hah. Bet a lot of these folks don't remember the old Navy Panther when I toured Willow Grove NAS when it was a fully active base, got to walk around just off the runway, as the local Marine Fighter Squadron did touch and goes in F8 Crusaders. To this day I am impressed. We (a Sea Explorer group) where just off the runway for at least a half hour, so I got the treat of my life!
Nice writeup on the F35 at:
http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/jsf/
She IS SWEET!
Thanks. Found this a bit ago, they have some serious defense people there: http://www.strategypage.com/messageboards/messages/6-8139.asp
" My vote would be the P-38. But I don't believe there are any "in the air" anymore..."
The P38 had a problem with high altitude in cold climates which is why it wasn't used much in Germany. Carburator froze. Fact. Look it up. That said, it was a great plane against the Japanese in WWII, but a little slow for today I would think.
ah... but then you see it fly, and your jaw clangs soddenly to the turf.
I saw it when SciFi premiered it some time ago.
not bad at all - much better than the original show.
for interested parties, there's a made-for-TV movie on The Arrow.
I only saw it once on TV here in Los Angeles...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118641/
The plotline of the pilot also gives modern America something to think about: an enemy agent infiltrating a military software development project, and planting a bug/backdoor in all the fighter avionics that allows the Cylons to shut down all the fighters during a surprise attack.
We have a lot of foreign nationals in the US today, working on important software
You need to look at the profile as viewed by a rug pilot who just cranked his neck around and checked 6:00 and noticed it riding his ass.
It looks just fine from that perspective.
Can you imagine how much we'd save on fuel if you could?
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