interesting bird but the wing design was radical. not sexy enough to be the signature fighter of the USAF.
Posted on 02/26/2006 7:12:29 AM PST by SandRat
The newest bird in the Air Force fleet — and one of the noisiest — will make its Tucson debut next weekend. The F-22 Raptor, a sleek and supersonic stealth jet that's more advanced than any other in Air Force history, will be among dozens of new and vintage warplanes in town to train for the 2006 air- show season.
Two or three of the futuristic fighters will touch down during the annual Heritage Flight Conference at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, a three-day event that allows pilots to practice formation flying for eight to nine hours a day. It's part of the certification process to perform on the air-show circuit.
The training conference runs from Friday through Sunday.
To military aircraft enthusiasts, the Raptor's arrival is cause for ooh-ing and aah-ing.
"The F-22 is a pretty spectacular bit of technology," said Scott Marchand, director of collections and aircraft restoration at the Pima Air and Space Museum. The radar-defeating aircraft, which cost about $130 million apiece, came into service three months ago, so recently that few civilians have ever seen one in flight.
"This is a rare chance to get a sneak peek at the next generation of air-dominance fighters," Marchand said. The F-22 "is a much noisier airplane" than the A-10 attack jets that typically fly above Tucson, Marchand noted.
And the Raptor also has much more advanced capabilities, such as the ability to cruise at supersonic speed without afterburners, and sophisticated sensors that allow the pilot to track, identify and shoot a threat before it detects the F-22. But some Tucsonans concerned about military-jet noise see the extra flights as an added headache and safety risk.
National security requirements are one thing. Practicing for air shows is another, said Daniel Patterson, city planning commissioner.
"I'm not sure it's appropriate to have all these additional overflights in a big city. It seems like it would be more appropriate for a remote location," said Patterson, who is also a co-chairman of Tucsonans for Quality of Life, a citizens group concerned about the environmental impact of the air base.
He said the air-show training heaps one more aggravation onto residents already negatively affected by things like extra helicopter flights and on-again, off-again night training at D-M.
Col. Michael Isherwood, D-M's vice commander, said he doesn't expect a major increase in noise because the F-22 is not at full power when flying in formation.
According to an Air Force noise study, an F-22 flying 500 feet above ground level sounds about the same as a chain saw operating nearby.
About 40 aircraft will take part in the training sessions, including historic warplanes such as the World War II-era P-51 Mustang and the F-86 Sabre, which was flown during the Korean War.
While the training flights will be visible to city residents, the event is not open to the public.
Marchand said a prime viewing spot is the parking lot of the air museum, 6000 E. Valencia Road, between South Wilmot Road and Interstate 10.
I believe you are correct.
interesting bird but the wing design was radical. not sexy enough to be the signature fighter of the USAF.
Tucson is a "Progressive DhimminiCrat" enclave. In every presidential election it goes that way.
If they're not TOO close, the sound is actually quite comforting when you're reminded of exactly who is up there and what they're doing.
I used to enjoy trying to spot them if you could still hear the engine after the initial boom. It wasn't easy --- you had to look waaaaaaay out ahead of where the sound was coming from. More often than not, they were already out of sight. But whenever you could catch a glimpse, it was well worth it.
Mark Twain hadn't been there. Japan made some land for airports, no Twain there either.
Ya'd think he could at least have gone to Hawai'i, land is being made there as we speak. Not that mushy Dutch or Japanese mud either. Good solid 'Merican ROCK.
I remember that.
Yeah. Sad, really.
He said the air-show training heaps one more aggravation onto residents already negatively affected by things like extra helicopter flights and on-again, off-again night training at D-M.
My guess is the F-22 will end up being deployed at Luke.
F-18 Hornet. There have been a number of variations of that design, one of which I believe had Eagle in the name.
You must have been in Guam during one of the Linebackers or Rolling Thunder!
A local group living near Oceana Naval Air Station was formed to fight jet noise – they call themselves Citizens Concerned About Jet Noise. This bunch of idiots moved near a major jet fighter base and started complaining about the noise. I call them idiots because – what did they expect? The base has been there a long, long time.
They raised so much ruckus that the BRAC decided to put Oceana on its hit list. Now people are starting to realize how much money the Navy pumps into the local economy and people are running scared. BRAC told them to either demolish homes in the noise area / crash zone or the jets leave.
My Dad was a Docent at Pima.
Damn I miss him.
Cheers,
knewshound
http://www.knewshound.blogspot.com/
Send them right on up to Luke AFB, on the edge of the Phoenix Metro area, and Maricopa County, which wipes out the Pima County vote and always swings the state to the Republican side. They are welcome here!
We like seeing our military jets here in Phoenix, and we do see them regularly !!
That was not a Raptor. That was the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1582781/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.