Who Likes Aircraft ?

[usaroadrunner]

I gotcha, rotated at about mach 3...lol

 

[super-bee_ski]

? Pretty short answer. Giving in?
By the way, the Lightning prototype was supersonic and didn't even have afterburners. The Concorde has the record, having flown more supercruise hours than every other plane combined.

Hi guys,
All air vehicles are exciting!
I love them all.

I was fortunate enough to fly in a 1909 replica of a Wright-Brother's "Pusher" back in 86 while stationed in Dayton Ohio.
I just happen to have a very exciting job working with the F-22
When I tell you guys some F-22 facts, I'm not "spinning tales"

When I first saw the F-22, I laughed!
I said to my self: "We" (America) missed the mark on this one!
I was a FAN of the Northrup "Black-Widow", the runner-up.

But, let us not forget:
1. A Russian Mig-25 R-model was clocked at Mach 3 over Israel in 1972, over 45 years ago (Yom Kippur war)
2. The SR-71 is old technology
3. The F-22 is built by the very same team that built the SR-71, but with "computers, and many more years of advanced technologies.
So, see where I'm, coming from?

 

[super-bee_ski]

I gotcha, rotated at about mach 3...lol

View attachment 354643

Thanks USARoadrunner!

 

[super-bee_ski]

Northrup F-23
(I was once told this design was flying "somewhere else" in another role)
Again over Edwards AFB mid 90s
"We" watched the Fly-offs between the 2 Giants, Lockheed-Martin/Boeing and Northrup/McDonnell Douglass
PS: Again, I had heard from Flight test pilot Paul Metz that this YF-23 was "Blistering fast"

 

[super-bee_ski]

That is Paul Metz flying the YF-23 during the "shoot-out" between LM/Aero and Northrup
Boeing ended up being the "winner winner" because immediately after the decision was made to "GO" with Lockheed's design (Boeing was involved) Boeing bought up McDonnel Douglass Aero, Long Beach CA (Builders of the C-17 and the F-18)
Lockheed had just purchased General Dynamics and the F-16 program.
-True aerospace GIANTS!

Paul Metz:
NOTICE the "Spin Chute" set-up on the F-22?
"We" did all of that work, it was hours and hours of Flight Test (months)
THAT Spin Shute set up is a rocket propelled "canister" containing a massive parachute set up and mounted on the F-22
Paul would fly the jet (Aircraft 4002 or 4003) up to 60K and he would purposely take it out of "flight" or, as used in the trade, "Depart Flight" or Flight Departure". Now, the "DATA" would be streaming in, all the sensors we installed "lit up" like a pin ball machine and we telemetered the data to Ridley Control here at Edwards to analyze the air vehicle's ability to withhold flight departure and then regain flight capability. IF "he" was unable to regain control, the Spin Chute was explosively triggered and a massive parachute was deployed essentially stabilizing the air vehicle for normal flight.
BIG BALLS!

 

[super-bee_ski]

 

[Photon440]

 

[super-bee_ski]

F-22 flight Test AIM 9 missile launch millisecond's after "Launch command"

 

[super-bee_ski]

Per Budnick's request: More pics
You guys like this stuff?

Formation a couple of years ago here at Edwards, my "Bud" Andy took these in photo chase F-16
That is my bud "JB" in one of our Raptor's and our dearly beloved "Cools" in the night Hawk who sadly passed in a tragic Raptor flight Test maneuverer in 2009
Flight Test is dangerous.
Notice "Rodger's dry lake bed, Edwards below

 

[super-bee_ski]

Externally loaded for Bear:

 

[usaroadrunner]

Per Budnick's request: More pics
You guys like this stuff?

Formation a couple of years ago here at Edwards, my "Bud" Andy took these in photo chase F-16
That is my bud "JB" in one of our Raptor's and our dearly beloved "Cools" in the night Hawk who sadly passed in a tragic Raptor flight Test maneuverer in 2009
Flight Test is dangerous.
Notice "Rodger's dry lake bed, Edwards below


View attachment 354711

i saw one of those stealth bombers and the hair stood up at full salute when it flew by, it was even kinda erie. you just knew it was all business.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Filler er' up!
One for John or Tuck...
Or brother C8crsh....

KC-10 Extender and one of our Raptor's gulping 15K pounds before another tedious Flight Test run......

 

[super-bee_ski]

i saw one of those stealth bombers and the hair stood up at full salute when it flew by, it was even kinda erie. you just knew it was all business.

True!
"We" do not really "see" this stuff (average Americans) so that is why the Air Force tries to support Air Shows throughout America
I am fortunate to see this stuff every day.
Unfortunately, under the present administration, funding is all but gone and the Air Shows are fewer.
NOTE: The B-2 is a 4th gen
The F-22 is a 5th Gen, more invisible

 

[usaroadrunner]

they only claim it will do mach 3.5, but i think it goes faster. they interviewed a russian that defected to china back int the day, the pilot said they plotted and fired upon and ran across the sr-71 and it just toyed with them. then hit the burners and it was gone. just imagine what they have now. it would be awesome to know.

• So how fast does the SR-71 really go.......?
  The fastest published speed of the SR is Mach 3.5. There are several factors that limit the speed of the SR, one is the shock waves generated by various parts of the plane, at around Mach 3.6- 3.8 the shock wave off the nose of the aircraft narrows enough to go into the engine, while there is the inlet spike (which slows the air to subsonic before it enters the engine), the shock wave bypasses the spike and causes the engine to unstart.
  Second is the heat generated by the plane moving through the atmosphere, even titanium has it's limits, and the heat generated by the SR brings the fuselage to the brink. Just recently I found out that during a Lockheed Skunk Works study to see how much money and development it would take to get the SR to go faster than it's designed top speed 3.2- 3.5, the designers discovered (among other things) that the metal divider between the windshield was heating up so much above mach 3.5 that it was affecting the integrity of the windshield, and at that point they had stretched the glass technology to the max! So Mach 3.2 to a max of 3.5.
  
  Now according to Richard Graham: "The design Mach number of the SR-71 is 3.2 Mach. When authorized by the Commander, speeds up to Mach 3.3 may be flown if the CIT limit of 427 degrees C. is not exceeded. I have heard of crews reaching 3.5 Mach inadvertently, but that is the absolute maximum I am aware of."
  
  
• How high does the SR really fly, and do the Pilot and RSO get astronaut wings after flying the SR?
  The SR doesn't fly quite that high, the highest altitude I've heard attributed to the SR was 100,00 ft (18.93 miles), all the Air Force and Lockheed admit to is above 80,000 ft. To get astronaut wings you have to fly at least 264,000 ft (50 miles). Which the SR (even though it's a fantastic aircraft) doesn't get close to that altitude!
  
  Richard Graham contributes: The SR-71s engines require a sufficient quantity of air in order to operate. The maximum altitude limit is 85,000 feet unless a higher altitude is specifically authorized. Again, I have heard of crews inadvertently reaching 87,000 feet, but no higher.
  
  
• So what does it cost to fly the SR-71?
  There are lots of numbers floating around about how much it costs to fly the SR, I've heard figures over $100,000 an hour to fly the SR-71, and a $1,000,000 a picture. The figures are all over the place, it's especially hard, because you can figure it so many different ways....do you include Tanker support, flight proficiency ops (SR "B" model and T-38), and numerous other expenses. I like to figure it as what it actually costs to fly the airplane itself, no training, tanker support, etc. So with that said.....The numbers that I've been told by people that know is $38,000 per flying hour. The costs can be lower to a rock bottom price of $27,000 per hour if the annual flying time gets above 300 hours total. So the actual cost is probably somewhere in between 38 and 27 thousand an hour.
  

Well after the latest Wings episode "Spyplanes" on recently, some interesting errors! Well here goes....

• "The SR takes off with almost dry tanks"
  Well not exactly empty, the SRs tanks hold 80,000 lbs. of fuel, the SR-71 usually takes off with 45,000 lbs. of fuel on board. Not what I call almost dry! The SR takes off with either 45,000 lbs., 55,000 lbs., or 65,000 lbs. of fuel. Almost all flights are refueled by KC-135Q's (now "T"), there are a few exceptions though... one was called the "Rocket Ride", which were flown from Kadena AB, Okinawa and then on to Northern Korea, on 65,000 lbs of fuel. The only SRs that launched with a full fuel load were the test flights from Palmdale, CA.
  
  

 

[super-bee_ski]

Again, a quickie re-fuel before another run...
This is over the WSMC, The Western Space and Missile Test center, Pacific, off and out past the Channel Islands
At this point, the Raptor pilot can "chill"
This is the only time in the Air Force that an enlisted person, the "Boomer" take over and controls the aircraft.
As Tuck...he will confirm
When the Boomer is finished, He/She releases the aircraft and the pilot's then assume control of the vehicles.
A neat fact.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Cool post USAroadrunner!

 

[super-bee_ski]

Heading home to Edwards after a long day at the WSMC

 

[super-bee_ski]

On approach:

 

[super-bee_ski]

We did some work with the A-10s in 2012
Here is a great shot of the Wart Hog:

 

[super-bee_ski]

CLOSE UP!