On 7/20/04 5:04 PM, in article ,
"José Herculano" wrote:

See this pictu

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/624542/L/

I've never seen a picture or movie of a Tomcat doing a display without a
RIO. To my knowledge, there is nothing physical that mandates the RIO in
there for the Turkey to be flown in a demo - take off, do some aerobatics,
land...


There were systems failure emergency action procedures steps in the Tomcat
(and Intruder for that matter) that required a back (or right)-seater to
perform. Both of those aircraft are crew-served weapons systems.

Now, I've seen quite a few photos of operational F/A-18Fs doing demos
without the WSO.

So, what gives? Is the Tomcat such a difficult bird to fly that it requires
a RIO with a NATOPS on his lap, or is the Super-Bug so underpowered that
200lb of weight make a difference in the demo?


Could be that the 6 AMRAAMs were just too much for it...

Seriously, given that the picture was taken at Farnborough, I'd bet 50/50
that the pilot was a Boeing guy borrowing a VFA-2 jet--although I've been
wrong before.

And if the WSO isn't there just because he is not needed, how does it affect
the morale of the WSO community?


I'm sure that they're not happy (justifiably).

--Woody