"John Cook" wrote:
Hi All

I was reading the excellent magazine Air Forces Monthly, and saw a
picture of a Raptor F-22 Flying over Edwards AFB, and it appears to
have what I previously played a joke about on April 1st - its got
Smurfs -No really!!, take a look here...

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jwcook/rap_smurf.jpg
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jwcook/rap_smurf2.jpg


Above the intake there seems to be a fence it doesn't seem to be a
spill for the intakes, So what is it?.

Well the cutaway on page 71 of World Airpower Journal Volume 38, Autumn/Fall
1999 identified the part you highlighted as cutaway item number 28 Bleed air
door/spoiler panel and item number 29 was identified as a Bleed door
hydraulic actuator. Pictures of the YF-22 contained in the same issue appear
to have a similar feature located above the intake.

This time I haven't doctored the Pictures!!!
as I did in this aprils fools joke here ...

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jwcook/f-22_aoa.jpg
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jwcook/f-22close.jpg



I wrote as a joke back in april the following:-

quote -"it shows two interesting
additions to the F-22...
Major Ian Gottcher is quoted the text :-.
'The airfoils are made from a fibrous blue kevlar type material which
move up into the airflow when certain flight conditions are met, this
creates a pair of vortexs across the back of the Aircraft which
interacts with the vertical tail planes to aid in control and
stabalisation'
The maintainence crews apparently call the fins 'Smurfs' due to their
color.
I'm sure they have nicked this name from the british Hawk jet, can
anyone confirm.
'Angles of Attack are increased by several percent when the fins
are deployed'"- end quote

So there we are! could RAM owe an apology to Mr Tarver???.

No.

I knew I should have patented the design!!

No.