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#1
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I was in the stands for my daughter's USAFA graduation. The F/A-22 made
several passes north to south and vice versa. The crowd wouldn't stop talking about it well after the parade ended. The first fly-by started with a simple medium speed (I'm guessing 350 KIAS) pass over the parade field (south to north) with the white and orange painted F-16 in chase, and culminated with a nice pull to about 70 - 80 degree climb. Despite the dry Colorado air, the pull produced quite a bit vapor on the wing upper surface. During the pull, the pilot engaged afterburner, which we could distinctly see during the bright Colorado day. Kurt Todoroff Markets, not mandates and mob rule. Consent, not compulsion. |
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#4
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Sincere congratulations on the accomplishment of your daughter.
Quite a day, but not "dry" by Colorado standards. Low scattered, going to broken and slight drizzle by the end of the ceremony and Thunderbird showtime. Did the low show, I guess. Thank you for your kind sentiment, Ed. I do appreciate it, and will forward it to my daughter. I inadvertently omitted the word "parade". The F/A-22 entertained us during her graduation parade on Tuesday late morning. Beautiful blue skies, thin wisps at high altitude, and a bit of a strong wind on the parade field. It was definitely a dry day on Tuesday. You're right about Wednesday. The dark clouds arrived suddenly, so the Thunderbirds flew the low profile after she and the other new officers tossed their hats. Unfortunately, we had to wait several minutes after the initial flyby over the stadium for the Thunderbirds to return because the President's limo was still within the five mile radius during his egress. Then they resumed their show. While we were waiting for the Thunderbirds to return, they entertained us with live audio and video (on the large screen at the south side of Falcon Stadium) from several of the Thunderbird pilots who are USAFA graduates. The live A/V feed from the cockpits was quite impressive on the large screen. The cameras faced aft towards the pilot and included a distinct sky/ground background behind the pilot. How far do you live from the Zoo? Did you have an opportunity to see the F/A-22 from your house? Every current and former USAF pilot in the stands was talking about the Raptor incessantly after its appearance. A friend of mine, who has been my childrens' Academy sponsor for the previous five years, and I seldom talk about flying in our former USAF days when we met during my trips to visit my children. However, neither one of us could stop talking about the Raptor during and after its appearance. It was breaktaking. Kurt Todoroff Markets, not mandates and mob rule. Consent, not compulsion. |
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#6
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Keep that up and we'll have Denyav and Tarver here denying that it was
really the Raptor but actually an F-15C with prosthetics. F15 is a highly maneuverable plane on other hand f22 is a super-maneuverable plane. If you check my posts,I always said "because of this super-maneuverability requirement wont be able to satify its range criteria" As of today,f22 is still not be able to meet its range criteria.period. Unless they make neccesary radical design changes which are already embedded in alphabet soup type modification proposals (A-22,B-22,E-22 etc,etc) it wont be able to meet its original range criteria in your or my lifetime. Needless to say,all proposed modifications require a reduction of maneuverability,even with the possible installation of 3D nozzles. |
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#8
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And what is it's range criteria that it is not reaching? Tell us how
far it is suppose to fly and under Pls check out my post dated 3/20/03. No improvement since. |
#9
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![]() "Kurt R. Todoroff" wrote in message ... How far do you live from the Zoo? Did you have an opportunity to see the F/A-22 from your house? Every current and former USAF pilot in the stands was talking about the Raptor incessantly after its appearance. A friend of mine, who has been my childrens' Academy sponsor for the previous five years, and I seldom talk about flying in our former USAF days when we met during my trips to visit my children. However, neither one of us could stop talking about the Raptor during and after its appearance. It was breaktaking. What, exactly, was the breath taking about it? Seriously, I understood it to just be a fairly routine flyby. |
#10
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What, exactly, was the breath taking about it?
Seriously, I understood it to just be a fairly routine flyby. John, Had the Raptor made a simple unaccompanied pass over the parade field, as is often done by other aircraft during USAFA parades, then "routine" might describe the event. However, this Raptor made the flyby as an adjunct to a USAF photographic flight over the Academy. The white and orange chase F-16 was a station wagon model that carried a USAF photographer in the back seat. The Raptor made numerous passes over the parade field, the Cadet area, near the chapel, near the mountains while performing steep banks and climbs for the benefit of the photographer. The F-16's position during these passes was clearly to photograph the Raptor with the Academy buildings and environment as a backdrop. However, even after 1,600 hours of fighter time, countless open houses and airshows that I have attended as well as participated in, and many Thunderbird performances that I have watched, a low altitude flyby for my benefit (as a spectator) still puts a lump in my throat and gives me a strong exhilaration. I'm sure it will do this to me until I take my last breath. Flying is in my blood! I got excited at the anticipation of flying my father's Cessna 172 after I left the USAF prior to each flight up until he recently sold it. The pilot of the aircraft need not throw the machine all over the sky for the flyby to excite me (although it certainly helps!). For me, a flyby may be routine, but being "routine" does not diminish the pleasure and excitement that it gives me. I'm not alone. Kurt Todoroff Markets, not mandates and mob rule. Consent, not compulsion. |
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