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Pirep: Air Power over Hampton Roads



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 22nd 08, 11:16 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
ONLINE
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Posts: 3
Default Pirep: Air Power over Hampton Roads

This weekend, Langley AFB hosted it's annual Air Show, "Air Power over
Hampton Roads". And what a show it was. The program consisted of the
usual aerobatic performance (Waco, Eagle, Pitts, etc) and flybys of
various USAF and Navy aircraft, current and vintage (B-25 "Panchito",
P-51, YAK-9, B-17, etc). And there were the usual static displays: B-1,
KC-10, E-2C, E-3A, B-52, F-15, F-16, F-22, T-38, etc. (and the 'famous'
C-172R from our Aero Club at Langley). But here are some highlights:

Flyby of the B-2 bomber - Amazing! It's shape is all wrong to be a

flying machine. Yeah, I know - Northrop built the XB-35 and and YB-49
which demonstrated the concept, but to see one flying today - well, if
all I knew of were conventional aircraft, I would declare this a UFO.
It made one pass over Langley's runway at about 3,000 feet, circled
northwest to south and proceeded on its way over the Chesapeake Bay
going north The show announcer said it had a half-dozen such flybys to
make Saturday, and we should not expect to see it again for a while. Wow.

The announcer told a heartwarming story: early in the development of the
B-2, long before the program was allowed to become public, Jack
Northrop, who was behind the XB-35 and YB-49 programs and believed
strongly in flying wing concept, was invited to a top-secret location.
Then 82 years old, he had been out of aviation for many years,
disappointed that the 'flying wing' concept had not yet been exploited.
They presented him with a model of the B-2; he was quoted as saying "Now
I know why God has let me live these last 40 years."

Demonstration of the amazing F-22 fighter - I watched the maiden

demonstration of the F-22 Raptor last year and was amazed. I'd seen a
practice by the FA-18 earlier in the week before the show last year and
was 'wowed'. But the F-22? You've got to see it to even have a clue
what it can do.

For example - the pilot from the Langley's 1st Fighter Wing flies the
F-22 down the runway and pulls up to vertical. Now for most
demonstrations, the aircraft climbs to some high altitude and breaks off
for another pass. Not the F-22 - it slows to a stop (still pointing the
nose straight up) and then starts a backslide, going backwards,
descending for 10, 20, 30 seconds, and losing altitude. Then the
aircraft simply rotates about the lateral axis, the nose drops to
horizontal, and he flies out of the maneuver.

On another pass, he flies the length of the 10,000 foot runway, angle of
attack at maybe 60 degrees, at such a slow speed a C-172 could pass him.
Awesome.

And most impressive to me this year, the RAF "Red Arrow"

demonstration team - I've seen the Thunderbirds when they could fly
supersonic in their show (1957, flying F-100s), when they were flying
F-4s, T-38s, and of course the F-16s. And I've seen the Blue Angels a
couple of times. But the Red Arrows? I enjoyed their performance even
more.

They fly a small aircraft, the BAE Systems Hawk single engine trainer
(the Navy uses them as primary flight trainer). An F-22 joined them for
their first flyby: the 9 Red Arrow Hawks and the F-22; the Hawk is
-really small- compared to the F-22 (you can see a picture at
http://www.langley.af.mil/news/story...?id=123103417).

The first half of the show has all 9 Hawks in formation making passes in
amazing range of formations: double diamond, 'arrow', line abreast, etc.
The precision of their formation flying is stunning. Eight airplanes
abreast, wing to wing, their formation is as straight as a ruler and
remains that way as they perform a 'formation barrel roll'. And they
best the Thunderbirds 'bomb burst' maneuver (4 airplanes and one up the
middle) with their 'bomb bursts': 5 and 7 airplanes, going up on one
maneuver, going down in another. They perform the breaks in almost
exact unison and the angles between their smoke trails are all very
close to the same. I watched their performance on Saturday and so
enjoyed it that I returned on Sunday with my wife - she, too, was amazed
at their performance.

The Thunderbirds and Blue Angles impress me with their noise, sheer
power, and speed, sort of like WWE on TV. The Red Arrows present a show
of precision and finesse, more like a ballet. If they come anywhere
near you, treat yourself to an airshow you will long remember.

George in Virginia
(soon to be in New Mexico)
  #2  
Old June 23rd 08, 05:24 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Ross
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Posts: 463
Default Pirep: Air Power over Hampton Roads

ONLINE wrote:
snip

The Thunderbirds and Blue Angles impress me with their noise, sheer
power, and speed, sort of like WWE on TV. The Red Arrows present a show
of precision and finesse, more like a ballet. If they come anywhere
near you, treat yourself to an airshow you will long remember.

George in Virginia
(soon to be in New Mexico)


The Canadian demonstration team is excellent also. Saw them several
years go.

--

Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP
KSWI
  #3  
Old June 23rd 08, 05:46 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Allen[_1_]
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Posts: 252
Default Pirep: Air Power over Hampton Roads


George in Virginia
(soon to be in New Mexico)


Man, are you in for a change! What part of New Mexico?
--

*H. Allen Smith*
WACO - We are all here, because we are not all there.


  #4  
Old June 23rd 08, 11:14 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
George
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default Pirep: Air Power over Hampton Roads

Albuquerque. And 130 acres a mile east of Manzano, where there are no
trees to obstruct the view of the sky, all the way down to the horizon.

Allen wrote:
George in Virginia
(soon to be in New Mexico)


Man, are you in for a change! What part of New Mexico?

 




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