"A top gun from across the pond"

A top gun from across the pond
By Melissa Nelson
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 19, 2006

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Royal Air Force Lt. Dan Robinson
competed with thousands of other hotshot British aviators for a single
slot training on the world's best fighter jet. After three months of
intense training, he will soon become the first foreign pilot qualified
to fly the American F-22A Raptor - the most expensive fighter ever
built. Each of the supersonic stealth jets typically train against six
F-15 Eagles to make the mock battles equal.
"It is the most advanced fighter in the world. Given a chance, any
fighter pilot in the world would jump at the chance to do this," Lt.
Robinson said.
The 29-year-old Iraq combat veteran joined seven of the U.S. Air
Force's top pilots in March for training at Tyndall Air Force Base in
the Florida Panhandle. He'll soon head to Langley Air Force Base in
Virginia and join a combat-ready Raptor squadron, where he could go to
war as a member of the U.S. fighter group if called to do so.
Only 70 American pilots are qualified to fly the Raptor. In a
recent Alaskan training exercise, one pilot and commander joked that
plane was "almost like God" because of its supersonic stealth
capabilities, which make it almost impossible for opponents to detect
electronically.
"You never know where it is at, 'cause you can't see it, but it's
always there when you need it," said Brig. Gen. Hawk Carlisle of
Elmendorf Air Force Base.
Experts say Lt. Robinson's qualification to fly the
fifth-generation supersonic fighter is an important step in the F-22A's
evolution.
"The U.S. and Great Britain have this really special relationship,
and this is another example of that," said retired Lt. Col. James Jay
Carafano, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage
Foundation think tank.
The Royal Air Force pilot's involvement in the Raptor program shows
a willingness of the U.S. to include its closest ally in a program with
highly sensitive technology, he said.
"The reason why we have been so successful in every war since World
War II is air supremacy. The F-22 is going to be the aircraft that
provides that for the next 20 or 30 years. There is no way to counter a
stealth aircraft - it is an enormous deterrent," he said.
Britain and the U.S. and six other partner nations are working
together on development of the $256 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
project, which is years away from production. The two nations have had
issues over sharing stealth technology on that project.
Pilots say the Raptor is unique because of its active stealth,
speed and ability to electronically scan the battlefield. It was
originally designed for air-to-air combat but was expanded to include
ground attack capabilities.
Lt. Robinson is low-key about piloting the $130 million aircraft,
which cost more than $360 million each to produce when research and
development are added.
Flashy call signs including "Mooch," "Rage," "Hero," "Spanky," and
"Taxi" are engraved on brass plates above the lockers of his fellow
American pilots, while his locker simply reads "Dan."
Such nicknames are not a tradition in the Royal Air Force and he
has yet to receive an American call sign.
He is quick to shoot down any suggestion that his selection to fly
the world's best fighter jet makes him Britain's top fighter pilot.
"A lot of guys were equally as suited to the job as I was. A lot of
it was timing in my career, being in the right place at the right
time," he said. "Anyone that flies on the front lines of the Western
forces is highly trained."
His excitement builds when he discusses flying the F22-A.
Among the big differences between the F-3 Tornado, which Lt.
Robinson flew for the Royal Air Force, and the F-22A is the amount of
data pilots are required to process in the cockpit, he said.
"There is so much information coming at you. You have to learn to
take all of that information from all of the sensors," he said.
Lt. Robinson's flight suit is specially designed to allow for the
higher altitudes and G-forces achieved by the plane. The F-22 can
cruise at speeds of more than 1,000 mph at an altitude of more than
60,000 feet without using its afterburners, which augment the thrust of
the engines. Using its afterburners, it can vector off its thrust and
maneuver turns and speeds of more than 1,400 mph.
"So for example if I pull a 9-G turn, it's nine times the force of
gravity pushing down on your body and obviously on all of your organs.
The effect of that is all of your blood pooling down in the lower part
of your body," Lt. Robinson said, demonstrating the flight suit, which
covers his legs and torso and inflates to push blood upward. "If you
didn't have this, it would cause you black out."
Other than some language issues, Tyndall flight instructors had
little difficulty working with the British pilot, said Maj. Mike
Cabral, the squadron's weapons and tactical officer.
What Lt. Robinson called a "fight circuit" the American pilots call
a "flight pattern," and an "overshoot" in American flight speak refers
to something a pilot is doing wrong in the flight pattern, but the same
term for British pilots means something different.
"He could have used a decoder ring for U.S. speak instead of UK
speak, but as far as tactical terminology we are very close. In
general, fighter pilots are fighter pilots," Maj. Cabral said.
And he praised the British interest in the Raptor program.
"The U.S. never goes to war on its own. Now we have a key player
who understands what the F-22 brings to the fight," he said.

Ok, so how does ATC handle the damned thing?


"Mike" wrote in message
oups.com...
A top gun from across the pond
By Melissa Nelson
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 19, 2006

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Royal Air Force Lt. Dan Robinson
competed with thousands of other hotshot British aviators for a single
slot training on the world's best fighter jet. After three months of
intense training, he will soon become the first foreign pilot qualified
to fly the American F-22A Raptor - the most expensive fighter ever
built. Each of the supersonic stealth jets typically train against six
F-15 Eagles to make the mock battles equal.
"It is the most advanced fighter in the world. Given a chance, any
fighter pilot in the world would jump at the chance to do this," Lt.
Robinson said.
The 29-year-old Iraq combat veteran joined seven of the U.S. Air
Force's top pilots in March for training at Tyndall Air Force Base in
the Florida Panhandle. He'll soon head to Langley Air Force Base in
Virginia and join a combat-ready Raptor squadron, where he could go to
war as a member of the U.S. fighter group if called to do so.
Only 70 American pilots are qualified to fly the Raptor. In a
recent Alaskan training exercise, one pilot and commander joked that
plane was "almost like God" because of its supersonic stealth
capabilities, which make it almost impossible for opponents to detect
electronically.
"You never know where it is at, 'cause you can't see it, but it's
always there when you need it," said Brig. Gen. Hawk Carlisle of
Elmendorf Air Force Base.
Experts say Lt. Robinson's qualification to fly the
fifth-generation supersonic fighter is an important step in the F-22A's
evolution.
"The U.S. and Great Britain have this really special relationship,
and this is another example of that," said retired Lt. Col. James Jay
Carafano, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage
Foundation think tank.
The Royal Air Force pilot's involvement in the Raptor program shows
a willingness of the U.S. to include its closest ally in a program with
highly sensitive technology, he said.
"The reason why we have been so successful in every war since World
War II is air supremacy. The F-22 is going to be the aircraft that
provides that for the next 20 or 30 years. There is no way to counter a
stealth aircraft - it is an enormous deterrent," he said.
Britain and the U.S. and six other partner nations are working
together on development of the $256 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
project, which is years away from production. The two nations have had
issues over sharing stealth technology on that project.
Pilots say the Raptor is unique because of its active stealth,
speed and ability to electronically scan the battlefield. It was
originally designed for air-to-air combat but was expanded to include
ground attack capabilities.
Lt. Robinson is low-key about piloting the $130 million aircraft,
which cost more than $360 million each to produce when research and
development are added.
Flashy call signs including "Mooch," "Rage," "Hero," "Spanky," and
"Taxi" are engraved on brass plates above the lockers of his fellow
American pilots, while his locker simply reads "Dan."
Such nicknames are not a tradition in the Royal Air Force and he
has yet to receive an American call sign.
He is quick to shoot down any suggestion that his selection to fly
the world's best fighter jet makes him Britain's top fighter pilot.
"A lot of guys were equally as suited to the job as I was. A lot of
it was timing in my career, being in the right place at the right
time," he said. "Anyone that flies on the front lines of the Western
forces is highly trained."
His excitement builds when he discusses flying the F22-A.
Among the big differences between the F-3 Tornado, which Lt.
Robinson flew for the Royal Air Force, and the F-22A is the amount of
data pilots are required to process in the cockpit, he said.
"There is so much information coming at you. You have to learn to
take all of that information from all of the sensors," he said.
Lt. Robinson's flight suit is specially designed to allow for the
higher altitudes and G-forces achieved by the plane. The F-22 can
cruise at speeds of more than 1,000 mph at an altitude of more than
60,000 feet without using its afterburners, which augment the thrust of
the engines. Using its afterburners, it can vector off its thrust and
maneuver turns and speeds of more than 1,400 mph.
"So for example if I pull a 9-G turn, it's nine times the force of
gravity pushing down on your body and obviously on all of your organs.
The effect of that is all of your blood pooling down in the lower part
of your body," Lt. Robinson said, demonstrating the flight suit, which
covers his legs and torso and inflates to push blood upward. "If you
didn't have this, it would cause you black out."
Other than some language issues, Tyndall flight instructors had
little difficulty working with the British pilot, said Maj. Mike
Cabral, the squadron's weapons and tactical officer.
What Lt. Robinson called a "fight circuit" the American pilots call
a "flight pattern," and an "overshoot" in American flight speak refers
to something a pilot is doing wrong in the flight pattern, but the same
term for British pilots means something different.
"He could have used a decoder ring for U.S. speak instead of UK
speak, but as far as tactical terminology we are very close. In
general, fighter pilots are fighter pilots," Maj. Cabral said.
And he praised the British interest in the Raptor program.
"The U.S. never goes to war on its own. Now we have a key player
who understands what the F-22 brings to the fight," he said.

pe.rhodes wrote:
Ok, so how does ATC handle the damned thing?

Transponders. IIRC, ATC never relies on skin paint. And if they HAD to,
all the pilot has to do is dirty up the jet and voila, radar return.

----------
In article .com, "Jeb
Hoge" wrote:

Ok, so how does ATC handle the damned thing?

Transponders. IIRC, ATC never relies on skin paint. And if they HAD to,
all the pilot has to do is dirty up the jet and voila, radar return.

A couple of years ago a British defense company claimed that they had
tracked an F-22 in flight. An Air Force spokesman replied that when the
F-22s are flying and don't require stealthiness--particularly when they're
flying through civilian airspace--they put something on the fuselage to
create a clear radar signature. I think the implication was that this was
something that they specifically attached for this purpose. It makes sense.




D

"DDAY" wrote in
ink.net:

----------
In article .com, "Jeb
Hoge" wrote:

Ok, so how does ATC handle the damned thing?

Transponders. IIRC, ATC never relies on skin paint. And if they HAD to,
all the pilot has to do is dirty up the jet and voila, radar return.

A couple of years ago a British defense company claimed that they had
tracked an F-22 in flight. An Air Force spokesman replied that when the
F-22s are flying and don't require stealthiness--particularly when
they're flying through civilian airspace--they put something on the
fuselage to create a clear radar signature. I think the implication was
that this was something that they specifically attached for this
purpose. It makes sense.

I might even guess that it is equipped with a small retractable corner
reflector for exactly that purpose.

Dave in San Diego

Mike wrote:
A top gun from across the pond
By Melissa Nelson
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 19, 2006

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Royal Air Force Lt. Dan Robinson
competed with thousands of other hotshot British aviators for a single
slot training on the world's best fighter jet. After three months of
intense training, he will soon become the first foreign pilot qualified
to fly the American F-22A Raptor - the most expensive fighter ever
built. Each of the supersonic stealth jets typically train against six
F-15 Eagles to make the mock battles equal.
"It is the most advanced fighter in the world. Given a chance, any
fighter pilot in the world would jump at the chance to do this," Lt.
Robinson said.
The 29-year-old Iraq combat veteran joined seven of the U.S. Air
Force's top pilots in March for training at Tyndall Air Force Base in
the Florida Panhandle. He'll soon head to Langley Air Force Base in
Virginia and join a combat-ready Raptor squadron, where he could go to
war as a member of the U.S. fighter group if called to do so.
Only 70 American pilots are qualified to fly the Raptor. In a
recent Alaskan training exercise, one pilot and commander joked that
plane was "almost like God" because of its supersonic stealth
capabilities, which make it almost impossible for opponents to detect
electronically.
"You never know where it is at, 'cause you can't see it, but it's
always there when you need it," said Brig. Gen. Hawk Carlisle of
Elmendorf Air Force Base.
Experts say Lt. Robinson's qualification to fly the
fifth-generation supersonic fighter is an important step in the F-22A's
evolution.
"The U.S. and Great Britain have this really special relationship,
and this is another example of that," said retired Lt. Col. James Jay
Carafano, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage
Foundation think tank.
The Royal Air Force pilot's involvement in the Raptor program shows
a willingness of the U.S. to include its closest ally in a program with
highly sensitive technology, he said.
"The reason why we have been so successful in every war since World
War II is air supremacy. The F-22 is going to be the aircraft that
provides that for the next 20 or 30 years. There is no way to counter a
stealth aircraft - it is an enormous deterrent," he said.
Britain and the U.S. and six other partner nations are working
together on development of the $256 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
project, which is years away from production. The two nations have had
issues over sharing stealth technology on that project.
Pilots say the Raptor is unique because of its active stealth,
speed and ability to electronically scan the battlefield. It was
originally designed for air-to-air combat but was expanded to include
ground attack capabilities.
Lt. Robinson is low-key about piloting the $130 million aircraft,
which cost more than $360 million each to produce when research and
development are added.
Flashy call signs including "Mooch," "Rage," "Hero," "Spanky," and
"Taxi" are engraved on brass plates above the lockers of his fellow
American pilots, while his locker simply reads "Dan."
Such nicknames are not a tradition in the Royal Air Force and he
has yet to receive an American call sign.
He is quick to shoot down any suggestion that his selection to fly
the world's best fighter jet makes him Britain's top fighter pilot.
"A lot of guys were equally as suited to the job as I was. A lot of
it was timing in my career, being in the right place at the right
time," he said. "Anyone that flies on the front lines of the Western
forces is highly trained."
His excitement builds when he discusses flying the F22-A.
Among the big differences between the F-3 Tornado, which Lt.
Robinson flew for the Royal Air Force, and the F-22A is the amount of
data pilots are required to process in the cockpit, he said.
"There is so much information coming at you. You have to learn to
take all of that information from all of the sensors," he said.
Lt. Robinson's flight suit is specially designed to allow for the
higher altitudes and G-forces achieved by the plane. The F-22 can
cruise at speeds of more than 1,000 mph at an altitude of more than
60,000 feet without using its afterburners, which augment the thrust of
the engines. Using its afterburners, it can vector off its thrust and
maneuver turns and speeds of more than 1,400 mph.
"So for example if I pull a 9-G turn, it's nine times the force of
gravity pushing down on your body and obviously on all of your organs.
The effect of that is all of your blood pooling down in the lower part
of your body," Lt. Robinson said, demonstrating the flight suit, which
covers his legs and torso and inflates to push blood upward. "If you
didn't have this, it would cause you black out."
Other than some language issues, Tyndall flight instructors had
little difficulty working with the British pilot, said Maj. Mike
Cabral, the squadron's weapons and tactical officer.
What Lt. Robinson called a "fight circuit" the American pilots call
a "flight pattern," and an "overshoot" in American flight speak refers
to something a pilot is doing wrong in the flight pattern, but the same
term for British pilots means something different.
"He could have used a decoder ring for U.S. speak instead of UK
speak, but as far as tactical terminology we are very close. In
general, fighter pilots are fighter pilots," Maj. Cabral said.
And he praised the British interest in the Raptor program.
"The U.S. never goes to war on its own. Now we have a key player
who understands what the F-22 brings to the fight," he said.

And now that America have actually agreed to release the information and
software needed to keep the thing in the air once delivered to the UK it
sounds even better.

Ricardo
--
"Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice, and fear, walk hand in hand ..."

----------
In article , Ricardo
wrote:

And now that America have actually agreed to release the information and
software needed to keep the thing in the air once delivered to the UK it
sounds even better.

Wrong airplane.



D

DDAY wrote:
----------
In article , Ricardo
wrote:


And now that America have actually agreed to release the information and
software needed to keep the thing in the air once delivered to the UK it
sounds even better.


Wrong airplane.



D

Sorry, you're right, of course. I just picked up on 'the most expensive
fighter ever built' line, when I was actually thinking of what is
probably the second most expensive fighter ever built - the F-35/JSF

It would have been even more expensive from the UK's point of view that
had the US stuck to their original masterplan of withholding vital
operating information, though - a bit like having a PC with no
motherboard. The sad thing is that when that was published, it came as
no real surprise.

Ricardo

--
"Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice, and fear, walk hand in hand ..."

On 7/19/06 3:33 PM, in article
, "Mike"
wrote:

A top gun from across the pond
By Melissa Nelson
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 19, 2006

SNIP
Lt. Robinson is low-key about piloting the $130 million aircraft,
which cost more than $360 million each to produce when research and
development are added.
SNIP

That's funny. You can have it for $130M... but if you want the R&D, that'll
cost you $360M. As if you can really separate the two costs!

As far as I'm concerned, it's a $360M jet. By the way, did anyone else
notice that the $256B F-35 was not given the same courtesy?

--Woody