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aviation

The SR-71 Blackbird crew, who flew a mission to the North Pole the night before Christmas in order to spy on the Soviets

by Till Daisd December 14, 2023

‘The next morning as the family sat around the table having breakfast before school, I thought to myself, no one would believe where I was last night, the North Pole right before Christmas?,’ Colonel Richard Sheffield, SR-71 Blackbird RSO

The SR-71, unofficially known as the “Blackbird,” is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft. The first flight of an SR-71 took place on Dec. 22, 1964, and the first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in January 1966.

Throughout its nearly 24-year career, the SR-71 remained the world’s fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft. From 80,000 feet, it could survey 100,000 square miles of Earth’s surface per hour.

Colonel Richard “Butch” Sheffield, SR-71 Blackbird Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO), flew a night mission to the North Pole in 1969 on the eve of Christmas. This is the Night Before Christmas as told by a Habu.

Late In 1969, shortly after I was crewed with Bob Spencer, we were tasked to fly a night mission to the North Pole. Night missions were very rare in those days because of St. Martins crash (summer of 1967) at night when navigation system failed. We were one of the most experienced SR crews and we were told that the Russians were doing something with our submarines at night at a station they had built on the ice near the North Pole.

Butch-Sheffield-Pre-flight — Butch Sheffield Pre- flight

It was believed that our Side Looking, High Resolution Radar System could gain valuable intelligence by spying on the unsuspecting Russians in the middle of the night. I found out a few years ago what the Russians were doing, setting up acoustic sensors so they could track our submarines under the ice cape.

We launched from Beale at night, flew north to Alaska and refueled over the central part on a Northern heading. Once we were full of fuel, we lit the afterburners and climbed to about seventy five-thousand feet heading north to the ice station. The tanker was briefed to continue to fly north in case we lost an engine. There was no place to land and our emergency procedure was to turn around 180 degrees and do a head on rendezvous with the tanker on one engine.

As we departed Alaska heading North with the after burners blazing, I looked out the window at the barren land and ice. I could see well because of star light. We had no moon that night. The thought came to my mind, “this is really risky business,” and if anything goes wrong they will never find us. Nothing went wrong, I turned on the Side Looking Radar (SLR), looked at the location and took the images. Returned to Alaska and refueled from the tanker and returned to Beale.

The SLR had a great resolution plus the speed of the SR traveling three thousand feet per second caused the antenna to believe it was much longer. The SLR could image out to eighty miles to the side of the SR so if the site was manned they would not hear our sonic boom. The CIA found out that the station was not manned during the worst part of winter. When not manned, the CIA landed a few people by parachute to find out what was going on at the station. They found everything to include code books. The men were recovered by being snatched up into a low flying aircraft.

This event has been documented by book and a movie.

The night of the mission, the family had gone to bed at the regular time. I got out of bed, went to the flight line, flew the mission and returned home to the bed. The next morning as the family sat around the table having breakfast before school, I thought to myself, no one would believe where I was last night, the North Pole right before Christmas?

Check out the Habubrats Facebook page and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by Linda Sheffield Miller and NASA

December 14, 2023 0 comment

History

US Naval Aviator discusses why the A-4 Skyhawk wasn’t a very good fighter

by Till Daisd December 13, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘Yes, the A-4 Skyhawk was agile. However, it takes more than agility to make a good fighter,’ John Chesire, former US Naval Aviator and TOPGUN graduate

2,960 A-4 Skyhawk aircraft were produced by Douglas between 1954 and 1979. Known by their loving nicknames, “Heinemann’s Hot Rod” (after Douglas designer Ed Heinemann), the Bantam Bomber, Mighty Mite, and Scooter were built small to be cheap and to fit more of them on a carrier. Skyhawks were maneuverable, powerful attack bombers with exceptional altitude and range capabilities and a unique degree of armament capability made available to the US Navy, Marines, and allied nations.

Furthermore, even though the legendary A-4 was intended to be a simple, light-weight Navy carrier attack aircraft, the Skyhawk performed a variety of tasks, including aerial refueling, nuclear strikes, and acting as an adversary aircraft. Why wasn’t the A-4 Skyhawk employed as a fighter during the Vietnam War since it was maneuverable enough to act as an adversary aircraft with the US Navy?

‘Yes, the A-4 Skyhawk was agile. However, it takes more than agility to make a good fighter,’ John Chesire, former US Naval Aviator and TOPGUN graduate, explains on Quora.

‘The A-4 was designed as an attack aircraft and not a fighter. Its forte was air-to-ground. It was never designed for the air-to-air role of a fighter. It did, however, have a gun and the capability of carrying Sidewinders, but it really lacked a fighter’s radar and a complete air-to-air weapon system. Nor did it have the speed like an F-4, an F-8, or the F-105. Furthermore, it lacked an afterburner, which is a necessity for any true fighter aircraft.

‘The reason that the A-4 was used as an adversary training aircraft for TOPGUN and fleet pilots was not because it was a good fighter. It was because its tight turning radius simulated the tight-turning MiG series aircraft. It was useful in that it taught F-4 pilots to avoid a turning fight with them and rather use some of the F-4’s advantages against the A-4.’

Chesire concludes;

‘While a rookie might have trouble fighting an A-4 with an F-4, it was an entirely different story with a well-trained F-4 driver. Using the F-4’s advantages, the A-4 was most always easily defeated. It was a great attack aircraft and a great training device, but it was not a great fighter, even though it had a tight turning radius.’

Photo by Lt. Cmdr. Joe Parsons / U.S. Navy

December 13, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

Blackbird pilots describe why their most dangerous mission was to fly the SR-71 with only one engine in full afterburner

by Till Daisd December 12, 2023

written by Till Daisd

These intriguing images, which were captured on Nov. 1, 1981, by US Air Force (USAF) Scene Camera Operator Ken Hackman, show an SR-71 Blackbird flying with just one engine running at full afterburner

The most sophisticated spy plane in the Blackbird family and the fastest jet-powered aircraft in the world, the SR-71 was created by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation’s clandestine “Skunk Works” division. The SR-71’s incredible speed and high altitude were intended to allow it to fly deep into enemy territory without being intercepted. Operating at a maximum speed of Mach 3+, it could safely operate at a height exceeding sixteen miles above the Earth.

The intriguing pictures in this post, which were taken on November 1, 1981, by US Air Force (USAF) Scene Camera Operator Ken Hackman, show an SR-71 Blackbird flying with just one engine running at full afterburner.

Why is that?

‘That is what we called a “single-engine go around,”’ says Stormy Boudreaux, SR-71 Blackbird pilot. ‘It was a practiced emergency procedure. It simulated what you had to do if you were making a single-engine approach to land and for a variety of reasons something made the runway or the landing impossible so you “went around” on only one engine. The tremendous thrust with one engine in full afterburner and the other in idle was eye-opening! To counter the yaw from that engine required full rudder as well as banking the aircraft into the good engine in order to maintain your flight direction down the runway.

SR-71 pilots explain why flying the Blackbird with just one engine in full afterburner was SR-71 aircrews’ most dangerous operation

‘Most twin-engine aircraft have to do something similar, but it’s darn right frightening the first time you try it in the SR-71. That one engine in AB is really pushing the nose around trying to turn the jet away from that engine, and the amount of bank angle when at low speed makes you glad you are strapped tightly in the seat. It’s almost a knife-edge pass!’

Boudreaux is echoed by David Peters, another SR-71 pilot.

‘As Stormy said the picture[s] indicate a single engine go around. Thrust was never an issue. What became imperative was the ability to point the airplane. Under most conditions full opposite rudder and a slight bank into the operating engine was enough. By under certain conditions, other factors came into play. Minimum control speed being most important.

‘We had a couple of missions out of Mildenhall that went hot to the tankers. That required a heavy takeoff using a 65,000-pound yo-yo fuel load. In the wintertime, with freezing temperatures in England min control speed was a huge factor. Once the burners lit if you lost an engine on takeoff, once the burners were lit your only option was to eject. Why you ask.

‘Well, the runway there is only 8,000 feet. There was so much thrust developed in the cold, heavy air climate that your speed combined with gross weight would not allow you to abort since you couldn’t stop the airplane. There was plenty of thrust available to fly on one engine but there was so much thrust you could not control it below min control speed which in those cases was generally around 260 knots. So, the only thing you could do was pull both engines to idle pop the chute and eject.

‘I always felt that was perhaps our most dangerous operation.’

Check out the Habubrats and Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Facebook pages for further Blackbird photos and stories.

Photo by Scene Camera Operator Ken Hackman / U.S. Air Force

December 12, 2023 0 comment

History

309 AMARG could be the second-largest air force in the world

by Till Daisd December 11, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Currently, the 309 AMARG consists of around 3,150 aircraft, 5,900 engines, and 340,000 aircraft parts.

The amazing pictures in this post, which were taken at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB), Arizona, showcase a few of the more than 3,150 retired aircraft kept at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG), the US Air Force’s (USAF) “Boneyard.”

One-of-a-kind inside the Air Force Materiel Command organization is the 309 AMARG. For Joint and Allied/Coalition warfighters supporting worldwide operations, 309 AMARG offers critical aerospace maintenance and regeneration capabilities as well as agile combat support for a variety of military operations.

The Army’s San Antonio Air Technical Service Command set up a B-29 and C-47 aircraft storage facility at Davis-Monthan AFB right after World War II. As of right now, this facility is known as the 309 AMARG, and it houses about 3,150 aircraft, 5,900 engines, and 340,000 pieces of aircraft production tooling from the Army, Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy-Marine Corps, and many federal agencies, including NASA. April 1, 2021, marked the 75th anniversary of the 309 AMARG, America’s “Airpower Reservoir.”

The choice of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base was made possible by Tucson’s low humidity, little rainfall, alkaline soil, and high altitude of 2,550 feet (780 m), all of which inhibit rust and corrosion. Without paving the storage areas, aircraft may be moved about thanks to the hard soil.

Certain aircraft are maintained in flying condition and require little modification to be brought back into use. Some have been preserved for a long time and need further work to be restored, but they are otherwise preserved intact. These aircraft are kept around in case they become necessary in the future, even though they are not needed right now.

The majority serve as “cannibalization” sources of parts for flying aircraft. Certain pieces of that sort of aircraft may still be usable even after they have been decommissioned. Others are just waiting to be recycled and eventually disposed of.

Remarkably, with 3,150 aircraft, the 309 AMARG would be the world’s second-largest air force (with the USAF being ranked first).

Photo by U.S. Air Force

Source: U.S. Air Force

December 11, 2023 0 comment

History

“Face Curtain” Vs “Lower Handle”

by Till Daisd December 10, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘For a while, most ejection seats offered both ejection methods. Dealer’s choice. If you have some time to eject, i.e., a “controlled” ejection, use the face curtain. If you’re in extremis, the lower handle is the way to go,’ David Tussey, former US Navy A-7 Corsair II pilot

An ejection seat is a device installed in an aircraft that is intended to save the pilot or other members of the crew in the event of an emergency. The majority of designs include the canopy coming off and the seat being propelled out of the aircraft by a rocket motor or explosive charge, taking the pilot with it. The ejection seat releases a parachute once it is outside of the aircraft. To prevent a collision, the seats of two-seat aircraft are ejected at different angles.

Pilots had to manually remove the aircraft canopy in order to climb out before the invention of ejection seats. Ejection seats can save lives.

However, why do some aircraft have one ejection handle between the pilot’s legs while others have two above the seat?

‘To answer that question, I need to convey a little bit of ejection seat history,’ David Tussey, former US Navy A-7 Corsair II pilot, says on Quora.

‘Oh… just for the record, you cannot survive ejecting while going Mach 10, no matter what Hollywood says.

‘Despite many years of development, ejection seats are fundamentally unchanged from many decades ago. They fire the pilot out of the airplane and parachute him/her safely to the ground. They do this very quickly—in a matter of a few seconds—so as to extract the pilot from the aircraft as quickly as possible.

Face-curtain — A midshipman pulls the face curtain that will launch a simulated ejection seat up the track of an ejection seat trainer

‘The extreme action of the ejection seat along with the speed of modern jet aircraft comes with a few problems.

‘The ejection seat imparts significant G forces in order to extract the pilot in seconds. That extreme acceleration can cause injury to the spine. As the old adage goes “If you have to eject, first place your neck in the position you want it for the rest of your life.” But seriously, neck and spine injuries are common during ejections and a very serious concern. I’ve met more than one pilot how had to wear “the halo” after an ejection (metal rods drilled into your skull connected to a shoulder support collar while your spine heals…ugh).

‘The other problem with an ejection is going from the cockpit to the free air stream outside the cockpit. If you eject while going, say 400 knots, you instantly go from a stable, calm environment to one that is very hostile — 400 knot winds and very cold temperatures.

‘At almost any airspeed above 150 knots, the pilot will experience “flail injuries” from the free air stream outside the cockpit to which he is instantly subjected to. Typically, this means your arms experience dramatic, uncontrollable flailing around, often dislocating your shoulder. Also, the high-speed air strikes your face straight-on often damaging your eyes and mouth. Your eyes are battered and experience extreme bruising. Often your lips are torn.

‘Okay… so ejections are violent actions that inherently induce injuries to the pilot. What to do?

‘WAIT! There’s one more consideration. Throughout history, as soon as ejection seats were invented, pilots were waiting too late to eject. (Disappointingly, the successful ejection rate has not significantly improved despite better equipment. Pilot error.) And the vast majority of ejections occur during landings and takeoffs, where the altitude is low and the need to egress rapidly is paramount. Keep that in mind.’

Tussey continues;

‘SO… to address the “head/face damage” issue, ejection seat manufacturers created an ejection actuation system whereby the pilot pulls a curtain over his face with both hands. This is called the “face curtain” method of ejection. It requires the pilot to reach up over his/her head with both hands and rapidly pull the face curtain over their helmet and face. For all early ejection seats (50s, 60s, and even 70s) the face curtain was the default method.

F-4N-cockpit-simulator — The grip handles of the RIO (radio intercept officer)’s ejector seat of an F-4N cockpit simulator

‘However, the face curtain ejection method has two problems: 1) when using the face curtain, your arms are extended up over your head, probably spread apart, and so the probability of a flail injury is exacerbated. Ugh. and 2) it takes a second or so to eject with the face curtain and that second can mean the difference between life and death. Why does it take a second? Because a fighter pilot’s hands are on the stick and the throttle. You have to release those two controls, move your hands up over your head, grab the face curtain handle, ensure your elbows are super close together, and pull the face curtain out and down approximately 12″. It is not a natural movement.

‘For ejections that are low and slow (takeoffs & landings), that extra second can spell trouble. SO…ejection seat manufacturers began putting a second ejection handle between the pilot’s legs. This helps speed up the procedure a lot; your hands are close to that handle, and you only have to pull the handle out about 1″. It couldn’t be simpler or faster. It feels natural.

‘HOWEVER, the problem with the “lower handle” method is that most pilots look down at the handle as they pull it, and then they eject with their neck bent down, and so you’re subsequently exposed to spinal injuries. That’s bad.

‘OKAY…so both the “face curtain” and the “lower handle” solve some of the problems, but also introduce others. Pros and cons. And for a while, most ejection seats offered both ejection methods. Dealer’s choice. If you have some time to eject, i.e. a “controlled” ejection, use the face curtain. If you’re in extremis, the lower handle is the way to go.

F-16-ejector-seat — F-16 ejector seat with the “lower handle”

‘BUT as time went by, it became apparent that the overriding need for an ejection system was to improve the speed of the ejection sequence. That even led to a number of ejection systems employing the “through the canopy” method. Not having to “blow the canopy” saves another 1/2 second! And the need for a speedy ejection eventually led seat manufacturers to employing ONLY the lower handle method. (See note about positioning your neck for life.) Plus using the loser handle keeps your hands/arms out of the way when you’re ejecting through the canopy. (Seats even have “canopy breakers” – arms that pop up to break through the canopy.)’

Tussey concludes;

‘So today, you may still see a mix of ejection seat designs, but most modern designs by Martin-Baker, EscapePac, and Stencil employ only the lower handle system, as they are striving to achieve the fastest ejection time as possible.

Photo by © BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons, Airman 1st Class Patrick S. Ciccarone/Released / U.S. Air Force and PH1 Terry C. Mitchell / U.S. Navy

December 10, 2023 0 comment

History

C-5 Galaxy airlifters flying with only three engines

by Till Daisd December 9, 2023

written by Till Daisd

A single, three-engine flight was authorized for the C-5 Galaxy airlifters to perform permanent repairs

The unique photos in this article, which first appeared in Code One Magazine, feature trick-or-treat C-5 Galaxy flights.

The article’s main image features a C-5, flying with only three engines, landing at Dobbins Air Force Base (AFB), Georgia, on May 25, 1977, after flying from Travis AFB, California. Originally, this C-5A—the fourth Galaxy constructed—was a member of the flight test fleet. With 14,518 flying hours, it was retired in February 2004 from its final location at Kelly AFB in Texas.

These photos prove that the massive C-5 Galaxy can fly with only three engines

On June 29, 1979, a C-5 aircraft, powered by just three engines, landed at Dobbins AFB in Georgia after taking off from Dover AFB in Delaware, as depicted in the second picture. This aircraft (Air Force serial number 70-0450) experienced a low-pressure turbine failure in November 1978, destroying the left outboard engine and causing damage to the pylon. The engine was removed after the aircraft landed safely, and the pylon was temporarily faired over to decrease drag. Therefore, the Galaxy was approved for a one-time, three-engine flight to Marietta for permanent repairs. With 16,165 flight hours, this C-5A, the sixty-fourth Galaxy ever constructed, was retired in April 2004 from Altus AFB, Oklahoma.

In June 1970, Lockheed-Georgia Co. delivered the first C-5A Galaxy into service to the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB in South Carolina.

In 1998, Air Mobility Command initiated a vigorous campaign to update the C-5 aircraft after a study revealed that 80 percent of the airframe’s service life was still intact. Upgrading the avionics to enhance communications and the navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management systems to ensure compliance with national and international airspace requirements were all part of the C-5 Avionics Modernization Program, as were a new autopilot system and upgraded safety equipment.

The C-5 modernization plan included a comprehensive Reliability Enhancement and Re-engineering Program as well. 2018 saw the completion of the RERP upgrade for the final 52 C-5s owned by the Air Force. By September 2017, the remaining C-5 fleet had retired.

Four General Electric TF-39 engines were replaced with General Electric CF6-80C2-L1F (F-138) commercial engines to power the C-5 aircraft. This engine will enable far more cargo to be carried over longer distances and will give a 22 percent boost in thrust, a 30 percent shorter take-off roll, and a 58 percent faster climb rate. After undergoing system improvements and engine replacements, the C-5A/B/Cs modified by RERP evolved into C-5M Super Galaxies.

Photo by Lockheed Martin

December 9, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

A pilot of the F-4 Phantom II recalls an exciting Mach-2 test flight

by Till Daisd December 8, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘There it is! Mach 2.0, twice the speed of sound. I could go on, Mach 2.4 is probably within reach,’ Ed Cobleigh, former F-4 Pilot

One of the most versatile fighters ever constructed was the McDonnell two-place, twinjet, all-weather F-4 Phantom II, which could reach high speeds of over twice the speed of sound. More Western air forces deployed it as their first-line aircraft than any other. The F-4 became the fastest, highest-flying, and longest-range fighter in the US Navy only 31 months after it made its maiden flight. It first flew on May 27, 1958, it went into service in 1961.

The F-4 established 16 speed, altitude, and time-to-climb records. At 98,556 feet (30,000 meters), the prototype achieved the global altitude record in 1959. On a 15-mile circuit in 1961, an F-4 established the world speed record at 1,604 mph (2,581 kph).

The F-4C, the first version used by the US Air Force, flew for the first time in May 1963, and six months later, production deliveries started. approximately 5,000 Phantom IIs were produced before manufacturing stopped in 1979; approximately 2,600 were made for the US Air Force, roughly 1,200 for the US Navy and Marine Corps, while the remaining aircraft were sold to friendly foreign nations.

The following story appears in Ed Cobleigh’s book War for the Hell of It: A Fighter Pilot’s View of Vietnam. Ed Cobleigh, a best-selling author, served as a fighter pilot in the French Air Force, Imperial Iranian Air Force, US Air Force, US Navy, and Royal Air Force. Along with working on several covert projects with the CIA, FBI, and M16, he also served as an Air Intelligence Officer. He is well-versed in air combat, fighter aircraft, and fighter pilots. The F-16 Viper was his final fighter aircraft, having started with the F-104 Starfighter. His first fighter plane was the F-104 Starfighter and the last was the F-16 Viper. He flew 375 combat missions with the same number of landings as take-offs.

F-4 Test Hop

‘To record the flight time, I punch the stopwatch stem on the instrument panel; it’s time to clock in at the job site. Release the brakes, shove the big throttles forward into the afterburner, hold down the nose wheel steering button, pull the stick full back, and we’re rolling. The Phantom, which was straining nose down under full military power against the brakes, leaps forward, eager to be shed of the ground.

Spirit of the Phantom: emotional poem describes the ethos of the mighty F-4

‘The twin afterburners torch off with a thump and a kick in the ass, thrust is reporting for duty, a quick check of the exhaust nozzle gages, both full open, no warning lights. Speed is building quickly now as the two J-79 engines howl, blue afterburner plumes blasting the runway behind, pushing the F-4, lightweight for once, into the sky. One hundred knots, release the nose wheel steering, the rudder is effective now keeping us straight down the rapidly disappearing concrete. The runway is passing under the jet much faster now, the flat scenery alongside the strip is a green blur.

‘At 150 knots, the nose starts to rise, lift is overcoming gravity, stop it at ten degrees above the horizon until we lift off, which follows immediately, vibration from the wheels ceases. Slap the long landing gear handle up, retract the flaps with the small yellow lever on the left cockpit wall. The nose wants to keep climbing, stop it with a forward stick and run the pitch trim nose down. Hold the big jet down over the runway, one hundred feet sounds about right, as the speed continues to build relentlessly.

‘The departure end runway flashes under the nose, followed in an instant by the airfield boundary, then the perimeter fence. Still, more nose-down trim needed to comfortably hold the nose steady, it wants to pitch up. 400 knots, 425, 450, time to go upstairs.

‘I let the stubborn nose climb past the dusty horizon and keep it coming up, up, up, I’m more letting it do what it wants than using the back stick. Forty-Five degrees of pitch, sixty, then ninety, we’re going straight up, Jack’s and my weight is transferred from our asses on the ejection seat cushions to our spines on the metal seat backs. The Phantom climbs like a homesick angel, a brown and green angel that is, with fire spurting out of his/her ass.

‘Jack and I are off on a test hop, a Functional Check Flight, a FCF. FCFs are required whenever any heavy maintenance is done on the aircraft such as an engine change. FCFs are flown with a totally clean aircraft, no drop tanks, no missiles, no ECM pods, no wing pylons; the underside of the jet is as smooth as a baby’s butt. We are limited to one combat mission a day, but we can fly FCFs over Thailand without restrictions. As the squadron FCF pilot, I fly these joy rides whenever I can.

‘I stood the Phantom on its tail and departed the airfield straight up. Why? Why does a dog lick his balls? Because he can. All FCF pilots perform the same spectacular departure because it’s fun, but also to show off the Phantom’s performance to the ground crewmen; it’s an time-honored tradition. The crew chiefs, maintenance troops, aircraft mechanics, aka the Phantom Phixers, work long hours in the blistering Thai sun, in the monsoon rains, day and night. They see their jets depart loaded with ordnance and headed northeast. An hour or two or three later the same aircraft return, the ordnance gone and often something on the planes is broken, or shot up, which has to be fixed, by them. They seldom get to experience just what their precious charges can do, to see the Phantom really perform. Hence the vertical climb out.

‘Out of sight of the field, I lower the nose to a more sustainable climb angle, afterburners still at full blast, and continue climbing, turning westward, then south to stay in Thai airspace. jack hasn’t said much, as usual. He likes to fly these FCFs although there isn’t much for a navigator to do, because he, like I do, enjoys having a jet to screw around with.

‘20,000 feet comes quickly, then 30,000. The air gets much thinner the higher we go and the rate of climb slackens; less lift, less thrust. I have to lower the nose to maintain airspeed. 40,000 feet, the maximum altitude for most commercial aircraft. 45,000, tops for the propeller-driven fighters of WWII and the SabreJets of the Korean War. 50,000 feet and I level out to gain some more speed. It’s the maximum altitude we are allowed to fly without wearing full pressure suits like the one Neil Armstrong wore on the Moon, only without the gray, grimy moon dust.

‘Einstein said all speed is relative. He was right. With no clouds to fly past, no visual contact with any recognizable surface features, no other aircraft, we are up here all alone and there is no sensation of speed. The cockpit noise is constant, the engines continue to howl, the throttles haven’t moved from full afterburner since brake release three minutes ago. We seem suspended motionless in the space/time continuum. Only the increasing Mach meter read-out gives any indication of speed. It reads .9, nine-tenths the speed of sound and accelerating. As I watch, the Mach number climbs, .93, .95, .97, it hangs up for an instant and then jumps to 1.02. We are supersonic and still accelerating, the maniacal engines will not be denied. With nothing else to do, I watch the Mach meter unwind; I want to see a number starting with a 2.

‘On the far side of the so-called sound barrier, the airflow around the Phantom has now changed radically. Shock waves are now attached to the nose and tail. In a few seconds, Thai farmers slip/sliding along behind stoic water buffalos plodding through their flooded rice paddies, will be treated to a sharp boom marking our swift passage through the sky far above them. Supersonic, the flight controls are less effective; they seem stiff and unresponsive, particularly in pitch, the downward-slanting stabilators on the tail have less control authority.

‘There it is! Mach 2.0, twice the speed of sound. I could go on; Mach 2.4 is probably within reach. Instead, I ease the stiff stick back, and the jet climbs again, trading airspeed for altitude, exchanging kinetic energy for potential energy, leaving the relative safety of 50,000 feet for the unexplored, ever-thinner air above us. 55,000 feet, 60,000. We aren’t supposed to be up this high, but what the hell, I fly combat missions most days, despite the Flight Surgeon’s wise advice that bullets are not to enter my body at any time.

‘What did they teach us in aviation physiology? At 63,000 feet, coming up now on the altimeter, the boiling point of water is 98 degrees. If we lose cabin pressurization, not an unlikely event at this height, our blood will boil and our gooses will be cooked, literally. Yikes!

‘I roll the F-4 up on its left side mid let the nose fall through the seemingly rounded horizon, starting back down. I dare not touch the throttles, the engines have little stall margin in the diasporas air up here and if we flame out the engines, we lose cabin pressure. The altimeter unwinds back to 50,000 feet and we can breathe easier again. I start a turn back to the northwest, our fuel is getting low. Still supersonic, I pull the throttles back out of the afterburner to a more moderate power setting. With the stick full back, I can only get three Gs as I point the nose toward Ubon…. and oblivion, Everything goes black.

‘Is this what being dead is like? I am conscious but totally alone in an empty black void with no sensory inputs. No sight, no hearing, no feeling, just me and vacant blackness all around. Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” What if I can think but I am not? Slowly, slowly, I come to a heightened state of consciousness, and I realize where I am and what has transpired. I can hear air rushing over the canopy somewhere out there in the void. Now, my vision is returning, but I am looking through a soda straw at my lap, my chin is resting on my chest. More sight comes and I can see my leather-gloved hands in that distant lap, not on the control stick. I know they are my hands by my big fighter pilot wrist watch, but I can’t move them; they’re still paralyzed and I can’t raise my head to look around.

‘I know now what happened. When the jet came back through the Mach to the sub-sonic flight regime, the stabilators regained their purchase on the airflow, dug in, and my three G pull instantly became a seven G turn. The instant onset of seven Gs, causing my body to weigh over 1200 pounds, blacked me out without warning as the blood drained from my brain, pulled downward by seven Gs. I’ve experienced this a few times before, and it always seems an eternity until I can see and move again. While I’m waiting, all I can think is, “How long have I been out, and what has the airplane been doing while I was gone?”

‘Finally, I can move again. I raise my head, grab the stick, and look outside. Above me, out the top of the canopy, is the ground, still far below. We are inverted, but still, at altitude, I must not have been out long. Rolling the jet right side up, I take a deep breath of metallic-tasting oxygen from my soft rubber mask, get my bearings, pull the power back, and start a long glide to base.

‘I ask Jack, “Are you OK?”

‘“I’m back,” is all he says.’

War for the Hell of It: A Fighter Pilot’s View of Vietnam is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

December 8, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

The A-10 Warthog pilot who enjoyed listening to The Doors while doing strafing runs

by Till Daisd December 7, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘Curious, I grabbed his G-suit off the rack. Sure enough, there was a Sony Walkman (tape; this is 1983) in one of the pockets…,’ Pat Markwell, former A-10 Warthog Life Support Technician in the US Air Force

Electronic devices are not allowed to be carried by fighter pilots, including music players. It is unlikely that a device will interfere with the onboard avionics, although it is possible.

But there was an A-10 Warthog pilot during the Cold War who loved breaking that rule.

Pat Markwell, former Life Support Technician in the US Air Force, recalls on Quora;

‘As a novice Life Support tech, I was doing a post-flight inspection of one of our more Sierra Hotel A-10 pilots helmet. This usually involved swabbing spit out of the oxygen mask, cleaning the visor, and a quick once-over.

‘Then I noticed a very non-Milspec cord taped to the comm line that ran from the helmet, along the hose, and dangling next to the CRU-60 quick disconnects. Curious, I grabbed his G-suit off the rack. Sure enough, there was a Sony Walkman (tape; this is 1983) in one of the pockets.

‘A few minutes later, 1st Lieutenant B strolls through the LS section. Now, this is one of the coolest individuals I have ever met. So, showtime:

‘Me, holding his helmet “Uh, Lt. B? What’s with the walkman? I’m not sure that I can allow this to be considered suitable for flight (comm loss, post-ejection flailing, etc.).”

‘Lt. B “It will be fine. I just like to listen to The Doors when I strafe“.

‘Me “Let me get this straight, Sir. They pay you big bucks, let you strap on a multi-million-dollar aircraft, and you get to listen to The Doors as you blow s**t up?”

‘Lt B, now sporting the biggest shit-eating grin I’ve ever seen “That’s right, Airman. It’s kinda like getting paid to f**k”’

Markwell concludes;

‘And that is when I realized that fighter pilots are different than you and I…’

Photo by U.S. Air Force

December 7, 2023 0 comment

Military

Su-57, marketed as a stealth fighter, can be detected by radars from a far greater distance than F-22 and F-35

by Till Daisd December 7, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Sukhoi claims Su-57 has an RCS goal between 0.1 to 1 m^2 (-10 to 1 dBsm). For comparison, the F-117 had an RCS of around -25 dBsm while the F-22 and F-35 have an RCS better than -40 dBsm – which is at least 1,000 to 10,000 times smaller than the Su-57

The Sukhoi Su-57 Felon’s configuration is a development of the Su-27’s design modified for low visibility, supersonic speed, and agility.

According to Piotr Butowski’s explanation in Russia’s Warplanes, Volume 1, internal weapon carriage is the primary way to decrease radar visibility. Installed in the engine air intake ducts, radar blockers lessen reflections from the engine inlet guiding vanes. In order to minimize the number of directions in which electromagnetic waves are reflected and to guarantee that these directions are the safest, the airframe’s shape has been chosen.

The equipment of the fighter is the subject of another group of stealth measures. The radiation from the enemy’s radar is diverted away by the NO36 radar arrays’ surfaces being deflected from the vertical plane. The arrays’ domes are selective; while allowing their own signal to get through, they block other frequencies. Additionally, to absorb “freak waves,” which happen when a wave is amplified after several reflections within an enclosed space, the compartments for these arrays have coatings on their edges that are radar-absorbent.

Multiple systems, such as the radar, ECM, and IFF systems, employ the available arrays simultaneously to lower their total number. Antennas that do not extend beyond the airframe outlines are used within the antenna-feeder system, and the vertical empennage serves as an antenna for the communications suite. When in cruise configuration, the 101KS-V IRST’s turret is turned backward and has a coating on its rear hemisphere to absorb radar waves.

Su-57 stealth fighters to take part in Victory Parade for first time

The US-made F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II are not comparable to the Su-57, despite the latter being touted as a fifth-generation fighter. The Felon, on the other hand, is not a real stealth fighter. Why?

‘Sukhoi claims Su-57 has an RCS goal between 0.1 to 1 m^2 (-10 to 1 dBsm). For comparison, the F-117 had an RCS of around -25 dBsm while the F-22 and F-35 have an RCS better than -40 dBsm – which is at least 1,000 to 10,000 times smaller than the Su-57. All of these are based on unclassified program goals and YF-117’s RCS testing data from Skunk Works,’ says Abhirup Sengupta, an aviation expert, on Quora.

‘To understand the real-world difference, let’s take S-400’s 91N6E search radar as a reference. According to the manufacturer, the 91N6E has a detection range of 390 km against a 4 m^2 target. So it should be detecting a F-15 (13 m^2) from 523 km, a F/A-18E Super Hornet (~1 m^2) from 275 km, the Su-57 (assuming 0.1 m^2) from 155 km, and a F-22/F-35 (-40 dBsm) from 27 km. In short, a radar will have between 6 to 10 times greater detection range against the Su-57 compared to the F-22 & F-35.

‘It’s worth remembering that the failure of Mikoyan Project 1.44 (Russia’s first attempt at Stealth aircraft) is what brought Su-57 to light. One of the lessons from Mig 1.44’s failure was the Russian economy being unable to afford to design a new LO airframe from scratch. You can see that all Russian aircraft designs post-Cold War that saw daylight are mere modifications of an existing airframe (Su-30, Su-35, and Mig-29K, Mig-35 being a derivate of Su-27 and Mig-29).

‘The Su-57 program is not too different. The goal was to modify an existing airframe (Su-27) to maximize RCS reduction without having to design a new airframe from scratch. This is evident from the Sukhoi Design Bureau not adding basic things like Serpentine intakes which are critical for achieving serious LO signature. In essence Su-57 in many ways is similar to the US Navy’s F-18 Super Hornet program. It’s what you do when you’re on a really tight budget.

‘The second problem with the Su-57 is that the Russian Aerospace industry is simply incapable of producing a VLO aircraft. It’s not just about things directly related to Stealth (Tolerance, Material sciences for RAM/surface coatings with desired broadband, multispectral and durable characteristics) but also things indirectly related to Stealth like Engines – the Felon’s izdeliye 30 engine with circular nozzle is supposed to produce 38,600 lbf thrust, which is comparable to Raptor’s 20-year-old F119 with rectangular nozzles (37–39,000 lbf). You can’t have a Fighter design with S-ducts or rectangular exhaust nozzles if you can’t produce engines with sufficient thrust to compensate for the thrust loss from those designs. Likewise, you can’t have faceted glass panels to house the IRST sensor if your industry can’t economically produce one with sufficient integrity and tolerance to handle a Mach-2 flight envelope.

‘Then there’s the whole RF domain dictated by the state of your semiconductor industry. When you’ve the Su-35 having comparable SAR resolution to that of F-15E’s 20-year-old Mechanical radar, it highlights the inherent small bandwidth of Russian radars. You can’t have serious LPI characteristics with such a small bandwidth. The same limitations also prevent you from having highly directional (Line-of-sight) LPI datalinks – forcing you to continue relying on omnidirectional Low-band datalinks that not only ruin your RF signature but are also quite limited in terms of throughput. Stealth isn’t just about your airframe’s shape, today it’s also about your avionics suite. Without the necessary EMCON, you’ll be forced to either fly blind or ruin whatever element of surprise you may theoretically have.’

Sengupta concludes;

‘For the most part real-world design objectives aren’t dictated by your group of engineers but your economic and industrial capability. The last 30 years in addition to the last 6 months unequivocally demonstrate that Russia neither has the industrial capacity nor economy to develop a VLO fleet.’

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Sukhoi

December 7, 2023 0 comment

History

The British MoD turned down a US offer in the 1980s for the UK to purchase F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters for the RAF Squadrons

by Till Daisd December 6, 2023

written by Till Daisd

In the 1980s, US President Ronald Reagan extended an invitation to Margaret Thatcher to participate in US advanced military programs, including the Space Shuttle program and the Lockheed F-117A stealth fighter.

The first operational aircraft in the world built to take advantage of low-observable stealth technology was the F-117A Nighthawk. This precision-strike aircraft was able to use laser-guided weapons against critical targets while penetrating high-threat airspace.

The decision to produce the F-117A was taken in 1978, and Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, also known as the “Skunk Works,” in Burbank, California, was given the contract. Just thirty-one months following the full-scale development decision, on June 18, 1981, came the first flight over the Nevada test ranges.

Deliveries of the F-117A began in 1982 and ended in the summer of 1990. October 1983 saw the 4450th Tactical Group—now the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico—achieve operational capability as the only F-117A unit under Air Combat Command.

While the Nighthawk was never exported, US President Ronald Reagan offered Margaret Thatcher the opportunity to work on US advanced military programs in the 1980s, including the Lockheed F-117A stealth fighter and the Space Transportation System (STS, as the Space Shuttle program was officially named), according to declassified documents made public by the British National Archives in 2016.

Thatcher concurred, according to Theguardian.com, that the Space Shuttle program was a more cost-effective choice for Britain than the European Ariane disposable launch vehicle. For communications throughout Europe and the Atlantic, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) intended to launch two military satellites, called Skynet 4; the cost of the shuttle launch was £58 million, or £23 million less than that of Ariane.

But the Challenger disaster and the letter from French Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy pleading with Thatcher to rethink her choice played against the Space Shuttle program. Furthermore, according to Theguardian.com, in 1986, President Ronald Reagan desired to provide the UK access to highly-sensitive US military technologies.

After Thatcher “met privately” with Casapar (Cap) Weinberger, the then U.S. defense secretary, to discuss this unique project, the U.K. Prime Minister sent a top secret personal message (on which someone wrote in faint pencil “Stealth”) to the U.S. President where she stated: “Dear Ron, I was immensely impressed by your splendid achievement. Three cheers for America! I was also very touched by the generosity of the offer of participation which [Cap] brought. It brings home once again who our real friends are.”

The goal of the project, code-named “Project Moonflower,” was to sell the United Kingdom the still highly top-secret F-117.

In answer to a US Air Force (USAF) request for an aircraft that could attack high-value targets without being detected by enemy radar, Lockheed created the F-117A. By the 1970s, engineers were able to create an aircraft that was “stealth” or capable of evading radar thanks to new materials and techniques.

Ultimately, the MoD turned down the offer to purchase the Nighthawk to equip Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons since the F-117 was still classified as a black program. Charles Powell, the prime minister’s adviser on international affairs, received a letter from the MoD in December 1986 informing him that “Mr. Weinberger has offered us a chance to purchase the current US aircraft, but we have replied that we would not wish to actually buy hardware while the program remains strictly black [secret].”

Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Kim Frey / U.S. Air Force

December 6, 2023 0 comment

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