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aviation

The T-28: an aircraft with a long and distinguished history

by Till Daisd September 23, 2022

The T-28 was a trainer aircraft produced for the US Air Force by North American Aviation. The T-28 served as the primary jet trainer for the United States from 1949 to 1972, with over 2,000 aircraft produced. It was also used in other countries and served as a combat aircraft in several air forces during the 1950s and 1960s.

The T-28 was used as a training aircraft from 1949 until 1984 when the last T-28 retired from USAF service. In addition to its use in the U.S., it was used extensively in South Vietnam during the early 1960s and then again by anti-communist forces in Laos during the 1970s and 80s.

The first T-28A entered service on July 1, 1950. The aircraft was the first to carry out bombing missions during the Vietnam War and was also used for reconnaissance and ground attack purposes. The T-28A was an important asset for the US in its fight against communism during this period.

This aircraft was used extensively in South Vietnam during the early 1960s. It was used for ground attacks, close air support, and interdiction missions. The T-28 was also used by the South Vietnamese Air Force from 1961 to 1973. In total, over 200 T-28 variants were produced before production ended in 1953.

The Philippine Air Force purchased 30 units and used them extensively, including in the Moro conflict in Mindanao. T-28s were used to support ground troops, bomb targets, and deliver supplies to ground troops.

The T-28 was also used as a combat aircraft by the anti-communist forces in Laos. They were flown by the Air Force of the Royal Laotian Government, and later by the United States Navy’s Top Gun school at Naval Air Station Miramar.

While they were no longer used as front-line fighters, they were still very useful in supporting ground troops with close air support missions and interdiction attacks against enemy positions.

In 1972, a dozen T-28D Trojans were donated to the South Vietnamese Air Force by the United States Navy. They were used as trainers for pilots who were transitioning from training aircraft to combat aircraft. The Philippine Air Force purchased 30 units and used them extensively.

After being retired from active service with the US military, many surplus T-28s continued to serve with other nations’ air forces well into the 1990s. The type continued to be used by the South Vietnamese Air Force until 1975 when it was replaced by the F-5 Freedom Fighter for close air support roles. Many of these aircraft were captured by North Vietnamese forces and sent to Soviet pilots for evaluation and study purposes.

The Philippine Air Force also operated a small number of T-28s until the 1980s, replacing them with OV-10 Broncos in 1974. The Royal Laotian Air Force also utilized T-28s as trainers until 1975 when they were replaced by North American T-6 Texans and Rockwell Sabre jets as part of a deal between Thailand (which had previously withdrawn its military aid) and Laos allowing Thai trainers to remain on Laotian soil after their withdrawal from Vietnam ended that year’s conflict there between communist forces supported by Hanoi against those still loyal to Saigon’s puppet regime based at Hue City prior till 1975 when all fighting ceased due both sides agreed ceasefire could take place without any further bloodshed since neither side wanted anything else than peace talks without guns being shot anymore so they figured let’s just find a compromise so we can get some rest finally!

The T-28 Trojan has had a long and distinguished history, serving in the U.S. Air Force for more than 40 years.

The first T-28A entered service on July 1, 1950, followed by additional models later that year. In all, over 4500 of these aircraft were produced by North American Aviation from 1948 to 1958 (the company merged with Rockwell International in 1967).

The United States used them extensively during the Korean War and they were also deployed during the early 1960s in South Vietnam. From 1961 onwards they were used as combat aircraft by the anti-communist forces in Laos until 1969 when they were replaced with F8 Crusaders which were then themselves replaced with A-37 Dragonflys having longer range and better survivability against ground fire (they also had air refueling capability).

September 23, 2022 0 comment

History

15 interesting facts about aviation

by Till Daisd September 22, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Here are some interesting facts about aviation listed by a user on Quora:

During WWII, Russian fighter pilot T. Kuznetsov flew himself home after being shot down by stealing a Nazi fighter plane. The German pilot landed near his crash site to scrounge around the wreck to look for souvenirs.

During WWII, during parachuting from a damaged bomber, an American aviator downed a Japanese fighter plane by shooting the pilot in the head with his sidearm.
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft was so fast that the designers didn’t even consider evasive maneuvers. The pilot was instructed to accelerate and out-fly any threat, including missiles.

In 1970 Russian MiG-25 Fighter had the majority of its avionic implemented in vacuum tubes to resist nuclear electromagnetic pulse.

Every last F-14 Tomcat America has in flyable storage is being shredded to prevent spares from reaching Iran, who are still flying the one sold to them by the U.S. in the 70s.

In 1983, an Israeli pilot successfully landed an F-15 with only one wing. He didn’t realize the extent of the damage until after landing and stated he would have ejected had he known.

A McDonnell Douglas F-15 once shot down a satellite.

1920px-F-15_71st_Fighter_Squadron_in_flight

Chuck Yeager, the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound received his feat on October 14th, 2012 in an F-15 Eagle, to celebrate the 65th anniversary of breaking the sound barrier. He was 89 years old.
The F-22 and Eurofighter Typhoon have been pitted against each other in mock dogfights in the past. The Typhoons proved to be surprisingly effective against American Aircraft and after such an encounter the USAF declared “they didn’t want to play anymore” as a result.

During WWII, a single American P-51 fighter plane held off 30 German fighters from attacking a squadron of B-17 bombers for over half an hour.

375th Fighter Squadron North American P 51D 5 NA Mustang 44 13926 cropped scaled — 375th Fighter Squadron North American P 51D

In June 1974, while President Nixon was on his way to a scheduled stop in Siria, Syrian fighter jets intercepted Air Force One to act as escorts. However, the Air Force One crew was not informed in advance, and as a result, took evasive action including a dive.
The test pilot for America’s first jet fighter dressed in a disguise, so that if trainees at a nearby base saw this new “propeller-less” plane, they would be more likely to think they were hallucinating if it was being flown by a gorilla wearing a derby and smoking a cigar.
In 1956 due to high speed, an F-11 fighter shot itself because it was faster than its own bullet.

The effective cost of the F-35 Program alone is nearly 7 times the total cost of the International Space Station.
During WWII, Royal Air Force fighter pilots started a rumor that excessive carrot consumption gave gunners night vision. They did this so as not to alert Germans of RAF’s new radar technology after they shot down a German aircraft on night raids and the German believed it. German fighters then started eating large quantities of carrots.

September 22, 2022 0 comment

History

Could a Spitfire keep up with a V1?

by Till Daisd September 21, 2022

written by Till Daisd

As explained by a military expert user on Quora, German technology produced the V1, essentially the first “cruise missiles,” after the conflict. (The V2 was the first ICBM ever built.)

It was designed by Werner von Braun and Robert Lussier, who later worked on projects for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. However, he used his technical ability in jet technology during World War II to develop weapons to combat the Allied Forces, in this case, a rocket weapon to scare England but it failed.

As a result, the “tactic” has now given rise to urban legends, with social media commentators debating whether the technique actually was used by pilots to bring down the feared bombs, also known as “buzz bombs” or “doodlebugs,” which were the early precursors to modern drones or cruise missiles, or whether it was just a myth.
It was true, but, according to Wing Commander Nick Robson of the current RAF Air Command High Wycombe, “This was NOT a routine action.” The bumping was a last-ditch effort. The goal was to get the plane’s wing as close as possible to the missile.

The internal gyroscope of the V1 bombs allowed these “cruise missiles” to travel from German-occupied territory to London with a rudimentary level of accuracy, which RAF pilots occasionally took advantage of.
Pilots of Spitfires (or of Tempests or Meteors) would move to intercept when a V1 Flying Bomb was spotted. There was an “X” factor with the V1s: you never knew when they were going to go; better to shoot and blow them up from a distance. The book “V1 Flying Bomb Aces” confirms that specific ranges were used in the 1940s for shooting bombs so they exploded in the air without causing harm, which was much preferred against tipping.

“…the proper range to engage the V1 with guns was 200-250 yards. Further out and the attacker would only damage the control surfaces, causing the V1 to crash and possibly cause civilian casualties upon impact. Any closer and the explosion from hitting the V1’s warhead could damage or destroy the attacking aircraft.”

As V1s were loaded with 1,000 kg of Amatol-39, a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate, pilots frequently had to fly in close to them to take a shot, especially given that the pulse-jet-propelled doodlebugs flew at speeds of up to 400 mph, the tactic is also believed to have reduced some of the risks associated with shooting down a highly explosive flying object.

The Nazis’ badly designed equipment apparently featured a gyro stabilizer for only two dimensions, which left flight control without roll movement and was easily exploitable as the reason tilting operated at all.

Technically and scientifically tipping was a risky move because physics would cause the weapon to detonate on an unknown target.

The competence of the Second World War pilots, according to Wing Commander Robson, meant that the Spitfire’s wing did not really need to “strike” a V1 wing; instead, it used an inventive technique to exploit airflow to divert the flying bomb.

“The V1 is what you and I would call today a ‘drone’ – a pilotless missile – that came off the rails, it was pointed towards London, probably from northern France, and it was just fired.”

“It was literally fire and forget.”

“The problem we found in that time was that shooting it down from the ground was very difficult – they are very fast, and also it’s very difficult to see, so we had to find a way around it.”

He pondered, however, as to what a Spitfire pilot might actually have done. He said: “There is a difference in air pressure above and below the wing – as it gets closer is it actually touching the wing?”

“Some pilots would have touched the wing – the different air pressure at the tip of the aircraft would be enough to cause a disturbance in the aerodynamics around the wing which is then enough to knock it off course, disrupt the gyroscopes, and then get the aircraft crash into the ground.”

“That’s all it needed to do to disrupt the flightpath, just slightly, and either by physically hitting the wing, or actually it takes more skill, to put the wing so close that the vortexes at the wingtip disturb the air around the V1 wing itself, causing it to go off course.”

He said that the Spitfire might have sustained some damage from a mid-air collision. But for that to happen, pilots would have needed to strike a V1’s wing very hard.

Instead, he suggests a different scenario might have been taking place, saying: “We’re not looking at ‘ramming it off the road’ in the sense of the police programs you see now, this is just very sensitive disruption of the airflow around the wing.”

However, they wouldn’t waste ammunition since they would employ a different tactic. Simply moving near the V1 caused the Spitfire to tap its wings and throw off its gyroscope. Simply moving near the V1 caused the Spitfire to tap its wings and throw off its gyroscope.

Ken Collier of 91 Squadron physically dropped the first V1 bomb while flying a Spitfire Mk IVX. He had seven V1 victories and eventually died in combat.

September 21, 2022 0 comment

History

Amazing aircraft on display at the one and only public air show in XB-70 Valkyrie history

by Till Daisd September 20, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The XB-70 Valkyrie AV/2 would only leave and land at Carswell AFB before being destroyed on June 8, 1966, as a result of an unintentional mid-air collision

The interesting photo in this post was taken at Carswell Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, in 1966 during the Combination Open House, which has the distinction of being the sole public airshow in XB-70 Valkyrie history.

Although the legendary XB-70 was displayed at several events at Edwards AFB, only the military had access to the Mach 3 bomber there, in accordance with XB-70 documentation in the National Archive.

As this incredible photo demonstrates, the airshow that was staged in connection with the Air Force Association (AFA) 20th-anniversary convention on March 24-26, 1966 featured some of the most spectacular aircraft that have ever been constructed. But aircraft ID captions require some improvement. – An F-106, not an F-102, is on the flight line above the hangar. It is the aircraft with no tag between the F-4 and the F-102. The aircraft in the lower right is a B-26K, not an A-37, the X-15 is a full-scale mockup, and the uncaptioned rocket is a Thor Able. Lower left: that is a YF-12A, not an SR-71.

The North American XB-70 Valkyrie air vehicle 2 (AV/2), which made its first public appearance as well as its first landing outside of Edwards AFB, Calif., was the star performer at the largest airshow the U.S. Air Force (USAF) has put on in recent years. Al White of North American and USAF Lt. Col. Fitzhugh Fulton piloted the 275-ton giant during its 55-minute flight from Edwards to Carswell AFB. During a three-day static display, the 275-ton giant was viewed by more than 350,00 people.

Before being destroyed on June 8, 1966, as a result of an unintentional mid-air collision, Carswell AFB would be the sole airfield the AV/2 would fly to and return from. The Valkyrie, piloted by North American’s Al White and USAF Lt. Col. Fitzhugh Fulton, reached 6,000 feet over Carswell AFB just 59 minutes after takeoff after spending just 13 minutes at Mach 2.6! Before landing, AV/2 rumbled across Texas’ sky for the following 30 minutes. Two days later, Cotton and White flew back to Edwards at subsonic speeds, taking just over three hours to complete the trip. This was the only flight throughout the whole program when performance data was not recorded.

The Only Public Air Show in XB-70 Valkyrie History Featured some of the Coolest Aircraft Ever Built

Photo by U.S. Air Force

September 20, 2022 0 comment

Military

The modified F-8 Crusader used as a testbed for fly-by-wire tech

by Till Daisd September 20, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The fly-by-wire systems currently used in space shuttles and in modern military and civilian aircraft were inspired by the F-8 DFBW system

The F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire (DFBW) aircraft’s control system was initially replaced by a primary system employing an Apollo digital computer, despite its exterior being identical to a regular U.S. Navy F-8C Crusader. Three analog computers were employed in the backup system.

Electronic signals from the stick and rudder movements of the aircraft were sent to the computer, which then produced signals to change the control surfaces. The digital fly-by-wire aircraft was intended to handle very identically to a regular F-8C thanks to the system’s design.

The F-8 DFBW team dismantled the aircraft’s guns and ammunition boxes in order to carry the computers and other equipment. Later, in Phase 2, the aircraft’s flight control system was controlled by three IBM AP-101 computers.

The F-8 DFBW flight research project validated the fundamental ideas behind the all-electric flight control systems that are now standard equipment on both military and commercial transports as well as practically all modern high-performance aircraft.

On May 25, 1972, research pilot Gary E. Krier took the controls of the modified F-8C Crusader that served as the testbed for the fly-by-wire technology for the first time in the 13-year project’s history. The NASA Flight Research Center in California (now known as Dryden Flight Research Center) and Langley Research Center collaborated on the project. There were 211 flights in all.

The Apollo hardware jammed into the F-8C. The computer is partially visible in the avionics bay at the top of the fuselage behind the cockpit. Note the display and keyboard unit in the gun bay. To carry the computers and other equipment, the F-8 DFBW team removed the aircraft’s guns and ammunition boxes.

On December 16, 1985, Ed Schneider, a Dryden research pilot, made the aircraft’s final flight. The F-8 DFBW system was a precursor to modern fly-by-wire systems, which are used to make military and commercial aircraft safer, more maneuverable, and more effective. Older hydraulic control systems were replaced with electronic fly-by-wire systems, allowing designers to create aircraft with less in-flight stability.

Fly-by-wire systems’ redundancies make them safer. Because computers can order more frequent corrections than a human pilot can, they are more nimble. In the case of airplanes, automated control guarantees a smoother ride than a human pilot can. Because it is lighter and takes up less space than the hydraulic systems it replaced, digital fly-by-wire is more effective. By doing this, the airplane can carry more people or pounds of cargo while using less fuel to travel.

Currently, digital fly-by-wire is employed in a wide range of aircraft, including the Boeing 777 and F/A-18 fighters. The DFBW research initiative is regarded as one of the most important and fruitful NASA aeronautical initiatives since the organization’s founding.

Source: NASA; Photo by NASA

September 20, 2022 0 comment

History

On ending of the Great War, American fighter ace Eddie Rickenbacker was flying

by Till Daisd September 19, 2022

written by Till Daisd

“Suddenly gray uniforms mixed with brown. I could see them hugging each other, dancing, and jumping. Americans were passing out cigarettes and chocolate,” Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I fighter ace.

Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, an American fighter ace, disregarded orders on November 11, 1918, and took out for the front to see the end of the war…

“I was the only audience for the greatest show ever presented. On both sides of no-man’s-land, the trenches erupted. Brown-uniformed men poured out of the American trenches, gray-green uniforms out of the German.

“From my observer’s seat overhead, I watched them throw their helmets in the air, discard their guns, and wave their hands. Then all up and down the front, the two groups of men began edging toward each other across no-man’s-land.

“Seconds before they had been willing to shoot each other; now they came forward. Hesitantly at first, then more quickly, each group approached the other.

“Suddenly gray uniforms mixed with brown. I could see them hugging each other, dancing, and jumping. Americans were passing out cigarettes and chocolate.

“I flew up to the French sector. There it was even more incredible. After four years of slaughter and hatred, they were not only hugging each other but kissing each other on both cheeks as well.

“Star shells, rockets, and flares began to go up, and I turned my ship toward the field.

“The war was over.”

September 19, 2022 0 comment

History

Testbeds for the NASA F-14 Tomcat

by Till Daisd September 19, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The F-14s’ spin issue made it difficult for them to engage in a dogfight successfully

A line of post-Vietnam fighters began with the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and included the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and F-18 Hornet.

These aircraft, known as “teen fighters,” were built to be maneuverable in air-to-air combat.

Since the F-14s tended to diverge from a controlled flight at the high angles of attack that typically occur in close-range engagements, this caused challenges for its ability to engage successfully in a dogfight. After being introduced to the fleet for the first time in October 1972, the Navy’s F-14s started to suffer from out-of-control mishaps. It became out that the aircraft’s analog automatic flight-control system had a straightforward control-law architecture that, under specific flight conditions, induced departures from the desired flight path. A number of aircraft and crews were lost as a result of the control system’s failure to give the pilots complete control authority (flight-control-surface deflections) for recovering from spins and other departures.

According to Ruby Calzada on NASA.gov, a collaborative NASA/Navy/Grumman program used NASA 991—a U.S. Navy Tomcat with serial number 157991 that was actually designated “F-14 (1X)” and served as Grumman’s experimental testbed—at Dryden Flight Research Center between 1979 and 1985 to address this issue. The F-14’s handling at high angles of attack, spin resistance, “wing rocking” (i.e., tilting from side to side), and aircraft recovery when it deviated from the controlled flight were all examined (e.g., entered a spin).

As seen in the photos, NASA 991 was equipped with a number of unique modifications for high-angle-of-attack and spin-recovery research. These modifications included a battery-powered auxiliary power unit, a flight test nose boom, and a unique spin recovery system that included forward-mounted, hydraulically actuated canards and an emergency spin chute. The NASA/Navy/Grumman team successfully limited departures and provided recoveries from spins by developing new control laws with an aileron/rudder interconnect (ARI).

The F-14 with the new control laws proved to be “very responsive and maneuverable above 30 degrees angle-of-attack, with no abrupt departure or spin tendencies.”

Among the 212 flights completed for this research project, Calzada claims that the F-14 tested a flush air data system for gathering information about airspeed, provided an updated aero model, which was used on Navy F-14 training simulators, created baseline data for natural laminar flow for many of NASA’s later laminar flow programs, and tested low altitude, asymmetric thrust.

View of the cockpit of NASA’s F-14, tail number 991.

Despite the program’s undeniable success, the Navy delayed implementing the new control regulations in its F-14s due to a lack of resources. Mishaps with the Tomcats kept happening as a result. Finally, the Navy hired GEC Marconi Avionics of the UK to implement the control laws into a digital flight-control system with minimal changes. This system was installed in fleet F-14Ds aboard the USS Kitty Hawk and USS Roosevelt in March 1999, reducing the risk of uncontrollable flight and significantly enhancing the safety of powered approaches to carrier landings. The NASA Exceptional Service Medal had already been awarded to Dryden research pilot Einar Enevoldson in 1980 for his work as a project pilot on the F-14 stall and spin resistance tests.

Instead, the Variable-Sweep Transition Flight Experiment at Dryden in 1986 and 1987 employed NASA 834, another U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat (VSTFE). This program investigated high subsonic laminar flow on variable-sweep aircraft. Because of its variable-sweep capability, Mach and Reynolds number capability, availability, and advantageous wing pressure distribution, an F-14 aircraft was selected as the carrier vehicle for the VSTFE program.

Natural laminar flow gloves were added to the F-14’s variable-sweep outer panels so that they would not only have smooth surfaces but also airfoils with a wide variety of pressure distributions whose transition points could be identified under different flight situations and sweep angles. Glove II was created to produce specific pressure distributions at Mach 0.7, whereas Glove I was designed to “clean up” or smooth the basic F-14 wing (seen mounted on the upper surface of the left wing in the image above).

A research program on the NASA 848 F-16XL, a laminar flow experiment that uses a wing-mounted panel with millions of tiny laser-cut holes to pull out turbulent boundary layer air with a suction pump, continues laminar flow research at Dryden.

Source: NASA; Photo by NASA

September 19, 2022 0 comment

History

The first BUFF to be resurrected from AMARG

by Till Daisd September 18, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The B-52 Ghost Rider’s refurbishment, modernization, and restoration work were finished in 272 calendar days by Tinker’s 565th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

The rare photos in this post showcase the first B-52H Stratofortress that the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) successfully recovered from long-term storage so that it could rejoin the fleet of operational strategic bombers.

The historic flight of tail number 61-0007 (referred to as “Ghost Rider” on its nose art), which took place at Tinker Air Force Base (AFB), on September 27, 2016, marked the end of the warbird’s 19-month transformation from a mothballed, 55-year-old, eight-engine jet parked in the Arizona desert to a fully updated conventional- and nuclear-capable aircraft. This information was provided by John Parker, 72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs in the article ‘Ghost Rider’ in the sky: B-52 departs Tinker in historic flight.

The story of B-52 Ghost Rider, the first BUFF to be resurrected from AMARG to rejoin USAF Strategic Bomber Fleet

The 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group at Tinker delivered the aircraft to Air Force Global Strike Command 90 days earlier than expected. At Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, Ghost Rider joined the 5th Bomb Wing.

“I am extremely proud of the team that was able to deliver Ghost Rider back to Air Force Global Strike Command,” said Brig. Gen. Mark Johnson, the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex commander. “This is really a testament to accomplishing the art of the possible. It shows that when there is a common goal, team members from across multiple organizations can rally behind the objective and deliver their team’s full impact to the project.”

In 272 calendar days, Tinker’s 565th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron finished the overhaul, modernization, and restoration work. In order to get Ghost Rider back into combat condition, maintainers, engineers, and support teams put in about 45,000 man-hours, according to Charles Alley, the 565th AMXS director at the time.

Before declaring the B-52 ready for delivery on September 13, 2016, Alley said Tinker’s 10th Flight Test Squadron pilots flew it six times to check system functionality and ensure a safe and reliable aircraft.

The jet required 7,000 more hours of maintenance than was typically planned to “get it up to speed with all the other B-52s in the fleet,” Alley said.

“I told people during a test flight that because the aircraft sat in the desert so long, we’re knocking all the ghosts out of it,” he said. “It seemed like every time it came back it had two or three different things wrong with it.”

In February 2015, B-52 flight commander Lt. Col. Darrel Hines of the 10th FTS flew the aircraft from Arizona to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and participated in some of the final six functional test flights. The aircraft arrived at Tinker AFB on December 14, 2015, and maintenance and overhaul work started on December 31, 2015. The plane was supposed to be delivered on December 23, but it arrived 90 days earlier. The 309th AMARG, the OC-ALC, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, and above all the maintainers, whose expert hands-on labor made the difference, were all lauded by Hines for their contributions to the restoration.

“This was a great team effort from multiple commands and it was a great success,” Hines said. “Now this plane is going to come out of Tinker back to the warfighter, and it’s going to be a huge asset to the guys going out in combat.”

Ghost Rider joined 75 other B-52Hs in the Air Force’s operational bomber fleet.

Photo by Kelly White and Greg L. Davis, / U.S. Air Force

September 18, 2022 0 comment

History

How the SR-71 Blackbird pilots who set the record for absolute speed commemorated the historic flight’s 40th anniversary

by Till Daisd September 18, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The SR-71 remained the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft for approximately 24 years of its life

It was a different era in 1976. Americans were waiting to buy as the Cold War with the Soviet Union was in full swing.

The country celebrated its bicentennial in the same year. To mark the event, officials made the choice to use the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird to try to break a few records.

The Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft were the basis for the long-range, high-tech, strategic reconnaissance aircraft known as the SR-71, also known as the “Blackbird.” The first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, in January 1966. The SR-71’s first flight took place on December 22, 1964.

On July 28, 1976, retired Lt. Col. George Morgan (the reconnaissance systems officer [RSO]) and retired Maj. Gen. Eldon Joersz (the pilot), flying a jet-powered aircraft, set the absolute speed record for jet-powered aircraft at 2,193 mph.

Even now, the record stands.

“We never dreamed, I guess we never gave it much thought, how long the record would last,” Joersz said.

Currently, that aircraft is housed in the Robins Air Force Base Museum of Aviation, where for three days, the museum entertained Joersz, Morgan, and 12 other SR-71 program staff and pilots. On July 30, the museum welcomed about 300 guests for a free celebration honoring the flight’s 40th anniversary.

Retired Maj. Gen. Eldon Joersz, a former pilot, and retired Lt. Col. George Morgan, a former reconnaissance systems officer, sit inside the cockpit of the SR-71 Blackbird they flew when setting the world absolute speed record for jet-powered aircraft on July 28, 1976. The two were at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Georgia, for the 40th anniversary of the historic flight. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tommie Horton)

“The way we look at it, we represent the crew force, we represent the airplane and we really represent America,” Joersz said.

During their trip to the museum, both guys had the opportunity to spend some time in the cockpit of their illustrious airplane.

“It’s as impressive to me now as when I first saw it and flew it. Every time I flew it was my favorite memory,” Morgan said.

Only 85 pilots and RSOs had the necessary training to operate the SR-71. According to Buz Carpenter, a former SR-71 pilot who is currently a docent at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex in Chantilly, Virginia, another 40 or so people are being prepared to fly test flights for the aircraft.

The SR-71 remained the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft for approximately 24 years of its life. It could survey 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface per hour from an altitude of 80,000 feet.

One of the event’s attendees, Tom Joyce, an SR-71 instrument and inlets technician, recalled hearing the aircraft’s start cart with its two 450-cubic-inch engines as one of his favorite recollections. From 1975 through 1988, Joyce worked on the SR-71, and he recalled his first trip to view the Blackbird.

“It was amazing. It doesn’t look like an airplane and then they put astronaut suits on the pilots,” he said, smiling.

The majority of the missions that the Blackbird performed are still secret.

“Those reconnaissance operations are what brought peace and what gave some teeth to the American front during that Cold War… Thank you from a country that could not have won the Cold War without your efforts,” Col. John Cooper, the 461st Air Control Wing commander, said during the July 30 event.

On January 26, 1990, the U.S. Air Force discontinued its fleet of SR-71 aircraft due to a shrinking defense budget and high operating expenses. With more than 2,885 hours of flight experience under its belt, the SR-71 arrived in Robins in 1990.

Source: SR-71 pilots, crew relive absolute speed record By Angela Woolen, 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs and U.S. Air Force; Photo by U.S. Air Force

September 18, 2022 0 comment

History

The story and development of the Sead Mission

by Till Daisd September 17, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The Wild Weasels allow access to these contested areas, which are characterized by multiple integrated air defense systems on modern battlefields

Airpower emerged as a substantial and expanding danger to land and naval troops, cities, and industrial hubs during World War II. Both the Allied and Axis nations used radar tactically early on because of this quickly developing technology.

By spotting them before they could attack, these early radar systems posed a serious threat to the aircrews flying these daytime and nighttime operations. To combat this novel and developing technology, more sophisticated countermeasures were required as a result of their creation.

These tactical countermeasures, which involved bombing and basic intelligence-gathering methods early in the conflict, originally showed potential in the first few operations.

This marked the beginning of the mission that would later become known as the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). Prior to the creation of a specific platform, this mission was carried out by a variety of aircraft types that were modified to meet emergency demand, but the foundation of the SEAD mission was laid by the fundamental strategies created during World War II.

American and Allied bombers and fighters either had free reign to strike their targets or they were identified and later attacked by radar-guided Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) or radar-guided fighter swarms, according to U.S. Air Force (USAF) 35th Fighter Wing (FW) Historian.

Aircraft engaged in Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses missions have since refocused their efforts on locating and targeting enemy radar sites as a result of the need to prioritize their targets in order to keep up with the pace of battle.

Teams of B-25 Mitchell “hunter-killers” were also assembled in the Pacific Theatre, where they created the fundamental strategies and practices that would be applied by upcoming pilot generations. It was also the origin of the expression “first in, last out,” which describes the selfless nature of the Weasel technique.

The lead B-25 would locate Japanese radar stations using its radar detection equipment. Once they had found their target, the hunter-killer teams would fly in low and quickly to assault it with “parachute bombs” in order to destroy the radar installation and its supporting equipment.

Throughout the latter stages of World War II, the SEAD mission enjoyed consistent success, but it was hardly ever used in the Korean War succeeding in air superiority engagements. The SEAD mission did not advance for the jet age until the introduction of the Soviet Union’s radar-guided anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.

American aircraft and tactics, as well as enemy technology, evolved as the Vietnam War went on. During the early phases of the Vietnam Air War, the North Vietnamese used these SAM stations to destroy aircraft and command the sky.

The North Vietnamese SAM installations were arranged roughly in the shape of a six-pointed star, with the search and guidance radar system positioned distant from the missile battery in a covert, heavily-camouflaged location.

Although some SAMs were destroyed using cunning flying techniques, U.S. aircraft lacked the armaments or skills necessary to routinely defeat them.

The United States Air Force was drawn to the threat the SAMs posed and was swiftly compelled to intervene to stop the deteriorating situation in the skies over Vietnam.

The task of creating a practical defense against the threat presented by the North Vietnamese SAMs fell to then Brig. Gen. K. C. Dempster as new electronic warfare technology advanced. He gave this new program the name “Wild Weasel” in a tribute to the WWII “ferrets”; this term has defined this special mission for more than 50 years.

By today’s standards, they took four F-100F Super Sabres and outfitted them with a relatively basic array of radars. The application was employed as a temporary fix until a better solution could be found. The first generation of Wild Weasels was this modified F-100Fs.

The SEAD mission’s purpose and the aircraft that carried it changed as a result of numerous mission successes in Vietnam and Thailand.

The Wild Weasel mission, as well as the F-105G and F-4G, were housed at the now-defunct George Air Force Base during the 1970s. The successor of the Wild Weasel mission and the F-4G Phantom II, which arrived too late to serve in Vietnam, did not engage in actual combat until late in its operational lifespan.

The program didn’t change until the 1990s, even though the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses and Wild Weasel mission rotated through a variety of aircraft over the years.

Shortly after Operation Desert Storm, the F-4G was decommissioned from active duty, and the F-16CJ became the Wild Weasel and SEAD mission’s new home.

The F-16CJ fighter-bombers, which were fiercely contested as being inferior to the F-4G fighter-bomber of the preceding generation, disproved their detractors during the initial attacks of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Inherent Resolve.

“The F-16 is a small, powerful, and extremely agile fighter that can hold its own in a fight against any currently fielded fighter,” said Capt. Richard Smeeding, a Wild Wesel pilot belonging to the 35th FW stationed at Misawa Air Base (AB), Japan. “Combining that with the Harm Targeting System and it becomes the perfect platform to suppress and destroy enemy SAM systems.”

The F-16s got into the conflict with higher success rates compared to their Vietnam-era counterparts because they were equipped with greater weaponry, newer navigation systems, and more advanced radar-detecting abilities.

The F-16s with their Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses and Wild Weasel missions were given the chance to hone both tactics and training exercises for deployment at Misawa as the crises in the Middle East in the late 1990s subsided.

“Conflicts in the Pacific theatre are characterized by numerous integrated air defense systems,” explained Col. Timothy Sundvall, 35th FW commander. “The Wild Weasels provide access to these contested environments.”

Misawa’s F-16s and Wild Weasel mission, the only SEAD mission operating out of the Pacific, comes to the fore as the Air Force reveals its anticipated plan to maintain force projection and air superiority throughout the world.

“The 35 FW is a key component to maintaining peace and prosperity within the Pacific,” Sundvall said. “We are proud to be America’s Wild Weasel wing and bear the “WW” tail flash.”

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Fernando Serna and Leroy Simpson / U.S. Air Force

September 17, 2022 0 comment

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