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militaryaircraft

Clear Photo Of People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force’s J-35 Carrier-Capable Stealth Fighter appears on Chinese social media

by Till Daisd October 13, 2023

The picture in this post features the clearest image to date of China’s future carrier-borne stealth fighter known as the J-35

Surfaced last week on Chinese social media Weibo and likely taken at the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group test facility in Harbin, the picture in this post features the clearest image to date of China’s future carrier-borne stealth fighter known as the J-35.

Designed by Shenyang, the twin engine aircraft will be flown by the People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF) from China’s future Type-003 Fujian-class aircraft carriers.

According to Naval News, the high-resolution picture shows the third J-35 prototype with tail number 350003 as well as several other interesting details:

The fighter features an IRST sensor under the nose. It looks similar to the F-35’s Electro-Optical Target System (EOTS) and likely has a similar role.
The engines feature sawtooth nozzles. This is to reduce heat signature and therefore improve stealth in the infra-red (IR) spectrum.
The main landing gear is “beefed up” to allow for CATOBAR operations. Sadly, the front landing gear is hidden by a technician and we cannot see the presence of a “launch bar”, typically used for catapult launch. But previous, lower quality, images of the J-35 in flight showed the launch bar on the front landing gear.
The radar dome (at the nose) appears to be canted. This likely indicates the presence of a tilted Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar antenna.
The cockpit shows the presence of a good old head-up display (HUD), while on the F-35, the HUD is replaced by an advanced helmet mounted display system (HMDS).
The canopy configuration and its opening are similar to that of the F-35.
The tip of the vertical stabilizer shows the “flying shark” logo, typically seen on J-15 carrier borne fighters currently deployed on the PLAN’s Liaoning and Shandong carriers.

The folding wings featured by the airframe were clearly visible in the earlier pictures of the unpainted aircraft. Folding wings are used to reduce the footprint when stored onboard the carrier. But this is almost impossible to tell when looking at the picture of 350003 (potentially indicating a high level of quality).

Although most open sources call it “J-35” or “J-XY, according to Naval News, the official designation of China’s new twin-engine stealth fighter aircraft is not known yet, some even calls it a variant of the FC-31. A full-size mock-up of the stealth plane first appeared in June 2021 on a full-sized mock-up of a real Chinese Navy aircraft carrier, located at Wuhan land based testing facility.

The aircraft will be operated from the Type-003 Fujian-class aircraft carriers the first of which was launched in June. The Type-003 is China’s biggest most modern and most powerful aircraft carrier. As reported by News18, at 80,000 tons and 318 meters, the Fujian is named after the Chinese province that sits across from Taiwan.

Unlike Liaoning and Shandong, the other two People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) aircraft carriers, that feature a ski jump (a ramp at the bow of the ship that helps jets take off from the carrier’s short runway), Fujian is reported to have electromagnetic catapult launch systems (EMALS).

The ski jump launches are extremely restrictive as they impose big constraints on the size, weight and payload of the aircraft being launched. Instead EMALS’ main advantage is that it accelerates the aircraft more smoothly, putting less stress on their airframes. Furthermore, it weighs and costs less and also requires less maintenance than a steam piston-driven system. It also reduces the carrier’s requirement for fresh water, thus reducing the demand for energy-intensive desalination. Most US carriers have steam-driven catapults except the new USS Gerald Ford class.

Photo by Weibo

October 13, 2023 0 comment

Airshows

Meet Lt. Amanda “Stalin” Lee, Blue Angels first woman F/A-18E/F Super Hornet demonstration pilot

by Till Daisd October 11, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Lt. Amanda “Stalin” Lee makes Blue Angels history as the first woman to fly in a demo F/A-18E/F Super Hornet with the team

Lt. Amanda “Stalin” Lee makes Blue Angels history as the first woman to fly in a demo F/A-18E/F Super Hornet with the team.

On Jul. 18, 2020 the US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron announced six new officers to join the team for the 2023 air show season. The squadron selected two F/A-18E/F Super Hornet pilots, an events coordinator, a C-130J Super Hercules pilot, an aviation maintenance officer and a flight surgeon to replace outgoing team members.

As reported by Pensacola News Journal, although hundreds of women have served with the Blue Angels in a variety of capacities over 55 years, Lt. Amanda Lee, of Mounds View, Minnesota, will be the first woman to serve as a demonstration pilot.

LT Amanda “Stalin” Lee grew up in Mounds View, Minnesota. While attending the University of Minnesota in Duluth and working at UPS, she decided to enlist in the Navy, graduating from Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois in 2007. Her successful enlisted career as an Aviation Electronics Technician led to her selection into the Seaman-to-Admiral (STA-21) Commissioning Program. LT Lee received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at Old Dominion University, and earned her commission in August 2013. She was designated a Naval Aviator in April 2016 and recently completed a deployment aboard the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75), in support of Dynamic Force Employment (DFE), Operation INHERENT RESOLVE (OIR), as well as numerous exercises with NATO Allies.

In 2019, Lee was part of the first ever all-female flyover as part of the funeral service for retired Navy Capt. Rosemary Mariner, one of the first female Navy jet pilots and the first woman to command an operational naval aviation squadron.

“Capt. Mariner really was the starting point of female aviation,” Lee said at the time. “She’s one of the first eight original female pilots allowed in the Naval pipeline … young kids growing up and not thinking whether they can do something or not because of their race, gender, ethnicity, they just go out and say, ‘This is what I wanna do,’ and that question isn’t really in their mind, it kinda all starts back with Capt. Mariner and some of the doors that she broke down.”

While Lee is the first woman who will fly an F/A-18E/F for the squadron, she isn’t the first woman to take to the skies with the Blue Angels.

That honor goes to Marine Maj. Katie Higgins, who flew the team’s C-130 Fat Albert transport plane 2014 to 2016.

The selected 2023 officers include:

F/A-18E/F Demonstration Pilots:

• Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Zimmerman, of Baltimore, Maryland, is currently assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2009.

• Lt. Amanda Lee, of Mounds View, Minnesota, is currently assigned to the “Gladiators” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106. She graduated from Old Dominion University in 2013.

Amanda-Lee-1182x1536-1 — The US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, selected six new officers to join the team for the for the 2023 air show season. Lt. Amanda Lee, of Mounds View, Minn., is currently assigned to the “Gladiators” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106.

Events Coordinator:

• Lt. Cmdr. Brian Vaught, of Englewood, Colorado, is a naval flight officer currently assigned to the Naval School of Aviation Safety. He graduated from the University of Colorado in 2008.

C-130 Demonstration Pilot:

• Marine Corps Capt. Samuel Petko, of Osceola, Indiana, is a KC-130J Hercules pilot currently assigned to the “Sumos” of Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152. He graduated from Indiana University in 2014.

Maintenance Officer:

• Lt. Cmdr. Greg Jones, of Cary, North Carolina, is an aviation maintenance officer currently assigned to Pre-Commissioning Unit John F. Kennedy (CVN 79). He graduated from Elon University in 2008.

Flight Surgeon:

• Lt. Philippe Warren, of Williamsburg, Virginia, is a flight surgeon currently assigned to the “Fighting Griffins” of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 266. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 2014.

Blue-Angels — Blue Angels F/A-18 Super Hornets

New team members will report to the squadron in September for a two-month turnover period. Upon completion of the 2022 show season, which concludes in November with the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show at NAS Pensacola, the team will embark on a rigorous five-month training program at NAS Pensacola and Naval Air Facility El Centro, California.

2022 is the team’s 76th anniversary.

In 1946, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Chester Nimitz, had a vision to create a flight exhibition team in order to raise the public’s interest in naval aviation and boost Navy morale.

In the 1940’s, the Blue Angels thrilled audiences with our precision combat maneuvers in the F6 Hellcat, the F8 Bearcat and the F9 Panther. During the 1950’s, the team refined its demonstration with aerobatic maneuvers in the F9F-8 Cougar and F11 Tiger and introduced the first six-plane delta formation, still flown to this day.

By the end of the 1960’s, the Blue Angels were flying the F-4 Phantom, the only two seat aircraft flown by the delta formation. In 1974, the team transitioned to the A-4 Skyhawk, a smaller and lighter aircraft with a tighter turning radius allowing for a more dynamic flight demonstration. In 1986, the team celebrated its 40th Anniversary by unveiling the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet.

The Blue Angels, conducted the final flight on the F/A-18 A/B/C/D “Legacy” Hornets on Nov. 4, 2020. The final flight of the Legacy Hornets marked the official transition of the Blue Angels to the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet platform.

Photos of Blue Angels getting fuel on their way home to NAS Pensacola show that the team is still flying one F/A-18 tandem seat Legacy Hornet

Photo by U.S. Navy

October 11, 2023 0 comment

Civil

When a British Airways Captain got sucked out of a BAC One-Eleven a flight attendant grabbed his legs and avoided him going out completely

by Till Daisd October 10, 2023

written by Till Daisd

With the captain pinned against the window frame for twenty minutes, the first officer landed at Southampton Airport

British Airways Flight 5390 was a flight from Birmingham Airport in England for Málaga Airport in Spain. On Jun. 10, 1990, the BAC One-Eleven 528FL suffered explosive decompression resulting in no loss of life. With the aircraft flying over Didcot, Oxfordshire, an improperly installed windscreen panel separated from its frame, causing the plane’s captain to be blown partially out of the aircraft. With the captain pinned against the window frame for twenty minutes, the first officer landed at Southampton Airport.

‘On Jun. 10, 1990, the windscreen blew out in front of the captain of British Airways Flight 5390 shortly after takeoff from Birmingham, England,’ George Smith, an aviation expert, says on Quora. ‘The change in pressure sucked Captain Tim Lancaster (age 42) out of the aircraft, but his legs were grabbed by flight attendant Nigel Ogden. Without such heroics, Lancaster would have fallen to his death or been sucked into the plane’s engine.’

Nigel Ogden recalls in an article appeared on The Sunday Morning Herald;

‘He had been sucked out of his seatbelt and all I could see were his legs. I jumped over the control column and grabbed him round his waist to avoid him going out completely.

‘Everything was being sucked out of the aircraft: even an oxygen bottle that had been bolted down went flying and nearly knocked my head off. I was holding on for grim death but I could feel myself being sucked out, too. [Steward] John [Heward] rushed in behind me and saw me disappearing, so he grabbed my trouser belt to stop me slipping further, then wrapped the captain’s shoulder strap around me. Luckily, Alistair [Atchison], the co-pilot, was still wearing his safety harness from take-off, otherwise he would have gone, too.’

Lancaster was exposed to the equivalent of 345 mph winds and 1.5 F (-17 C) temperatures.

Ogden continues;

‘I was still holding on to Tim but the pressure made him weigh the equivalent of 500 pounds [about 200 kilograms]. It was a good thing I’d had so much training at rugby tackles, but my arms were getting colder and colder and I could feel them being pulled out of their sockets.

‘I couldn’t hold on any more, so [steward] Simon [Rogers] strapped himself into the third pilot’s seat and hooked Tim’s feet over the back of the captain’s seat and held on to his ankles. One of the others said: “We’re going to have to let him go.” I said: “I’ll never do that.” I knew I wouldn’t be able to face his family, handing them a matchbox and saying: “This is what is left of your husband.” If we’d let go of his body, it might have got jammed in a wing or the engines.

‘I left Simon hanging on to Tim and staggered back into the main cabin. For a moment, I just sat totally exhausted in a jump seat, my head in my hands.’

At the same time, Atchison put on his oxygen mask and managed to land the plane 22 minutes later. Everyone survived, including Lancaster, 81 passengers and four crew.

Ogden concludes;

‘The paramedics had Tim in the cockpit on a stretcher and I went in to see him.

‘He was lying there, covered in blood, but to my amazement I heard him say: “I want to eat.” I just exclaimed: “Typical bloody pilot.” Luckily, he’d been in a coma throughout the ordeal, his body had just shut down. I went out onto the front steps, and shouted at the others “He’s alive!” and then I cried my eyes out.’

Lancaster had frostbite from exposure to the extreme cold and several fractures. Ogden also suffered frostbite and had a dislocated shoulder.

Within five months Lancaster was flying again and he became a pilot for easyJet.

Ogden returned to work after a break but suffered post-traumatic stress and took early retirement in 2001 on the grounds of ill health. He then became a night watchman at a Salvation Army hospital.

In 1992, a report was published showing that a BA engineer, working under pressure, had fitted a new windscreen with bolts that were too small.

Photo by screenshot from YouTube video and Rob Hodgkins via Wikipedia

October 10, 2023 0 comment

Airshows

After a Blue Angels’ F/A-18 Super Hornet caused $180,000 in building damage while performing the “sneak pass,” the team had to change their show

by Till Daisd October 3, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The sneak pass maneuver has been safely performed for decades at air shows around the country, and the El Centro incident is the only known incident of damage

The US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels modified their routine after an F/A-18 Super Hornet accidentally shook up a few buildings last year at Naval Air Facility El Centro, California, causing $180,000 in damage and injuring a dozen people, Task & Purpose reports.

The Blue Angels’ new Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets are set to make their Seattle debut in this year’s Seafair air show over Lake Washington. The jets are 25% larger than the legacy Hornets they replaced, and festival promoters are touting them as “Bigger. Louder. Faster.”

The Blue Angels’ stunts and formation flying — with as few as 18 inches between wingtips — have long been a highlight of the festival.

According to The Seattle Times, this year, as in some years past, the Blue Angels have received initial approval to perform the “sneak pass,” a popular maneuver that involves one of the six Super Hornets breaking out of formation and flying as low as 50 feet off the water at close to the speed of sound.

The F/A 18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft can unleash a more powerful sonic air — or pressure — wave compared with its predecessor. This was inadvertently demonstrated on Jan. 21, 2021. During a practice run of the maneuver at the Naval Air Facility El Centro in California when a Blue Angel pilot veered slightly off course, the Rhino (as the Super Hornet is dubbed by its aircrews. The “Rhino” nickname was previously applied to the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, which was retired from the fleet in 1987), which passed within 100 feet of buildings, caused more than $180,000 in damage.

According to a Navy investigative report, the destructive impact, detailed in witness statements, included knocked-down ceiling tiles, cracked windows, fallen shelves, nails pulled out of plywood and dislodged sheathing in two shear walls designed to help a base fire department building withstand earthquakes.

According to the report, the close flyby of base buildings also injured a dozen personnel, who initially suffered ringing in the ears and headaches that then abated.

US Navy investigators said the jets create a “noticeably larger localized sonic airflow signature” than the predecessor Hornets, which increases the “probability and severity of future occurrences” such as the damage sustained at El Centro.

Rear Adm. Robert Westendorff, Chief of Naval Air Training, accepted four safety measures, including a slight reduction in the maximum speed for the low-flying sneak pass and banning the maneuver within 200 feet of any structure, vehicle or personnel to prevent another such incident.

The incident investigation and recommendations were released in response to a federal Freedom of Information Act request from Glen Milner, a Washington peace activist and researcher with the Poulsbo-based Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action.

Milner has protested for years what he calls the militarization of Seafair, and sought to find out more about the Super Hornet aircraft.

“Seafair was saying they would be coming, and would be louder, so I was wondering — how much louder?” Milner said.

The sneak pass maneuver has been safely performed for decades at air shows around the country, and the El Centro incident is the only known incident of damage, US Navy officials said in a written statement.

Navy officials said that the new safety measures will prevent a reoccurrence of the incident.

A final decision on whether to perform the maneuver in Seattle will be made by a commanding officer who will assess the conditions during Seafair before proceeding, officials said.

Developed by McDonnell Douglas, the Super Hornet, which first flew in 1995, is a twin-engine carrier-capable multirole fighter aircraft based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F twin-seat variants are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet.

The Hornet and Super Hornet share many characteristics, including avionics, ejection seats, radar, armament, mission computer software, and maintenance/operating procedures. The Super Hornet is largely a new aircraft at about 20% larger, 7,000 lb (3,200 kg) heavier empty weight, and 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) heavier maximum weight than the Legacy Hornet. The Super Hornet carries 33% more internal fuel, increasing mission range by 41% and endurance by 50% over the Legacy Hornet.

As the Super Hornet is significantly heavier than the Legacy Hornet, the catapult and arresting systems must be set differently. To aid safe flight operations and prevent confusion in radio calls, the Super Hornet is informally referred to as the “Rhino” to distinguish it from earlier Hornets.

Furthermore the Super Hornet, unlike the Legacy Hornet, is designed to be equipped with an aerial refueling system (ARS) or “buddy store” for the refueling of other aircraft, filling the tactical airborne tanker role the US Navy had lost with the retirement of the KA-6D Intruder and Lockheed S-3B Viking tankers.

The EA-18G Growler is another variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet that combines the proven Rhino platform with a sophisticated electronic warfare suite.

Photo by U.S. Navy

October 3, 2023 0 comment

Airshows

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first supersonic flight, USAF and NASA Jets will compete to determine which will be first to go supersonic during Edwards AFB Airshow

by Till Daisd October 2, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The event will commemorate the 75th anniversaries of the Air Force and the first supersonic flight, by then-Capt. Chuck Yeager in the skies over Edwards AFB

Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) will hold its first airshow for the first time in 13 years on Oct. 15 and 16. Besides the US Air Force (USAF), NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center will be participating as well, Alert 5 first noted.

According to Bakersfield.com, headlining the free two-day event will be the Air Force Thunderbirds flight demonstration team. They will be joined by a vast array of aerial performance and static displays representing nearly every aircraft in the USAF inventory, Chase Kohler of the 412th Public Affairs office said.

“It’s a rare opportunity to get pretty much every aircraft in the Air Force inventory either in the air or on the ground,” he said.

The F-22, F-35, T-38, F-16, B-1 and B-52 bombers and KC-135 tanker are among the aircraft expected. NASA will also be providing a number of aircraft.

The event will commemorate the 75th anniversaries of the Air Force and the first supersonic flight, by then-Capt. Chuck Yeager in the skies over Edwards AFB.

As we have already explained, Chuck Yeager used to open the Edwards AFB Airshow with a sonic boom. He flew in a USAF fighter jet and kicked off the show with a very nice pass.

Yeager was chosen to fly the secret Bell X-1 experimental aircraft, built to test the capabilities of the human pilot and a fixed-wing aircraft against the severe aerodynamic stresses of sonic flight. On Oct. 14, 1947, over Rogers Dry Lake in southern California, he rode the X-1, attached to a B-29 mother ship, to an altitude of 25,000 feet (7,600 metres). The X-1 then rocketed separately to 40,000 feet (12,000 metres), and Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier, which was approximately 662 miles (1,066 km) per hour at that altitude.

He passed away on Dec. 8, 2020.

To celebrate that first sonic boom and take advantage of holding a rare air show beneath a supersonic corridor, the air show will feature Air Force and NASA jets “going full steam” to see which can break the sound barrier first.

“We want to heighten that and showcase that, because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime for air shows to be able to actually go past Mach .99 and actually hit that sonic boom,” Kohler said.

The crowd will not be able to see the aircraft as they will be at altitude, but “they’re definitely going to hear them and feel them,” he said. “We’re just really excited to showcase that unique part.”

Air Force photo by Chad Bellay.

October 2, 2023 0 comment

Airshows

Meet the “Dream Viper,” the new special painted F-16AM belonging to the Belgian Air Force F-16 Solo Display Team

by Till Daisd September 23, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The cool photos in this post feature the “Dream Viper,” the new paint scheme of the F-16AM belonging to the Belgian Air Force F-16 Solo Display Team

Taken on Jun. 9, 2022 by our friend Andrew Timmerman from Finn Aviation Photography, the cool photos in this post feature the “Dream Viper,” the new paint scheme of the F-16AM belonging to the Belgian Air Force F-16 Solo Display Team.

With the start of the new 2022 air meeting season, the Belgian Air Force has a new demonstration pilot in command of the F-16 Solo Display Team.

According to the Belgian Air Force F-16 Solo Display Facebook Page, Aviation Commander Steven ‘Vrieske’ De Vries, of the 31st Tiger Squadron at Kleine-Brogel Air Force Base, will be able to represent the Belgian national colors as an ambassador for the next three years at numerous air events in Belgium and abroad.

Like his predecessors, Steven, as the 19th F-16 demonstration pilot since 1979, also receives a unique-painted aircraft. The aircraft’s design was created by Aviation Commander Steven De Vries with the graphic contribution of Nico De Boeck. The fantastic painting is from the painters section of the Kleine-Brogel Air Base.

After a period of technical inspections and detailed painting, the aircraft with the tail number FA-87 and named “Dream Viper” had been unveiled on Thursday, Jun. 9, 2022 to colleagues, guests, media and aviation enthusiasts under the approving eye of the Air Component Commander, the Major General Aviator Thierry Dupont.

‘Senior Captain Steven “Vrieske” De Vries will together with his team be displaying the Dream Viper around Europe and amaze the crowds with his breathtaking flying skills. The highlight would be the Negative loop that he flies in his display,’ Timmerman explained to #AW#.

Vrieske and the Dream Viper debuted this past weekend during the Cosford Airshow at Royal Air Force (RAF) Cosford, UK. The next chance to admire the Dream Viper will be at the Danish Air Show in Karup, Denmark.

For the biggest fans, a reference book of the Belgian Air Force’s F-16 Solo Display Team, containing the most beautiful photos and souvenirs of the 2022 season, will be available this fall.

September 23, 2023 0 comment

F-14 Tomcat

From the F/A-18 Super Hornet to the F-14 Tomcat: all the Fighter Aircraft featured in Top Gun: Maverick

by Till Daisd September 19, 2023

written by Till Daisd

This time, it looks like Maverick and the rest of the Navy crew in “Top Gun: Maverick” will face the Sukhoi Su-57, NATO reporting name Felon

Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to the 1986 classic puts Pete “Maverick” Mitchell back in the cockpit to train a new group of young aviators. Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.

The original Top Gun featured the iconic F-14 Tomcat, the nimble A-4 Skyhawk, and the famed, black painted MiG-28 that never actually existed: in fact, the part of the MiG-28 was played by the F-5E Tiger II.

As explained in an extensive piece that appeared on Sandboxx, this time, it looks like Maverick and the rest of the Navy crew in “Top Gun: Maverick” will face an actual foreign aircraft: the Sukhoi Su-57, NATO reporting name Felon.

Sukhoi Su-57 Felon

The configuration of the Sukhoi Su-57 Felon is an evolution of the Su-27’s shape adapted for the requirements of low visibility and supersonic speed and agility.

As explained by Piotr Butowski in his book Russia’s Warplanes, Volume 1, the main solution to reduce radar visibility is the internal carriage of weapons. Radar blockers reduce reflections from the engine inlet guide vanes and are installed in the engine air intake ducts. The shape of the airframe has been selected to reduce the number of directions in which electromagnetic waves are reflected and to ensure these directions are the safest.

Another group of stealth measures concern the fighter’s equipment. The surfaces of the NO36 radar arrays are deflected from the vertical plane, thus deflecting the enemy radar’s radiation aside. The domes of the arrays are selective — they let their own signal pass through and block other frequencies. In addition, the compartments for these arrays feature radar-absorbent coatings on their edges to absorb ‘freak waves’ (which occur when a wave is amplified after multiple reflections within an enclosed space). In order to reduce their total number, the available arrays are used by multiple systems simultaneously, for example, the radar, ECM and IFF systems. Within the antenna-feeder system, use is made of antennas that do not protrude outside the airframe outlines, and the vertical empennage serves as an antenna for the communications suite. The turret of the 101KS-V IRST is rotated backwards in cruise configuration, and its rear hemisphere is covered with a radar-absorbing coating.

Although it seems all but likely that “Top Gun: Maverick” will paint the Su-57 as a formidable foe, potentially even a straight-up over-match for Maverick and co’s F/A-18 Super Hornets, and even if as we have already explained the Su-57 is marketed as fifth-generation fighter, the Felon is not a true stealth fighter and it can’t be compared to the US-made F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. The Su-57 Felon has the same RCS of a clean F/A-18 Super Hornet (and 1,000 times bigger than that of the F-35).

F/A-18 Super Hornet

The original “Top Gun” may have left moviegoers pining for the cockpit of the F-14, but with the Tomcat’s retirement in 2006, Maverick’s new ride for the movie is the F/A-18E Super Hornet.

The F/A-18 Hornet is the US first strike-fighter. It was designed for traditional strike applications such as interdiction and close air support without compromising its fighter capabilities. With its excellent fighter and self-defense capabilities, the F/A-18 at the same time increased strike mission survivability and supplemented the F-14 Tomcat in fleet air defense.

Maverick Still Feels The Need for Speed: Check Out the Official Top Gun Sequel Trailer

The newest model, Super Hornet, is highly capable across the full mission spectrum: air superiority, fighter escort, reconnaissance, aerial refueling, close air support, air defense suppression, and day/night precision strike. Compared to the original F/A-18 A through D models, Super Hornet has a longer range, an aerial refueling capability, increased survivability/lethality, and improved carrier suitability. [Capability of precision-guided munitions: JDAM (all variants), JSOW and JASSM].

Gone are the days of the RIOs. (If you watch the trailer, the plane at the very end is a Tomcat, present thanks to CGI magic.) The radar system is improved enough that the pilot can fly the plane and use the radar at the same time, no Goose needed.

Super Hornets come in two variants: a single-seater and a two-seater, meaning that unlike a Tomcat, which engineers designed around a two-person crew, a pilot can fly an F/A-18 all by themselves. The two-seaters, technically known as the F/A-18F, can host a “weapons systems officer” in the backseat (abbreviation: WSO, pronounced “whizz-oh”). Alternatively, that backseat can be outfitted with all the controls a pilot would need to fly the Super Hornet.

While the Tomcat is powerful, the Hornet and Super Hornet are more agile. If an F/A-18 and F-14 were to fight, the former would have an advantage in that realm. And with a modern aircraft comes a plane easier to fly: the Tomcat was challenging to fly well, while the Hornet is easier to be good in.

F-35C Lightning II

Paramount film crews working aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln also confirmed that “Top Gun: Maverick” will feature the Lockheed Martin F-35C.

In August 2018 in fact a film crew from Paramount Pictures was aboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) the same time the Navy began launching F-35C jets off the ship interchangeably with F/A-18E/F Super Hornets as an integrated air wing.

At the time six F-35Cs were operating aboard Lincoln and the film crew almost certainly got an up-close look at the Lightning II – operating alongside the Super Hornets, the EA-18G Growlers, the E-2 Hawkeye, and the C-2 Greyhound.

Thanks to the F-35C Lightning II for the first time in US naval aviation history, radar-evading stealth capability comes to the carrier deck. The F-35C carrier variant sets new standards in weapon system integration, lethality, maintainability, combat radius and payload that bring true multimission power projection capability from the sea.

The F-35C combines lessons learned from previous aircraft with technology breakthroughs to produce a fighter that retains its stealthy advantage with minimal low observable maintenance, even in the harshest shipboard conditions.

The F-35C matches 5th-generation survivability with major advances in network-enabled mission systems, reliability, and interoperability. It is a first-day-of-the-war fighter with the capability to dominate adversaries in the air or on the surface while surviving the most formidable threat environments.

SR-72 Son of Blackbird (or Darkstar)

Based on an assumption made thanks to the Matchbox toyline, Top Gun: Maverick will also feature the SR-72 Son of Blackbird (or Darkstar).

The aircraft shown only briefly in some of the movie’s trailers is very clearly not based on anything in operation today… but that doesn’t mean it’s without an analogous real-world platform.

The SR-72 is envisioned as a manned or unmanned, reusable hypersonic ISR and strike aircraft capable of Mach 6 flight, or nearly double the speed of its predecessor, the SR-71 Blackbird. As we have previously reported, NASA is funding the validation of a previous Lockheed study that found that speeds up to Mach 7 could be achieved with a dual-mode engine that combines turbine and ramjet technologies.

This exotic-looking aircraft will introduce hypersonic platforms to the Top Gun universe.

P-51 Mustang

“Top Gun: Maverick” doesn’t only feature advanced new fighters and aircraft, it’s also got an appearance from Tom Cruise’s personally-owned P-51 Mustang.

The Mustang was among the best and most well-known fighters used by the US Army Air Forces during World War II. Possessing excellent range and maneuverability, the P-51 operated primarily as a long-range escort fighter and also as a ground attack fighter bomber. The Mustang served in nearly every combat zone during WWII and later fought in the Korean War.

The P-51D version incorporated several improvements, and it became the most numerous variant of the Mustang with nearly 8,000 being built. The most obvious change was a new “bubble-top” canopy that greatly improved the pilot’s vision. The P-51D also received the new K-14 gunsight, an increase from four to six .50-cal machine guns, and a simplified ammunition feed system that considerably reduced gun jams.

The P-51 Mustang featured in “Top Gun: Maverick” is not a P-51D, but rather a P-51K (different propeller and canopy shape), but that’s just a bit of picking nits.

F-14 Tomcat

While Tom Cruise got top billing in the first film, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat was the real star. Now, it looks a lot like the F-14 is making a comeback in “Top Gun: Maverick,” and in what may be the craziest split-second of footage you’re apt to find on television today, it might be squaring off against Russia’s Su-57.

Advancements during the Cold War in Soviet long-range patrol and bomber aircraft dictated a requirement for a fleet defense fighter that could engage high-altitude bombers from well beyond visual range. The iconic F-14 Tomcat was Grumman’s answer. Equipped with long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles, F-14s could engage multiple hostiles over 90 miles away. Needing an interceptor’s high speed while carrying this heavy ordnance, Grumman produced the highly effective variable-sweep wing of the F-14, enabling it to operate at a wide range of airspeeds.

The F-14 saw its first combat in August 1981, downing two Libyan Su-22 fighters over the Gulf of Sidra. It saw considerable duty in the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The last F-14D Super Tomcat retired from active service with the US Navy in 2006, when it was replaced by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, an evolutionary upgrade to the F/A-18C/D.

However, the F-14A remains in service with the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF).

How would an old F-14 fare in a fight against the latest and greatest fighter Russia has to offer? Well, that’s hard to say. The F-14’s variable-sweep wing design was a relic of a pre-stealth era, and the aircraft is said to have a radar cross-section comparable to that of the still-in-service F-15.

That might not sound too bad… but it is.

Suffice it to say, the Su-57 would see the Tomcat coming long before even the Tomcat’s massive AN/AWG-9 radar could see the Felon.

Although Russia’s avionics may be dated, this time, the Russians likely would have the technological advantage.

The interesting video in this post features the 6 fighter aircraft that according to Paramount Pictures will appear in Top Gun: Maverick.

Photo by: Paramount Pictures and Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios

September 19, 2023 0 comment

Carriers

Former Naval Aviator explains why Green Shirts show pilots the gross weight of their aircraft on the catapult before every launch

by Till Daisd September 18, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘Usually, the planned or estimated gross weight before taxiing will be written in chalk on the aircraft’s nose-gear door,’ John Chesire, former Naval Aviator

An aircraft catapult is a device used to allow aircraft to take off from a very limited amount of space, such as the deck of a vessel, but can also be installed on land-based runways in rare cases. It is now most commonly used on aircraft carriers, as a form of assisted take-off.

In the form used on aircraft carriers the catapult consists of a track, or slot, built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in some cases a wire rope, called a catapult bridle, is attached to the aircraft and the catapult shuttle.

Other forms have been used historically, such as mounting a launching cart holding a seaplane on a long girder-built structure mounted on the deck of a warship or merchant vessel, but most catapults share a similar sliding track concept.

What is the green shirt (actually green shirts are responsible for Catapult and Arresting Gear aboard an aircraft carrier) in the photo of this post showing to the F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot before catapult launch?

‘He is showing to the pilot what he believes is the gross weight of the aircraft on the catapult. This weight is extremely important. It needs to be known for proper setting of the catapult,’ says John Chesire, former Naval Aviator, on Quora.

‘Usually, the planned or estimated gross weight before taxiing will be written in chalk on the aircraft’s nose-gear door. The guy in green will show this weight to the pilot for confirmation. If the pilot agrees with that weight displayed, he will give a “thumbs up”. If the pilot knows that weight shown to him is incorrect, he will signal with his hands to raise or lower the displayed weight until it matches the correct gross weight. He then will give a thumbs up; the catapult crew will set in the proper adjustments for that weight, and the aircraft will soon be shot off the deck.’

Chesire concludes;

‘This occurs on every flight and launch.’

Photo by U.S. Navy

September 18, 2023 0 comment

F-14 Tomcat

There was a Real-Life Goose RIO who was Killed during an Ejection Accident too: but Instead of the Top Gun Character He Ended Up with five total Ejections, the Last being Fatal

by Till Daisd September 16, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Goose (Maverick’s Radar Intercept Officer, RIO) provided an emotional spine to Top Gun when he is killed by accident and Maverick blames himself

As already reported, the internet was set ablaze on Mar. 29, 2022 when the final trailer of Top Gun: Maverick debuted.

In fact, nearly three years after its unveiling, Top Gun: Maverick finally has a stable release date: May 27, 2022.

As shown in the latest trailer, Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell must gain the courage to face Miles Teller’s Bradley Bradshaw.

Bradley, who goes by the call sign Rooster, is the son of Nick Bradshaw, a.k.a. Goose, Maverick’s former Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) who died in the first movie after a competitive training mission went wrong.

John Chesire, former US Navy F-14A Tomcat pilot, explains what actually happened to Goose during the ejection on Quora.

‘Upon ejection, the crew is ejected not simultaneously but with a short interval. Moreover, they are ejected at slightly different angles.’

According to the F-14 Tomcat Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) flight manual:

“The aircraft is equipped with an automatic electronically sequenced command escape system incorporating two Navy aircrew common ejection seat (SJU-17(V) 3/A (pilot) and SJU-17(V) 4/A (RIO)) rocket-assisted ejection seats.

“Both seats are identical in operation and differ only in nozzle direction of their lateral thrust motors, which provide a divergent ejection trajectory away from the aircraft path.

“When either crewmember initiates the command escape system, the canopy is ballistically jettisoned and each crewmember is ejected in a preset-time sequence. The RIO is ejected to the left and the pilot to the right.

“Safe escape is provided for most combinations of aircraft altitude, speed, attitude and flightpath within an envelope from zero airspeed, zero altitude in a substantially level attitude to a maximum speed of 600 KCAS.”

Chesire continues;

‘Normally, within the ejection sequence, the canopy will automatically be blown off before the crew’s ejection seats fire. With forward airspeed, the canopy will always be well behind the aircraft when the RIO’s ejection seat fires.

‘However, a flat spin provides a peculiar problem. Because there is no significant forward airspeed in the spin, the canopy is not blown behind the aircraft. Worse, there exists a partial vacuum just above a flat spin aircraft that can capture and hold a canopy in place above the aircraft. So when the RIO ejects, there is a strong chance he will impact the canopy hovering above. This has actually happened in real life.

‘To solve this problem, aircrews were advised to jettison the canopy early, and not wait for it in the ejection sequence. This would give a little more time for the canopy to move beyond the aircraft. There was a handle if pulled, would automatically jettison the canopy. This was totally separate from the seat ejection system.’

There was also a real-life Goose RIO who was killed during an ejection accident too.

‘But that real-life Goose died upon ejection from a different cause,’ Chesire recalls.

‘The real RIO in question was Lt. David J. “Goose” Lortscher. His callsign Goose later became part of the movie.

‘I knew him in the F-14 RAG, VF-124 although I don’t think I ever flew with him. He already had a couple of ejections and we used to laugh that we did not want to fly with him because he was, “bad luck”.

‘Nevertheless, he was a highly respected officer and RIO, and no one actually avoided flying with him. He was a big guy, and easy going.’

Chesire concludes;

‘He ended up with five total ejections, the last one proved to be fatal. But that last one was different than the movie.’

In 2017, Anthony Edwards, who played Goose in the first Top Gun filmed a funny video asking for a role in the upcoming sequel.

Although his character died in the first movie, that did not stop Edwards from lobbying for a chance to appear in the sequel as “Ghost Goose.”

The original featured Goose’s son as a young boy, with Meg Ryan playing his mother.

Will Rooster ever forgive Maverick for the fateful event that took his father’s life? Hard to say. But Maverick wants to make one thing clear: “I’m not a teacher. Just want to manage expectations.”

Watch the final trailer of Top Gun: Maverick below.

Photo by Paramount

September 16, 2023 0 comment

Civil

The story of Mathias Rust, the German teenager who humiliated the Soviet War Machine by landing his Cessna 172 in Moscow’s Red Square

by Till Daisd September 15, 2023

written by Till Daisd

After Mathias Rust’s landing in Red Square, Muscovites joked the place was now Sheremetyevo 3, as Sheremetyevo 1 and 2 Airports are still Moscow’s primary international airports

On May 28, 1987, West German Private Pilot Mathias Rust managed to make international headlines by flying his Reims Cessna 172P from Helsinki Finland to a spectacular landing in Moscow’s Red Square. His flight was both an amazing achievement, and an immense humiliation to the Soviet War Machine. Indeed, Gorbachev would attempt to use the fallout from this event to purge anti Glasnost and Perestroika elements from the Soviet Military. His success may be gauged by the Anti-Glasnost Coup of August 1991, which in its own way was a last-ditch effort by the Old Guard of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to maintain the old order.

The fact a Western Sport pilot could sneak into the Soviet Union and land in front of the Kremlin at the very heart of the Soviet Empire resonated far beyond Soviet Borders. All the Billions of Rubles spent on Soviet Air Defenses, and the very existence of the Soviet Air Defense Forces (PVO) appeared to be a gigantic waste of money. After all, how could the Soviet Military defend the Rodina (Motherland) from Western Air Attack if they couldn’t even stop a 50-hour Private Pilot in the world’s most common light aircraft? However, the events of that flight showed both a liberalizing trend within the Soviet System, and a mishmash of command-and-control miss-coordination which resulted in Rust’s Cessna being allowed to continue flying all the way to the heart of the Soviet Empire.

According to Wikipedia;

MiG-23MLD — Soviet Mig 23MLD interceptor of the type which encountered Rust over Gdov at 1448 local time, near Pskov Oblast, Russian SSR. The Mig 23 pilot was denied orders to fire at Rust, as were the 3 surface to air missile batteries which first spotted him on Radar at 1429 local time.

‘Rust, aged 18, was an inexperienced pilot, with about 50 hours of flying experience at the time of his flight. On 13 May 1987, Rust left Uetersen near Hamburg and his home town Wedel in his rented Reims Cessna F172P, registration D-ECJB, which was modified by removing some of the seats and replacing them with auxiliary fuel tanks. He spent the next two weeks travelling across northern Europe, visiting the Faroe Islands, spending a week in Iceland, and then visiting Bergen on his way back. He was later quoted as saying that he had the idea of attempting to reach Moscow even before the departure, and he saw the trip to Iceland (where he visited Hofdi House, the site of unsuccessful talks between the United States and the Soviet Union in October 1986) as a way to test his piloting skills.’

Thus, a newly licensed 18-year-old Aviator decided on the ultimate stunt. Rather than pushing limits with aerobatics, low flying, water skiing wheels on water, or buzzing, Rust would continue a long tradition of Stupid Pilot tricks by young, low-time pilots by flying into the Soviet Union in the name of World Peace. Taking off from Helsinki, he continued eastbound, crossing the Soviet Frontier over Estonia, close to Russian Oblast of Pskov.

The city of Pskov has resonated throughout Russian History, as the scene of a Big Battle led by Alexander Nevsky against the Tueutonic Knights, an event made famous by Soviet Director Sergei Eisenstein’s classic Propaganda Film Alexander Nevsky. Ironically enough, the film was meant to stir up Anti-German War feelings among the Soviet Population, but was thence suppressed when Stalin aligned with Nazi Germany before the Invasion of Poland until Hitler’s Double Cross Invasion Operation Barbarossa. American Author Tom Clancy would write of Soviet Pre WW3 Anti-German Propaganda efforts when they broadcast the film in his Novel Red Storm Rising, released the year before in 1986. Pskov was the home of the 76th Guards Air Rifle Division, which was used to take Iceland from NATO at the beginning of this fictitious conflict.

Rust Cessna — Mathias Rust’s Cessna preparing to land in Red Square.

I visited the Russian Poet Pushkin’s estate there, and remember encountering a 76th Guards Air Rifle Division Paratrooper on Sentry Duty near the Cathedral of the Pskov Kremlin, who spoke of parachute jumping being similar to “that feeling you get when you first kiss a girl you love.” The Unit from Clancy’s book stationed in Pskov has subsequently become an Air Assault Division after long service in Chechnya. It is currently embroiled in the Ukraine Conflict, operating in Eastern Ukraine as an elite formation within Russian Invasion forces there.

Rust was first spotted on radar at 1429 hours local time, and was tracked by THREE Different Surface to Air Missile Batteries which were never given permission to engage. A Newsweek article of the time cited Soviet Air Defense Generals arguing whether he was a flock of migratory geese, with nobody quite figuring out why said geese were flying eastbound. A Soviet MiG-23 interceptor spotted Rust’s White Cessna over the city of Gdov at 1448. He too was denied permission to engage. It should be noted that the PVO had recently been reorganized into different regions, and mis-coordination among handoffs between regions hampered their response. It should also be noted that Rust was fortunate that the Soviet Air Defense Posture was not where it was at the height of the Cold War, or else his attempt would have had a similar outcome to prior incursions of Soviet Airspace during the deepest, darkest days of the Cold War.

On it went, Rust continuing to fly eastbound, disappearing from radar in what one publication speculated was a temporary landing where he changed clothes before taking off again and continuing Eastbound. The Comedy of Errors among the Soviet Air Defense System continued, with Rust’s Cessna being mistaken for training traffic, a rogue Soviet light aircraft, and helicopters on various Search and Rescue missions. At 1900 Moscow Time, Rust arrived over Moscow. He decided against landing within the Kremlin, lest he “disappeared” by the KGB, instead he attempted to land in Red Square, managing to dodge the many pedestrians there to land on a bridge close to the Iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral. His landing area was fortunately clear of the trolly bus wires normal strung overhead, and made a successful end to his amazing flight possible.

Gorbachev used the resulting fallout to implement the largest purge of Soviet Military Leadership since Stalin’s Purges of the late 1930s. The flight was indeed a comedy of errors on the Soviet Side, but anyone who has ever seen actual Radar in action knows that radar target acquisition is impacted by a variety of factors, electromagnetic, weather, and target aspect. Radar Blips are not as clear as in the movies, and it is a constant challenge for even Civilian Air Traffic Controllers to monitor traffic in a 3D environment using 2D screens with the situational awareness limitations noted above.

Cessna-172 — The Cessna 172 Mathias Rust used for his famous flight from Finland to Moscow in 1987. It is now being displayed at the German Museum of Technology in Berlin.

Thus, the failure of the Soviet Air Defense System to shoot him down was more on a command level than an operational issue, but Gorbachev was able to use the PVO’s failure to implement his purge of political opponents. After his landing in Red Square, Muscovites joked the place was now Sheremetyevo 3, as Sheremetyevo 1 and 2 Airports are still Moscow’s primary international airports. For the Soviets Rust’s flight would set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Collapse of the Soviet Union itself.

Mathias Rust’s life thereafter hasn’t been as smooth as his fortunate flight proved to be. Rust would be held at Lefortovo Prison for several months of a 4-year sentence, only to be released by Gorbachev in a goodwill gesture thereafter. Arrested for stabbing a female who rejected his advances, he spent several years in Prison, before disappearing into relative Oblivion and resurfacing as various reincarnations of his former self, as a Peace Advocate, Professional Poker Player, and analyst for an Investment Bank.

Despite all these subsequent events, Rust will always be remembered in Aviation History for his bold penetration of the most comprehensive Air Defense System in the World with a Cessna 172.

Be sure to check out William Cobb’s Facebook Page Pensacola Aerospace Museum for awesome aviation’s photos and stories.

Photo by: Udo Grimberg, Lizenz, Andrey Belenko from Moscow, Russia and U.S. Air Force

Matthias-Rust — Matthias Rust, 2012. His bold flight has led to a chequered life thereafter, but his accomplishment did managed to thaw tensions between the Soviet Union and the West at a critical time during the final years of Cold War I.

September 15, 2023 0 comment

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