On Mon, 12 May 2008 22:30:06 -0700 (PDT), Snidely
<Snidely.too@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On May 12, 10:13 pm, "Reunite Gondwanaland (Mary Shafer)"
> <reunite.gondw...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> > On Mon, 12 May 2008 11:07:29 -0700 (PDT), Snidely
> >
> > <Snidely....@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> > > On May 12, 7:10 am, "Glenn Dowdy" <glenn.no.do...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
> >
> > > > The Thunderbirds were performing during their F-4 days. I
distinctly
> > > > remember the very slow pass down the runway at what seemed to be
about 200'
> > > > AGL. Inverted. Loud like you wouldn't believe.
> >
> > > F-22s do it standing on their tail.
> >
> > That's because they can't do it inverted. The display teams' F-4s had
> > modified oil systems so they could fly inverted for longer than a
> > moment or two. The F-4 I got a ride in was a former Thunderbird
> > airplane, with the modified oil system and a smoker system.
> >
> > Mary "F-15s can do it standing on their tail, too"
>
> The other move I saw at the March ARB event was the F-22 flying slow
> enough to keep up with the WWII birds as they saluted the field.
Isn't that cool? The F-22 is flying at a high angle of attack, nose
up, just barely above stall speed, and the WW II birds are chugging
along for all they're worth, flying completely level. The size
different is pretty impressive, too.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I saw something very
similar at the Edwards Open House for the 50th anniversary of the
USAF. Only I'm not sure it was the F-22; it might have been the F-15.
> I now, I know, you've got all sorts of edge-of-envelope and high AOA
> stories saved up, but this is one *I* saw, even if I didn't have a
> good seat for it.
It's always better in real life, even without a perfect seat, isn't
it? Photos and videos can't really capture the magic. Instead, the
best they can do is remind you of what you saw and felt at the time.
I've seen something like this display at the Edwards Open House, when
they were flying T-37s and would do a pass with the F-15, F-16, T-38,
and T-37. Three aircraft loitering just above stall speed, noses up,
and one flogging its heart out to keep up.
There also used to be an air show routine involving an F-14 and a WW
II airplane. I think that was a father-son act, with the son in the
F-14. Of course, now that they've retired the F-14 (and, considering
how long it's been, the son, too, probably), we won't ever see that
again.
Mary "Did you sunburn the roof of your mouth?"
--
Mary Shafer Retired aerospace research engineer
We didn't just do weird stuff at Dryden, we wrote re****ts about it.
reunite.gondwana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
or miliff@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
my blog at http://thedigitalknitter.blogspot.com/
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