The Airplane Thread

[Llarry]

Here's an aircrew that deserved a strong drink after their safe return to their aircraft carrier. This is an A-6E Intruder of Attack Squadron 52 (VA-52) landing aboard a snowy and/or icy deck on the carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Bering Sea on January 21, 1987. Definitely not optimum conditions for carrier operations!

[Llarry]

Navy helicopters can conduct vertical replenishment or personnel transfers involving all sorts of vessels. Here's a Boeing Vertol UH-46 Seaknight (now retired) transferring cargo to a ballistic missile submarine at sea.

[Llarry]

U.S. Special Operations forces have some minimally marked aircraft that are designed to go where an airplane with normal U.S. markings might be inappropriate.

Here is a CASA CN-235 of the USAF's 427th Special Operations Squadron with just a serial number marking.

[vreihen16]

There was reportedly a mid-air collision during yesterday's show at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. No injuries, but their Great Lakes Sport Trainer made a hard landing in a nearby field. There was no mention of what it collided with.

This plane was reportedly one of only two flying examples left, and performed at the show every weekend:

[///d]

Finally got to see a F22 demo! These things can maneuver in ways a winged aircraft shouldn't be able to...

[Llarry]

Tomcat Thursday (I believe I've calibrated my calendar )

A Grumman F-14A Tomcat of FITRON-31 (VF-31) "Felix" at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, in 1984.

I believe only VF-31 used black radomes.

[Llarry]

Almost destined for greatness -- the UK's Martin-Baker MB-5 fighter.

Martin-Baker -- the same company that now designs and produces world-standard ejection seats for aircraft -- designed a series of innovative fighter aircraft in the 1940s culminating in the MB-5.

The MB-5 was powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon liquid-cooled V-12 engine driving contra-rotating propellors. The Griffon was a 2,239 cubic inch engine that in some respects built upon the success of the outstanding R-R Merlin design in a larger and improved engine. Griffons powered late-model Spitfires and other late-production aircraft during World War II.

Unfortunately, the Martin-Baker MB-5, though proving to have excellent performance in early testing, proved to be too late to make contributions during the war. It first flew in May of 1944, by which time the Royal Air Force was concentrating development efforts on jet aircraft. Only a single MB-5 prototype was built and flown.

[Llarry]

U.S. electronic attack capability resides in the EA-18G Growler aircraft operated by the Navy in 14 small (just 5 aircraft each) operational squadrons. Nine of the squadrons are assigned to carrier air wings -- one per aircraft carrier -- while five squadrons are designated "expeditionary" squadrons and are land-based.

Expeditionary squadrons are deployed world-wide to support U.S. and allied missions. Recent deployments have included U.S. Air Force and NATO airbases in Korea and Poland, for example. All EA-18G units are based at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.

The EA-18G was developed from the F-18F two-seat strike fighter with modifications to perform electronic warfare and attack missions and became operational in 2009. As with the F-18E and F Super Hornet strike fighters, it is somewhat unusual to see an EA-18G without two external fuel tanks to extend its range and endurance.

The EA-18G omits the Super Hornet's 20mm cannon, replacing it with electronics, and also deletes the F-18's wingtip missile rails, replacing them with electronic warfare receiving antennas.

For actual jamming of adversary radars, the Growler uses jamming pods. Up to three pods can be carried: One on the centerline and one under each wing. The older ALQ-99 jamming pods, in use for 50 years, are now being replaced by new-generation ALQ-249 pods. The Growler can also jam enemy communications.

In addition to jamming, the EA-18G can carry two radar-homing missiles and for self-protection can carry two AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles.

Photo comments:
-- All photos show EA-18Gs with an ALQ-99 jamming pod on the aircraft centerline and with external fuel tanks under the wings.
-- The first two photos show EA-18Gs with ALQ-99 pods under the wings as well.
-- The 4th photo shows a Growler with the newer ALQ-249 jamming pods under the wings and an older ALQ-99, which covers different frequencies, on the centerline.
-- The 5th photo shows an EA-18G of a test squadron fully loaded with radar-homing AGM-88 HARM missiles under the wings and with AIM-120 AAMs on fuselage mounting points.

One foreign air force operates the EA-18G as well; the Royal Australian Air Force has a dozen Growlers in service -- see last photo.

[ezaircon4jc]

I assume (I know...) it's lost its supersonic capability? Not that it would really need it.

[Llarry]

The first Allied jet fighter to fly combat missions in World War II was the Gloster Meteor, a twin-jet design. Royal Air Force Meteors first saw action in August of 1944 in downing German V-1 missiles attacking targets in England.

Almost twenty years later, in March of 1962, a Gloster Meteor T.7 two-seat trainer version was used by Martin-Baker to test the rocket-boosted ejection seat with a live subject for the first time -- with a very brave man sitting in the seat! (I hope he got a generous bonus for the test.)

[Llarry]

Heavy-lift helicopters are useful in carrying all sorts of large or heavy loads. The CH-47 Chinook, which first flew in 1961, is the best known. Here a CH-47 is lifting a C-47 warbird -- an awkward load! Note that the wings are no longer attached to the C-47, making the job a bit easier.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Heavy-lift helicopters are useful in carrying all sorts of large or heavy loads. The CH-47 Chinook, which first flew in 1961, is the best known.

The CH-47 is not the heavy-lifting champion. That honor goes to the Russian Mil Mi-26, which has over twice as much power as the Chinook. The much newer U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky (S-95) CH-53K King Stallion comes very close to the Mi-26 in power, with three 7,500 horsepower turbines.

The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane was the first purpose-built heavy lifter and served in the U.S. Army and Army National Guard until 1993. About 20 ex-Army S-64s are active and are used worldwide in tasks such as logging in remote areas, firefighting, etc.

The CH-47 Chinook is by far the most widely used heavy-lift helicopter, in use by many nations.

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Heavy-lift helicopters are useful in carrying all sorts of large or heavy loads. The CH-47 Chinook, which first flew in 1961, is the best known. Here a CH-47 is lifting a C-47 warbird -- an awkward load! Note that the wings are no longer attached to the C-47, making the job a bit easier.

The CH-47 flew us in and out of a few places near the Cambodian border
that were not accessible by truck. Our ground surveillance radar dangled
underneath as a sling load, making our trip rather slow. After the load was
dropped and we set down, the pilot kept the rotors spooled up while we
unloaded the rest of our gear from the cargo area. With both of the turbines
cranking away, plus the already hot climate, I can’t adequately explain the
intense heat in the vicinity of the ramp. And we double-timed to keep the
nervous crew chief off our backs. The instant the last item was unloaded
the pilot pulled collective and they pole-vaulted out of there in a huge cloud
of dust. We just laid there on the ground, totally exhausted, outside the wire.
It was late afternoon and that was just the beginning of our troubles and a
long night ahead.

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The CH-47 is not the heavy-lifting champion. That honor goes to the Russian Mil Mi-26, which has over twice as much power as the Chinook. The much newer U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky (S-95) CH-53K King Stallion comes very close to the Mi-26 in power, with three 7,500 horsepower turbines.

The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane was the first purpose-built heavy lifter and served in the U.S. Army and Army National Guard until 1993. About 20 ex-Army S-64s are active and are used worldwide in tasks such as logging in remote areas, firefighting, etc.

The CH-47 Chinook is by far the most widely used heavy-lift helicopter, in use by many nations.

Whlie at the base camp in Tay Ninh, I watched a Skycrane lift a worn out barrel
from a 175mm gun. Later, he returned with new replacement.

And the 175? The sound would turn your brain into nutt-putty. I think the range was something like 20 miles. I could see the projectile leave the
barrel and I could still hear the whistle long after it disappeared. I was glad
when we moved to another location. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the moon while that 175 was doing its thing. It was mind boggling to
consider both scenes.

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Whlie at the base camp in Tay Ninh, I watched a Skycrane lift a worn out barrel
from a 175mm gun. Later, he returned with new replacement.

9th of August 1970.

[Llarry]

A photo seen on Facebook of Blue Angels F8F Bearcats in formation. I have my doubts about the legitimacy of this photo; the quality seems too good to be true and in the early days -- the Blues flew the F8F from 1946 to 1949 -- the diamond formation was not as tight as it was in later days. Is it a CGI? Nevertheless, a cool photo of the Blue Angles F8F era.

[Llarry]

In 1947 Royal Canadian Navy carrier air squadrons equipped with the Hawker Sea Fury, which was an excellent performer and one of the best piston-powered fighters ever built.

The Sea Fury served in RCN squadrons until 1956, by which time the jet age was well underway and the once state-of-the-art Sea Fury was obsolescent. Sea Furies were finally replaced by refurbished U.S. Navy F2H Banshee jet fighters.

The Sea Fury also served in the Royal Navy and other naval air arms and air forces from the 1940s into the 1960s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Sea_Fury

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Llarry

A photo seen on Facebook of Blue Angels F8F Bearcats in formation. I have my doubts about the legitimacy of this photo; the quality seems too good to be true and in the early days -- the Blues flew the F8F from 1946 to 1949 -- the diamond formation was not as tight as it was in later days. Is it a CGI? Nevertheless, a cool photo of the Blue Angles F8F era.

The picture could have been enhanced and/or colorized, but the actual formation did exist.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

The picture could have been enhanced and/or colorized, but the actual formation did exist.

The other thing that made me a bit suspicious was that the early Blue Angels used a much looser formation -- as seen in your video. The photo I posted is pretty tight.

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The other thing that made me a bit suspicious was that the early Blue Angels used a much looser formation -- as seen in your video. The photo I posted is pretty tight.

Could just be the lens and focal setting used that can make further objects appear closer. Regardless, nice pic.

[Llarry]

In 1968 -- in the midst of the Vietnam War -- the U.S. Navy was unhappy with the results of air combat with North Vietnamese fighters. At that time, there were two fighters in service on Navy aircraft carriers: The McDonnell F-4 Phantom and the Vought F-8 Crusader. The F-4 was used on the larger carriers which made up the majority of the carrier force and the F-8 was used on the smaller modernized carriers originally built in World War II.

The kill ratio at the time was 2.5:1 -- 2.5 enemy fighters were being shot down for every Navy fighter lost. This was deemed unacceptable and a very experienced senior aviator, Captain Frank Ault, was assigned to conduct a study of what could be done to improve the situation on an expedited basis. Captain Ault came through and the Navy established a detachment at Naval Air Station Miramar, California, to enact his recommendations in 1969. In 1972, that detachment became a full-fledged separate unit: The U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School, known informally as Topgun. The concept was that selected crew members from Navy fighter squadrons would be sent to attend a course of instruction at Topgun emphasizing air-to-air combat knowledge and skills. They would then return to their squadrons much the wiser and propagate those skills to other aircrews.

Though a high-priority project, the unit initially operated on a shoestring. By 1972, they were assigned a few of their own aircraft. Students would bring their own squadrons' aircraft to the school and the school's aircraft were to simulate North Vietnamese aircraft such as the subsonic MiG-17. For this purpose, a few A-4 attack aircraft were repurposed as high-performance subsonic fighter adversaries.

The Fighter Weapons School would grow in size and importance over the years. Two popular films would later make the course publicly famous.

I have not yet found a good source for the history of Topgun, but am searching. In the interim, this is the story of the origins. The photos are of 1972-era A-4E adversaries in distinctive paint schemes. Photos of A-4 Skyhawks invariable show external fuel tanks; these two omit external fuel to improve performance.

Note: The older F-8 Crusader was more successful in Vietnam air combat. The newer F-4 Phantom was much heavier -- with greater wing loading and -- and had more elaborate electronics. In addition, it did not incorporate an internal gun. While missiles were the first option and a gun was a weapon of last resort, there were occasions when F-4 crews had the advantage over a Vietnamese MiG at close range but were unable to down the MiG due to lack of cannon armament. The next generation of Navy fighter -- the F-14 Tomcat -- would rectify this deficiency. The original Topgun course was specifically aimed at improving the success of the F-4 in Vietnam air combat.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Llarry

The Fighter Weapons School would grow in size and importance over the years. Two popular films would later make the course publicly famous.

I have not yet found a good source for the history of Topgun, but am searching. In the interim, this is the story of the origins.

As time went by, the program expanded and Topgun's aircraft inventory expanded with it; over the years, that inventory included T-38As, F-5E/Fs, F-16s of several sub-types, F-18s and even a few F-14 Tomcats. In 1996 the Naval Air Station Miramar was transformed into a Marine Corps Air Station and Topgun moved to the Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, which provided an opportunity for expansion. Navy E-2 airborne warning and control training was also located at Fallon and Fallon has turned into a center for air wing training across the full spectrum of functions.

Here's a teaser as to the rest of the story: A photo of a Topgun F-14A Tomcat. There's plenty more to tell...