F-117 "Cloaking Device"

[🦈💜]

...Fox and Friends in the morning, fair and balanced.

*Earperks*

Wait, what?

-Fox

 

[A Life Aloft]

No two seaters. First flight is a solo, chased by the IP in a T-38, or in the older days chased by an A-7D. First few flights are chased until your instrument checkride is complete. Numerous simulator sessions completed before this first flight.

Unlike the A-10 when I was in it, the simulator had been gotten rid of post-Desert Storm from schoolhouse. So the first flight in the A-10 was after ground school only. IP would be on the ladder of your jet as you got the engines started and before taxi checks accomplished, then he'd head to his jet and get started, then meet you in the arming area at the end of the runway.

Damn, talk about seat of the pants flying. .Amazing.

 

[///AMG]

my guess…….0 "gals", though the USAF is more evolved than we are I suppose…..

I stand corrected…..gittyup

 

[jtrain609]

Try the veal!

Still looking for another overnight so we can crawl around the bone yard.

 

[fholbert]

In July 1986, Ross Mulhare was killed in the first operational (not test) accident of the F-117, near Bakersfield, CA. Still a black program, there was high risk of program exposure after this crash too,

At the time of the accident all the LA stations were calling it a super secrete stealth aircraft. They even had a model.

 

[MikeD]

At the time of the accident all the LA stations were calling it a super secrete stealth aircraft. The even had a model.

Yes! The Testors F-19!

 

[esa17]

The 117 is Approach Category E, as oftentimes the approach speed was in the 180s. Highest I've seen was shooting a circling approach on a TACAN, where the circling speed due to my weight was 212 knots, with a final approach of 190ish. Makes you appreciate that 4.5sm circling radius protected area. But with a permanent 68 degree wing sweep, speeds are going to be high. Also there are no drag devices on the jet: no speed brakes, no flaps, nothing. Just landing gear, and upon touchdown, a drag chute. That made landings (as well as precision formation flight) a finesse item.

The drag chute was required for use, and the jet had a pretty high minimal runway length. No-chute landings were authorized when x-winds were out of limits, but the jet had to be landed and the nose immediately brought down to the runway and braking commenced. Aerodynamic braking was specifically prohibited at any time. On touchdown, the nose comes to the runway and braking with some forward stick pressure is commenced. Since the brakes were not used much on the 117 due to the drag chute being so effective, the brakes would often be smoking following a no-chute landing, as accumulated grease and crap would heat up and burn off. Even though there wasn't truly hot brakes going on.

For takeoff, aborts were almost nothing due again to the drag chute availability and with how quickly it slowed the jet down. If the chute didn't work for some reason, or accidently jettisoned itself upon deployment (which has happen more than a few times), the pilot could drop the tailhook and have the jet engage the runway arresting gear at the midpoints of the runway, or the runway departure end barrier systems, if the a-gear wires get missed.

Flying form without boards must have been a nightmare to learn! Talk about needing to be ahead of the jet.

Was a fingertip formation rare or did y'all stick to echelons out a good distance?

 

[MikeD]

Flying form without boards must have been a nightmare to learn! Talk about needing to be ahead of the jet.

Was a fingertip formation rare or did y'all stick to echelons out a good distance?

You'd be in fingertip mainly for formation work to/from the traffic pattern. Out in the area it was for proficiency. But without speedbrakes, which many pilots use as a crutch for rejoins and such to avoid overshoots, there was no doing that with this jet. You had to plan rejoins well, especially straight ahead ones.....like when to start killing off that 30-50kts overtake, lest you overshoot to the moon and can't do a thing about it. It made one a very finesse close formation flyer.

 

[///AMG]

While I try not to use speed brakes to kill off closure, I will use the cross control air brake method, which I'd imagine is a terrible idea in a -117. How was visibility in the cockpit?

 

[esa17]

You'd be in fingertip mainly for formation work to/from the traffic pattern. Out in the area it was for proficiency. But without speedbrakes, which many pilots use as a crutch for rejoins and such to avoid overshoots, there was no doing that with this jet. You had to plan rejoins well, especially straight ahead ones.....like when to start killing off that 30-50kts overtake, lest you overshoot to the moon and can't do a thing about it. It made one a very finesse close formation flyer.

I'm fairly proficient with the join just because we call audibles so much and I've had great teachers but the ranging between us still eats my lunch at times. Going from one side to the other is where I find myself ripping throttles or popping the boards. Left tac with a slide to right line abreast just kicks my ass.

I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I didn't have my crutches.

 

[killbilly]

Yes! The Testors F-19!

I won't lie. Not only did I build several of these when I was a kid, but this was what I thought of during the "Frisbee" chapters of "Red Storm Rising."

 

[MikeD]

I won't lie. Not only did I build several of these when I was a kid, but this was what I thought of during the "Frisbee" chapters of "Red Storm Rising."

Certainly nothing wrong with that. Ive got to hand it to them, for the limited information available at the time, Testors was certainly on the right track with that model. It wasn't perfect, but it did have some eerily coincidental accuracy in ways.

 

[Hacker15e]

While I try not to use speed brakes to kill off closure, I will use the cross control air brake method,

Interesting that's what the Hornet does; in the Eagle, the cross-control skid with nearly any accompanying AOA results in a departure from controlled flight (really just an uncommanded roll...which can be terribly inopportune in the end-game of a rejoin).

That's a technique that former Viper IPs taught students in T-38s, but was quickly beat out of new, aspiring Eagle Drivers.

 

[Hacker15e]

I'm fairly proficient with the join just because we call audibles so much and I've had great teachers but the ranging between us still eats my lunch at times. Going from one side to the other is where I find myself ripping throttles or popping the boards. Left tac with a slide to right line abreast just kicks my ass.

I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I didn't have my crutches.

What type of aircraft you talking?

 

[MikeD]

While I try not to use speed brakes to kill off closure, I will use the cross control air brake method, which I'd imagine is a terrible idea in a -117. How was visibility in the cockpit?

No cross controlling of the jet here, it doesn't like when you do that. Cockpit visibility isn't very great forward, and non-existant upwards.

 

[esa17]

What type of aircraft you talking?

An underpowered Lear.

 

[Hacker15e]

An underpowered Lear.

Ah, okay. And a slick airplane, too.

All the stuff you're talking about is tough for everyone to learn and stay proficient at, even when doing it day in and day out!

 

[Roger Roger]

An underpowered Lear.

You're probably the only person I've ever heard call a Lear underpowered.

 

[esa17]

You're probably the only person I've ever heard call a Lear underpowered.

It's all a matter of perspective I suppose.

For normal 91/135 operations the TFE-731 if very well matched to the Lear. For what we do it could stand to have a little more umpfh.

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

You're probably the only person I've ever heard call a Lear underpowered.

Most pilots that fly Lears aren't merging with fighters


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