Air Force Maj Gen (Ret) Robert White died in Florida this past week. He was a P-51 pilot in World War II before eventually becoming famous as an X-15 pilot. He also served during the Korean War and flew combat sorties in Vietnam.
White achieved Mach 6 in the X-15 and also became the first “winged astronaut” when he flew the X-15 to a height of 314,750 feet, more than the 50 mile requirement for the Air Force to bestow astronaut status.
Two F/A-18E Super Hornet pilots were grounded–permanently–after a board decided that their flyby of a college football game was intentionally too low and thus “unsafe.” A Military Times article states that the pilots performed a flyby of the November 7, 2009 Georgia Tech v Wake Forest game below the 1,000 foot minimum set by Navy rules…and then reported the incident after landing. (The flyby in question is on YouTube, which also lists the names of the pilots and indicates they were both 96 grads of Georgia Tech. The flyby was low-speed, gear down, and high power.)
The pilots went before a Naval Aviator Evaluation Board, which is likely Read more
A recent article at the Military Times suggests its “time to bail” on the Navy version of the JSF (the F-35C). (The online article is a lead-in to a longer story in the print version of the Military Times.) The proposal instead is that the Navy purchase more F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.
This would not be the first time the Navy “bailed” on a joint program. The F-111 was also supposed to be a joint program; the Navy bailed on the F-111 “B” and later acquired the F-14 instead. In the 1970s, the YF-16 and YF-17 had a “fly-off” won by the YF-16. The Navy, which was part of the program, didn’t like the single engine F-16 and instead Read more
The US Air Force has long flown QF-4s, with the Q designation indicating that the aircraft is a “drone.” The drones are still sometimes flown by a pilot in the cockpit, but are modified to be able to be flown unmanned, with control coming from a ground control station. They are used as targets for various missions, often testing of air-to-air missiles and radar systems. Though there are generally safeguards to protect the drone (it is expensive, after all), drones do occasionally get shot down (and that is also sometimes the objective).
Apparently, a “dwindling supply” of QF-4s (and also a shrinking supply of parts to keep them flying) has inspired the Air Force to now begin turning F-16s into drones. Boeing has reported the award of a the first part of a $69 million contract to convert 126 aircraft, reportedly from the boneyard, to QF-16 “Full Scale Aerial Targets,” aka “drones.”
In theory, the F-16 will be “easier” to convert than older aircraft, as it already has a computer-controlled, fly-by-wire flight control system, as opposed to the mechanical stick-and-rudder of the F-4 and prior airframes.
The QF-16s will apparently be the US Air Force’s newest “RPVs.”
Two single seat F/A-18E Super Hornets collided in the airspace over Nevada during a training sortie Monday night. One pilot ejected and was recovered safely, while the other was able to land his damaged aircraft.
The Super Hornet is a larger, more modern and advanced version of the F/A-18A/C Hornet. The crash occurred on the heels of another Hornet ejection just last week.
Update: The F-35B has now accomplished the significant milestone of a vertical landing. Video from some of the testing can be seen here.
A news article at the Marine Times notes that the F-35B, the Marine Corps variant intended to replace the STOVL Harrier, has hovered in flight for the first time. Flight test programs are built on gradual advances, and as a result the JSF did not land from a hover, though it did a slow speed landing at 70 knots (probably about half the speed of a normal landing).
Like many large military acquisition programs, the F-35 test program has come under increasing criticism for delays and potential cost increases.
US Marine Corps pilot Maj Duane Litpak and his backseat weapons officer Capt Jonathan Hutchison reportedly ejected from their two-seat F/A-18D off the coast of South Carolina. Both were safely recovered by Coast Guard helicopters. Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, the jet’s home base, is a training base for Marine F/A-18 crews.
The public reaction from the Marines is an interesting contrast with the Air Force. In general, the Air Force will say only that an incident has occurred and that a board will convene to investigate it, while often keeping the crew out of the limelight. By contrast, the Marines almost immediately published photos of the two climbing out of the Coast Guard chopper, and explained in detail that the crew had to slow their aircraft to a safe ejection speed and abandon the aircraft due to a fire.
The US Air Force Academy recently awarded “UAS-RPA” wings to its first group of cadets. Cadets had already been authorized to wear glider wings if they were an Academy glider pilot or jump wings if they were parachutist qualified.
The display is the latest effort by the US Air Force to “normalize” the unmanned aerial vehicle career field and encourage its development within the Air Force culture.