Raptor Heat

It was very interesting watching the F-22s take-off from Nellis AFB during the recent ISAP visit to the base. This, of course, was in the midst of the recent Red Flag exercises. To begin with, we had no restrictions from shooting the airplanes on the ramp, taxi way, last chance or End of Runway (EOR). That meant we could take pictures from the rear quarter, which is unusual. They get very twitchy about that at Edwards AFB.

Secondly, the Edwards take-offs we've seen involves the use of afterburner. This is because it's usually during an Open House and they want to do a maximum performance routine to wow the crowd. Plus, it's a lot more spectacular than a standard, non-afterburner take-off. The two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines put out 35,000 lbs thrust each in afterburner, but only 23,500 each without, so there is a big difference.

In any event, the Nellis launches were without afterburner. The result was predictably not as impressive (no flame out the nozzles) nor as loud, but it was impressive and loud enough. The angle above did provide a nice visual with the hot exhaust gases blurring the Nellis tower in shimmering ripples of heat. Note also the narrowing of the nozzle lips to constrict the opening to create more thrust. Ah, physics; 'ya gotta love it!

Raptor Eye

The Head's Up Display (HUD) is a staple of modern fighter aircraft. Designed so a pilot can monitor instruments, flight conditions and targeting solutions while keeping his eyes outside of the cockpit is a major element in maintaining what is called "situational awareness," e.g. knowing what's going on around you and your wingman.

The HUD projects all the important data onto a flat pane of glass with a ghostly green light. Seen on the F-22 above, it is quite visible in daylight. What I like about this shot is that it reminds me of a Cylon from the original "Battlestar Galactica" tv series, except the eye beam is green instead of red. I can almost hear the plane say, "by your command!"

The mood is enhanced by the tight shot on the canopy. The plane really looks otherworldly at this point.

The shot was taken during the recent ISAP convention outing to Nellis AFB and the Red Flag exercise in operation at the time.

Black Talons - Holloman AFB

As I mentioned in an earlier post, The Northrop, now Northrop Grumman, T-38 Talon celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first flight earlier this year. Not only is it still in operational service training future fighter pilots for the U.S. Air Force, it is revisiting an old role of playing "Red Air."

The initial Navy Adversary and Air Force Aggressor units flew T-38s in Soviet-style tactics to give our pilots simulated air combat training, hence the appellation Red Air. Complimented by, then later replaced with Northrop F-5E Tiger II's and Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, the Talon performed well enough, but returned to it primary mission when it became clear more capable jets were needed to play the role.

However, with the F-22A Raptor replacing the F-117 Nighthawk at Holloman AFB, the T-38 has once again returned to the combat training aggressor role. This is mainly due to the fact that Aggressor units are stretched too thin and Holloman is a bit remote from the major Red Air operating sites (Nellis AFB foremost among them).

Usually, ACC (Air Combat Command) T-38s have the same paint scheme as their parent squadron. In other words, the T-38 companion trainers for the 509th Bomb Wing, which flies B-2s, are painted B-2 grey. The T-38s at Holloman were painted black to match the F-117s. They decided to leave them black when they took on the Red Air role against the F-22s because black was harder to detect in the air, or so our host told us when we visited the 7th CTS (Combat Training Squadron) during Phancon this year.

Incidentally, the tail band now has little F-22 silhouettes. When they were the companion trainers to the Nighthawk they had little F-117s.

One last note, the 7th CTS was called the Screamin' Demons when the F-117 was there. I assume they are still called that, but lately they have taken on a new, unofficial nickname. It is a play on the HO tail code on the jets. Believe it or not, they are affectionaly called the "Black HOs."

Politically correct it ain't. But it is descriptive and literally accurate.

Pedal to the Metal

The Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor flew a demo program both days. This shot was from the Saturday performance. The original aircraft had a mechanical problem and was replaced by the aircraft that was supposed to fly in the AFFTC "Pass in Review." Needless to say, the demo (and heritage flight) was deemed more important.

The Raptor performance was nothing short of spectacular! I have never seen a large fighter do the moves this one did! And they have added new twists to the routine since I last saw an F-22 demo at Pt. Mugu over a year ago. It was absolutely breathtaking.

The advantage of being on the South Base media area is three-fold: proximity to the main runway; having the sun at your back instead of in your eyes and having the aircraft fly close and overhead during some of their maneuvers. The photo above is one such example. I absolutely love catching fighters in full afterburner! The twin spikes of flame with their shock diamonds are cool looking.

Timing is Everything

This is another instance of what is known as good timing and "situational awareness." Basically it's picking a good step-up and taking note of what is going on to make a good shot better. I knew the Lockheed C-130J would cross behind and above the F-22 Raptor. I just didn't know how high up the frame it would be. I estimated where I thought it would enter the image and waited. Sure enough, there it was and it made for a more interesting shot. One of the things I particularly like about it is the green glow off the F-22's HUD (Head Up Display). It adds a nice touch of color.

This picture was taken at the 2007 NAS Pt. Mugu open house.