ugacrew

I was looking at the summer air show for the US and discovered that the Red Arrows will be performing stateside at the Hampton Roads, Virginia 'Airpower Over Hampton Roads' air show, June 21-22.

It's not listed on the website schedule yet but it's official.
Official Airshow Site
Red Arrows Site

This one is a must since it's pretty large and will also showcase my favorite jet the F-22 Raptor and the Flying Tennis Court, the F-15 Strike Eagle. This location is set to produce good vapor off the wings and fuselages of these awesome babies. Looks like a good weekend in the Virginia Beach - Williamsburg area.

basementwaj

LMAO

ugacrew

Yeah! So?

Octang Frye

What's a Flying Tennis Court?

I used to like the Red Arrows and with my inherent British-is-superior-to-Merkan attitude, I looked disdainfully on the Blue Angels. Then I found out more about and saw some of their stuff, and realized they are amazing too - in manly-man jets.

I saw the Raptor fly its inaugural fly at Dobbins AFB in Marietta, GA. I saw a crowd of people at the side of the road looking through the fence. (My apartment complex - Post Village - was just the other side of Windy Hill for any Atlanteans.)

Being a nosy sod, I stopped my car off of Cobb Parkway and watched with the other gawkers. The F22 was on the tarmac as two white chase planes took off. I can't remember whether they were F-16s or T-38s. What I do know is that they were dwarfed by the Raptor.

The chase planes circled round, and then approached the runway where the Raptor sat. As they came past, the Raptor leapt forward down the runway and then took off at an angle of about 60 degrees, straight up. The chase planes were accompanying it either site. It was awe-inspiring. The crowd whooped and hollered and a Sheriff's deputy spat his chew on the ground, and gruntingly acknowledged, "Yep, that's the sound of freedom."

BTW my favorite plane is the C-17. Simply the most amazing aircraft I think that has ever been built. And so beautiful.

fatbrit

I'm not sure I want to show my support for the military-industrial complex. Call me a wuss and all that, but Eisenhower was right on with this one.

Octang Frye

I did a bit of research and discovered I was wrong about the angle it took off at. It just looked that way from where we were standing.

Here's a better description:

First Flight

The first flight was preceded by a series of taxi tests. The tests were used to evaluate the aircraft's nosewheel steering, the braking system, and the operation of the arresting gear at various speeds up to 110 knots. The instrumentation system on the aircraft was also thoroughly checked during these ground tests.

First flight of the first aircraft took place on September 7, 1997 from Dobbins ARB in Marietta, Ga., with F-22 Chief Test Pilot Paul Metz at the controls. Flying chase on the first flight was fellow contractor pilot Jon Beesley in one F-16 and Maj. Steve Rainey, who was the first Air Force pilot to fly the F-22, in a second F-16 chase plane.

The three aircraft taxied onto the runway. The two F-16 pilots took off first and started a slow 360-degree turn back towards the runway. Metz held the F-22 on the runway, making final instrumentation checks with the mission control room team.

Metz released the brakes, simultaneously easing the twin throttles to military power with his left hand. The Pratt & Whitney F119 PW 100 engines spun up, and the F-22 started down the runway. At about 140 knots, Metz pulled back slightly on the sidestick controller with his right hand. The aircraft rotated and took off. The landing gear remained down as the F- 22 climbed, and Metz pointed the aircraft to the north.

The most impressive feature of the first flight was the F- 22's rate of climb. Even though the Raptor climbed with its landing gear down, the F-16 chase aircraft had a tough time keeping up with the F -22, as the F119 engines produced a tremendous amount of thrust. The airplane climbed out fast at around a twenty-five-degree pitch angle in military power. The steep climb angle is a function of wanting to maintain a constant velocity under a fixed power setting.

The airplane reached 15,000 feet in less than three minutes. Once at that altitude, Metz leveled off and then cycled the engines through a series of power changes. The engine afterburners were not used during the first flight. Metz took the airplane to a maximum angle of attack of fourteen degrees.

All along, Metz evaluated the handling qualities of the F-22. Handling qualities describe the feel of an airplane. An airplane that requires little pilot effort or is easy to maneuver, land, fly formation, aerial refuel, or dogfight another fighter is said to have good handling qualities.

About midway through the just under one-hour flight, Metz raised the landing gear and took the F-22 to 20,000 feet, the maximum altitude for the flight. At this altitude, he went through more engine transients and evaluated the cruising performance before descending. On his way down, Metz will fly formation on Beesley's F- 16 to determine the F-22's handling qualities during relatively demanding piloting tasks - what pilots refer to as 'high gain' flying.

The profile finished with the landing gear once again lowered for two simulated approaches at 10,000 feet. Metz will then make his final approach. The F-22's main gear touched down first. Metz aerobraked to slow the aircraft to about 100 knots. The nose lowered and Metz applied the brakes to bring the aircraft to a full stop.

The first flight lasted just under one hour. During its flight, the F-22 reached a maximum speed of 250 knots and a maximum load of three Gs (three times the force of gravity).

Metz flew three times around a triangular route that took him about forty miles north from Dobbins to the Rome, Ga., area, and then northwest from Dobbins into Alabama. This route was carefully coordinated with Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport to deconflict with commercial traffic.

Octang Frye

I hear you, but that is trumped for me by the engineering involved. I think aircraft are such beautiful things. Especially cargo planes, commercial jets like the 777 and the 747.

Think about the fantastic C-130/Hercules, and how much humanitarian aid it has delivered all around the world. The thing that is most impressive about the US military is its logistical airlift capabilities. It's staggering. After the tsunami, the much maligned US military was the first to step up to the plate.

Yes, I liked Thunderbirds as a kid. And Joe 90. Stingray. Fireball XL5. Ready Steve? Ready, Venus.

fatbrit

FAB

(BTW, WTF did that mean?]

Octang Frye

Full-on Anal Buttsecks, I think.

fatbrit

ROFLMAO!

ugacrew

Do note that the Blue Angels do NOT perform with G suits so any high performance maneuvers are being fully felt by the pilots. The Red Arrows are able to put on a better show because they DO use the G suits so high G maneuvers are more tolerable.

I'm glad you've been able to see them in the sky.

anabella

This thread is suddenly turning interesting.. who would have known ...

basementwaj

you're interested in FAB????

Optimus Prime

sime303

I have seen the Red Arrows many many times at the IAT (International Air Tattoo, largest military airshow in the world) at RAF Fairford, Gloucs. I lived about 12 miles from it so I went every year. I have seen many display teams from around the world (finally got to see the Blue Angels last year at Brunswick Naval Air Station and they're coming back again this year, woohoo) and I believe they all have great skill. I do have to say though that the Turkish Stars have a great commentator (or did when I saw them) that made the show even better.

I hear the Angels don't use G suits so the inflation of the suit doesn't knock or impede the control stick as they fly so close together.