Air Guard retires last F-16A in service
June 20th, 2007
The last operational F-16A Fighting Falcon flew its final mission here June 15, taking off from the Air National Guard base for indefinite storage at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
The 162nd Fighter Wing, having flown the A and B models since taking on the F-16 training mission in 1985, retired its one remaining F-16A and two F-16B model aircraft, completing its conversion to the more modern F-16C and F-16D.
“As one of the world’s premier F-16 training units, we must stay relevant,” said Brig. Gen. Rick Moisio, 162nd Fighter Wing commander. “We constantly transition to newer, more advanced aircraft because that’s what pilots will fly when they graduate from our program.”
“The F-16 is currently the most popular fighter in the world,” he said, “and we’ve trained pilots from 22 of 24 countries that fly the aircraft today.”
Over the last 22 years, the wing trained 1,640 U.S. and allied pilots in the F-16A/B alone.
The retirement marks the end of an era and finalizes the Air Guard’s seamless transition to the newer aircraft, said Col. Greg Stroud, 162nd Maintenance Group commander and F-16 pilot.
“Some of our maintenance crew chiefs have known these planes for more than 20 years,” said the colonel. “They were built in ‘82 and ‘83. Imagine owning a car that long. It’s a real testament to the expertise and hard work of countless Air Guardsmen, active and retired, who kept these planes in great condition.”
“Our instructor pilots and our maintainers have undergone the necessary upgrade training for the F-16C and D and will continue to provide the best training and the safest aircraft available.”
The F-16A, a single-seat model, first flew in December 1976. The first operational F-16A was delivered in January 1979 to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
Improvement programs throughout the years led to the F-16C and F-16D aircraft, which are the single- and two-seat counterparts to the F-16A and F-16B, and incorporate the latest cockpit control and display technology. All active duty units and most Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units converted to the F-16C and D years ago.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the F-16 has been a major component of the combat forces committed to the war on terrorism flying thousands of sorties in support of operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Iraqi Freedom.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, multi-role fighter aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations.
The last time the wing retired an aircraft model was in 1992 when the last A-7D Corsair II was delivered to AMARG.
Own a piece of the Concorde
June 20th, 2007
The iconic embodiment of the commercial airline supersonic era is being sold off piece by piece in France. Scheduled to take place from September 28th to October 1st at the Halle aux Grains in Toulouse.
In English and French, the website details the auction as well as a free public exhibition being held at the Hotel des Ventes Saint-Aubin. The site also contains a history of the Concorde, photos, and a video gallery.
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor Team Awarded Collier Trophy
June 13th, 2007
The Lockheed Martin led F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter team was awarded the 2006 Robert J. Collier Trophy in ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on June 8. The trophy, given annually by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), is regarded as the most prestigious award in American aviation.
“This award is a tribute to an incredible team of contractors, suppliers and leaders in the United States Congress, Department of Defense and Air Force, who never lost site of the vision for this aircraft,” said Ralph Heath, Executive Vice President-Aeronautics for Lockheed Martin Corporation. “Together, we pay tribute to the men and women who will take the Raptor into harm’s way to establish and maintain air dominance. It is for them we created the world’s first fifth-generation fighter.”
Honored contractor team members included Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and BAE Systems. The United States Air Force was also recognized and honored as a team member for the major role they played in the development of the F-22. Through their participation in flight tests, Air Force pilots have provided their expert, invaluable feedback to help the combined test force F-22 team create the safest, most capable fighter this nation has seen.
The NAA is the oldest national aviation organization in the United States dedicated to the advancement of the art, sport and science of aviation in the U.S. The Collier Trophy was established in 1911 and is granted each year “for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America during the preceding calendar year.”
NAA President and CEO David Ivey said the fighter’s performance has “established the unquestionable superiority of the Raptor, a culmination of years of visionary design, rigorous testing, and innovative manufacturing.”
The F-22 was specifically cited for its performance in the 2006 Northern Edge military exercise. During this large-scale, force-on-force exercise, Raptor pilots flew an amazing 97 percent of their scheduled missions, achieved an 80-to-1 kill ratio against their Red Air opponents, scored direct hits with 100 percent of their satellite guided 1,000-pound GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition air-to-ground weapons, and increased overall situational awareness for the entire Blue Force through the F-22’s integrated avionics.
“Joint and allied force commanders talk about the commanding presence of the F-22 and how the Raptor makes everyone in the battlespace better,” said Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Executive Vice President and F-22 Program General Manager Larry Lawson. “Pilots will tell you about the quantum leap in situational awareness the Raptor provides; and maintainers are amazed at how much easier it is to keep the F-22 in the air day in and day out in any environment. That is the level of performance and reliability the F-22 is delivering today.”
The F-22 Raptor, the world’s most advanced fighter, is built by Lockheed Martin in partnership with Boeing and Pratt & Whitney. Parts and subsystems are provided by approximately 1,000 suppliers in 44 US states. F-22 production takes place at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics facilities in Marietta, Ga.; Fort Worth, Texas; Palmdale, Calif.; and Meridian, Miss., as well as at Boeing’s plant in Seattle, Wash. Final assembly and initial flight testing of the Raptor occurs in Marietta.
Lockheed Martin is the program’s principal systems integrator. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company in Marietta, Ga. is responsible for overseeing weapon system integration; the forward fuselage and cockpit; flight control surfaces; and the avionics architecture and functional design. The company’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, is responsible for the mid-fuselage; armament; providing the electronic warfare system, integrated communications, navigation and identification (CNI) system; stores management and inertial navigation systems; and the support system. The company’s Palmdale, Calif., site builds the Raptor’s low observable edges, antennas and radome.
Boeing builds the Raptor’s wings and aft fuselage; integrates and tests the advanced avionics; and is responsible for both pilot and maintenance training programs. Pratt & Whitney designed and manufactures the Raptor’s F119-PW-100 turbofan engine.
Northrop Grumman’s Electronic Systems designed and builds the Raptor’s AN/APG 77 radar system. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems is partnered with Northrop Grumman on the radar. BAE Systems Electronics & Integrated Solutions provides the electronic warfare suite, low observable CNI apertures, countermeasures, the stores management system and the mission planning system.
The award to the Raptor team marks the sixteenth time Lockheed Martin or its aircraft have been honored with the Collier Trophy. The first came in 1932 for the B-10, the first all-metal bomber. Other legacy Lockheed Martin Collier recipients include the XC 35, the world’s first pressurized aircraft; the F-104 Starfighter, the world’s first Mach 2 fighter; the Lockheed A-11 (A-12) “Blackbird” triple-sonic reconnaissance aircraft; the F-117 Nighthawk, the world’s first operational stealth fighter; and the U-2S Dragon Lady high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Lockheed Martin was a member of the integrated lift fan propulsion system validated on the X-35B, the Joint Strike Fighter demonstrator.
Petro Balabuyev, top designer of world’s biggest aircraft, dead at age 75
May 17th, 2007
Petro Balabuyev, a lead designer of the world’s largest aircraft, the An-225, died Thursday, the Antonov aviation design bureau said. He was 75. Balabuyev headed the Kyiv-based bureau for almost 20 years, and was the top designer for many aircraft, including the An-225 and the An-124-100.The six-engine An-225, which first flew in 1988, is capable of carrying 250 tonnes of cargo for a distance of about 4,500 kilometres. The An-124-100 has a capacity of about 150 tonnes. Both planes are also noted for their ability to land smoothly at poorly equipped airports.
F-117 pioneer test pilot passes away at 70
May 5th, 2007
The Air Force and the F-117A Nighthawk program lost one of its premier test pilots nearly 25 years, to the day, after his near-fatal accident while attempting to take-off on an F-117A’s final acceptance test.
Retired Lt. Col. Robert ‘Bob’ Riedenauer, 70, passed away April 23 at his home in Palmdale, Calif. following a lengthy battle with cancer. Coincidentally, Col. Riedenauer was to have been honored that day by the city with the naming of an F-104 aircraft after him at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Air Force Plant 42.
Born in Fresno, Calif., in 1936, Colonel Riedenauer earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Arizona State University in 1967, and two years later graduated from the Air Force’s Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Col. Riedenauer recalled the exact time he answered the challenge to become a test pilot. While driving east on Highway 58 just out of Mohave, Calif., he was buzzed by two jet fighters out of Edwards AFB. At that time, he was a B-52 Stratofortress aircraft commander looking for a more challenging career opportunity. Those two jet fighters captured his imagination and he immediately set his sights on the USAF Test Pilot School.He was the only test pilot to fly the U-2 Dragon Lady, the SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117A Nighthawk.
As a test pilot, the colonel conducted performance and handling quality tests on the FB-111A, various programs on the U-2, and developmental flight tests on the SR-71. After retirement, he went to work for Lockheed’s Skunk Works Division as an engineering test pilot and later director of operations. He served as one of Lockheed’s principal test pilots during the initial flight tests of the F-117A Stealth Fighter, where he earned the moniker “Bandit 103.”
On April 20, 1982, as the test pilot assigned to Lockheed’s first F-117A production aircraft, Bandit 103 nearly lost his life when he discovered, immediately after take-off and only 30 feet off the ground, that the aircraft’s pitch and yaw controls responded completely opposite of how they should have responded. The aircraft flipped violently, slammed into the ground and trapped the colonel in the cockpit. The colonel broke both legs and suffered back injuries in the crash.
While the accident ended Bandit 103’s test pilot career, it did not end his life-long association with aviation. After his retirement from Lockheed-Martin in 1993, Colonel Riedenauer served as the executive director of the Flight Test Historical Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the aerospace history of Edwards AFB. In 2002, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor of Lancaster, Calif.
Colonel Riedenauer was a Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and logged more than 6,500 hours in more than 50 different aircraft, including the T-33, A/T-37, T-38, F-86, F-104, F-105, F-4, F/FB-111, F-117, SR-71, B-52 and U-2. He also flew 120 combat missions in the F-105 in Southeast Asia and was honored with the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Medal with eleven oak leaf clusters and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Walter Schirra, 1923-2007
May 3rd, 2007
Wally Schirra, the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, has died. He was 84 years old.
Schirra’s NASA career began with his selection as one of the original seven Mercury astronauts in 1959 and spans the period from Americas first tentative steps into space to the missions to the moon.
Schirra flew on the fifth Mercury flight in 1962, orbiting the Earth six times. He commanded Gemini 6A in 1965, a flight with Tom Stafford that had the historic distinction of being the first rendezvous of two manned, maneuverable spacecraft. Gemini 6A and Gemini 7 flew in formation for five hours, as close as one foot to one another.
Schirra also commanded Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo flight. During that 11-day flight in Earth orbit in 1968, he and fellow crewmembers Walt Cunningham and Donn Eisele tested the Apollo systems and proved it was ready to take astronauts to the moon.
In what was a precursor of things to come, Apollo 7 transmitted the first television feed live into commercial networks from space during its 260-hour flight.
Schirra retired from the Navy as a captain and from NASA in 1969 and became a commentator with CBS Television. His enthusiasm and knowledge of the space program made him a widely known national and international figure.
He complemented Walter Cronkite and the two became a powerful space-coverage team. Schirra worked for CBS from 1969 to 1975. He also engaged in a range of business activities and in 1979 formed his own consultant company, Schirra Enterprises.
Walter M. Schirra was born in Hackensack, N.J., on March 12, 1923. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1945, and from Naval Flight Training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Fla., in 1947. After service as a carrier-based fighter pilot and operations officer, he attended the Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Md. During the Korean War he flew F-86 Sabres under an exchange program with the Air Force.
Schirra was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts introduced to the public on April 1959. The seven were chosen from among 110 selected test pilots from the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, after exhaustive physical and psychological examinations.
In 1961, the program moved to the newly established Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center) near Houston. Schirra was enthusiastic and outgoing and like others among the Mercury astronauts, he was not above an occasional practical joke. “Levity makes life a lot easier,” he once told a Houston reporter.
Schirra’s Gemini flight with Stafford was something of an improvisation. They had been scheduled to rendezvous in orbit with an unmanned Agena to be launched 90 minutes before the Gemini liftoff. But six minutes after the Atlas-Agena left the pad it exploded, and the Gemini 6A launch was postponed.
Eventually it was decided to use Gemini 7 as a rendezvous target for Gemini 6A. Both were to be launched from Pad 19 at Cape Canaveral, so a record turnaround of the pad was necessary. Working around the clock, crews got the pad ready in just eight days after the Gemini 7 liftoff.
The Gemini 6A countdown reached zero on Dec. 12, 1965, and the rocket engines ignited – then shut down. The two astronauts had to wait almost half an hour atop the fueled rocket before getting out of the capsule. The problem turned out to be minor, the failure of an electrical connection.
Three days later, Gemini 6A was launched without a hitch. The mission proved the spacecraft could be readily maneuvered. It was an encouraging development in the race to reach the moon.
By the launch of Apollo 7 in October 1968 — the first human flight in an Apollo spacecraft that had been much improved after the tragic Apollo 1 fire on the launch pad almost two years before — the moon landing seemed to be coming within reach. The success of the flight proved that it was.
Accomplishments of the mission commanded by Schirra resulted in the next flight, Apollo 8, being sent around the moon.
Schirras military awards included the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Air Medals, two NASA Distinguished Service Medals, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the Philippines Legion of Honor.
He was awarded honorary doctorates by several institutions of higher learning.
He was active in a number of organizations and was a founding member and director of the Mercury Seven Foundation. He also was a director of the San Diego Aerospace Museum, a trustee of the Scripps Aquarium, and a member of the International Council of the Salk Institute.
Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Unveiled
May 1st, 2007
The first Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, being built for the U.S. Navy by prime contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation, made its first public appearance at rollout ceremonies here today. The E-2D was designed in New York and built in St. Augustine.
The new E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, in development by Northrop Grumman since 2001 and unveiled on April 30, has been the U.S. Navy’s number one aviation priority. It will make its first flight this summer.
At the ceremony before hundreds, Rear Admiral Pete Williams congratulated Team Hawkeye for delivering a “game-changer for the warfighter.” Williams is the Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft with Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md.
Tom Vice, vice president of Airborne Early Warning and Joint Battle Management Command and Control Programs for Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Systems sector, said, “In December 2001, we promised to design and deliver a totally new Hawkeye, an aircraft more adaptable to quickly changing technologies, one that allows the Navy to better respond to changing threats from changing enemies. That promise is embodied in the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. Today, the people of Northrop Grumman delivered on a promise.”
NAVAIR Advanced Hawkeye program manager, Captain Randy Mahr, said, following the event, “This aircraft we are building here in St. Augustine today will provide what America needs well in to the middle of the century. Our Navy program has an exceptional industry partner — Northrop Grumman and the companies that comprise Team Hawkeye.”
The aircraft unveiled today is the first of two test aircraft to be built under the nearly $2 billion system demonstration and development contract awarded in 2001 to Northrop Grumman. According to Mahr, the Navy plans to procure a total of 75 Advanced Hawkeye aircraft.
While the external appearance is similar to the E-2C, the systems and capabilities which the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye contains are completely redesigned. At the heart of the aircraft is the new radar, the APY-9, designed and built by Lockheed Martin Corporation. It can “see” smaller targets and more of them at greater ranges than the E-2C. The new rotodome, developed by L-3 Communications Randtron Antenna Systems, contains the critically important, continuous, 360-degree scanning capability, while adding an electronically scanned array. This system allows operators to focus the radar on selected areas of interest.
Hawkeye operators will have new radar system workstations, integrated satellite communications capabilities and other tools to better manage the battle space and provide warfighters with expanded situational awareness and information to complete their missions.
An additional new feature of the E-2D is the state-of-the-art glass cockpit that replaces prior-generation Hawkeye displays and avionics systems. One of the advantages is that pilots can also serve as weapon system operators.
The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye will provide Joint U.S. forces and coalition partners airborne battle management command and control from the sea, in both the over-land and over-water environments.
The Navy and Northrop Grumman team will begin flight testing this fall in St. Augustine with further testing at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. Navy squadrons will be equipped with Advanced Hawkeyes as they are delivered beginning in 2011.
Rutan earns spacecraft patent
April 15th, 2007
Burt Rutan has been awarded U.S. Patent 7,195,207 for his ingenious reconfigurable spacecraft. The design was successfully tested on the SpaceShipOne suborbital spacecraft where the aft wing sections and tail booms were rotated about 65 degrees upward to create a high-drag mode for reentering the atmosphere. According to the patent documents, the design is also applicable to orbital flight. Rutan’s invention provides a simple alternative to heat shields and rocket burns. With the support of billionaire Richard Branson, Rutan is pioneering space tourism from Mojave, California.