An Air Force F-22 crashed

[FLYBOYJ]

Here's his obituary in the local Antelope Valley paper. I actually recognize him from some of the aviation functions I've attended when I lived in the area.

Antelope Valley Press Classification 1000 (Obituary notices and memorials)

 

[Lucky13]

 

[Matt308]

In the meantime, here is a video of a Raptor doing stall testing out at Edwards AFB.



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjHWLuJO-3k

That is one nasty stall characteristic. Something else is going on in that video. Like perhaps they are simulating flight control laws in reversionary mode or something similar. Surely that is not the normal departure from stall.

 

[mkloby]

That is one nasty stall characteristic. Something else is going on in that video. Like perhaps they are simulating flight control laws in reversionary mode or something similar. Surely that is not the normal departure from stall.

That is strange - looks like an out of control recovery test more than just a plain stall...

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

 

[FLYBOYJ]

From: Eichhorn, David J MajGen USAF AFMC AFFTC/CC

Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2009 4:16 PM

To: Edwards All Personnel

Subject: General INFO #74 - Paid in Blood

Men and Women of the Air Force Flight Test Center,

I labored long and hard on this one...how to approach this disaster?

How do we make sense of it? What does it really mean to all of us?

I know one thing for sure. At a minimum, I ask each and every one of us to reassess what's really important in our lives. Then I ask that you make that a priority in your life - you know why. Then don't forget those around you. Our CTFs are a family. None of us are in this alone.

We depend on each other and we deeply care about each other. There is tremendous strength in that and we need it now more than ever.

This week we were going about our business as usual. Last Wednesday in the Antelope valley was just another beautiful day to fly. Then our lives and the lives of some of our dearest friends were shattered. This week witnessed tragedy. Mr. David "Cools" Cooley was flying his F-22A Raptor where test pilots dream of flying their machines, out at its limits when something went horribly wrong. Mr. Cooley ejected but died from injuries sustained and the plane crashed incredibly violently into the desert floor. He paid the ultimate price for some lack of knowledge we must have had.

Once again, the Air Force Flight Test Center wrote a check in blood. It was a MEDIUM RISK test. The professionals were all over it. I've never seen a more professional flight brief or test pilot. I want to know how this happened and I want us all to learn the maximum from this experience because we paid the maximum amount possible.

Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous

But to an even greater degree than the sea

It is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect

When it comes to test flying, it is not "in itself." It is "Toward the Unknown." That means, test flying is inherently dangerous because we frequently push the envelope in our controlled, austere environment to discover what might not work as intended operationally. I say again, what we do at Edwards is inherently dangerous and nothing anyone says or does can change that fact.

On Wednesday, March 25th, 2009, something went terribly, terribly wrong and something surprised us in a way that recovery was not possible for man or machine. And the airspace and that ground will never be the same. We recognize it's been re-dedicated to the mission and nature of flight test.

"But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate...we cannot consecrate...we cannot hallow...this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to that great task remaining before us...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain;"

President Lincoln at Gettysburg

Mr. Cooley wasn't the first and he won't be the last (although I certainly pray that he is). I do believe the land and air around Edwards Air Force Base is sacred. Many really, really fine people have made it so in the much the same way Abraham Lincoln described at Gettysburg. Now, Lt Col (ret) David Cooley has been added to our list of flyers who distinguished themselves in the most profound way possible. Our street names should be a stark reminder of that fact.

I am highly confident, with the wealth of data our instrumentation and telemetry systems have, that we will know what happened down to the minute details. That is the nature of our business in the end. We get the data and learn from that data. In this case it's to ensure our worst nightmare is never repeated and it takes all of us taking these lessons to heart. We are all human and we need reminding on just how dangerous what we do is.

Folks, we weren't safe last week. But as is so often true, the disaster brought out the best in others. China Lake NAS, Ft Irwin Army Post, the California Highway Patrol and Edwards AFB personnel all responded quickly and professionally. It clearly demonstrated the tremendous partnership and talent we have here in the Mojave desert. These people are the best!

This week, we have memorial services and we have to help put back together people's lives. Then we have to go on "dedicated to that great task remaining before us." Cools would want it that way.

This is a hard lesson for all of us...but the dead don't die in vain in the Mojave Desert.

Ike

DAVID J. EICHHORN, Maj Gen, USAF

Commander, Air Force Flight Test Center

 

[Matt308]

...and one must wonder whether Mr. Cooley put his own personal safety ahead of the economic cost of a single F-22, the political impact to another loss of an F-22 in the current funding schedule, or his own realization that few F-22s will ever follow an accident under his pilotage.

Hopefully not. For his knowledge, experience and professionalism are worth more than all.

God bless his family.

 

[Heinz]

 

[drgondog]

That is one nasty stall characteristic. Something else is going on in that video. Like perhaps they are simulating flight control laws in reversionary mode or something similar. Surely that is not the normal departure from stall.

Matt - the video captures much of the 'stunts' I saw at Davis Monthan at the Heritage Meeting.

One of the manuevers was hanging like a metronome in a vertical position with tail swinging from 7 - 5 O'clock for several seconds, then stopping and nosing from vertical to ablout 20 degrees AoA, then accelerating in the horizontal then swapping ends and coming back over the stands.

In the 'hanging' position it was hard to say whether it was in zero vertical velocity but it looked like it.

The most noticably different aero features I noted on a close up inspection was a tremendous amount of leading edge twist in the wing as well as a 'hollow camber'. The wing has significant camber and it (lower surface)follows the contour of the upper wing.

And of course the thrust deflector devise aft.

Never saw anything like this at any time.

 

[Matt308]

I too have seen these demonstrations. But I have not seen the reverse flat spin characteristic coming out of a stall. I recognize that modern aircraft are inherently unstable.

I suspect that either they were testing a degraded/reversionary mode of the FCC or were encountering early unstable airframe characteristics that have since been accounted for in FCC control laws.

 

[beaupower32]

I recognize that modern aircraft are inherently unstable.

Most of your modern fighters (F-16,F-22, and so on) are built to be unstable to give them the super manuverability that u see from them. Only the onboard computers keep the aircraft flying in a stable condition. Just look at the B-2 and F-117. They are both unstabe and only with the help of their computers are they able to fly.

 

[Geedee]

Blue skies, David

 

[Hangwire]

Salute.

 

[drgondog]

I too have seen these demonstrations. But I have not seen the reverse flat spin characteristic coming out of a stall. I recognize that modern aircraft are inherently unstable.

I suspect that either they were testing a degraded/reversionary mode of the FCC or were encountering early unstable airframe characteristics that have since been accounted for in FCC control laws.

that is probably true

 

[fly boy]

still i want to know do they use PC or mac or something else

 

[FLYBOYJ]

still i want to know do they use PC or mac or something else

an X box

 

[fly boy]

an X box

theres an idea i think

 

[evangilder]

Windows Vista

 

[fly boy]

Windows Vista

thats what i was thinking if it was a PC

 

[comiso90]

an X box

actually its a 386 PC running windows 3.1.

Next year they're gonna switch from the Floopy disk to 3.5 diskette and a monitor that has 256 colors.

"Leisure Suit Larry" and "Wolfenstein" are the training sims.
.