Glider
Captain
Has anyone else noted that the F35 critics seem to have gone very quiet these days. Even the President seems to have changed his mind
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buffnut453
Captain
Concur. Funny how proven success stops the flapping of uninformed critical gums.
- Thread starter
- #1,544
Seen a bunch take off at Buckley up close...They are loudI was just out at Hill AFB late last year for work. F-35's taking off outside of our hangar all damn day.
Makes me appreciate my Raptor even more...
Yes they are.
Not those living around the VT ANG base in Burlington. They're as loud as the jets are! But then again most of them are too young or too recent to remember the F4.
Cheers,
Wes
- Thread starter
- #1,547
We used to stay at a Hawthorne Suites in Marietta Georgia while in school, it was in the flight path of Cobb AFB, got to see and hear alot of different birds but your right the F4 were very loud but not as impressive as seeing a C5 low and slow over head...
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
The sound of a Galaxy is unmistakable 
michael rauls
Tech Sergeant
- 1,679
- Jul 15, 2016
From time to time, maybe once a year on average a C5 flies right over my house and a couple times over the years they have been very, very low.
Kinda reminiscent of one of those science fiction movies where the alien space ship flies overhead and it's so large it takes up the whole sky..................Very impressive.
Kinda reminiscent of one of those science fiction movies where the alien space ship flies overhead and it's so large it takes up the whole sky..................Very impressive.
The aluminum overcast hovercraft. Soundtrack by Hoover. Straight out of "Independence Day".
Hitchhiked a ride in one in 1972, back when they were new, from NAS Key West to (ostensibly) NAS Quonset Point on a three day weekend pass. Below minimums in Quonset, followed by an in-flight emergency put us on the ground in a monsoon at Dover AFB Delaware, where we were taxied into a huge hangar marked "AUTHORIZED USAF PERSONNEL ONLY". We three enlisted sailors and the Corps of Engineers civilian on board were met by a very angry USAF Brigadier General who had us blindfolded and dumped out into the rain to hike to the transient terminal. Too late. We had already seen the wingless C5 with its engineless wings laid out on the floor, some skin panels off and people working on the spars. Apparently the AF was trying to keep a lid on the wing fatigue life scandal that erupted quite publicly about then. FlyboyJoe, you used to work at Lockheed, can you shed light on this?
Anyway, by hitchhike and Greyhound I made it home just in time to catch my airline flight back to Key West.
That C5 was an awesome ride. 1700' ground roll at 769,000 lbs GTOW. Fuel On Board to fly Key West -> Quonset -> JAX + reserve. An SH3 and two HAWK 3-rail launchers downstairs in the cargo bay.
Cheers,
Wes
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GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
There's a "rumor" floating around that people would go up into the tail compartment to grab a smoke, too.
Yup, the MSGT loadmaster took us back up there with its 100+ aft facing airline style seats, windowless, with multiple smoke and CO detectors, no cabin environmental controls, and an inoperative intercom to the crew compartment. Told us to choose a seat, strap in, stay put, and don't touch anything. At this point, the Aircraft Commander, a Major, and his boss, a bird Colonel flying as FO, came up to welcome us aboard, and the elderly civilian engineer (one of the Chosen Frozen from Korea) lit into them about "a hell of a way to treat guests", whereupon they overrode their loadmaster and invited us up front to the crew compartment, a small airliner all by itself.There's a "rumor" floating around that people would go up into the tail compartment to grab a smoke, too.
The cockpit of that thing was bigger than the bridge of a DE, and the pilot seats slid fore and aft AND right and left. There were multiple jump seats, and another Major and a light Colonel, and all these guys were looking to grab some stick time, so it was a non stop Chinese fire drill. Not to mention that there were three guys rotating through the flight engineer station. Several of these guys seemed intrigued by the idea of a "dixie cup" E4 with a multi engine Commercial Pilot License in his pocket, apparently something that wasn't all that common in USAF. Had some interesting conversations.
I had been my unit's delegate to the Air Station C5 Suitability Assessment Committee, and we had done an exhaustive survey of operating parameters, dimensions, and vulnerabilities using a detailed packet of C5 specifications and limitations. This was sent out over the base engineering officer's and the CO's signatures to USAF before they would release the flight to come down to us.
Even so we missed one vulnerable bit of asphalt-over-concrete patchwork that came loose when the big bird almost came to stop turning onto the active and the pilot had to spool up #4 a little to keep us moving. That chunk of asphalt flew a hundred yards, penetrated the concrete block wall of the VF101 CO's office, smacked into his bulletin board, and fell on his desk, just three feet to the left of where he was standing looking out the window.
100 yds aft at Initial Breakaway Thrust: 120 Kts wind effect.
1000 ft aft at IBT: 60 Mph
Numbers from the info packet.
Cheers,
Wes
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michael rauls
Tech Sergeant
- 1,679
- Jul 15, 2016
Yes thay do have a distinct sound. A couple times ive been doing something in the house, had the front door open, and upon hearing that distinct sound ran outside to see if I could get a look.The sound of a Galaxy is unmistakable
michaelmaltby
Colonel
michaelmaltby
Colonel
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
Wow!
michaelmaltby
Colonel
New Details About the F-15X That Boeing is Pitching the US Air Force
More payload than the F-35 and greatly lowered hourly operational costs.
More payload than the F-35 and greatly lowered hourly operational costs.
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Depending who you talk to, these F-15s will be "mules" for the F-22 and F-35. This is not new news, IIRC this was in the press last year. From Air Force Magazine;
"The F-15EX purchase was an initiative of the Pentagon's Cost Analysis and Program Evaluation shop, which said the Air Force could more rapidly refresh its fighter fleet by purchasing new examples of the F-15, even as it buys the stealthy F-35 fighter. Service leaders have said the F-35 remains their top priority, and will only buy the F-15EX if additional funds are provided that don't require reducing the F-35 buy."
"The F-15EX purchase was an initiative of the Pentagon's Cost Analysis and Program Evaluation shop, which said the Air Force could more rapidly refresh its fighter fleet by purchasing new examples of the F-15, even as it buys the stealthy F-35 fighter. Service leaders have said the F-35 remains their top priority, and will only buy the F-15EX if additional funds are provided that don't require reducing the F-35 buy."
I would like to say something, but I can't...lol
those news articles are old. Keep your ears and eyes open people.
those news articles are old. Keep your ears and eyes open people.
buffnut453
Captain
IMHO a stealth UAV bomb mule that can be controlled from an F35 would make much more sense and have far greater operational utility than new-build F-15s.
This is just my read on the situation. I have zero connection to any defence procurement efforts.
This is just my read on the situation. I have zero connection to any defence procurement efforts.
