F/A-22 to make appearance at U.S. Air Force Academy parade

[Otis Willie]

F/A-22 to make appearance at U.S. Air Force Academy parade

(EXCERPT) PRESS RELEASE -- Secretary of the Air Force, Directorate of
Public Affairs

Release No. 0601046 Jun 1, 2004

F/A-22 to make appearance at U.S. Air Force Academy parade

COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. - The F/A-22 Raptor will make a flyby appearance
at the cadet graduation parade today.

The graduation parade is the final cadet parade before graduation,
scheduled for June 2.

Academy graduate, Lt. Col. Dawn Dunlop, will be at the controls of the
F/A-22. A 1988 graduate, Lt. Col. Dunlop is a test pilot and squadron
operations officer at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., with nearly 100
hours of flying time in the Raptor.

Accompanying the F/A-22 will be an F-16 chase/photo aircraft flown by
Maj. Evan Dertien, 1993 graduate, an F/A-22 test pilot with 65 flying
hours in the Raptor.

The parade is scheduled for 10 a.m. MDT at the Stillman Parade Field.
The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Prior to flying over the parade area, the aircraft will be in a
holding pattern over the Garden of the Gods area from about 9:35 to
10:20 a.m.

About 15 minutes after the parade is finished, the F/A-22 Raptor and
F-16 will pass over the cadet area from north to south to complete a
photo mission.

-30- U.S. Air Force lists at

https://oaprod.hq.af.mil/saf/pa/misc/listserv.cfm

---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com

[Sbschiltz]

Damn and to think I live just down the street and missed it!

[Kurt R. Todoroff]

I was in the stands for my daughter's USAFA graduation. The F/A-22 made
several passes north to south and vice versa. The crowd wouldn't stop talking
about it well after the parade ended. The first fly-by started with a simple
medium speed (I'm guessing 350 KIAS) pass over the parade field (south to
north) with the white and orange painted F-16 in chase, and culminated with a
nice pull to about 70 - 80 degree climb. Despite the dry Colorado air, the
pull produced quite a bit vapor on the wing upper surface. During the pull,
the pilot engaged afterburner, which we could distinctly see during the bright
Colorado day.





Kurt Todoroff


Markets, not mandates and mob rule.
Consent, not compulsion.

[Ed Rasimus]

On 04 Jun 2004 01:00:22 GMT, (Kurt R.
Todoroff) wrote:

>I was in the stands for my daughter's USAFA graduation. The F/A-22 made
>several passes north to south and vice versa. The crowd wouldn't stop talking
>about it well after the parade ended. The first fly-by started with a simple
>medium speed (I'm guessing 350 KIAS) pass over the parade field (south to
>north) with the white and orange painted F-16 in chase, and culminated with a
>nice pull to about 70 - 80 degree climb. Despite the dry Colorado air, the
>pull produced quite a bit vapor on the wing upper surface. During the pull,
>the pilot engaged afterburner, which we could distinctly see during the bright
>Colorado day.

Sincere congratulations on the accomplishment of your daughter.

Quite a day, but not "dry" by Colorado standards. Low scattered, going
to broken and slight drizzle by the end of the ceremony and
Thunderbird showtime. Did the low show, I guess.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

[Scott Ferrin]

On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 09:48:26 -0600, Ed Rasimus
> wrote:

>On 04 Jun 2004 01:00:22 GMT, (Kurt R.
>Todoroff) wrote:
>
>>I was in the stands for my daughter's USAFA graduation. The F/A-22 made
>>several passes north to south and vice versa. The crowd wouldn't stop talking
>>about it well after the parade ended. The first fly-by started with a simple
>>medium speed (I'm guessing 350 KIAS) pass over the parade field (south to
>>north) with the white and orange painted F-16 in chase, and culminated with a
>>nice pull to about 70 - 80 degree climb. Despite the dry Colorado air, the
>>pull produced quite a bit vapor on the wing upper surface. During the pull,
>>the pilot engaged afterburner, which we could distinctly see during the bright
>>Colorado day.
>
>Sincere congratulations on the accomplishment of your daughter.
>
>Quite a day, but not "dry" by Colorado standards. Low scattered, going
>to broken and slight drizzle by the end of the ceremony and
>Thunderbird showtime. Did the low show, I guess.
>
>
>Ed Rasimus
>Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
>"When Thunder Rolled"
>Smithsonian Institution Press
>ISBN #1-58834-103-8


Probably a stupid question but what would you guess the odds are of an
F-22 showing up at the airshow at Hill AFB next weekend? With them
being at Nellis I wouldn't think it would be that big of a deal to
make a filyby at Hill.

[Kurt R. Todoroff]

>Sincere congratulations on the accomplishment of your daughter.
>
>Quite a day, but not "dry" by Colorado standards. Low scattered, going
>to broken and slight drizzle by the end of the ceremony and
>Thunderbird showtime. Did the low show, I guess.


Thank you for your kind sentiment, Ed. I do appreciate it, and will forward it
to my daughter.

I inadvertently omitted the word "parade". The F/A-22 entertained us during
her graduation parade on Tuesday late morning. Beautiful blue skies, thin
wisps at high altitude, and a bit of a strong wind on the parade field. It was
definitely a dry day on Tuesday.

You're right about Wednesday. The dark clouds arrived suddenly, so the
Thunderbirds flew the low profile after she and the other new officers tossed
their hats. Unfortunately, we had to wait several minutes after the initial
flyby over the stadium for the Thunderbirds to return because the President's
limo was still within the five mile radius during his egress. Then they
resumed their show. While we were waiting for the Thunderbirds to return, they
entertained us with live audio and video (on the large screen at the south side
of Falcon Stadium) from several of the Thunderbird pilots who are USAFA
graduates. The live A/V feed from the cockpits was quite impressive on the
large screen. The cameras faced aft towards the pilot and included a distinct
sky/ground background behind the pilot.

How far do you live from the Zoo? Did you have an opportunity to see the
F/A-22 from your house? Every current and former USAF pilot in the stands was
talking about the Raptor incessantly after its appearance. A friend of mine,
who has been my childrens' Academy sponsor for the previous five years, and I
seldom talk about flying in our former USAF days when we met during my trips to
visit my children. However, neither one of us could stop talking about the
Raptor during and after its appearance. It was breaktaking.



Kurt Todoroff


Markets, not mandates and mob rule.
Consent, not compulsion.

[Ed Rasimus]

On 04 Jun 2004 21:33:21 GMT, (Kurt R.
Todoroff) wrote:


>How far do you live from the Zoo?

Less than three miles from the S. Gate. I usually see the Thunderbird
show either from my deck or more comfortably from the parking lot at a
local pub where I stop regularly for lunch and a Sam Adams or three.

> Did you have an opportunity to see the
>F/A-22 from your house?

I, unfortunately, didn't get to see it. Heard it for sure as I was at
my desk working at 0800 on Tues when the first jet noises started for
about two hours and then again at the 1400 T-bird practice.

>Every current and former USAF pilot in the stands was
>talking about the Raptor incessantly after its appearance. A friend of mine,
>who has been my childrens' Academy sponsor for the previous five years, and I
>seldom talk about flying in our former USAF days when we met during my trips to
>visit my children. However, neither one of us could stop talking about the
>Raptor during and after its appearance. It was breaktaking.

Keep that up and we'll have Denyav and Tarver here denying that it was
really the Raptor but actually an F-15C with prosthetics.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

[Denyav]

>Keep that up and we'll have Denyav and Tarver here denying that it was
>really the Raptor but actually an F-15C with prosthetics.

F15 is a highly maneuverable plane on other hand f22 is a super-maneuverable
plane.
If you check my posts,I always said "because of this super-maneuverability
requirement wont be able to satify its range criteria"

As of today,f22 is still not be able to meet its range criteria.period.

Unless they make neccesary radical design changes which are already embedded in
alphabet soup type modification proposals (A-22,B-22,E-22 etc,etc) it wont be
able to meet its original range criteria in your or my lifetime.
Needless to say,all proposed modifications
require a reduction of maneuverability,even with the possible installation of
3D nozzles.

[Scott Ferrin]

On 04 Jun 2004 23:24:34 GMT, (Denyav) wrote:

>>Keep that up and we'll have Denyav and Tarver here denying that it was
>>really the Raptor but actually an F-15C with prosthetics.
>
>F15 is a highly maneuverable plane on other hand f22 is a super-maneuverable
>plane.
>If you check my posts,I always said "because of this super-maneuverability
>requirement wont be able to satify its range criteria"
>
>As of today,f22 is still not be able to meet its range criteria.period.
>
>Unless they make neccesary radical design changes which are already embedded in
>alphabet soup type modification proposals (A-22,B-22,E-22 etc,etc) it wont be
>able to meet its original range criteria in your or my lifetime.
>Needless to say,all proposed modifications
>require a reduction of maneuverability,even with the possible installation of
>3D nozzles.


And what is it's range criteria that it is not reaching? Tell us how
far it is suppose to fly and under what conditions and how far it
actually flys.

[Denyav]

>And what is it's range criteria that it is not reaching? Tell us how
>far it is suppose to fly and under

Pls check out my post dated 3/20/03.
No improvement since.

[John Keeney]

"Kurt R. Todoroff" > wrote in message
...
> How far do you live from the Zoo? Did you have an opportunity to see the
> F/A-22 from your house? Every current and former USAF pilot in the stands
was
> talking about the Raptor incessantly after its appearance. A friend of
mine,
> who has been my childrens' Academy sponsor for the previous five years,
and I
> seldom talk about flying in our former USAF days when we met during my
trips to
> visit my children. However, neither one of us could stop talking about
the
> Raptor during and after its appearance. It was breaktaking.

What, exactly, was the breath taking about it?
Seriously, I understood it to just be a fairly routine flyby.

[Kurt R. Todoroff]

>What, exactly, was the breath taking about it?
>Seriously, I understood it to just be a fairly routine flyby.

John,

Had the Raptor made a simple unaccompanied pass over the parade field, as is
often done by other aircraft during USAFA parades, then "routine" might
describe the event. However, this Raptor made the flyby as an adjunct to a
USAF photographic flight over the Academy. The white and orange chase F-16 was
a station wagon model that carried a USAF photographer in the back seat. The
Raptor made numerous passes over the parade field, the Cadet area, near the
chapel, near the mountains while performing steep banks and climbs for the
benefit of the photographer. The F-16's position during these passes was
clearly to photograph the Raptor with the Academy buildings and environment as
a backdrop.

However, even after 1,600 hours of fighter time, countless open houses and
airshows that I have attended as well as participated in, and many Thunderbird
performances that I have watched, a low altitude flyby for my benefit (as a
spectator) still puts a lump in my throat and gives me a strong exhilaration.
I'm sure it will do this to me until I take my last breath. Flying is in my
blood! I got excited at the anticipation of flying my father's Cessna 172
after I left the USAF prior to each flight up until he recently sold it. The
pilot of the aircraft need not throw the machine all over the sky for the flyby
to excite me (although it certainly helps!). For me, a flyby may be routine,
but being "routine" does not diminish the pleasure and excitement that it gives
me. I'm not alone.



Kurt Todoroff


Markets, not mandates and mob rule.
Consent, not compulsion.

[Ron]

>
>However, even after 1,600 hours of fighter time, countless open houses and
>airshows that I have attended as well as participated in, and many
>Thunderbird
>performances that I have watched, a low altitude flyby for my benefit (as a
>spectator) still puts a lump in my throat and gives me a strong exhilaration.
>
>I'm sure it will do this to me until I take my last breath.

Well Kurt, if we can get the tankers back up, I could probably arrange for you
to ride along in the C-54 at some point.
Certainly not during the fire season, but during a reposition back to the
tanker base at the end of season.

Not quite a D model Vark, but at least you can get up, walk around. :)




Ron
Tanker 65, C-54E (DC-4)
Silver City Tanker Base

[Kurt R. Todoroff]

>Well Kurt, if we can get the tankers back up, I could probably arrange for
>you
>to ride along in the C-54 at some point.
>Certainly not during the fire season, but during a reposition back to the
>tanker base at the end of season.
>
>Not quite a D model Vark, but at least you can get up, walk around. :)

Ron,

Bring that bird by here and I'll accept!

You don't need cosmic avionics and big cookers to have fun slipping the
surlies. My restaurant customers often ask me to compare flying an Air Force
fighter to a Cessna 172. I reply that it is better to be up there flying
"anything" than it is to be down here flying "nothing". They usually get the
message.

How is that C-54 floor treating your knees?

;-)



Kurt Todoroff


Markets, not mandates and mob rule.
Consent, not compulsion.

[Ron]

>
>Ron,
>
>Bring that bird by here and I'll accept!
>
>You don't need cosmic avionics and big cookers to have fun slipping the
>surlies. My restaurant customers often ask me to compare flying an Air Force
>fighter to a Cessna 172. I reply that it is better to be up there flying
>"anything" than it is to be down here flying "nothing". They usually get the
>message.
>
>How is that C-54 floor treating your knees?
>
>;-)

Well you would probably have to bring yourself out to wherever the plane it,
providing we can get them back in duty, at the end of the season.

Did give some women tours of the plane, season got cut short before I could
give them that kind of tour! :)


Ron
Tanker 65, C-54E (DC-4)
Silver City Tanker Base