Forum: Military Aircraft of the Cold War

1st503rdsgt wrote:

Wasn't there a problem with the turkey feathers ripping off in flight with the mudhen?

There was way back when, also the little bit of reduced drag wasn't worth the man-hours of removing and installing them.

F-16.net Sponsor

eaglekepr wrote:

...Operationally is a different matter. B and D rear pits were designed for training/instructors, the E was designed for a WSO...although he can still fly the plane.

Interesting info... but as a follow-up to the original thread's question then (if not violating any opsec), could the front-seat of an F-15E lock-on equally as well in the A2A role and engage with AMRAAM independent as could the WSO in the plane? I'm assuming the F-15K and F-15SG's IRST systems in the current configurations can only be utilized from a rear-seat? But possibly a later block update could include such multi-function operation from the front-seat equally as well?

No clue about K or SG (or I or S or SA or SE), but both cockpits can generally control all sensors... it's just that the rear of the E was set up so that a WSO had more switches/better controls to do it with... the pilot COULD "do it all", but his primary task is to fly the plane... the WSO's is to set up sensors and weapons for the mission. To my knowledge though, A2A is the pilot's bread and butter. The E and C cockpits are pretty much the same in this regard.

Forum: Military Aircraft of the Cold War

F-15E strike eagle questions