Raptor Down at Tyndall

[neurotech]

What does the one have to do with the other?

Yeah, neurotech,... you lost me on your post.

I was referring to the comment from sketch22.

I'd bet that the F-22 needs to see combat and produce some highly effective results before ever being written in a positive light in the history books. Hardly anyone outside the military (including office holders) cares about Red Flag simulated kill ratios and training performance.

I disagree that "office holders" don't care about Red Flag simulated kill ratios, because when a non-stealth F-16 gets shot down, yeah, the President and the Pentagon take notice.

[huggy]

I disagree that "office holders" don't care about Red Flag simulated kill ratios, because when a non-stealth F-16 gets shot down, yeah, the President and the Pentagon take notice.

What are you talking about?
And I still have no idea what your point is on your post about O'Grady meeting the President.

[neurotech]

I disagree that "office holders" don't care about Red Flag simulated kill ratios, because when a non-stealth F-16 gets shot down, yeah, the President and the Pentagon take notice.

What are you talking about?
And I still have no idea what your point is on your post about O'Grady meeting the President.

There is always the perception that that the civilian leadership doesn't understand the military. Sometimes its more deserved than other times. The F-22 is quite an expensive aircraft, substantially due to political limit on production, but is unquestionably a 5th gen Air Superiority fighter, with dramatically improved survivability. The F-35 will also be a great 5th gen aircraft, despite its high price tag.

The 1995 F-16 shootdown of Capt. O'Grady wouldn't have happened if he'd been flying a F-35 with EODAS. Simple as that, The "selective" use of air defense radar, resulted in the F-16 having no RWR indication on launch. I don't think there has been many incident since then of a US/NATO jet being shot down at high altitude by a SAM. The F-117 pilot that went down was recovered relatively quickly.

Because of the length of time (6 days) O'Grady was down in hostile territory, that event was way more "noticeable" for civilian leaders, than say the F-15 that crashed in a flat spin (not shot down!) in Libya where they rescued the crew fairly quickly as well, and doesn't receive the same attention.

Congress might grumble at the cost of a F-35, but the bottom line is that if US aviators get shot down in older jets, the President and Congress will take notice.

[ruderamronbo]

Air Force: Faulty wire brought down F-22

http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20 ... -down-F-22

A charged electrical wire brought down an F-22 last November at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., destroying the stealth fighter while the pilot ejected safely, according to an Air Force investigation into the crash.

[KamenRiderBlade]

wow, I guess there are going to be alot more electrical wire checks from now on

[neurotech]

They've already inspected the F-22 fleet for safety checks.

wow, I guess there are going to be alot more electrical wire checks from now on

More likely they'll change how the electrical wires are tied to the airframe, so a loose wire doesn't do further damage.

[exfltsafety]

History repeats itself. Wire harness chafing on an hydraulic line caused an inflight fire and subsequent loss of control of an F-16 in 1991. The pilot ejected successfully.

[Asif]

F-22 accident report released

[neurotech]

Actual report. http://www.scribd.com/doc/159717823/15- ... port-Final

[neptune]

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... jo-444022/

Damaged F-22 makes comeback after six-year repair job

08 December, 2017
BY: Stephen Trimble

Washington DC
A Lockheed Martin F-22 grounded since a trainee pilot’s error led to a crash landing in May 2012 could be ready to return to service next March after a nearly six-year-long repair job, according to a new US Air force document. The process to return the aircraft, serial number 4037, to service condition offers a glimpse into the effort the USAF will undertake to keep as many of the limited number of F-22s flying rather than writing them off after extensive damages. The return-to-flight effort was documented in a presentation two weeks ago to the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program conference in Jacksonville, Florida by Joseph Neslon, a USAF civilian working in the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center.

The repair effort began shortly after the mishap occurred on 31 May 2012. A trainee pilot at Tyndall AFB, Florida, attempted a touch-and-go landing, but mistakenly retracted the landing gear before advancing the throttle to military power. Instead of taking off, the aircraft settled on its metallic and carbon fiber belly and skidded 853m (2,800ft) down the runway until stopping. The pilot then exited the aircraft without injury by opening the canopy. A team of USAF, Lockheed and Boeing structural repair experts convened to analyze damages valued at about $35 million, according to Nelson’s presentation. In addition to repairing scratches to the skins of the wing and the stabilator, the USAF also replaced the skins and doors of the central and aft fuselage. The analysis also showed that two internal components – a fuselage bulkhead and a section of wing skin – required the USAF to install metallic and carbon fiber patches, Nelson’s presentation shows. The most significant repairs were made to the bulkhead known as flight station 637, where buckled webs needed to be replaced with large structural patches. The USAF is finalizing the repairs to the FS 637 and the wing skins, Nelson adds, but the aircraft is due to return to service by March. Serial number 4037 will return around the same time that the USAF plans to re-introduce another mothballed F-22 to flying status. Serial number 4006, one of the original test aircraft, had been parked in flyable storage, but is scheduled to return to service soon with Block 20 software (training).

The F-22 fleet stands at 137 combat-coded aircraft, 15 test aircraft and 31 training aircraft.

[citanon]

Has the pilot's career made similar comeback or is it still smouldering on the runway?

[mixelflick]

Has the pilot's career made similar comeback or is it still smouldering on the runway?

I think the answer must be obvious. He caused 35 MILLION in damages to the crown jewel of the air force!? Everyone makes mistakes, but those boys need to be the best of the best. I feel for the guy and I'm glad he's OK, but we can't afford to lose even a single F-22 given the small production run.

[gtg947h]

Has the pilot's career made similar comeback or is it still smouldering on the runway?

I think the answer must be obvious. He caused 35 MILLION in damages to the crown jewel of the air force!? Everyone makes mistakes, but those boys need to be the best of the best. I feel for the guy and I'm glad he's OK, but we can't afford to lose even a single F-22 given the small production run.

Heck, they just spent $35 million training him...

[neptune]

.....Heck, they just spent $35 million training him...

....speculating; the person wanted to be an airman, less the unique method of parking a Raptor, where would they place a person with that F-22 training $$$$$$ "if" they washed out?

[outlaw162]

where would they place a person with that F-22 training $$$$$$ "if" they washed out?

preferably in something with auto-GCAS....possibly the JAG can garnish some pay for awhile.

....then there's always the possibility of a little 'seasoning time' as a 'co' in heavies....they're fairly particular about when the gear handle is moved....

...."positive rate, cheer up"

From there it's just a hop, skip, jump to the airlines.