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Old Viper Tester

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  1. F-4Es of the 339th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 347th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Moody AFB participating in the Green Flag 81-3 large force exercise at Nellis AFB, April 1981. 67-0375 67-0398 68-0326 - Funny, she's carrying a baggage pod, while the rest of the line has Mk82 bombs. 68-0387 68-0390 - Wing King's aircraft. Thanks for looking, Sven
  2. Thanks. I was looking for the original serial or construction numbers for these. Posting on the Warbird Information Exchange has turned up nil. Sven
  3. F-16Cs 83-1143 and 88-0445, 6516th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. Ready to taxi out for a radar test mission. '445 is the test jet and carries a centerline pod containing high-speed radar data recording equipment - the orange stripe indicates the pod carried unique test equipment. While '143 was a test jet in its own right, on this mission it is being used as a radar target for '445. General Dynamics crews and maintenance personnel were part of the F-16 Combined Test Force at Edwards (part of the "Combined" unit monicker) - and they still are today as Lockheed Martin Fort Worth. The F-16 test fleet was split between General Dynamics and USAF maintenance teams, '143 and'445 were GD maintained jets at this time. The pilots are USAF assigned to the 6516th Test Squadron. The Israeli jet (301, USAF s/n 86-1598) in the background was testing the Peace Marble II (Block 30) configuration for that Foreign Military Sales program. Cockpit checks. GD crew chief on the intercom. Engine start. Chocks away. '445 crew chief signaling brakes/hold. '143 crew chief signaling begin taxi. Brakes checked and out of the parking spot. The crew chief has done the check for leaks and gives the thumbs up. Thanks for looking, Sven
  4. F-16Cs 83-1143 and 88-0445, 6516th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. Ready to taxi out for a radar test mission. '445 is the test jet and carries a centerline pod containing high-speed radar data recording equipment - the orange stripe indicates the pod carried unique test equipment. While '143 was a test jet in its own right, on this mission it is being used as a radar target for '445. General Dynamics crews and maintenance personnel were part of the F-16 Combined Test Force at Edwards (part of the "Combined" unit monicker) - and they still are today as Lockheed Martin Fort Worth. The F-16 test fleet was split between General Dynamics and USAF maintenance teams, '143 and'445 were GD maintained jets at this time. The pilots are USAF assigned to the 6516th Test Squadron. The Israeli jet (301, USAF s/n 86-1598) in the background was testing the Peace Marble II configuration for that Foreign Military Sales program. Cockpit checks. GD crew chief on the intercom. Engine start. Chocks away. '445 crew chief signaling brakes/hold. '143 crew chief signaling begin taxi. Brakes checked and out of the parking spot. The crew chief has done the check for leaks and gives the thumbs up. Thanks for looking, Sven
  5. F-111Ds of the 522nd Tac Fighter Squadron, 27th Tac Fighter Wing based at Cannon AFB participating in the Red Flag 90-5 large force exercise at Nellis AFB, July 1990. 68-0088 68-0100 68-0142 68-0148 68-0151 68-0157 68-0159 Thanks for looking, Sven
  6. A pair of RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing out of Offutt AFB supporting the Red Flag 90-5 large force exercise, Nellis AFB, July 1990. 61-14884 62-4132 A rare sight at Nellis since they usually supported the exercises from their home field. Thanks for looking, Sven
  7. F-16Cs of the 19th Tac Fighter Squadron, 363rd Tac Fighter Wing out of Shaw AFB. Red Flag 90-5, Nellis AFB, July 1990. 83-1136 84-1214 84-1220 84-1225 84-1227 84-1229 84-1231 84-1235 84-1242 84-1272 Thanks for looking, Sven
  8. They are both Air Defense Grey, FS16473. Just differences in light intensity and angle. Sven
  9. Two Sixes from the 49th Fighter Interceptor Squadron out of Griffiss AFB on the transient ramp at Edwards AFB. 59-0076, November 1981 59-0080, March 1983 Thanks for looking, Sven
  10. The 428th Tac Fighter Squadron, the Buccaneers, of the 474th Tac Fighter Wing at Nellis had just completed converting from the F-4D to the F-16A/B in the Spring of 1981. Some of her Phantoms went to the 429th and 430th squadrons temporarily, but eventually they all went the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Units. 79-0333 79-0339 79-0343 79-0348 79-0350 79-0361 79-0363 79-0365 79-0366 79-0368 79-0370 79-0373 79-0375 79-0421 Thanks for looking, Sven
  11. Yes, the last Navy Training Command T-28 was retired in 1994.
  12. Some Warbirds at the Chino Airport (California) air show, May 1989. I admit, I'm not usually too excited about warbirds, but Chino and the Planes of Fame Museum usually put on a good show. SNJ-5 BuNo 51985 T-6J (Harvard Mk. 4) s/n 51-17181 T-6G s/n 49-3152 SNJ-5 BuNo 90917 (AT-6D s/n 44-80910) P-51D s/n 44-84961 P-51D s/n 45-11553 P-51D s/n 44-74908 (re-built by Cavalier with P-51H tail?) P-51D s/n 44-72811 P-51A s/n 43-6251 BT-13A s/n 41-21218 TBM-3E BuNo 91264 CT-133 133273 N2S-3 BuNo 7785 N2S-3 BuNo 7218 T-6G 49-3171 AD-6 BuNo 139606 T-28B BuNo 138172 T-28B BuNo 137801 Some unidentified Thanks for looking, Sven
  13. A pair of Sixes on the Edwards AFB transient ramp from the 87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron out of K.I. Sawyer AFB, August 1984. 57-0241 59-0102 Thanks for looking, Sven
  14. Afraid 1973 was a bit before my time, I was still in university. The only hint of Yehudi tests on the F-4 that I had was that Jack Morris told me he had a photo "somewhere". He told this to me when I was stationed in London in the mid '80s and he was working on a Phantom book. He also was hoping that I knew something about the Phantom tests. Evidently, from the photo provided in the Navy article, the testing was accomplished by the 3246th Test Wing at Eglin (white tail band with red diamonds). Sven
  15. F-111Ds of the 390th Tac Fighter Squadron, 366th Tac Fighter Wing out of Mountain Home AFB participating in the Red Flag 81-1 large force exercise at Nellis AFB, November 1980. 67-0086 67-0091 67-0096 67-0102 67-0109 67-0110 67-0112 Thanks for looking, Sven
  16. F-106As of the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron out of Minot AFB participating in the Red Flag 81-2 large force exercise at Nellis AFB, January/February 1981. In the 1980s, Red Flag Exercises were either four or six weeks, usually the latter. For Red Flag 81-2, F-106 units were brought in to supplement the aggressor F-5Es on a rotation of two weeks at a time: 5FIS, 84FIS, and 87FIS. 56-0461 59-0002 59-0003 59-0006 59-0026 Thanks for looking, Sven
  17. Thanks for that. Never realized that ship 4 also had the spine. Corrected the original article. Sven
  18. F-111Ds of the 523rd Tac Fighter Squadron, 27th Tac Fighter Wing out of Cannon AFB, playing at the Red Flag 91-4 large force exercise at Nellis AFB, June 1991. 68-0097 68-0099 68-116 68-0120 68-0153 68-0154 68-0156 68-0177 Thanks for looking, Sven
  19. It's a maneuver just before touchdown where the nose is pulled up slightly to slow the descent and lessen the force of impact with the runway. Pilot's who flare too soon tend to drift down the runway before touching down. Flare correctly and the result is "greasing" the aircraft on the runway. The height of the maneuver is very dependent on the size/weight of the aircraft and the approach descent rate. The FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook describes the flare as “a slow, smooth transition from a normal approach attitude to a landing attitude, gradually rounding out the flightpath to one that is parallel with, and within a very few inches of, the runway.” Applying back-pressure to the yoke slowly raises the airplane’s nose and increases its angle of attack. The steeper angle between the wings and the relative wind increases lift, and the airplane’s descent slows as airspeed bleeds off. The wings approach their critical angle of attack in the flare and, ideally, stop flying just after the main wheels touch the surface. Hope this helps.
  20. I'm guessing that she is too nose high due to the conditions. Some have suggested that he's trying to take off again - leaving the hook down would argue against that. The mishap report states that the aircraft inadvertently became airborne, so whether it was from a 'bounce' or not, I'm thinking the crew is not fully in control at this point. Typical approach attitude is like this... and this attitude is held down to touchdown. The natural tendency is for the pilot to flare just before touchdown, but even USAF F-4 crews pretty much knew you couldn't go wrong if you just flew this attitude on to the runway. So very little or now flare was the norm. The Navy would tell you to just fly it into the deck (definitely no flaring on a carrier). The drag chute imparted a nose down pitching moment, so you wanted to use longitudinal control to "gently" get the nose wheels down to the runway. Sven
  21. Images of the barrier mishap in 1967 from one of the USAF safety publications. She landed short of the barrier with the hook down, bounced back in the air while the hook still caught the barrier. The BAK-12 yanked her back down on the runway.
  22. RF-4C, 64-1004 (AKA "Balls four"), assigned to the 6512th Test Squadron (Test Ops), 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. Test support involved being used by the USAF Test Pilot School for practicing test techniques, being a photo/safety chase or being a radar target for flight test missions. She came from RAF Alconbury where she suffered a barrier engagement in 1967, and required depot repairs (sheared the nose gear, one main mount through the wing and the wing broken off). Not surprising that when the USAF requested a jet for AF Systems Command at Edwards, she was the one they gave up. Some of the test crews swear she was bent. December 1983, a few months after arriving from Alconbury. The blue and white canopy trim is a holdover from the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. March 1985 May 1985: The Blue and white canopy trim painted over with black(?!?). Apparently having a flight controls investigation evidenced by the leading edge flaps down and the hydraulics 'Mule' in front of the right wing. January 1989, the white and red "Bozo" scheme was applied around 1987, about the same time that her official designation was changed to NRF-4C. The "N" indicating permanent flight test modifications have been made. July 1990 September 1990 She was retired in early 1992 and sent to the Edwards AFB Flight Test Museum. Thanks for looking, Sven
  23. A trio of F-4Cs of the 311th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, 58th Tactical Training Wing out of Luke AFB. Nellis AFB, June 1981. 63-7584 63-7611 64-0926 Thanks for looking, Sven
  24. I don't know of any aftermarket at the moment. Hasegawa did similar markings for one of their F-4E issued in 1/72 years ago for the YF-4E, 65-0713. Sven
  25. F-4D 66-7483, a test support fleet jet of the 6512th Test Squadron (Test Ops), 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. She was re-designated as an NF-4D in 1987, indicating she had permanent flight test modifications. March 1981 Target mission for an F-15C radar test. ALQ-188 ECM pod for trying to "farkle" the Eagle's APG-63 radar. December 1983 Two formation/chase proficiency missions, February and March 1985 March 1985 On the Edwards main ramp with F-4C 63-7409 and F-4D 65-0670, May 1985. January 1989 Formation/chase proficiency mission April 1989 Waiting for the crew to show, July 1990 She left Edwards in 1991, was bailed to Flight Systems Incorporated at Mojave Airport as N430FS, and finally retired to AMARG in 2003. Thanks for looking, Sven
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