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T-38A 70-1574, operated by the 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. December 1983. Rather plain, The blue tail band with white Xs represents the 6510th Test Wing. July 1984, Air Force Systems Command badge added to the tail. February 1989. Tail codes added 1987/88, Air Force Flight Test Center badge added on the spine about the same time. Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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F-4C 63-7654, 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. '654 was a dedicated pacer aircraft at Edwards in the 1980s. Meaning she had test aircraft fly close formation with her such that the test jet would record airpeed and altitude data for comparison with '654's data. '654 carried 'sensitive' air data instrumentation in her nose, in the radar racks. The calibrated nose probe for pacer flights was integrated into a separate F-4C radome. When not serving as a pacer, the standard radome was installed. For pacer missions, the radome with the calibrated nose probe was installed; connecting the air data lines to the instrumentation and then closing up the pacer radome. October 1984. Being used as a munitions jamming demonstration airframe at the Edwards AFB open house. Standard radome installed. March 1985, on the Edwards flight line with standard radome installed. September 1990, making a tour fly-by run over the Rogers Dry Lake. Pacer probe fitted. October 1991. Pacer probe fitted. November 1991. Pacer probe fitted and a "high-speed" centerline external fuel tank and wing pylons. Either the tank or the radome will have to be removed before her next mission. The pacer probe and data system were calibrated for a clean aircraft (wing pylons alone were okay). Kind of unusual to see the outer wing pylons without external fuel tanks. Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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T-38A operated by the 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. In the 1980s, T-38s were used mostly as safety/photo chase for F-15 and F-16 test missions. Sometimes used as radar targets for airborne radar test missions. On the Nellis AFB transient ramp, September 1980 Edwards AFB, May 1985 Edwards AFB, February 1989 Edwards AFB, October 1991 Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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Another F-16A with the 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB. November 1991 with a replacement rudder from a New Jersey Air National Guard bird. September 1992 I never got pictures of her in the white/red scheme of the test support fleet before I left Edwards in 1993, so she must have been one of the last F-16s to be re-painted. Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester.
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Hi all, Latest one off the production line is Trumpeter's 1/48 F-100F Super Sabre finished as an aircraft flown by the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB as she was seen when used as a chase aircraft in the X-15 program. Now I know its a Trumpeter kit so it will no doubt be plagued by inaccuracies but I have to say that I really enjoyed building it, the only additions I made were a pair of aftermarket seats and I added some pieces of old credit card between the two halves of the main wheels as they are way too thin as they come. Paints used were Vallejo metallics and Revell Aqua Color which performed very nicely and the decals are a mix of Furball (all the stencils and national markings), kit decals (USAF markings) and Hypersonic for the ARDC and AFFTC markings. Anyway enough waffle from me here are the pics of the finished model; I built this as part of the ongoing an excellent Century Series Group Build which is well worth a visit as it has some truly great builds going on of what is probably the most important series of post war fighter aircraft, my build log can be found here; Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 🇺🇦
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A few of the participants at the Edwards AFB Open House, September 1981. A-7D 67-14583, 6512th Test Squadron A-10A 73-1666, A-10 Combined Test Force A-10 Night/Adverse Weather 73-1664, A-10 Combined Test Force YF-4E 65-0713, 6512th Test Squadron B-1A 74-0160, B-1B Combined Test Force RF-5E 71-1420, Northrop Flight Test Division C-5A 66-8306, 60th Military Airlift Wing C-130E 62-1851, 146th Tactical Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard F-4G 69-7251, 652nd Tac Fighter Squadron F-101B 57-0348, 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Texas Air National Guard F-106A 58-0774, 194th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, California Air National Guard FB-111A 67-0163, 380th Bomb Wing E-4B 75-0125, 1st Air Command and Control Squadron UH-1F 70-16296, US Army Aviation Experimental Flight Activity UH-60A 77-22716, US Army Aviation Experimental Flight Activity T-28B 138327, US Army Aviation Experimental Flight Activity NB-52B 52-0008, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center F-104G N826NA, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Boeing 747 N905NA, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center A-4M 159781, VMA-211 A-6E 159569, Naval Weapons Center China Lake QF-86F 55-3883, Naval Weapons Center China Lake S-3A 160589, VS-37 CH-46F 157670, HMM-161 Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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During the second half of the 11-month course, the USAF Test Pilot School would bring in aircraft from other units for student sorties to qualitatively evaluate aircraft flying qualities and systems performance. The intent was to give the widest experience possible in evaluating a variety of aircraft. Here, the visiting Scooters at Edwards from the Pacific Fleet Adversary unit, Attack Squadron 127 ("The Cylons"), out of NAS Miramar, providing sorties for TPS Class 81A, October 1981. 153681 153683 154657 Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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Flight Test Support Tanker: NKC-135E 55-3135
Old Viper Tester posted a topic in Aviation Photography
NKC-135E 55-3135 belonging to the 4950th Test Wing, Aeronautical Systems Division out of Wright-Patterson AFB. As part of a regular rotation, she was on loan to the 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB to provide refueling support for 6510TW missions. January 1983 - Refueling F-16A 80-0550 of the F-16 Combined Test Force. June 1983 - Refueling F-15B 77-0166 October 1984 - Parked for static display at the Edwards AFB open house. April 1984 - Refueling B-1A 74-0159 of the B-1B Combined Test Force with a safety chase F-4E from the 6512th Test Squadron. May 1985 - Refueling F-16A 75-0746 of the F-16 Combined Test Force. May 1985 - Refueling F-4C 63-7407 of the 6512th Test Squadron. May 1991 - Depot maintenance has removed all of the sensor apertures. June 1991 Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester -
F-16C s/n 83-1118. The first F-16C Block 25 airframe and the first of three initial F-16C airframes that were all turned over to the 6510th Test Wing at Edwards AFB and referred to as the "Three Sisters": 83-1118. '119 and '120. August 1989 - The centerline store is a flight test special instrumentation recording pod, she always carried it. The orange bands denote modified equipment. I think she was always fitted with the flight test nose boom with yaw and pitch vanes as well. The black 'blivet' ahead of the vertical tail fairing was referred to as the "disco ball" - it was a retro-reflector housing with silver apertures encased all around it. January 1991 October 1991 December 1992 Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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T-38A operated by the 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. In the 1980s, T-38s were used mostly as safety/photo chase for F-15 and F-16 test missions. Sometimes used as radar targets for airborne radar test missions. May 1985 At this time, '825 was designated the personal mount of Major General Peet Odgers, Commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center January 1990 Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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75-0751 was the longest serving FSD F-16 in basic flight test. Primarily used for stability and control evaluations, it also was used for an early program for demonstrating high angle-of-attack and departures (spins) behavior to operational flight crews that would come to Edwards specifically for the "E-ticket" flights with test pilots serving as the instructors. July 1982, "High-Alpha" mission with the departure recovery parachute package, AKA "spin chute", carried above the engine exhaust nozzle on a quadrapod. July 1982, on the tanker during a High-Alpha mission. During these missions it wasn't unusual to hit the tanker in between test points several times in order to keep the aircraft center of gravity within a specified range. Engineers in the mission control facility used a fuel-burn "map" real-time to determine the center of gravity location based on total fuel quantity. Center of gravity location is critical in most all aircraft as the further aft the CG, the more longitudinally unstable the aircraft. November 1982, with 'yarn' tufts installed on the wings and vertical tail to visualize air flow over the flight surfaces. Note the aircraft still has the original Stencel ejection seats. I don't think she ever got the ACES II seats installed. June 1983, ready for another High Alpha mission March 1984, yet another High-Alpha mission March 1990, ready to taxi November 1990, on the tanker's wing during another High-Alpha mission. The characteristic red head rest covers of the Stencel seats. Thanks for looking, Sven
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A pair of F-16As of the 72nd Tac Fighter Training Squadron, 56th Tac Training Wing out of MacDill AFB. On the Edwards AFB transient ramp, December 1984. 80-0481 80-0511 Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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A trio of F-4Es of the 21st Tac Fighter Training Squadron, 35th Tac Fighter Wing out of George AFB, December 1982. 66-0350 67-0256 67-0266 Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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This is a follow-up to a photography post I made here in 2017. That post centered on one particular A-37B during a USAF Test Pilot School departure and spin training mission. Dragonflies were used by the 6510th Test Wing at Edwards AFB for flight test support missions and as USAF Test Pilot School curriculum aircraft. The Test Pilot School (TPS) used the A-37B to teach aircraft performance test techniques and for departure from controlled flight and spin test techniques and evaluations. The Test Pilot School aircraft could be distinguished by the flight test nose-boom installed in place of the aerial refueling probe. The spin aircraft took quite a beating during the departure maneuvers. My favorite was climbing as the airspeed decreased and then putting in hard lateral stick to a 90-deg bank, transitioning pitch to yaw, resulting in a spin - often inverted. On one occasion, the aircraft came back with one horizontal tail now bent downward about 20 degrees. Test support missions were primarily safety and photo chase, and were flown by the 6512th Test Squadron. In the mid-eighties the designation was changed from A-37B to OA-37B to indicate the forward air control mission. At about the same time, the TPS airframes were given the designation NOA-37B - the "N" indicating that permanent test modifications had been made to the airframe. 70-1310, January 1982. The YAPS (Yaw and Pitch Sensor) nose boom characteristic of a TPS aircraft. The black bar on the top and bottom of the right wing was to allow quick determination of the aircraft attitude in a spin by aerial and ground observers. 70-1310, July 1984. 70-1310, May 1985. In August 1994, this aircraft crashed in the desert north of Edwards after a stuck valve in one of the tip tanks created a fuel imbalance resulting in an unrecoverable spin. The crew ejected safely. 73-1060, March 1982. Still bears the crescent and fleur-de-lis of the 706TFS (AFRES) on the tip tanks. 73-1090, March 1981. 73-1090, October 1991. 73-1101, October 1991. 73-1102, October 1991. 73-1101 and '1102 were transferred to the 6510TW in late 1990/early 1991. It was hoped that these airframes would be converted to TPS airframes, but it was determined that the flying hours and condition of the airframes made the conversion impractical and they were excessed to AMARG in 1992. Thanks for looking, Sven
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T-38A 67-14856, 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. A test support aircraft used for safety and photo chase missions. Served occasionally as a radar target. May 1985 Formation proficiency mission, April 1989 Thanks for looking, Sven
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A-7D, s/n 71-0339, was a support jet with the 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB. It was primarily used as a systems trainer for the USAF Test Pilot School (TPS) and as a support aircraft for other aircraft test flights, usually F-15s or F-16s. '339 was transferred from the 107th Tac Fighter Squadron, Michigan Air National Guard in early 1989. Ready to serve as a radar target with ALQ-188 ECM pods, October 1989 April 1990 September 1990 Thanks for looking, Sven
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F-16C 88-0445, 6516th Test Squadron, F-16 Combined Test Force, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. '445 was a dedicated test aircraft, used mostly for evaluation of software and radar upgrades. June 1990. The store on the centerline is a high-speed radar data recorder pod. These pods sere conversions of the original centerline fuel tanks used during Full-Scale Development testing. The orange stripe running longitudinally along the tank indicates flight test peculiar modifications or equipment. Radar test mission, January 1991. High-speed radar data recorder pod on the centerline - here, the orange stripe runs the circumference of the pod. Before engine start checks... Engine running and instrumentation pod checks... Chocks pulled and General Dynamics ground crew signaling hold before taxi. 83-1143 is waiting to taxi and served as the test mission safety chase and radar target... Taxiing out... Making a low pass during a sensor test in October 1990 carrying an ALQ-131 ECM pod on the centerlne. We had a missile sensor on top of a truck on Rodgers dry lake and various aircraft would make passes at various heights to see. how the sensor reacted. Thanks for looking, Sven
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RF-4Cs of the 192nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 152nd Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Nevada Air National Guard out of Reno IAP, on the transient ramp at Edwards AFB. 65-0875, November 1981 And the same jet in April 1984 Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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As I have been slowly building up a collection of aircraft used for testing at Edwards AFB over the past few years this GB just seemed to good an opportunity to miss, the only problem being narrowing down the field of potential builds and actually choosing what to build. After much consideration I finally settled on one of Vought's finest, an A-7D Corsair. This has been on my "to do" list after I saw some of Sven's ( @Old Viper Tester) superb pics that he took of A-7's at various points of their careers in testing at Edwards AFB. I am particularly drawn to the very early YA-7D's which still carried the US Navy style of refuelling probe which were also painted in a grey and white scheme, but not Light Gull Grey as per the Navy but Air Defence Grey. For a discussion on this colour and for some pics of what I am trying to recreate have a look at this thread; The kit I shall be using is Hasegawa's venerable 1/48 A-7 (still the best in any scale) which I have in a joint D/E boxing which gives me all the bits I need plastic wise for my project; As you can see below all is still safely sealed in it's plastic bag; For detail references I shall be using this excellent book; Whilst focusing solely on the A-7's service in Greece it has some superb detail shots which are applicable to the A-7 in general such as this one of one of the avionics bays which I plan to use by having open on the model; I think I have a resin seat somewhere that I shall add to the kit if I can find it but other than that she will be built OOTB, the decals will be coming from the spares box. The start date can't come soon enough as I am really looking forward to getting started on this one, all I need to do now is decide on which airframe to build! Thanks for looking in and as always all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig.
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F-4E s/n 66-0284 served as a test support aircraft at Edwards AFB from 1984 through 1992. She was operated by the 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center.. She was NOT part of the Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) chase flight, hence she did not have white upper wings when she wore the wrap-around SEA camouflage. Over the Mojave Desert, January 1985. On our wing for a straight-in approach to landing at Edwards, January 1985. Like all Edwards-based Phantoms, she got the "Albino Rhino" treatment in the 1987-88 time frame. Shown on the Edwards ramp in January 1989. Before her time at Edwards, '284 was a test support aircraft with the 3246th Test Wing at Eglin AFB. Thanks for looking' Sven
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YA-7D s/n 67-14584 operated by the USAF Test Pilot School, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. October 1984 May 1985 The trapezoid markings on top of the wing are for optical tracking during TPS spin training/evaluation missions, making it easier to determine the aircraft attitude with ground-based optical trackers and cameras. TPS would spin the A-7 both upright and inverted. November 1991 September 1992 Like her sisters, she was retired to AMARG in September 1992 Thanks for looking, Sven
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TG-7A, USAF s/n 81-0886, belonging to the 94th Airmanship Training Squadron at the USAF Academy. She was on loan to the 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB in October 1984. The Academy had experienced some troubling approach-to-stall characteristics with the TG-7A, so this example was sent to the USAF Flight Test Center for evaluation. The 6512th was tasked with evaluating the aircraft flight characteristics and identifying any required mitigations in flight procedures. Note that the left wing has been "tufted" for airflow visualization. Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester
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Another test support fleet phantom with the 6512th Test Squadron at Edwards AFB. June 1983 in Air Defense Command Gray October 1983 with the ED tail code added, leading F-4C 64-0727 March 1985 in the test support albino scheme with patchwork external tanks May 1985 January 1989 with an unusual white radome May 1989 during a formation proficiency mission July 1990 September 1990 Thanks for looking, Sven
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Shots of visiting aircraft participating in the Edwards AFB Open House in October 1983. P-51D 44-74446 "Unruly Julie" (N1451D) QF-86F 55-3846 from the Naval Weapons Center at NAS China Lake T-38B 58-1926, from the 82nd Flying Training Wing at Williams AFB F-106A 59-0062, from the 49th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Griffiss AFB F-105D 62-4328, from the 466th Tac Fighter Squadron, Air Force Reserve at Hill AFB RF-4C 65-0902, from the 190th Tac Reconnaissance Squadron, Idaho Air Nation Guard at Gowen Field HH-1H 69-6628 of the 40th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Detachment 5, a tenant unit at Edwards AFB. A-7D 70-1044, 124th Tac Fighter Squadron, Iowa Air National Guard at the Des Moines Air National Guard Base CF-101B 101010 of 409 Squadron based at CFB Comox A-4M 160245 from the Naval Weapons Center at NAS China Lake Thanks for looking, Sven