The Airplane Thread

[Llarry]

Bonus Tomcat Monday photo (since I'm back from my trip):

This F-14B or D shot from directly above clearly shows the scuffing on the inner wings as they are swept or unswept.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Bonus Tomcat Monday photo (since I'm back from my trip):

This F-14B or D shot from directly above clearly shows the scuffing on the inner wings as they are swept or unswept.

Look like the Sunday Father Day version

[E92_William]

The last MD-10 in commercial service in the world. I get to see this airframe somewhat regularly but rarely get to take pictures of it.

[Llarry]

The Luftwaffe (German air force) originally planned to buy Global Hawk UAVs for signals intelligence/surveillance duties but cancelled the buy in favor of three Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft modified for SIGINT duties. It will still be a while until the aircraft are operational, but I've now seen a photo of the front of what the Luftwaffe calls the PEGASUS.

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by E92_William

The last MD-10 in commercial service in the world. I get to see this airframe somewhat regularly but rarely get to take pictures of it.

The old girl could use a day at the spa.

[Llarry]

An unusual angle and an interesting photo of a Grumman F6F Hellcat in the midst of a roll.

[E92_William]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

The old girl could use a day at the spa.

They keep it pretty neat, this is their only aircraft. They must have some solid flight mechanics to rely on it with no backup

[E92_William]

And I’ve been told it’s confirmed now that we might get to see a few more DC-10s around as a subsidiary of Venezuela’s Trans Carga, Cargo Three picked up a few of FedEx’s recently retired airframes and will be putting them into service, including MIA.

[Llarry]

A U.S. Air Force A-10C Warthog video of the awesome 30mm gun in action and a photo of one approaching for refueling. Photo taken from the aerial refueling tanker.

This Warthog in the photo is lightly loaded: A pair of AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles under the outer right wing and an electronic countermeasures pod under the outer left. No bombs.

Unsolicited opinion: The U.S. (foolishly) wants to retire the A-10 and replace it with the F-35. flybigjet has posted an excellent counterpoint to that idea. A whole bunch of Army ground pounders will be very sorry to see it go. But if go it must, give 100 to the Ukrainian Air Force! Take that, Vladimir Vladimirovich!

[Llarry]

Tomcat Thursday!

The glove vane, seen deployed in this photo at the leading edge of the inner wing, was designed to move the center of lift forward slightly when the F-14's wings were fully swept. Some years after the introduction of the Tomcat, it was deemed unnecessary and deleted, so it you see a photo of an F-14 with glove vane visible, it is an earlier photo.

[Llarry]

An excellent photo of a Boeing Rivet Joint signals intelligence collection aircraft. This RC-135W was originally a KC-135 tanker and has provided service to the U.S. Air Force for many years as one of America's most important intelligence collectors. A giant ear in the sky, if you will.

The USAF operates 18 of these aircraft (RC-135Ws and RC-135Vs, differing only in detail) worldwide -- plus 3 TC-135Ws for crew training and support. The UK's Royal Air Force also operates several of these valuable collectors.

The RC-135s have been around for almost as long as the Boeing B-52H heavy bomber. Like the B-52, it appears that they will continue in service for many more years.

In this photo, you can see the telltale antennas on the belly of the aircraft, proving a clue to the SIGINT mission of the RC-135.

[Llarry]

A rare U.S. Air Force special operations aircraft: A Pilatus U-28A Draco on takeoff. The U-28A -- the U.S. military designation for the Pilatus PC-12 -- is scheduled to be replaced by the OA-1K.

30 U-28As are in service; they have a number of onboard systems used for surveillance duties but are not armed. The OA-1K successor will have weapons capability.

[aerof16]

Flying my Squadron’s flagship jet.

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by aerof16

Flying my Squadron’s flagship jet.

Out of Nellis AFB?

[aerof16]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

Out of Nellis AFB?

Yep! That’s one perk of flying out of Nellis - there are always a ton of photographers out off the departure end of RWY03 (which we almost always use as our departure runway unless winds are too excessive) by the NASCAR track snapping photos.

Many of them have our contact info - so once they give us the time and date of the pic, we can look at the tail number and our schedule to see who was flying that jet.

[Llarry]

Italian army aviation is planning to replace its current attack helicopters with the new Leonardo AW249, which is likely to attract other orders as well. The AW249 -- designated AH-249 in military service -- is scheduled to enter service starting in 2027.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by aerof16

Flying my Squadron’s flagship jet.

That's some great livery! Good-lookin' airplane!

[E92_William]

National’s N663CA with its recent livery update

[BMWGUYinCO]

Originally Posted by E92_William

National’s N663CA with its recent livery update

Good to see the Queen of the Skies still serving, even if it's only for cargo!

[Llarry]

Another badass U.S. Naval Aviator...

Rear Admiral Amy Bauernschmidt was the first woman to command a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. They don't just hand you the keys, either. She spent twenty-plus years coming up in naval aviation. She was an anti-submarine helicopter pilot and after commanding a helicopter squadron, ended up being promoted to Captain. As a Captain, the first hurdle is to command a large non-carrier ship; in her case, that was an amphibious transport ship. Then you have to go through a year of nuclear power training. After that comes a tour as the Executive Officer of a carrier. Only then do you take command of a multi-billion dollar ship.

Captain Bauernschmidt must have done a good job; she was subsequently promoted to Rear Admiral and is current assigned as the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet, which is responsible for the Western Pacific.

Having said all that, I know my combat fighter pilot/jet attack pilot/test pilot Dad, were he still alive would be aghast: A woman commanding a carrier?!? Furthermore, a helicopter pilot!?! Sorry, Dad, it's a new era and it's working out just fine.

[Llarry]

Tomcat Thursday!

I think the markings on Fighter Squadron 213's "Black Lions" F-14As are great. Later they would be toned down to grey on grey for most aircraft; each squadron was only allowed to have two "color jets."

[Llarry]

A little more on the F-14 Tomcat -- what might have been...

In the late 1980s, Grumman had finished delivering 587 F-14As to Navy fighter squadrons and was working on the re-engined F-14B and later F-14D versions/conversions with upgraded radar etc. But the writing was on the wall -- the F-14 was getting older and the Navy was exploring a program called the Advanced Tactical Fighter, which would have been an advanced technology stealthy strike fighter (a la the Air Force's F-22).

Grumman did a series of studies and proposed various advanced F-14s to the Navy with better strike capabilities, engines of more power, more fuel capacity etc. These went by various monikers but culminated in the "Tomcat-21." (One problem was that the extant F-14s were among the heaviest carrier aircraft ever and these modifications tended to add weight.) The Navy's desire for a stealthy strike fighter was too far a reach for the F-14 and would've required a brand-new airplane designed from scratch.

Despite lots of work by Grumman, the Navy did not bite. The F-14D Tomcat was the last of the line and the final new F-14D aircraft was delivered in June of 1997. It was a good run for a fighter design that dated to the 1960s.

The Navy's desire for a stealthy strike fighter did not survive the budget process, so the F-14's replacement turned out to be the F-18E and F-18F Super Hornet models, which in some respects were not as capable as the Tomcat: they did not have the top end speed of the F-14 and did not have the range, either. But in modern U.S. air warfare, aerial refueling is practically universal.