[STARMAN 352ND]

You have got to read this story.
JP

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05...walloes_pilot/

[mustangdriver]

That is too stupid to believe. I think that Yeager was right.

[flyXwire]

A funny story. Yet, this is probably another one of those 'glitches' or just one more 'bug' in the SW package. Who knows....

[FormerViperDriver]

This is really, really old news. If you read the story, you'll see it happened in April last year.

I've see pictures of the airplane with the canopy transparency cut out to free the pilot.

This article is ridiculous in its underlying sarcasm, ignorance, and anti-Americanism. Another one of those Raptor-bashing diatribes by people who have no clue about aviation.

If someone knows of an aircraft that suffered zero defects in its first two years in service (I mean, any era), please let me know.

FVD

[mustangdriver]

Yeager said that he really like it, but that he felt that there was a lot of stuff in it that was not nedded. He also said that this drove up the cost. Other than that, he had nothing but good things to say about it.

[FormerViperDriver]

I'm sure General Yeager was referring to the outstanding flying characteristics of the F-22 for the positive, and all the electronics for the negative. Based on his carreer and experience, that makes sense.

But in real combat today, the exact opposite is true: the avionics will make most of the difference, not the aerodynamics.

One caveat in the case of the Raptor: the fact that it can fly really high and really fast (without using afterburners) is in fact very useful in combat. In that sense it is an exceptional aircraft. But its turning capability is very much secondary (no matter what General Yeager says, and with all due respect to him). Air combat is no longer about dogfighting.

IMHO, the Europeans have made a huge mistake investing a lot of their development money for the Eurofighter 2000/Typhoon into the maneuvrability aspect (and it is certainly a fantastically maneuvrable aircraft) versus stealth and avionics (although the latter might be fixed at a later date though upgrades).

FVD

[mustangdriver]

The only reason that I quote him on that, is because he was one of the test pilots of the aircraft.

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by mustangdriver

The only reason that I quote him on that, is because he was one of the test pilots of the aircraft.

Mustangdriver, you sure he wasn't talking about the F-20 Tigershark, rather than the F-22?

I know for a fact that he loved the F-20 (which was never put in production as you know). I certainly did not know that he had ever flown the F-22. It's possible that he did, but he certainly was not part of the formal test program for that aircraft at Edwards, either for the YF-22 or the F-22.

Ayway, what you quote him to say sounds exactly like what I would have expected from General Yeager. He goes back to an era when things were simpler and much more depended on stick and rudder (versus a bunch of computers) than it does now. One of the greatest pilots ever.

FVD

[STARMAN 352ND]

Not sure if Yeager flew a F-22 but at least i know he sat in the cockpit.
JP

Yeager gets a checkout on the F-22 from combined test force director Col.Chris Seat during a tour of the USAF test pilot school

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by FormerViperDriver

Ayway, what you quote him to say sounds exactly like what I would have expected from General Yeager. He goes back to an era when things were simpler and much more depended on stick and rudder (versus a bunch of computers) than it does now. One of the greatest pilots ever.

FVD

Roger that! I always like Chuck Yeager simply because he's from the 'old school' mentality of fighter pilots - aerial kills are earned the old fashion way...true mark of a skilled dogfighter!