F-15 AND F-16 DEMO TEAMS TO PERFORM IN THUNDER AIR SHOW
2006-04-11T10:59:11
On April 22nd the United States Air Force is sending the “best of the best”, its F-15 West and F-16 East Demonstration Teams to Thunder over Louisville.
The US Air Force participates in airshows for several reasons: to positively affect recruiting and retention; to keep people informed about military preparedness; to demonstrate the tactical capabilities of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-15 Eagle; to promote community relations; and to demonstrate our professional competence enhancing the public’s understanding of Air Force capabilities.
These fighter pilots and their crews defend our freedom all over the globe, currently in the U.S., Iraq and Afghanistan. At ‘Wings’, the Demonstration Teams will be performing a number of aerobatic maneuvers designed to show the American public, the capabilities of not only the aircraft, but also the incredible execution of dedicated, courageous airmen.”
The F-15 West Demo Team is just one of the seven single aircraft Demonstration Teams assigned to Air Combat Command (ACC). The Team is comprised of one Demo Pilot, nine maintenance personnel, and four Flight Safety Officers. The aircraft are actual operational fighters from the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The F-15E is a two-seat, dual-role, totally integrated fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and deep interdiction missions. It is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air supremacy over the battlefield. The Eagle's air superiority is achieved through a mixture of unprecedented maneuverability and acceleration, range, weapons and avionics. It can penetrate enemy defense and outperform and outfight any current enemy aircraft. The F-15 has electronic systems and weaponry to detect, acquire, track and attack enemy aircraft while operating in friendly or enemy-controlled airspace. The weapons and flight control systems are designed so one person can safely and effectively perform air-to-air combat. The F-15's versatile pulse-Doppler radar system can look up at high-flying targets and down at low-flying targets without being confused by ground clutter. It can detect and track aircraft and small high-speed targets at distances beyond visual range down to close range, and at altitudes down to treetop level. The radar feeds target information into the central computer for effective weapons delivery. For close-in dogfights, the radar automatically acquires enemy aircraft, and this information is projected on the head-up display. The F-15's electronic warfare system provides both threat warning and automatic countermeasures against selected threats.
The F-16 Viper East Demo Team is just one of the seven single aircraft Demonstration Teams assigned to Air Combat Command (ACC). The Team is comprised of one Demo Pilot, nine maintenance personnel, and four Flight Safety Officers. The aircraft are actual operational fighters from the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, SC. The F-16 is a compact, multi-role fighter aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations. In an air combat role, the F-16's maneuverability and combat radius (distance it can fly to enter air combat, stay, fight and return) exceed that of all potential threat fighter aircraft. It can locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low flying aircraft in radar ground clutter. In an air-to-surface role, the F-16 can fly more than 500 miles (860 kilometers), deliver its weapons with superior accuracy, defend itself against enemy aircraft, and return to its starting point. An all-weather capability allows it to accurately deliver ordnance during non-visual bombing conditions. With a full load of internal fuel, the F-16 can withstand up to nine G's -- nine times the force of gravity -- which exceeds the capability most other current fighter aircraft. The cockpit and its bubble canopy give the pilot unobstructed forward and upward vision and greatly improved vision over the side and to the rear. The seat-back angle is at 30 degrees, increasing pilot comfort and gravity force tolerance. The pilot has excellent flight control of the F-16 through its "fly-by-wire" system. Electrical wires relay commands, replacing the usual cables and linkage controls. For easy and accurate control of the aircraft during high G-force combat maneuvers, a side stick controller is used instead of the conventional center-mounted stick. Hand pressure on the side stick controller sends electrical signals to actuators of flight control surfaces such as ailerons and rudder. Avionics systems include a highly accurate inertial navigation system in which a computer provides steering information to the pilot. The plane has UHF and VHF radios plus an instrument landing system. It also has a warning system and modular countermeasure pods to be used against airborne or surface electronic threats. The fuselage has space for additional avionics systems.
For more information on both teams: F-15 West Demonstration Team - http://f15demo.acc.af.mil/ and the F-16 East Demonstration Team - http://www.shaw.af.mil/f16vipereast/index.asp.
