#fwaas2016

While the overnight marathon session that resulted in the B-52 Stratofortress is the stuff of legend, a similar session also led to the Douglas AD/A-1 Skyraider. ⠀ ⠀ In 1945, Douglas’ lead designer, the legendary Ed Heinemann, was presenting the BTD Destroyer to the Navy who had plans to order 358 BTDs. At the meeting, Heinemann suggested to the Navy’s surprise the BTD be canceled and funds go to a better design he would present in 30 days. The Navy agreed but they wanted Heinemann’s proposal presented to them the following morning!⠀ ⠀ Heinemann and his top engineers, Leo Devlin and Gene Root, gathered in a hotel room and fleshed out what would become the Skyraider based on preliminary work they had already done. The next morning after a few hours of sleep, they gave their presentation to the Navy. By noon that day, the Navy canceled the BTD Destroyer and allocated those funds to the BT2D Dauntless II which in 1946 was redesignated and renamed the AD Skyraider. ⠀ ⠀ Using the same massive Wright R-3350 radial engine as the BTD Destroyer, the Skyraider was a much lighter aircraft and the last aircraft designed for dive bombing- but instead of the split flaps used on the Navy’s dive bombers of WW2, the Skyraider had large airbrakes on the fuselage sides and a large ventral airbrake as well. ⠀ ⠀ Heinemann’s dogged pursuit of weight reduction resulted in one of the finest ground attack aircraft ever built until the arrival of the A-10 in the 1970s- the Skyraider is one of the few aircraft that can lift a fuel and weapons load equal to its empty weight. Being simple to maintain, able to absorb damage, and having a battlefield endurance time that jets of the day could only dream of having, the Skyraider endeared itself to ground forces to the point that even the USAF adopted the Skyraider as an escort for its CSAR helicopter teams. ⠀ ⠀ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2016 #airport #planespotting #Douglas #AD #A1 #Skyraider #instagramaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #AvGeeksAero #AvGeekNation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge⠀ (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5MghmOBR4p/?igshid=cre58bhc3gq9

One of the great ultimate expressions of the piston engined fighter as a lethal weapon would be the Grumman F8F Bearcat. ⁣ ⁣ The Bearcat would use the same Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial piston engine as the F6F Hellcat, but it would better the Hellcat in the dogfighting arena- to give the Bearcat a better power-to-weight ratio than the F6F Hellcat, the fuselage was five feet shorter and the rear fuselage was cut back, allowing a bubble canopy, the first in a US Navy production fighter. ⁣ ⁣ The wing had the same span as the Hellcat but was thinner for less drag. Compared to the Hellcat, the Bearcat only had four machine guns versus six, but the final design was 20% lighter than the F6F, had a 30% better climb rate, and was 50mph faster for a given engine setting. It only needed 2/3 the takeoff roll of the Hellcat on a carrier deck. The 13-foot three bladed prop of the Hellcat was swapped out for a 12-foot four bladed prop which also allowed for a slightly shorter landing gear than what would have been the case had the Hellcat prop been used. ⁣ ⁣ As one Commemorative Air Force Bearcat pilot put it, the Bearcat had “no missiles, no radar, just a nasty, mean little street fighter with an attitude!” It was a true interceptor- get off the deck, go fast and get to altitude quickly to deal with lightly armored Japanese fighters. ⁣ ⁣ The landing gear was unusual in that the pivot point was about a foot below the main landing gear trunion- as it retracted it not only pivoted inward, it also slid outward- the top 1/3 of the main landing gear leg actually pivoted outward!⁣ ⁣ The prototype F8F flew on 21 August 1944, only nine months after the design work began! The first production Bearcat was delivered in February 1945 and the first squadron, VF-19, was operational by 21 May 1945 and was embarked on the USS Langley (CVL-27, the second carrier to bear the name) headed across the Pacific when the war ended. ⁣ ⁣ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2016 #AllianceAirShow2016 #airport #planespotting #Grumman #F8F #Bearcat #instagramaviation #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4KRtVzBqa8/?igshid=imta3crdxw2j

In the 1950s Northrop worked on a lightweight fighter design called the N-102 Fang as a response to the growing weight of fighter aircraft. Though the Fang never got built, it heavily influenced two engineers who would go on to lead Northrop’s design work on the T-38 Talon and F-5A/B Freedom Fighter, Welko Gasich and Lee Begin. ⁣ ⁣ When the more powerful F-5E/F Tiger II launched in the early 1970s, Gasich and Begin began work on an even more capable development of the F-5E called the P-530- it was a lengthened Tiger II with more powerful engines and featured broad leading edge root extensions (LERXs) that gave the P-530 its nickname, Cobra. ⁣ ⁣ While LERXs had been used on other aircraft before, Northrop used large LERXs above the engine intakes that not only funneled air into the intakes for high alpha performance, but they also generated a powerful vortex that energized the air over the wings, making the P-530 very maneuverable. ⁣ ⁣ When the USAF launched the Lightweight Fighter Program (LWF) in 1972, Northrop further refined the P-530 design into the P-600 design which was built and flown as the YF-17 Cobra to compete against the YF-16 that eventually won the LWF contract. When the Navy began looking for a multi role fighter to replace the F-4 and A-7, they were directed to use the LWF candidates as the basis. Lacking naval aircraft experience, Northrop teamed up with McDonnell Douglas to develop the YF-17 Cobra into the F/A-18 Hornet which kept as a main design feature the large LERXs. ⁣ ⁣ The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is about 40% larger than the legacy Hornet (F/A-18A/B/C/D variants) and has an even larger, redesigned LERX. You can sort of think of the Super Hornet as the ultimate F-5 development!⁣ ⁣⁣ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2016 #AllianceAirShow2016 #airport #planespotting #McDonnellDouglas #Boeing #FA18 #SuperHornet #Rhino #instagramaviation #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #AvGeeksAero #AvGeekNation (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4bSQ22B48k/?igshid=1sjbvyidwxq4u

Super Hornet on the high speed pass with the vapor shock cone forming on the aft part of the wings. ⁣ ⁣ This particular Super Hornet was with VFA-122 and the Navy Demo Team and in the 2016 show season wore “6” and “Kuss” on the upper wings in honor of Captain Jeff Kuss who lost his life in 2016 as Blue Angel 6 during a practice session in Smyrna, TN, for the Great Tennessee Air Show.⁣ ⁣ Though called the Super Hornet, during carrier flight deck operations, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet are referred to their nickname, “Rhino”, to avoid confusion, particularly back when the older legacy F/A-18A/B/C/D versions of the Hornet were still with the fleet. The Super Hornet being a much heavier aircraft needed the catapult and arresting gear set accordingly. This is no longer an issue now that the legacy Hornets are no longer deployed on carrier flight decks, but the “Rhino” nickname stuck. ⁣ ⁣ So where did the Rhino nickname come from?⁣ ⁣ The nose is rather long and slender like a rhino’s horn. Another source indicates it’s from the box fairing on the dorsal nose that houses the advanced IFF (identification friend or foe) aerials. ⁣ ⁣ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2016 #AllianceAirShow2016 #airport #planespotting #McDonnellDouglas #Boeing #FA18 #SuperHornet #Rhino #instagramaviation #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #AvGeeksAero #AvGeekNation (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Ja_62B1Y6/?igshid=1r41ymrhtsdaj

This photo from last year’s Fort Worth Alliance Air Show shows nicely one of the rarely noted flight control surfaces of the F/A-18E/F (F variant in this photo) Super Hornet- the LEX spoiler which is raised up just behind the cockpit on the leading edge extension. The Super Hornet lacks the big dorsal speedbrake that the legacy Hornet variants have (the F/A-18A/B/C/D). Instead it has a pair of LEX spoilers which also have flight control functions in addition to acting like the legacy Hornet’s dorsal speedbrake. There is still a speedbrake switch on the throttles on the Super Hornet, but in selecting it, the flight control system uses a combination of as many as eight flight control surfaces to act together to slow the aircraft down (like toeing in the rudders and/or differential deflection of the trailing edge flaps) and if necessary, the LEX spoilers will be deployed. They only have two positions- closed and 60 degrees open. During high alpha flight, the LEX spoilers can also be deployed to kill the large vortices that stream off the LEX that give the Hornet family their legendary high alpha performance. By killing the vortices, this speeds the drop of the nose to recover from high alpha flight. #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2016 #AllianceAirShow2016 #airport #planespotting #McDonnellDouglas #Boeing #FA18 #SuperHornet #instagramaviation #igaviationcontest #Avgeekery #mil_aviation_originals #USNavy #instaaviation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport)

One of Cavannaugh Flight Museum’s Skyraiders does a very spirited photo pass! The single seat version of the Skyraider actually had an airborne early warning version that housed an AN/APS-20A search radar in a ventral radome and shoe-horned two radar operators in the fuselage. This version, designated the AD-3W, was nicknamed “Guppy” by the US Navy and was only built in small numbers to replace the Navy’s first carrier-borne AEW asset, the Grumman TBM-3W Avenger. Given that the AD-3W’s radar could spot submarine periscopes, Douglas pitched an anti-submarine warfare version (ASW) to work as a hunter-killer pairing with one ASW Skyraider to carry the radar and the other to carry the weapons. But by the time Douglas tested out the ASW Skyraider hunter-killer team, the Navy had moved to an integrated platform on a single airframe that would become the Grumman S-2 Tracker. Not keen on abandoning the idea, Douglas developed the wider AD-5 “family sedan” version of the Skyraider with side by side seating, a stretched fuselage and space for two more crew behind the flight crew for mission flexibility. While the AD-5 variant found use in different roles, the desire of Douglas for an ASW variant drove the design process for the AD-5. The AD-5S was the second time a Skyraider was pitched for ASW warfare but this time in a single airframe pitched as more economical than the S-2 Tracker. Only one was built as by that point the S-2 had proved itself very capable. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “The Hunt for Red October” | Day 5 | #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2016 #AllianceAirShow2016 #airport #planespotting #Douglas #A1 #AD #Skyraider #instagramaviation #igaviationcontest #Avgeekery #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport)

While the overnight marathon session that resulted in the B-52 Stratofortress is the stuff of legend, a similar session also led to the Douglas AD/A-1 Skyraider. At the time Douglas’ lead designer, the legendary Ed Heinemann, was presenting their BTD Destroyer design to the Navy- the Navy had even planned to order 358 BTDs, but the meeting, Heinemann suggested to the Navy’s surprise the BTD be canceled and funds go to a better design he would present in 30 days. The Navy agreed but didn’t like the 30 day time frame, they wanted Heinemann’s proposal present to them the following morning! Heinemann and his two top engineers, Leo Devlin and Gene Root gathered in a hotel room and fleshed out what would become the Skyraider basing it on some preliminary work they had already done. The next morning after a few hours of sleep, they gave their presentation to the Navy. By noon that day, the Navy agreed to cancel the BTD Destroyer and allocate those funds to the BT2D Dauntless II which in 1946 was redesignated and renamed the AD Skyraider. Using the same massive Wright R-3350 radial engine as the BTD Destroyer, the Skyraider was much lighter aircraft and the last designed for dive bombing- but instead of the split flaps used on the Navy’s dive bombers of the Second World War, the Skyraider had large airbrakes on the fuselage sides and a large ventral airbrake as well. Heinemann’s ruthless pursuit of weight reduction resulted in one of the finest ground attack aircraft ever built until the arrival of the A-10 Thunderbolt in the 1970s- the Skyraider is one of the few aircraft designs that can lift a fuel and weapons load equal to its empty weight. Being simple to maintain, able to absorb damage that would down more advanced jets and having a battlefield endurance time that jets could only dream of having, the Skyraider endeared itself to ground forces to the point that even the USAF adopted the Skyraider as an escort for its CSAR helicopter teams. #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2016 #AllianceAirShow2016 #airport #planespotting #Douglas #A1 #Skyraider #Avgeekery #mil_aviation_originals #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport)

Opposing solo pass! This is one of the more challenging photos to capture for me. When the USAF Thunderbirds converted from the Northrop T-38 Talon to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-16 was still being made by General Dynamics (before Lockheed Martin got the line) and the first F-16As with the team in 1982 were F-16A Block 15s which were used from the 1983 show season until 1991, making the Thunderbirds one of the last units to fly the F-16A. In 1992 the team switched to the F-16C Block 32 and at the time of the retirement of these aircraft in 2008 from the team, they were some of the oldest operational F-16s in the USAF. The current mount of the team since the 2009 show season is the F-16C Block 52 which is the current fleet standard of operational F-16 units in the USAF and the Block 52s have the more powerful Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229s which have an additional 3600 lbs of thrust. #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2016 #AllianceAirShow2016 #airport #planespotting #Lockheed #F16 #FightingFalcon #instagramaviation #igaviationcontest #Avgeekery #mil_aviation_originals #USAF #Thunderbirds #instaaviation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport)