#kafw

Fort Worth Alliance Airport - KAFW - Fort Worth TX

Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport - KAFW - Fort Worth, Texas

#FastJetFriday & #F16Friday with the zooming #f16fightingfalcon taking off out of JRB Fort Worth! Check out my new online store at https://jwhatphotography.com Custom prints are available. It will slowly be updated through time. Camera: Nikon D5600 Lense: 200-500mm Settings: ISO 250, 340mm, f/7.1, 1/400sec F-16 Falcon fresh off the production line at JRB Fort Worth. #KAFW #tamu #F16 #falcon #f16fightingfalcon #nikon #aviation #aviationphotography #generalaviation #nikonusa #nikonphotography #planelovers #airplane #planesofinstagram #instagramaviation #texas #texasphotography #eaa #faa #flyeasterwood #airnationalguard #nationalgaurd #airforce #100percebtlocalbcs #areyougettinghungryyet (at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ4wSljJfKK/?utm_medium=tumblr

This photo I took at the 2021 Fort Worth Alliance Air Show of Blue Angel 4 pulling in tight shows nicely one of the rarely noted flight control surfaces of the F/A-18E/F (E variant in this photo) Super Hornet- the LEX spoilers which are raised up just behind the cockpit on the leading edge extension. ⁣ ⁣ The Super Hornet lacks the big dorsal speed brake 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 speed brake. ⁣ ⁣ There is still a speed brake 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 attenuate the large vortices that stream off the LEX that give the Hornet family their legendary high alpha performance. By dampening the strength of the vortices, it speeds the drop of the nose to recover from high alpha flight.⁣ ⁣ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport ⁣ ⁣ #airport #planespotting ⁣ ⁣ #McDonnellDouglas #Boeing #FA18 #F18 #SuperHornet #Rhino #USNavy #BlueAngels ⁣ ⁣ #instagramaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight ⁣ ⁣ #AvGeeksAero #AvGeekNation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXE0ExWvDCE/?utm_medium=tumblr

Two of the 301st Fighter Wing’s Vipers with one making a spirited break to the right showing off the platform nicely. The AIM-120 medium range missiles are on the wingtip rails (Stations 1 and 9) and the AIM-9 Sidewinders are the outer underwing stations (Stations 2 and 8). Note that the left Sidewinder is the new AIM-9X and the right Sidewinder is a captive training load- usually that’s for balance, but there are times the training round can be fitted with instrumentation for a variety of purposes. ⁣ ⁣ Prior to the introduction of the AIM-120 missile to the F-16 fleet in January 1992, the Sidewinders were carried on the wingtip rails. It’s now standard to carry the AIM-120s on the wingtip rails- as a heavier missile (approximately 330 lbs versus 186 lbs for the Sidewinder), it acts as a mass damper on the outer wing, reducing flexing of the wings which in turn prolongs the structural life of the wing. ⁣ ⁣ This was something during the design phase of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet in the 1940s that was found in principle- podded engines on the outboard wings acted as mass dampers and allowed for a lighter wing structure compared to Stratojet design iterations that did not have podded engines. Such a layout was then applied to the B-52 Stratofortress and the Boeing 707/KC-135 programs as well. ⁣ ⁣ The first fully guided test firing of an AIM-120 missile was from an F-16 which scored a central hit on a QF-102 drone. The first combat firing of the missile was also from an F-16, in December 1992 during Operation Southern Watch over Iraq which resulted in a downed MiG-25 Foxbat. ⁣ ⁣ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport ⁣ ⁣ #airport #planespotting ⁣ ⁣ #Lockheed #F16 #FightingFalcon #301stFW #USAF #AirForceReserve #AIM120 #AMRAAM⁣ ⁣ #instagramaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight ⁣ ⁣ #AvGeeksAero #AvGeekNation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CVk4GZtF2bh/?utm_medium=tumblr

View On WordPress

Randy Ball and his beautiful Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-17F race some high performance sports cars down the runway at Fort Worth Alliance Airport. ⁣ ⁣ The Klimov VK-1 engine that powers the MiG-17 was also used on the MiG-15 and the Ilyushin Il-28 light bomber. It was the first Soviet jet engine to reach full production. ⁣ ⁣ In 1946 in a bid to try to improve relations with the Soviet Union, British prime minister Clement Atlee authorized Rolls Royce to export to the USSR 40 Nene centrifugal flow turbojet engines under the conditions they not be used for military applications. Stalin had the Nene reverse engineered by Vladimir Klimov’s engine design bureau and this was the Klimov RD-45. ⁣ ⁣ However, Klimov’s engineers had metallurgical problems with the RD-45 so a redesign was done that improved reliability and performance and this improved engine went into production as the Klimov VK-1.⁣ ⁣ The initial production versions of the MiG-17 didn’t have an afterburner- but because of the centrifugal configuration of the Klimov VK-1 jet engine, the only way to get more performance out of it was to add the first afterburner in a Russian fighter jet- creating the VK-1F engine, F for “forsahzhem” meaning with afterburning. ⁣ ⁣ MiG-17s with the upgraded Klimov engine were MiG-17Fs which is the variant that here. The first afterburners were limited and could only be lit at altitudes over 9800 feet. Over time it was refined into something more versatile. During certain maneuvers, the afterburner flame appears to pulse- it’s still on, but aerodynamic effects from the wings and empennage of the jet interact with the afterburner flame, make it appear like a pulse jet.⁣ ⁣ At slow to moderate speeds (300-350 knots), antiquated MiG-17 was a ferocious adversary that could easily pull a 7G turn on a dime to get its 37mm and twin 23mm cannons pointed at you. ⁣ ⠀⁣ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #airport #planespotting ⁣ ⁣ #Mikoyan #MikoyanGurevich #MiG #MiG17 #Fresco #RandyBall #instaplane #instagramaviation #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #mil_aviation_originals #flight ⁣ ⁣ #AvGeeksAero #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge #AvGeekNation (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CET-A6Bh2uQ/?igshid=5xetx6wlqtwn

A little different perspective on the Lockheed F-22A Raptor’s three weapons bays. ⠀ ⠀ The two side bays each house an AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seeking missile. For a number of years after it entered service, the Raptor had to use the older AIM-9M Sidewinder missile which didn’t have a lot of the off-boresight capabilities of the AIM-9X that other fighters were getting. It was only a few years ago that the AIM-9X was integrated into the F-22, finally giving it a very potent dogfighting missile. I believe in the last year or so the even more capable AIM-9X Block II missile has been integrated into the Raptor. ⠀ ⠀ The Sidewinder’s motor ignites while it is still on the rail and there is a deflector built into the aft part of the LAU-141/A launch rail in the side weapons bays that directs the hottest part of the exhaust plume out of the weapons bay. Early in flight testing, there wasn’t a deflector on the rail and the motor exhaust damaged the inside of the weapons bays. ⠀ ⠀ The main underside weapons bay for the air-to-air mission houses six active radar homing AIM-120C missiles. Though the AIM-120 doesn’t have an official name, pilots have referred to the AIM-120 as the “Slammer”. Having its own onboard radar means the Raptor doesn’t have to keep illuminating the target with its radar, revealing its location. The missile that the AIM-120 replaced, the AIM-7 Sparrow, was a semi-active radar homing missile, meaning it homed in on the reflected radar returns of the target from the fighter’s own radar, which obviously had some tactical disadvantages.⠀ ⠀ Because of the airflow around the weapons bay and the possibility of hard maneuvering during a dogfight, the LAU-142/A launch rail for the AIM-120 uses powerful hydraulics to eject the missile out of the weapons bay with a force of 40Gs before motor ignition. ⠀ ⠀ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2019 #AllianceAirShow2019 ⠀ ⠀ #airport #planespotting #Lockheed #F22 #Raptor #instagramaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight ⠀ ⠀ #AvGeeksAero #AvGeekNation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B85SmZJhL6y/?igshid=1g3f78ly2mleg