#kafw

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Venom @ KAFW

[sentinelchicken]

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

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Early morning start at KAFW

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Fort Worth Alliance Airport - KAFW - Fort Worth TX

[sentinelchicken]

To the military brass in Vietnam, the forward air controller (FAC) pilots were the biggest bunch of miscreants to ever fly a USAF aircraft. To the boots on the ground, they were a guardian angel with eyes up above that could summon air strikes. And to the pilots of the fast movers that hit targets marked by the FACs, they had big brass balls to fly low and slow using the Mark One eyeball to ID targets. ⠀ ⠀ The USAF procurement of the Cessna O-2 Skymaster came out if a need for a more capable forward air control platform in Vietnam than the O-1 Bird Dog. Having twin engines have it a measure of redundancy when flying low over the battlefield in the FAC role, but it also allowed the O-2 more performance in the tropical air in Vietnam as well as being able to carry more weapons. The USAF would procure 532 O-2 Skymasters. In Vietnam, the Skymaster had two nicknames- “Oscar Deuce” and “Duck”. ⠀ ⠀ The first O-2 Skymasters flew with 7.62mm Minigun pods underwing, but aggressive O-2 pilots were taking matters into their own hands attacking targets and O-2 losses climbed. So the gunpods were banned and white phosphorus target marking rockets were carried. But the O-2 pilots, being a scruffy and resourceful bunch, took their M16s with them and fired them out the side windows. Ejected shell casings were dinging the rear prop, damaging the instrument panel and messing with radios. So the M16s got banned. ⠀ ⠀ Not ones to give up, the FAC pilots (as one pilot said, “We’ll FAC anything!”) took to using their service pistols and hand grenades to keep the enemy occupied until the fast movers arrived. ⠀ ⠀ Of the 532 O-2 Skymasters built for the USAF, 82 were lost in combat. Seven O-2 drivers earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in Vietnam. ⠀ ⠀ November Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1119planes | “Air Force” | Day 26⠀ ⠀ #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2017 #airport #planespotting #Cessna #O2 #Skymaster #USAF #FAC #instagramaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #AvGeeksAero #AvGeekNation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5VQ14ThOV8/?igshid=5iy13z6rz0fc

[sentinelchicken]

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

[sentinelchicken]

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

[sentinelchicken]

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