Sep 07
3
Thunder in the Sky
Posted by Stephen3
Tags: aircraft, event, summer
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Today was a public holiday, so we bundled the boys into the car with food, water and sunblock and took off to an airshow. We arrived in time to find a grassy, shady spot and even managed to finish lunch just before the show started.
The fighter jets were thrilling for the boys, at first. We’ve watched many fighter jet video clips online, and Daniel and Joel were both amazed that they were “just like on the video.” The maneuvers, the smoke, the afterburners, all very familiar. Surprising, how real life sometimes actually matches up with expectations.
The noise took them by surprise, though. At first they were a little in shock and awe at the ear-splitting roar and body-thumping rumble. After a while they covered their ears. After another while they begged to go somewhere quieter. They lasted for about an hour of the three-hour show. We figured they’d had enough spectacle and made our way back to the car.
It was a hot day, there was very little to do for small boys (sit in the car, sit on a hill, sit in the car again), and they weren’t entirely sure whether the sights made up for the noise. But they were in wonderfully good spirits for the most part. It was a good day.
As we sat in the car getting ready to leave, a couple of aircraft approached from behind. Daniel named one of the planes based on the sound alone. We looked up a few seconds later as they passed overhead, and sure enough, he was right. I’m proud of my boy! He has paid attention to his lessons.
Some technical notes on the photo: this is called a heritage flight, representing three generations of fighter aircraft. On the right is a P-51 Mustang, an aircraft from World War II, introduced in 1942. In the center is an F-16 Fighting Falcon (also known as Viper), the most popular fighter jet in the world, introduced in 1978 (36 years later). On the left is an F-22 Raptor, the newest American fighter jet, introduced in 2005 (27 years after the F-16).
The F-22 uses a variety of anti-radar stealth technologies. Their effectiveness was demonstrated by a National Geographic photographer, who was allowed to photograph one of these aircraft for a cover article. He set up a variety of remote strobes around the hangar, all set to flash when he clicked the shutter on his camera. Most of them didn’t go off. He went through extensive troubleshooting of his equipment, trying to figure out why things weren’t working, and under a lot of pressure in this one-of-a-kind opportunity to document a highly-classified prototype aircraft. Eventually he realised that the stealth tech was absorbing the radio waves that triggered his remote strobes. The plane was making itself impossible to photograph. Incidentally, this was the first time National Geographic used pictures from a digital camera for a cover article. The fact that the Air Force could approve or veto (and delete) photos on the spot was a key to getting the opportunity in the first place.
The F-22 uses vectored thrust. It doesn’t have the move-in-any-direction versatility of the Harrier (nor the vertical take-off and landing), but it can do some pretty amazing maneuvers nevertheless. We watched the aircraft complete a full circle in place, as if pivoting about the tip of the nose. Literally turning on a dime. We watched it standing still on its tail, motionless in the air. Slow flight or fast flight, it’s a very versatile jet.
