From a legitimate \"friend of a friend\" string:
\"Jack wrote:
Fortunately the F-22's are on our side....jack
at least until Obama cancels them as he's proposed.
Mugs
Subject: F 22 vs F/A 18
Just received this from a friend who's Cuz flies a F22 and is TDY in the
Pacific with the Jet at this time. I have sanitized and modified the email
to protect the innocent. (btw, this group has been operational out of Alaska for a while.)
Onward and Upward
Cheers
HOG-20th FW
Rick
Things continue to be busy here. We get up early and go the the gym, study
and/or fly all day, golf late afternoon till dark or go to the gym again,
drink scotch and cook out burgers and steaks till late at night, and then
start all over. Every saturday morning early we get up early and go scuba
diving all day and most of sunday. It is really exhausting... and I am not
kidding.
Yesterday, we launched 4 F-22s to go fight the Navy. The USS Washington
just sailed in and they had 4 experience Hornet guys who wanted to fight.
We split up at 4 corners and each F-22 met and fought a F-18. We flew at
each other, beak to beak, at 18,000' and 430kts... a neutral merge, energy
wise. To this point, my only 1v1 has been an F-22 vs F-22. This fight with
the Hornets was so one sided it was not even sporting. We merged, I planted
the stick, plugged in the burners and carved a flight path so tight in
behind this guy, he had no idea what to do... except dive for the floor. I
had him under the pipper, ripped the throttles to idle, and gunned him in
seconds. Next set I had him at start at 6000 feet behind me, clearly at an
advantage. Seconds after the start of the fight, I spit him out front after
a high G turn and then a high AOA reversal maneuver. Seconds after that I
gunned him again. During the climb back to altitude to start the fight
again I recall getting frustrated at his inability to keep up with me even
as my throttles were below midrange and I was actually using more gas having
to climb that slow. They were absolutely astonished at the F-22
performance. Hopefully we will get to fight next week. They invited a few
guys out to the carrier on the C-2 \"COD\" today. They did the trap, had
about 30 minutes to glad hand and talk to the Hornet pilots and then
cat-shot back here.
Anyway, things are going well here.
more to follow\"
_________________ \"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson
|