Aggressor F-15 Crashed

Did ya'll hear, we lost another F-15. A Nellis F-15D crashed yesterday killing one pilot and injuring another. I hate hearing shit like this!
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/30/national/main4309640.shtml

 

Right on Missile! !! It's bad enough when we lose one of ours fighting the bad guys but at home is too much! !!!

 

That sucks, my condolences to the pilots family.

 

So much death and for what? It's just sad...

 

Man that sucks.

 

I'm sure they dont know yet, but those F-15s have been having structural issues. Remember last year several F-15s broke apart and the Air Force grounded all F-15s. I'm not sure is it was only the F-15Es that were grounded or all F-15 variants. Here's an animation of what happened last year.

Once again, I dont know if this is what happened yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U22_7jsQy7s&NR=1

 

All F-15s were grounded. The E models were the ones that were released for flying first. Our A's and C's stayed one the ground for several months.

 

Very true. What's even worse is that we lose more pilots and crew in training than in combat. Take a look at the history of the names of any given AFB. Most are named after pilots who died during training or flight testing.

 

These pilots are flying aircraft that are older than they are. A/B model F-15s were last built in 78. That's when the C/D model started production. Old airframes that are still world class but it's time for new aircraft. F/A-22 production is slow and Congress won't let the Air Force have the numbers they need. If I were a combat pilot I would be very concerned.

 

Yeah, The average age of KC-135 is over 55years old. That's crazy old. Fortunately Gen. Mosley was one of the biggest pushers of getting new tankers and modernizing the Air Force Fleet. Hopefully the new Chief of Staff will also be a big proponent of modernizing. Unfortunately John McCain and the Air Force have butted heads on this issue. McCain was against the Air Force getting a new tanker back when Boeing was originally given the contract, but the acquisitions scandal came out. Robert Gates is also getting on the Air Force for the "shock and awe" tactic and not supporting our ground forces more with UAVs and ground support and we are stuck in the "old ways". We already have 80% of our UAV fleet deployed over there. I say congress needs to get on the ball and send more money so that we can expand on all of these things. This stuff isn't cheap, and congress is too short sighted to view what we're gonna need in the future.

 

Speaking of the new tanker. Boeing should still have the Tanker Contract. The 767 is a great airframe. The US doesn't need Airbus/Northop/Grumman for thier Tanker. Boeing should still have the Medium Lift Helicopter contract but Congress screwed that up too!

 

Last time I checked I believe the Government Accountability Office ruled that Boeing should be given another chance to present their case to the air force. With all the crap that has been going on, if the contract was awarded to Boeing in the first place without the scandal we probably would be well along with a new tanker by now. Damn bureaucrats get in the way of everything.

 

Talking about old airframes, the B-52 is a dinosaur. But it still kicks major ass. What did the VC hate most? An Arc Light strike. What did the Republican Guard fear? Yep an Arc Light strike.

Always loved driving up Calif 99 towards Merced and seeing a Buff taking off or landing.

 

Well I'm glad. Hopefully Boeing won't screw it up!

I remember at Moody AFB, GA in the eighties. We would play our wargames and get attacked by all sorts of jets. But you knew the war was over when over the horizon you saw it coming. For the next few minutes it circled around the base, then turned to attack. Yes, the mighty B-52 nuking us. What a sight to see, bomb bay doors open!