OT just for Bob Smart

[Freiherr_Kiefer]

enjoy, nothing I can do about the afterburner effect, but repaints yes



PS I know the roundels are too light but then painter dindn't so i am going to correct that and get some more shots later

[Michel_Krauss]

I Thought I Saw a flying thingy

I did, I did see an flying thingy

[bsmart]

- Freiherr_Kiefer

enjoy, nothing I can do about the afterburner effect, but repaints yes



PS I know the roundels are too light but then painter dindn't so i am going to correct that and get some more shots later

I worked on that bird!!! (In fact I think I ground aborted her once )

Do you have a picture with full color National Markings on it? I thought that the stars were always subdued (Even when the TAC and Squadron markings were full color) but it has been 30 years and it may e that I've internalised the later markings. By the way the Wing and Squadron logos were put on as big decals. they very quickly started chipping at the edges (sometimes within a few flights of being applied)

'3 bags' was a rare configuration only used when making very long deployments (Even when going cross country from Langley to Nellis for Red Flag they usually only carried a centerline tank

[Joe_D]

Beautiful Aircraft,

Looks like a 27th TFS bird out of Langley, my memory has faded a little. That Squadron along with the 71st and 94th (Rickenbackers' old unit) made up 1st TFS IIRC. In other news the National Guard at Hickam AFB HI just retired their F15's and are supposed to get Raptors now. An era is ending.

Here's something that Bob might remember too,



Picture is from 1978.

[bsmart]

I don't remember the go cart but The airman looks familiar. It is an interesting picture, We didn't often use the 'ramp covers. I think this picture was taken in the 'Yellow section' (They preffered Gold section :-)) ramp area. Where did you get the picture 1st TFW command didn't have much tolerance for stuff like that.

Oh I didn't mention it already Yes 75-0027 was assigned to the 27 AMU (Aircraft Maintenance Unit) of 1st AGS (Aircraft Generation Squadron) and was flown by 27 TFS (Tactical Fighter Squadron) AGS actually owned the airplanes, not the Fighter Squadrons.
27AMU was Yellow section, 94th AMU was blue section and 71st AMU was Red Section.

Because of the tail number 75-0027 was often flown by the 27th Squadron Commander for high profile events

[JG300-Ascout]

Only ever seen operational F-15's in any quantity in the NW, but in another life, I went to grad school in the mid-70's in St. Louis and lived in a cabin about 30 miles WSW. When new F15's would come off the line at M-D, they'd test fly them right out over my place and do a lot of not-approved-for-inhabited-area maneuvers. Always very interesting to have a low pass over an Ozark ridge and then crank straight up for a full AB climb just over your house. Never lost any windows but they did rattle a lot.

[bsmart]

Yea, Wasn't wonderful


Jet Noise - The Sound of Freedom
Old bumper sticker (I think put out by Pratt & Whitney in the 60s and 70s)

[Dontos]

Bob

There is a big sign in Oak Harbor Wa, beside NAS Whidbey Island.

On it was a P3 Orion & an EA6B 'Prowler' with the saying,....

"Pardon our noise, it is the sound of Freedom"

The EA6B is loud, but no match for the old F4 with afterburners lite..... Germany in the early 70's I lived & went to school in the flight pattern of Ramstein AFB and what seemed like constant F4 fly overs,......except on 'no fly Sunday's'

Regards
Don

[Joe_D]

Another loud Mother was the F106,

Langley had the 48th FIS there, used to get scrambled for "Bear Escort". They'd fly down the Eastern Seaboard to Cuba. F15's took over eventually (Think 48th transitioned to them eventually). They used to run up their engines during maintenance with no "Noise Box?" (Correct me Bob) and drive us batty in the LTA housing area.

Was at Langley around the end of June this year, Did not recognize 95% of the place. Thirty years is a long time.

[piney]

bigger here

marvellouswings.com/Ai...Wright.JPG

or you can go visit her in person in the museum at Wright-Pat

PS loudest plane I ever heard was a Marine Corp Harrier

[L.Delsing]

Is the FY 75 or 79 on the picture (computer)? If it the last it is an former 32 TFS aircraft from Soesterberg AB

Regards,
Lesley

[Joe_D]

I need to visit Wright Pat again,

An absolutely great museum. If the Army had their s--t together they'd have some thing like that instead of stuff spread all over the country and owned by different branches.

Lesley, The tail FY number should be 75, I'm sure Bob will correct me if I'm wrong though, but Langley was the first operational wing of F15's so their birds were older than Soesterbergs'.

Bob, the picture of the FOD Go-Cart came from the local paper "The Flyer" and was on the cover. Found a few editions in my folks attic and had to save them (Pack Rat).

Piney,

Beautiful shot of an Eagle, wonder if she really is 027 or just repainted for the museum, much like Knox does with their tanks. I would think she really is 027 though, since they keep much better histories of aircraft than tanks. I love the F106 sitting next to her with 49th FIS markings (Griffis AFB IIRC), although the TAC marking is a little odd, thought they belonged to ADC (Air Defense Command).

[bsmart]

- Joe_D

Another loud Mother was the F106,

Langley had the 48th FIS there, used to get scrambled for "Bear Escort". They'd fly down the Eastern Seaboard to Cuba. F15's took over eventually (Think 48th transitioned to them eventually). They used to run up their engines during maintenance with no "Noise Box?" (Correct me Bob) and drive us batty in the LTA housing area.

Was at Langley around the end of June this year, Did not recognize 95% of the place. Thirty years is a long time.

Yes the 106 was noisy The time it was the worst was when they had to adjust the linkage that engaged the afterburner. They did that out on a circular pad that had a holddown in the center so they could face into the wind. That was out between the 48's parking area and the LaSalle St gate (other end of the runway from LTA) They would sit their for over an hour running the big J-75 at full power and advancing into AB. the J-75 had a single stage AB that was like the crack of doom I lived out in the apartments about a mile away towards the Bethel Manor housing area and it rattled our windows RRROOOAAARRR BANG RROOOAAARRR BANG for an hour or so. since the alert birds always took off down towards the water I imagine their launches were real noisy in LTA.

Joe you probably know but for the rest LTA stood for Lighter Than Air area. That was where they used to launch not only blimps but BIG airships.

[bsmart]

- Joe_D

I need to visit Wright Pat again,

An absolutely great museum. If the Army had their s--t together they'd have some thing like that instead of stuff spread all over the country and owned by different branches.

Lesley, The tail FY number should be 75, I'm sure Bob will correct me if I'm wrong though, but Langley was the first operational wing of F15's so their birds were older than Soesterbergs'.

Bob, the picture of the FOD Go-Cart came from the local paper "The Flyer" and was on the cover. Found a few editions in my folks attic and had to save them (Pack Rat).

Piney,

Beautiful shot of an Eagle, wonder if she really is 027 or just repainted for the museum, much like Knox does with their tanks. I would think she really is 027 though, since they keep much better histories of aircraft than tanks. I love the F106 sitting next to her with 49th FIS markings (Griffis AFB IIRC), although the TAC marking is a little odd, thought they belonged to ADC (Air Defense Command).

It is painted as 75-0027 but it isn't really that bird according to Joe Baughers tail number list 75-0027 crashed in 1987

You can look up any tail number here
users.rcn.com/jeremy.k...earch.html

Langley's birds started out with 74-0083 (Penninsula Patriot as it was named as the 'first F-15 to be assigned to Langley') Surprisingly it is in a Dutch Museum with a different tail number now

The original equipment at Langley was all 74 and 75 aircraft. There was a little intermixing with Bitburg since their initial aircraft were grouped at langley for a mass flyover as a publicity effort to have a fully operational unit when they arrived in USAFE. Operation Ready Eagle gathered the planes, worked up the pilots and mqaintenance people at Langley then flew the maintainers over to Bitburg and followed a couple days latter with a bunch of airplanes (I think they wanted a full 24 plane squadron) To make sure they got the number of planes they wanted they had the 24 planned Bitburg airplanes and used some Langley Birds as ground and air spares. I think a couple ened up going all the way to Bitburg and they just moved paperwork around to make it official later.

When Bitburg started getting new aircraft ( C models) some of their F15As were assigned back to Langley and some of our aircraft went elsewhere (I think to training units). Later when Langley got F15Cs some of our planes went over to the 48th, some to Elmendorf and some to ANG units.

The order of F-15 unit stand up was the training wing at Luke, Langley, Bitburg, Kadena, Soesterburg (only one squadron not a wing). Nellis picked up some somewhere in the middle there. Then Holloman and I lost track after that. Oh and the Israelis got then sometime about Bitburg/Kadena (At least that is when they had people going through the Field training Detachment at Langley)