the mirimar airshow was the first show to have the F-22 Raptor. itwas in june 08 and i saw it myself

quote:

Originally posted by Darkneo48:
BOOORING ive alredy seen it in action over my house like every other day (yes im sure it was the raptor) i live in mirimar, california. (mirimarAFB was the first to get raptors) they have 6.

The first production Raptors went to Langely AFB and the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing. And again, the first to have it at an air show.

It was also at Seymour Johnson AFB in summer of 07.

So, I got the Captain's Club VIP tickets for the Sunday show, because my wife will most likely have to work that Saturday, but I'm thinking I might go that day by myself just to check it out. We'll see how the weather looks. Hopefully sunny with fluffy white clouds for a nice backdrop. I'm working on getting a backstage tour of the F-22, but so far they're holding out on me, only giving out tours as prizes to the airports club members. Oh well, I guess I might have to make due with having a look at the one they'll have parked out front.

I'm going to record the demo on my camera. Hopefully it turns out nice. I'll probably post it on YouTube and post a downloadable link to the full high resolution video here.

AV-8 Harrier II is now also listed as one of the main acts. Though, there's still a few months before the show that they'll most likely use to drag out listing what else is going to be there.

While I didn't take this, here is a pic of an F-22 on it's first flight:

Raptor

I updated the first post with some pics from the airshow. I plan on adding more to it (such as video links) once I have them up on YouTube.

too bad they cancelled the f-22. we(the US) sure put a lot of time and $$$ into it to only produce 180ish aircraft.

have they still not seen combat?

They haven't seen any weapons hot combat, though they have undertaken active missions. Their implementation into the armed forces is still somewhat uncertain because of the limited number of them that have been produced so far. That, and pilots are still being trained on them, and the like.

quote:

Originally posted by Wrend:
Just Paris and Toronto are what I've heard, though I seem to remember seeing another '09 demo on YouTube that already took place.

i saw it at dobbins AFB in georgia in late '08.
Absolutely FANTASTIC!

also saw the thunderbirds there, but F-22 was much cooler.

I went on Sat. and it was very cool. There was like 100 k people there that day.

Elysianguardian,

If they, the 180 Raptors, still haven't seen combat, as you say, why do you want to pay for more?

A few more 60 million dollar air show pieces please, even if I can't make rent right now.

Do any of you know if Raptors are around Macdill AFB here in Tampa? Or at least where I could find out?

If I had the chance, I think I'd rather see the Terminator or the Blackwidow or the Berkut in action over Raptors, since there are only one or two of those.


Smoke, Ldogg

It's more like $143 million, though I guess it depends how you crunch the numbers.

Being the most capable fighter in the world at air to air combat, the F-22 is meant to fill the air superiority role for at least the next couple of decades, taking the torch from our aging legacy fighters. Having so few F-22s significantly limits their deployment, implementation, and availability.

MacDill AFB doesn't have any F-22s stationed there, but I wouldn't be surprised if they dropped in now and then to say hi.

I'm not sure if there are any flyable Su-37s or YF-23s around still or not. The Sukhois seem to kind of come and go as different modifications to their airframes are made. The Su-47 is a pretty interesting looking plane, but I think of it more as a technology evaluation demonstrator than a fighter at this point.

Don't get me wrong; they would be cool to see too. But there's definitely something to be said for seeing the world's most capable air superiority fighter in person.

Thanks for the info.

I hope I can see a Blackwidow fly sometime, though if you are right, that probably won't happen. I really enjoy looking at it's lines, to me it is prettier than the Raptor.

Though don't get me wrong, the raptor still deserves a large amount of respect, it just isn't my favorite of the newer fighters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...O3kk&feature=related

"It flies with the best of the best..."
"It's striking in its appearance and it's striking in it's performance." -Test Pilot Paul Metz, after taking the Blackwidow up for the first time.


Smoke, Ldogg

Wrend -

Do you have a PS3? If so, send me a friend request. I have some photos for you to see, and I will send you them

I was fortunate enough to see Max's final demo at Nellis AFB last year, and as usual, he did not disappoint.

My PSN ID is "maxpontiac"

I'm having some issues with my MOV to AVI converter that will allow me to edit the videos together. And, after reviewing them, some of the video clips are badly out of focus. The auto-focus on the camera was acting up, it seems. Still, I did get most of it; I'm just missing the flat spin and the power loop. Kind of a bummer. I have some more pictures to post at least. I'll add them to the end of the first post shortly.

...

Maxraptor09, I don't have a PS3, but I'll PM you my e-mail address if you can send them to me that way. Let me know.

I saw some videos of Max's last demo on YouTube. Very cool stuff. It must have been awesome to see it in person. Word is that in that last hook turn he did, he pulled 12.8 Gs.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Wrend,