F-15ex First Flight - The F-15EKS went to 40,000 feet and flew twice the speed of sound on its first flight.

"We were confident that in the first 15 minutes of this flight we would reach Mach 2, and that's exactly what we did," said Boeing F-15 Chief Test Pilot Matt "Fat" Giese, who was at the controls of the girl . flight of the new F-15EKS for the US Air Force on February 2, 2021. Giese and fellow test pilot Mike "Houdini" Quintini flew the F-15EKS-1, as it is known internally, from the Boeing is Lambert factory. St. Louis International Airport, Missouri, 90 minutes, as part of an effort to ensure the plane is ready for delivery in the first quarter of this year.

F-15ex First Flight

F-15ex First Flight

Was not the first to introduce the existence of the original F-15EKS and assess its merits two and a half years ago.

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"This is not the first conventional aircraft in terms of a completely new clean design," Giese said

In an interview organized by Boeing after the flight. "That already speaks to the growth of this platform." The reason the USAF purchased the two-seat F-15EKS is that it is a readily available solution for properly retrofitting the aging F-15C/D Eagle fleet. It is built on the F-15KA platform currently in production for Qatar. "We put the USAF flight operating system [Suite 9] on the plane, so it's a small impact on what we would normally do on the first flight." Since we've already developed a lot from that platform, the initial flight profile [mirrors] very closely what we would do on a normal production aircraft of any aircraft off the line at St. Lewis."

The first flight of the F-15EKS marks a remarkable milestone in Eagle history, nearly 48 years after test pilot Irv Burroughs completed the first flight of the first McDonnell Douglas IF-15A on July 27, 1972 at Edwards Air Force Base. , California. Just six months later, the USAF approved the Eagle for full production.

"I was about to get on the plane [when] I got a text that Irv Burroughs was watching the live broadcast — and I got it," Giese said. "I know the importance of what we did on March 2, which is [to] deliver this new platform that has been incredible for almost 49 years." To have him as part of that celebration -- the first F-15 pilot to the newest F-15 pilots -- is a special event. I had to regroup, focus and get back into the game, and of course we could have done it better. "

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Giese said he and Quintini had to delay takeoff for about 20 minutes to allow some time to clear, but then the plane took off without a problem, describing being at the controls for the F-15EX's first mission as "a privilege and an honor. He added: "The plane performed as expected. As a test pilot, this is one of the best things we can do, the first flight, and when you do that, no one can take that away from you."

Matt "Phat" Giese takes control of the first F-15EX as it takes off., Boeing video screenshot.

"We flew [the smart profile] through our normal acceptance test procedure [ATP] with a few caveats in that this aircraft has less equipment, [and] some open mission system [OMS] cables, which increases power." The profile was a 'Viking spirit' straight from St. If there was even a question of how OFP would affect this spacecraft or this particular platform, we would have done a more traditional first flight, which was slower, probably left the equipment for a while, worked some power sources. test seats and then progress to speed approach and takeoff. "

F-15ex First Flight

"We were very confident that this airplane would perform well and we went straight to ATP —  maximum afterburn and stopped on the Viking — and I had no problems with that profile and emissions from the start." We went out to an airport we call "Max North" and did some air traffic control checks to make sure the plane was OK. We climb up and make sure the jet fuel starter is working on the way up. We reach 40,000 feet and push up to mach 2. That [speed] is the CFT [compliant fuel tank] limit. If the plane is clean, we go to Mach 2.5. We do engine checks at 40,000 feet, at 30,000 feet, and then we go down to 20,000 feet and deliberately shut down the engines that are good, and then restart those engines in main mode and home higher education to prove it. Trust of General Electric GE-129 Motors. We have no problems with restarting. "

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Giese and Quintini then descended to get some visual flight rules (VFR) for the remaining profiles. "We check load balance, roll rate, environmental control system, how the landing gear behaves for extension/retraction in normal and emergency situations, and then we do a series of avionics checks," Giese explained. "How the radar works, how the electronic warfare system turns on, the radio works properly, there's a standard acceptance test process -- we go through the rest of that." Giese hinted that the "target" aircraft for the mission -- likely an industrial A-4 Skyhawk -- had problems. with maintenance and could not participate in the mission.

"When that happens - not surprisingly - we have extra gas because that's another big advantage of this platform, the fuel capacity with the CFTs." With that extra gas, Mike Quintini and I decided we deserved a high alpha lead for our efforts. ” Giese said they showed “tail flicks and other advanced control and handling skills to show that this thing is a really slow fighter in addition to a super speed fighter.” Giese said he also checks the test equipment "ready to go" so that when the aircraft is delivered to a customer at Eglin Air Force Base, it is immediately available to enter the USAF's flight test program.

"Once that's done, we've run out of bingo fuel and need to return to base with normal recovery fuel." At the same time, the problem is that we need to show that the fuel consumption is correct. We got back into shape with enough gas to be safe and get home safely, but then we had a chance to use that gas. ” Giese performed a series of touch-and-go and close-in maneuvers, twisting the F-15EKS into tight, stationary rotations with the propellers engaged. Giese said you could see the design and visual engineering teams on the floor. "It's just a privilege to be able to show them that and give them so many techniques."

"Just before full [landing] fuel a little caution is said." Another thing we check on landing is the anti-skid system. You may have noticed in the video some smoke as we slowed below 100 knots - that was me braking as I was about to crash. It runs against skids and allows us to stop quickly and show that the system is working. "

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Giese said the plane had caused some "small disruptions" in terms of maintenance issues "but nothing we wouldn't normally see at ATP," he added, and nothing that would prevent the flight from being offered to a customer. The F-15EX-1 is now to be the customer's aircraft, and the first flight of the second aircraft is now in focus as Boeing works to deliver the first two aircraft to the USAF at Eglin in the first quarter of this year to join during the . Ongoing Passive Eagle Warning System (EPAVSS).

Read all about what it's like to be at the controls on the advanced flight that the F-15EKS is based on

Boeing's flight test work with the F-15EX is initially limited to additional test equipment and any other unusual wires and cables. "These first two aircraft were delivered with the Open Mission Systems [OMS] high-speed cable," Giese explained, referring to the new open avionics architecture planned for the F-15EKS. The next six Series 2 production aircraft will have the additional OMS processor. "They will be fully capable of the OMS architecture that the USAF has planned for these aircraft," Giese explained.

F-15ex First Flight

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