Raptor Video

Posted by Jolly on August 6, 2012

Found this pretty cool Raptor Video. Too bad we only have 180ish of these bad boys, but that's what our political managers in Washington allowed us to buy.  Hey, at least they fixed the oxygen SNAFU.  Here's what the CSAF had to say about it, enjoy the video and check out some of latest F-22 stuff in the FU Store.

From AFA, 25 July 2012

 Air Force believes it finally understands the cause of hypoxia-like issues affecting some F-22 pilots in the last several years, and is taking a "phased approach" to retrofitting hardware and getting flight restrictions lifted on the stealth jets, said outgoing Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz on July 24. At a Pentagon press conference to discuss his tenure as his Aug. 10 retirement looms, Schwartz said Air Force officials briefed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on July 20 on the new findings. Panetta, in turn, lifted some F-22 flight restrictions—enough to clear a squadron-sized group of F-22s to deploy from the United States to Kadena AB, Japan, "in the next few days," said Schwartz. The Air Force has data ruling out any "contamination" of Raptor pilot oxygen and has fixed on faulty valve connections in the upper part of the Combat Edge full-body G-suit and a charcoal filter as the culprits in the hypoxia-like episodes, said Schwartz. Centrifuge and altitude-chamber tests have confirmed these findings, he added, explaining the problem as "the quantity, not the quality" of the air pilots are receiving. The filters have already been removed and the G-suit modifications will start entering service in September, said Schwartz. For the Japan deployment, Schwartz said the jets would follow the "northern island chain" route so they are never more than 90 minutes from a usable runway, and tankers accompanying them will carry enough fuel so that the F-22s could descend and fly at lower, less fuel-efficient altitudes, if necessary. Schwartz said the Air Force still has to go back to Panetta with a final report to get his "head nod" to resume unrestricted F-22 flying. (Schwartz transcript) (See also Little transcript)

—John A. Tirpak

Alaska Impact: The finding of a likely cause of F-22 pilot hypoxia-like events hasn't changed the Air Force's conclusion that pilot error caused the fatal crash of an F-22 in Alaska in November 2010. Outgoing Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, in a July 24 press conference, reiterated comments he made earlier this year in budget testimony that the crash, which killed Capt. Jeffrey Haney, was a "complex emergency" and "we respect [Haney's] effort to save the aircraft." However, Schwartz maintained, "what we do know for certain" is that the cause of the accident "was not a hypoxia event." When a reporter pressed Schwartz as to whether the Air Force would stick to its conclusion that Haney's crash was due to pilot error, Schwartz said—and repeated—that the reporter's "fixation on that terminology is not fair," and declined to comment further. (Schwartz transcript)

—John A. Tirpak

This From AFA on 2 Aug 2012:

Better Safe Than Sorry: Air Force officials could not identify any contaminant or any other common reason why F-22 ground personnel reported experiencing hypoxia-like symptoms in six incidents while servicing the stealth jets, said Maj. Gen. Charles Lyon, Air Combat Command's operations director. Further, investigators found nothing linking these incidents to the now-identified causes of hypoxia-like symptoms that some Raptor pilots experienced in the F-22 cockpit, he told reporters during a July 31 Pentagon briefing. Instead, Lyon thinks the maintainers, following strict guidance that he himself issued, reported to their superiors at the first sign of not feeling well. The symptoms they reported could have had many origins other than strictly hypoxia, he said. "There's a chance that their diet wasn't right that day, that they didn't have the hydration level that they needed, or something else was going on," explained Lyon. In some cases, the ground personnel "had jet exhaust kind of blowing back on them," which could easily make someone feel queasy, he said. Lyon said he stood by his guidance, saying it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to airmen's safety. (Lyon transcript) (For more from Lyon's briefing, see We Now Have an Explanation.)

—Amy McCullough

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