My earlier points were made from Danish pilots’ points of view, but I just came across a recent Key publication on my shelf: “Super Fighters”. (Winter cleaning. No plug – honestly! ) “Flying the Hun”, Lt Joe Vincent, USAF in Vietnam. He had 8 air-to-air flights before graduating. Not enough, he admits. (Firebar’s comment about a warning against going into a turning fight with a MiG-17 seems highly appropriate). Also impressions from Mj William H. Wescott who “test”-fought an F-86F in an F-100A. A brave man indeed!

At high G you didn’t use aileron, but rudder to turn the F-100. Otherwise it would flip out of control in the opposite direction. (Due to adverse yaw).

And a pic. of the twin AIM-9B/J launcher.

Best regards

According to this:

http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/hunter/history.html

”the Hunter he had flown (XF442, which had been sold to the Chilean Air Force) was written off in an accident.”

Best regards

A picture of an F-100F in air defence configuration. (clean except for the AIM-9B’s (2 or 4).They would sometimes work with F-104’s. This was late in the Danish “hun’s” career. The F-100D and F’s flight control system was advanced and complicated to make the aircraft “flyable” up to Mach 1.3. A bad thing about the original afterburner was that you could not pull G when lighting it and had to wait a minute between applications. That’s a pretty long time in air combat. Later they got F-102 type A/B’s.

Allow me to get back on track:

“F-100 vs. MiG-19”

Denmark had a long – and sometimes unhappy – connection with the “Hun”. Initially as fighter-bombers – definitely more bombers than fighters. From 1974 the Hunter Sqn (724) was deactivated and the F-100 took over the low level day fighter role. “Clean” – no drop tanks – with guns and AIM-9’s as weapons. As well as the “role” the F-100 sqn’s also took over some Hunter pilots. When one of them was briefed about: Sabre dance, adverse yaw, mushing, compressor stall, control stiffening, flat spin, pilot induced oscillations and more, he thought: “Why don’t they stop that uneven fight!?”

In fact there was a great difference in character of the same plane. A heavy “bomber” F-100 would scrape across the fence on take off, still keeping afterburner in. A “clean” fighter F-100 would go as “a hot knife in soft butter”. Compared to the F-104, and Draken (Danish version) it could hold its own in a turning fight. But the 104 and Draken (clean) could disengage and “run away” if they needed to.

Compressor stall: At some combinations of airspeed, altitude and angle of attack it was virtually guaranteed. (Some aircraft were more prone than others). A sharp “crack” like breaking an iron rod, the pilot’s feet would be thrown from the floor against his chin, dust flying in the cockpit and 15 feet of flames coming forward from the intake and fireballs from the exhaust. Very impressive!

Some pilots tolerated it, some loved it. Others would give up flying and career when confronted with the “Super Dog”.

Best regards

Chippies are nice!

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=222416

Merry Christmas.

If you get the chance to get close to the wing of a Tunnan, you’ll see some very high standard of workmanship.

Another Cold war story: Between Gotland(Swedish) and Sweden there is a gap of a few miles of international water. The USAF SR-71 Blackbirds on a Mach 3 run around the Baltic would go down this lane at 90.000 feet (always exactly in the middle!) The Swedish GCI controllers would practise head on intercepts with Viggens going Mach 2. At the right moment the Viggen was ordered to zoomclimb and simulate firing a missile at the Blackbird. Some geometry to work out here! They never? actually saw the SR-71 passing above them.

The Swedish neutrality was very strictly (and correctly, of course) observed in the air. You didn’t cross their border without being intercepted – escorted out, and stern diplomatic notes followed from foreign minister to foreign minister. And down the chain to the unfortunate pilot.

Some of Copenhagen Airport’s approaches (RWY 22) are in delegated airspace over Sweden. Military aircraft like the RAF embassy flight Andover (RR 1066 -Ascot 1066 – but always known as “Hastings”!) had to stay overhead Danish “waters” to avoid any “icy” response!

There was – and still is – a programme called “SveNorDa”, where Swedish, Norwegian and Danish fighters practise diversions between the countries (with diplomatic clearance). One day in 1975? a Swedish Draken made an overshoot here and went south for Skrydstrup. Mind you no transponders in those days on Swedish fighters. Karup, Copenhagen Control and Skrydstrup lost his primary radar track in the rain and much other clutter. The pilot decided to go below clouds and find a place to land, which happened to be Hohn in Germany. From then on known as Skrydstrup’s southern parallel runway! 😀

Best regards