Kinda on that subject

A Nighthawk in Raptor’s clothing

12/08/2003 – HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (ACCNS) – It took 10 gallons of dark gray paint, five-and-a-half gallons of light gray paint and three gallons of silicon paint to give one F-117A Nighthawk here an F/A-22 Raptor-style makeover.

Lt. Col. Kevin Sullivan, Detachment 1, 53rd Test and Evaluation Group commander, asked the 49th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron corrosion flight to paint their F-117, nicknamed “the Dragon,” gray to evaluate if it will have a substantial role in daytime combat operations.

“The chief of staff wants to have a 24-hour stealth presence over future battlefields,” said Lt. Col. Buck Rogers, the Det. 1, 53rd TEG operations officer. “We know our current black paint scheme wouldn’t be a good color for daytime operations.”

Preparation for painting began Nov. 17, said Staff Sgt. Armond Cornin, 49th AMXS corrosion flight NCOIC. AMXS members worked day and night to complete the job.

With the project complete, the jet will participate in upcoming tests as part of a program called Global Strike Task Force, Colonel Rogers said. The jet will fly with the F/A-22 in several tests both locally and deployed.

The Dragon is a test-coded aircraft owned by Det. 1, 53rd TEG.

“We use the Dragon for everything from new tactics development to the evaluation of new software or hardware,” said Maj. Tre Urso, a Det. 1, 53rd TEG pilot. “Det. 1 has been involved in all the F-117 modifications and upgrades over the years. Now, we want to evaluate the feasibility of using the F-117 during daylight operations.”

According to Colonel Rogers, Air Force leadership will approve additional jets for the gray scheme only if the test results show the change is warranted.

Whether or not the rest of the jets are painted, this project is worth the time and effort spent on completing it, Major Urso said.

“It provides a great opportunity for us to learn about our daytime capabilities and limitations. It also helps us evaluate how the new paints will hold up over time and lets us measure the impact the color modification has on the maintenance troops who maintain the jet. Bottom line, we need to make sure we provide our leaders an accurate assessment of the costs and benefits involved with daytime ops and the gray paint scheme.”

Staff Sgts. Armond Cornin and Casell Davis, and Airman 1st Class Louis Delgado, members of the 49th Maintenance Squadron, apply a layer of primer to the underbelly of an F-117 before it’s painted gray. The aircraft will participate in Global Strike Task Force tests aimed at determining the feasibility of using the F-117 during daytime operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Vanessa LaBoy.)

Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News

[email]Touchdown-News-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com[/email]

I think there’s an important difference between this procurement and the Polish one: with the amount of industrial offsets offered for buying the Block 52s Poland are getting great new aircraft and also making a profit on the deal!

As far as I’m aware this isn’t the case with second-hand F-16s provided by the likes of Belgium and The Netherlands.

Best regards

Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News

Originally posted by glitter
Yes, the 5 rafales F2.
Sure you saw them Steve, two were on the left behind of the Enterprise, two others in front of the death star and the last hidden behind a Go’ahuld spaceship.

Yes, as you can see, we, french have got lots of powerful allies 😀

C’est classique, Glitter! 😀

I’ve given up with my dear friend PILOTGHT now…how can I have a sensible debate with anybody (especially a Frenchman claiming to know about aircraft) who thinks that only Dassault Falcon executive jets are built at Merignac? To be honest with you I think him saying that is a big insult to a fantastic aviation heritage.

Cognac and Dax both have JPOs next year so I hope to back in that beautiful part of France again in May 2004.

Salut!

Steve ~ Touchdown-News

Or here, in English, with even more pictures:

http://www.airpic.ch/News/news_23.htm

Best regards

Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Touchdown-News

p.s. nice to see that C-01 is still flyable after all 😀

Originally posted by PILOTGHT
ha ha ha, in 2008 there will be 40 rafales F2 operational + the navy ones!

it’s alway better than A2A typhoon of RAF! hey, that they will see the A2G maybe after 2010! lol

as about CEAM rafale, look this
http://www.senat.fr/commission/etr/etrg031117.html#toc2

they have already 5 rafales F2! hey!

So are you just thick or can’t you read your own language!? That’s not what it says! Read the link that you posted yesterday about the 5 Rafale F2: they don’t exist yet!!

and Dassault build rafale at Argenteuil!

I never said that they weren’t! I’m sure that Rafale sub-assemblies and components are built at 10 or 12 factories around France. But if you think Rafale is assembled and test-flwon from anywhere esle except Merignac then what can I say!?

and i have proofs you never spent times in a french Ba! so that’s life!

Oui, ma petite cherie, of course you do! lol

I just put this web page up for fun so people would telephone and write and none of the trips really existed of course 😀

http://www.btinternet.com/~zola25/2001_Tours.htm

and I didn’t really provide this list for the JPO at Dax for a French web-site:

http://delta.reflex.free.fr/actualite/listmeeting/dax1905.html

and, naturally, I didn’t take this photo at BA Luxeuil in May 1992

and this isn’t my own web-site that’s completely about the French ALAT

http://members.lycos.co.uk/alat2002

lol and I can categorically deny that I’ve spent my last four family holidays at Frejus and Messanges 😀

I seriously think it would be impossible to know less than you about anything you care to mention!

Ciao! :p

Steve ~ Touchdown-News

Nice one, Arthur, cheers for that 😀

Can I just check with you that those three tie-ups between serials and c/ns are confirmed? Only reason I ask is that I have the c/ns for 052 & 053 listed the other way around BUT along with a note saying “not confirmed” so your sequence could be 100% correct.

If you’re in the mood for digging around a little have you got much info on any UH-60L Black Hawks supplied to Colombia at all? I’ve got all of the stuff on the Scramble DB etc. but was wondering if you had anything, even serials, that weren’t listed there? That’s for Army, Air Force and Police. The 8 UH-60A are all well documented but the L models are a complete minefield. :rolleyes:

Cheers!

Steve ~ Touchdown-News

Originally posted by Arthur
Slovenian!

They indeed have the three ex-USArmy ones with the single-kink fin:

:rolleyes: D’ohhhhhhhh but of course…apologies I got my previous i.d.s and former Yugoslavian republics mixed-up!

BUT Croatian AF 051, 052 & 053 are all standard PC-9, I’m sure: their c/ns are in the 1xx series whilst the PC-9M they have are all 6xx. Apparently, the c/n to serial tie-ups aren’t confirmed and I’m not actually sure where they came from. It’s thought they were delivered in 1996 while the first of the M models didn’t appear until November 1997, IIRC.

Any ideas, Arthur? I can’t find any pics of 051-053 so if anybody comes across any….

Best regards

Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News

Morning, Arthur & Glitter

I don’t know why we bother…the guy is more than obviously a clueless troll. All of the links he keeps posting contradict not only what he says but also the previous link.

The Senat link he just posted is a brand new one and clearly says that five F2 will be delivered in 2004. Of course that’s still possible, if they get their act together, but it’s a best case scenario.

If you follow his Senat link to the rest of the document you’ll also discover that by 2008 there are only 40 Rafale planned for Adl’A. As recently as 2001 that number was planned to be 60. He can dismiss the Senat as a governmental body all he likes but the fact of the matter is the figures on their site have been proven to be correct.

If you also follow his link you’ll also find this:

M. André Dulait, président, a évoqué le futur coût d’entretien du standard F2 du Rafale, rappelant que celui du standard F1, déjà en service dans la Marine, s’est révélé sensiblement supérieur aux estimations initiales.

Enfin, il a fait valoir que les coûts d’entretien du Rafale F2 ne se révéleront qu’à l’occasion de l’expérimentation de cet avion, qui débutera en 2004.

Or…for us rosbifs:

Mr. André Dulait, president, evoked the future maintenance costs of the F2 standard of the Rafale, recalling that that of the F1 standard, already in service in the Navy, appeared appreciably higher than the initial estimates.

Lastly, it made the point that the maintenance costs of the Rafale F2 will appear only at the time of the experimentation of this plane, which will begin in 2004.

So basically, Arthur, we can put off our Mont de Marsan truffle hunt until 2004 at the earliest! 😀

Oh, but wait a minute, I’ve never been to France so I don’t know about that great spot by the gypsy camp to view the CEAM ramp 😀

Cheers

Steve ~ Touchdown-News