Kind of Neat news locally

[iambrb]

Local news here in South Carolina is reporting that Lockheed Martin in nearby Greenville, SC is looking to perhaps build the new T-50A supersonic trainer for the USAF here. here is L-H's link:

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/t50A.html

and here is the local news link:

http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/32001537/lockheed-nears-completion-of-assembly-facility-for-new-air-force-jets-in-greenville

Had no idea there was such a plane, although I would think it a good idea, the T-38 has to be getting pretty long in the tooth at this point

 

[helios]

I think there are currently 3 potential designs/concepts in various planning stages. I saw something a while back, can't remember where unfortunately. It sounded like there was at least 2 that were serious at taking a stab at a contract, while the 3rd company/group were still weighing pros/cons before they invested too much capital into the project.

 

[phantom II]

According to WIKI , the trainer replacement has been kicked around since 2003 .

I have yet to see any design as being accepted but hey, it would be good to already have a place to build it.

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[RichB]

It is expected that the T-X RFP will hit the street by Dec 2016 with selection by the end of 2017 and introduction to service by 2024. The current interested parties are Lockheed/KAI with the T-50A, Raytheon/Leonardo with the T-100 (M-346), and Northrop/BAE and Boeing/SAAB both with new design aircraft. The USAF has been hinting at some additional capabilities/roles for the T-X, a boom AAR receiver, Aggressor and Close Air Support.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[phantom II]

According to WIKI , the trainer replacement has been kicked around since 2003 .

I have yet to see any design as being accepted but hey, it would be good to already have a place to build it.

Cheers, Christian B)

Good grief , if I have my figures right , the T-38 that it will replace will have flown since 1961 making a service of 63 years .

The F-22 by 2024 will already be 21 years old and probably contemplating social security by then

I hope we are already producing a replacement fighter to be enter testing soon. The F-35 does not strike me as an air superiority bird but more of a design for air to mud.

Meanwhile the Soviets and Chinese are flying all sorts of wicked looking new designs....

Wonder what's at Tonopah that we don't know about yet ?

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[helios]

Yeah, the F-35 is definitely not an air superiority fighter. It was effectively designed as the next gen replacement for the F-16 & F/A-18, not the F-15 & F-22.

I still can't fathom why the Navy opted to go with single platform w/ reduced capabilities compared to every model it replaced. Plus the fact any breakdown in the supply chain (or Intermediate level maintenance facilities) effectively cripples the entire naval aviation fleet...freaking stupid. I've got a good idea why, but I'm not going down that road as it treads on the taboo topic of politics. :smack


Can you tell I'm not a fan of the Super Hornet?


But yeah, the USAF is due for a new trainer. I wonder how long the Navy's "newer" T-45 has been in service... :hmmm

Edit: Just looked. Much, much newer. Entered service in 1991. I thought I remembered them being pretty stinking new when I was in Millington (spring 1994). :laugh:

 

[phantom II]

Yeah, the F-35 is definitely not an air superiority fighter. It was effectively designed as the next gen replacement for the F-16 & F/A-18, not the F-15 & F-22.

I still can't fathom why the Navy opted to go with single platform w/ reduced capabilities compared to every model it replaced. Plus the fact any breakdown in the supply chain (or Intermediate level maintenance facilities) effectively cripples the entire naval aviation fleet...freaking stupid. I've got a good idea why, but I'm not going down that road as it treads on the taboo topic of politics. :smack


Can you tell I'm not a fan of the Super Hornet?


But yeah, the USAF is due for a new trainer. I wonder how long the Navy's "newer" T-45 has been in service... :hmmm

Edit: Just looked. Much, much newer. Entered service in 1991. I thought I remembered them being pretty stinking new when I was in Millington (spring 1994). :laugh:

Speaking of old stuff , I just found a piece of interesting story . I've had two duty assignments with the T-38 s.

Seems they are responsible for killing a handful of astronauts . One of which I was involved in the recovery.
Very gruesome .

Anyhow, I never knew the fatality's name . Only that he was an astronaut . So , a small tribute to him.

1967 October 5: Astronaut Clifton "C.C." Williams was killed in a crash due to an aileron jam.[15][16]

Rest in peace sir

 

[Sharkmouth]

Good grief , if I have my figures right , the T-38 that it will replace will have flown since 1961 making a service of 63 years .

53 years... only three more than me!

Regards,

 

[moon puppy]

Good grief , if I have my figures right , the T-38 that it will replace will have flown since 1961 making a service of 63 years .

53 years... only three more than me!

Regards,

Yeah, I was about to correct that myself, I feel old enough as it is, don't need Chris' bad math aging me more. ldguy

I think someone here posted something about this aircraft. That was the first time I saw it myself.

Bruce every time I go to Greenville I take a lap around Donaldson to see what's out there. Last time a C5A was there and a stripped down C130 in NMF. And NMF in this case was very colorful.

Wish I had gotten closer but there was a security truck eye ballin' me.

 

[helios]

Good grief , if I have my figures right , the T-38 that it will replace will have flown since 1961 making a service of 63 years .

53 years... only three more than me!

Regards,

Yeah, I was about to correct that myself, I feel old enough as it is, don't need Chris' bad math aging me more. ldguy

He's talking that it will have been in service for 63 years at the time of its potential replacement, in 2024. Not that it has already been in service 63 years.

 

[phantom II]

Yep guilty :S Bad calculation happens sometimes when I do more than one in my head at the same time.

That said, I did not take off my shoes or used a calculator


Still a very old bird, no matter which numbers you use.

Even the number of ejections are apauling .

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[RichB]

Our grown-ups in Ottawa are considering pushing the CT114 Tutor (Snowbirds & AETE test support) retirement out to 2030. That will have them pushing 70 years old.

One thing that could change that plan is if the NATO Flying Training contract is not renewed when it expires in a couple of years. The CT155 Hawk & CT156 Harvard II are leased so the RCAF would have to buy new trainers if we take back the training role. There were some feelers put out a couple of years ago about potential replacements with similar capabilities to the USAF T-X.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[phantom II]

Sorry if you guys are not interested in this post but finding a picture of this man as well as his Bio has really change my remembrance of this crash site .

It has become way more than a collection of bitty airplane pictures and a few pounds of body parts .
It has become a real life story to me after all this time.

NASA’s Astronaut Day of Remembrance
Too many men and woman have died in the effort to explore space—and too many of them are unknown. NASA has set aside a day to honor them all. What follows is a remembrance the Russians and Americans who lost their lives during missions, and the NASA astronauts who lost theirs during training.

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C.C. Williams
10/5/67: T-38 crash; bailed out but parachute didn't open
By Jeffrey Kluger Jan. 31, 2013
C.C. Williams
NASA
You’ve surely never heard of C.C. Williams, but you would have if he’d been the fourth man on the moon, as he was supposed to have been, piloting the lunar module during the 1969 mission of Apollo 12. As Williams was flying a T-38 over Tallahassee near the Georgia border one October day, however, one of his flaps jammed, causing him to slew left in a terrible roll. He radioed a mayday and ejected as he’d been trained. But he was going far too fast and bailed out too low for the parachute to open properly. He fell to his death on a Florida plantation. Just over two years later, Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean successfully flew the Apollo 12 mission. They saw to it that their mission patch, which was designed to feature a star for each of the three astronauts aboard, would also include a fourth.

 

[helios]

I actually went looking up stuff on Maj. Williams yesterday after you had posted about that.

Bird was coming down so fast, that even punching out at 1400' there still wasn't enough time for the ejection seat to safely deploy.

:salute

 

[phantom II]

I actually went looking up stuff on Maj. Williams yesterday after you had posted about that.

Bird was coming down so fast, that even punching out at 1400' there still wasn't enough time for the ejection seat to safely deploy.

:salute

You found more details/ I would be interested in reading it if you don't mind sharing with me.

All I was told is that the chute came out but did not have time to open . Basically he met the ground at around 600 miles an hour and the bird impacted at around 5 degrees from vertical .
What I remember is not 100% correct. I was told he was a Marine colonel when he was only a major and that's the only personal info I ever had.

John Glen was the on scene commander . I'm sure you recognise that name.



Cheers, Christian . B)


Bruce, apologies for hijacking your thread .

 

[moon puppy]

Thanks for sharing this :salute

 

[iambrb]

Good grief , if I have my figures right , the T-38 that it will replace will have flown since 1961 making a service of 63 years .

53 years... only three more than me!

Regards,

Yeah, I was about to correct that myself, I feel old enough as it is, don't need Chris' bad math aging me more. ldguy

I think someone here posted something about this aircraft. That was the first time I saw it myself.

Bruce every time I go to Greenville I take a lap around Donaldson to see what's out there. Last time a C5A was there and a stripped down C130 in NMF. And NMF in this case was very colorful.

Wish I had gotten closer but there was a security truck eye ballin' me.

SHARKMOUTH...you are a youngster! I'm 53!


Hey Bob, when I was a buyer there at LM, I got to participate in a neat program, wherein older model C-130's were being used for fire-fighting. to get them off the ground, some older French JATO bottles were supposed to be essentially 'gifted' for this purpose, if it would work, for the Canadians (I think it was, that point is foggy. My part was to get the dang things to work, not worry about who they went to). During a live test LM attached them to the C-130, and the first set worked great, you never saw something big take off so fast! About a week later, they strapped an old fire engine in the cargo bay to simulate weight, then later an M113. I could not be present for the other two, though they got off the ground pretty well. My time there ended before I got so see what eventually happened, again, a really neat process to see, but trust me, there is a good reason that Government or Government contractors hate their jobs!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

I never knew about C.C. Williams. I do remember that Apollo 12 had the first color video camera on board to send video back to earth. They goofed however and swung the cam around where it caught the sun and the shutter snapped closed and jammed. Later they discovered that if they had a phillips screwdriver along they could have fixed it.

 

[phantom II]

I never knew about C.C. Williams. I do remember that Apollo 12 had the first color video camera on board to send video back to earth. They goofed however and swung the cam around where it caught the sun and the shutter snapped closed and jammed. Later they discovered that if they had a phillips screwdriver along they could have fixed it.

I guess I never would have know about him either had I not been there at the wrong time . The news were very well kept quiet.

Just like a Thunderbird want to be belying one of the last T-38's the day after the team flew theirs into the ground.

As far as toolboxes go, there never seems to be too many tools in them but often too few :facepalm