(Somewhat) Rare photo op

So, the other day I got a rare opportunity. At least it seems rare to me anyway lol...I got to sit in a F-22 Raptor AND have my picture taken in it. This Raptor is one of the first few made. Its line # 91-4006 and was the 6th one delivered to EAFB for flight testing back in the mid 90's. It has been in several movies, including Ironman, and the first transformer movie. Sitting in it was really neat as this has pretty much a glass cockpit-meaning it has no gauges in it, just computer screens. It was quite an honor to sit in this 150 million dollar stealth fighter.

p.s. it wasnt as comfortable as I thought it would be


Note: This picture was taken by David Henry, LMAero, and was cleared for public release by the 412th FLTS PAO.

There's an F-22A in the US Air Force Museum too, but I guess you have to be a Zoomie to get excited about seeing one. It doesn't do anything for me.

Super Warrantman said:

There's an F-22A in the US Air Force Museum too, but I guess you have to be a Zoomie to get excited about seeing one. It doesn't do anything for me.

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lol..Im not a zoomie I just work with them. But Ive always been into planes. And to be fair...this wasnt just "seeing" one lol. That there F-22 is the YF version...the prototype and is alot different then the newer ones. Their shape is even different too. Ive seen that one back when it was out here still competing for the contract against the YF-23. Saw them both side by side...was a cool contrast.

You break it you buy it!

Haha it's got schedule 40 pvc in it.....

Nice photo

Would I get any points if I mentioned that some of my design work still flies on the T-1A Jayhawk long after the days that it was first designed (circa 1979) as the Mitsubishi Aricraft International "MU-300" DIAMOND, DIAMOND-I, -IA, and -II ???

I've always been "into" aircraft, too!

Congrats on "getting some seat-time" in a RAPTOR !

Hi Guys,

That is cool.. Lucky you..

I remember when I was a child, because my dad had connections.
I got to sit in the navigators seat of one of these, it was an S3A Viking..

Unfortunately no photos of me in it could be taken, because it was on a base,
I was sitting inside it, and it was in active military service then.
So they had rules against that sort of thing at the time..

Heavysteven said:

Haha it's got schedule 40 pvc in it.....

Nice photo

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...you know, I actually wondered what that is. I think Ill ask what it is tomorrow. Ill post what it is...if Im allowed

...if I were to venture a guess, I'd say canopy ejection explosive...could be wrong but its only a guess.

My cousin used to work in the army in helicopter repair.. When I was around 12-14 I got to sit in a Cobra, that was pretty cool never got a pic though.. the second coolest thing was getting a tour of a live Nuclear submarine in the Groton Naval base in CT. My buddy still had an active pass (pre 911) That was cool! Going through the torpedo room and even looking out the periscope! Not like when you are in a museum ship! Okay okay, I was never in the military so this was really cool for me..

Brings back memories of growing up

I would guess the PVC is for cooling/defrosting ducts since it sits right under the canopy. Simple things are still the best, no matter how much the overall airframe costs.

I remember using parachute cord, masking tape and white paint to create a yaw line on the nose of F-4D fighters so they could line up the target for the gun pod. Tied the string to the nose cap screw on the point of the radome and as the pilot lined up his target, the string would either be right on the line if he was flying straight at the target, or off to one side if he was crooked.

25 cents worth of supplies sure beat the heck out of all that fancy reticle lights in the HUD!

double posted. Where is the delete function now?

I Stayed at a hotel in TN a few years ago and was able to park the v-tail right by our room.
Short field if I remember right, lot of fun. The v tail of the raptor reminded me of this picture I took from our balcony.

twa@ezdn.net said:

I Stayed at a hotel in TN a few years ago and was able to park the v-tail right by our room.
Short field if I remember right, lot of fun. The v tail of the raptor reminded me of this picture I took from our balcony.

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I always like Bonanza aircraft...although they always seemed more expensive then I could afford (when I was pricing out my own flying contraptions). I know the Raptor has a pretty significant angle for those vertical stabilizers but they are not true V tails..they do have horizontal stabs and the entire surface is the control surface, so it doesnt have elevators hinged on the horizontals... (Im sure you already knew that though...lol)


...Also I did ask today about the "schedule 40 PVC pipe thing" that someone addressed in a previous post, and it turns out that it is an explosive charge that blows the canopy clear in the event of an ejection.

Great pic and opportunity.

I would guess it was not as comfortable as you thought it would be because you were not "properly" dressed for the occasion. Get outfitted in a full flight suit and I bet it would fit great.

SMOKEWAGON66 said:

...Also I did ask today about the "schedule 40 PVC pipe thing" that someone addressed in a previous post, and it turns out that it is an explosive charge that blows the canopy clear in the event of an ejection.

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Ha ha, Pipe Bomb!

Sorry I couldn't resist.