Steve Davies

Just a quick update to let BO readers know that the second edition of Red Eagles will be out on 24 January. This edition contains 30,000 words of new material predominantly related to the involvement of the Foreign Technology Division (now NASIC), but also adds detail to five HAVE exploitation programmes that I was able to get declassified (FOIA) between editions. I may be able to do a special deal on the paper book for BO readers once it's out. Standby for words on that... Otherwise, I understand it'll be out on Kindle, ePUB and PDF formats for those with ebook readers and the like. Merry Christmas to you all. Steve

I was.

Another question. The pilot initiated a recovery three seconds before impact. The report states that this resulted in a 7g pull, but the illustration shows that the stick was pulled all the way back. Why was the pull only 7gs? Max available given current Mach (M1.1)? or flight control software limitation? If the latter, is there no 'hard stop' override in the F-22? Such a feature exists in other modern FBW fighters (Typhoon, for example), and even some earlier gen a/c (Swiss F/A-18C/D, for example). What I am wondering is if the pull been at 9gs or greater, would this have made a difference to the outcome?

Thanks Toro/Rainman for the additional answers to my questions. One thing that the report does not address is whether there would have been any mist/condensation associated with the decompression. I assume that the lack of information about it means that the board believed it was not a factor, but it is odd that they do not explicitly address it. If the cabin did fog up, or his visor misted over - even for a short while - how could he have been expected to 'fly the aircraft'?

Thanks, CH That answers my hypoxia questions. According to the report, he was at 50k when the OBOGS FAIL caption came on. That doesn't leave much time to do very much of anything.

If I may be permitted to ask a question or two: Based on my very limited experience as a 'breather', I've been told countless times that if the mask stops supplying air, you should either pull the green ring or drop the mask. In this case, is it unreasonable to expect that the pilot would have done the latter when he realised he was unable to reach/activate the emergency system? Or, would hypoxia have set in so quickly that he really only had one shot at pulling the ring? If he had dropped his mask, would there have been sufficient oxygen in the cabin air (I note that there was cabin pressure failure) to have warded off the effects of hypoxia? Not trying to second guess anyone, but keen to know what the alternatives might have been. One final one: are USAF AIBs expected to designate a *single* cause as the main reason for the mishap, or is there latitude for them to cite two or more main reasons?

Royal There's a technical fault on the Amazon.com page that stops us from selling the book. I'm trying to get it fixed, but Amazon doesn't dance to the beat of anyone else's drum and are taking their time. Once it's fixed I'll drop a line on here. In the meantime, you can still get the book direct from us: Y2B Publishing. Cheers Steve

Cool. More fighters for rich tourists to fly.

It has been a while since I last flew the Hawk, but memory serves that the procedure is to safe the seat before opening the canopy. The photos suggest that the canopy was closed at the time of the mishap; the position of his flaps suggest that there was power on the aircraft. It's therefore likely that the seat pin was removed, the seat was hot, the engine was running and that he was strapped in. Rumours about the sequence of events would support this.

Yes.

The RAF is saying very specifically that he was "ejected out of the aeroplane". The use of the passive suggests that it was either inadvertent or uncommanded.

I don't really get this. He was found "leaning forward in his seat" after the crash, or seen by the other F-16 pilot leaning forward before the crash?

RF The Amazon stock issue is being sorted as we speak - they are an utter pain in the arse to work with and it's almost impossible to work out how their system works. Anyway, PM me with your address (or your Dad's) and I'll send him a copy of the book for free. It would be our honour to do so. It shouldn't be a problem for me to work out his name, but if you'd supply it anway then I can make sure that we can personalise the package appropriately. Steve In fact, I may send it via Sam Deas (the author) so that he can sign it and then send it on.

Mike Your memories brought back some memories for me, too - British Calendonian, Hoverspeed etc.!

It might be old age creeping in, but I could've sworn that the last time this came up there was some exchange of correspondence between Major Rush's legal team and BO.

From what you were aware? I'm not "tied up" with any magazines, and I never have been. At the time I made my comments to Ned, I hadn't written for a magazine several years. I had nothing to gain from telling him that there were some simple things that he could do to make the magazine much better. He pissed people off not because he "is blunt", but because he behaved like a child. Good luck with the new venture, anyway.

Thanks. Made me laugh.

Do they still sell Colt 45 in the US?

Ned has pissed off a few people here. He's threatened to cancel the subscriptions of the entire community, and I know that he actually has cancelled several peoples' subs. So, you come here doing Ned's bidding and offering more subscriptions (that Ned can cancel on a whim) as if there is no history to address, and you think you have the right to castigate me for remembering the above!? Ugh.

So, where's Ned? Toys out of Pram I take it that his earlier comments no longer stand:

Pretty sure it was this dude: https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1b2_1237278935

RF Yep, same day/strike force. Your Dad still around? Would be cool if we can get him a copy of the book gratis. Cheers Steve

Not immediately, but certainly before the end of the year.

Hacker Thanks for the review. I'm talking to Baseops about doing some advertising here, so I won't post any detail as that's a bit cheeky. However, we are taking pre-orders for the book, so Red Fox please do visit our website (linked in Hacker's post) for more info. I'll post again once we've got an advertising deal agreed with BO. Cheers Steve

That photo is not from this mishap.