Only Angels Have Wings

 

The first time I watched this video, it was mesmerizing, the second time, I cried...I guess that's a "chick thing"...

Then I could not stop myself from watching it over and over again. I love the part where the pilot is reading the map 100 ft off the ground. Awesome.

The music is simply brilliant. It's "The Champions" track from "The Mass" by Era. Strap in, headphones on, turn it up loud....
 

 

 

"If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed, if you will not fight when victory will be sure and not so costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no chance of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."  Sir Winston Churchill

Thank you to my friend David @ Third World County who posted it originally, and who must have thought it was a "guy thing", because it was my buddy Rick @ The Real Ugly American who gave me the heads up. LOL!

Comments

[Michael van der Galien]

Scout:

My advice: visit Groningen once (where I'm going to college): you're talking losing brain cells, you're talking Groningen.

Now teaching English at a high school? You must long for the calmness of waging war now and then huh? ;-)

[Scout]

@Sammy: Oh, I know Bentwaters well, but in my years it was mostly an A-10 base. Retired last Sept after 26 years. Been in Europe since '81... since retirement I've been teaching English and Music at a German high school. How's that for a jink? ;-)

[sammy small]

Scout,

At RAF Bentwaters in the 70's. I made it to Soesterberg one time, and ended up spending the night due to a generator problem. All I remember about the GCA approach was the crummy weather (we didn't have ILS in the Phantom, why I do not know). We were delivering some personnel records to an accident board being held there after one of our squadron mates hit a small plane on a low level nearby. It was sometime in late 1974. Luckily, only the Cessna pilot was killed. The engine from the Cessna had fallen through a house and landed just a few feet from someone talking on the phone.

I would have loved to go back on better circumstances, but they always had quiet time on weekends when we had cross country flights scheduled.

How about you, still active?
Regards, Sammy

[Scout]

Thanks for the info, Alexandra. Looks like I've landed politically in the right camp. ;-)
@Michael, no insult intended! (ik wilde even vriendelijk zijn...) I found this site on a link from Cold Fury, and being new here myself, I can't tell who are the old timers. BTW... I know Leeuwarden quite well -- I've lost quite a few brain cells there.
@Sammy: For example, runway 27 at Soesterberg on a warm summer evening. There I'm afraid you would need intuition for more than a few seconds! Where did you fly Phantoms?

[sammy small]

Scout,

Only when you land into the setting sun. More than once I lost the runway during the final turn. Just have to go on intuition for a few seconds.

[Alexandra]

Scout,
Michael is a long time commenter here on ATB, himself a blogger, and a contributor to The Moderate Voice blog. He brings us the spice of the Dutch view on world matters and is quite an expert on American politics, sharing this blog's pessimistic view of Islamofascists.

[Scout]

Hey Sammy, not only that, but if you're that low over the water you get all that salt spray on the windscreen, and then you can't see to land! (and in the F-15, I was accustomed to being able to see) ;-)

[sammy small]

The Blue Angles are superb, and precision is their forte.

BTW, I once took an F-4 out over the North Sea at 450 and dropped down to where I couldn't tell height above the water anymore. I glanced at the radar alt. and it showed 35 ft. And its only accurate to + or - 50 ft. My back seater was having a fit. Two or three seconds later, we were comfortable again at 500 ft.

[Scout]

@Michael: heel fijn dat je deze engelstalig-blog heeft gevonden, en ook iets in onze discussie konden bijdragen! De Blue Angels zijn onze "demonstratie" Marine-smaldeel uit Pensacola. De Luchtmacht heeft ook eens namens Thunderbirds. Dat met 40 centimeters lijkt mischien gevaarlijk te zijn, maar iedere jadgvlieger zal het ook kunnen. Met oefening, gaat dat heel gemaakelijk, dat kan je geloven. Ik heb het ook gemaakt, bijna iedere vlug. Maar de Blue Angels doen well ein mooie show, vind ik.

[ nice that you found this English-speaking blog and made a contribution to our discussion. The Blue Angels are the Naval demonstration squadron from Pensacola, the AF also has a unit called the Thunderbirds. The part about 40 cm might seem dangerous, but any fighter pilot could do the same. With practice, believe me, it's easy. I've done it myself, almost every flight. Nevertheless, the Blue Angels do put on a nice show, I think. ]

[Michael van der Galien]

Yesterday and the day before was 'open day' of the airforce base in the city of Leeuwarden here in the Netherlands. I couldn't go, due to personal circumstances but there was this very famous US squadron (spelling please): they can fly 40 centimeters from eachother 40 CENTIMETERS!!!!
They say they are very famous in the US... don't remember the name. Anwyway: they do all kinds of tricks. I saw some of them flying from my home and it was incredible!

It was the first time that squadron was in europe since 1972.

I think their name was Blue Angels or something.

Anyway: my oncle went to the show and said he never saw something as beautiful as that.

[Scout]

@Hawkeye: Well, it is noticable, but in the F-1 you can really be down there, and it isn't that uncomfortable. I would have never done it in an Eagle. You would beat your brains out... low and fast in the F-15C is really a handful.
The stronger (and therefore larger) the vortecies, the more an aircraft is affected by ground effect. The F-1 has a relatively small wing surface and no large fences, ergo a rather significant vortex. It has conventional hydraulic-mechanical flight controls, and I just noticed the stick forces got heavier when low and fast like that, in other words, the ground effect was most certainly noticable. I was not prepared to "push the envelope" any further at the times that I was flying the Mirage. Besides, I was an air-to-air guy... that low stuff wasn't my cup of tea.
Of course, every pilot has noticed ground effect at some time... at the very latest, during landing.

[Hawkeye]

@scout, What's the ground effect like in the F1? When these guys were dipping down to 50 feet, I would have expected they'd start to get some significant ground lift.

[Scout]

Sammy is absolutely right, at that altitude it's definitely eyes out. That having been said, it isn't quite as dangerous as it looks. This is owing to the so-called "ground effect." Once the aircraft is trimmed out straight and level at lowest altitudes, let's say below 50', it physically takes a lot of pressure to go lower (and a lot of nerve as well). The wing-tip vortecies are increasingly minimized by the proximity of the ground; therefore the wings create more and more lift. This means it takes then even _more_ forward pressure on the stick to move the aircraft lower.
BTW, although it looks very impressive, I would just like to point out that flight at extremely low altitudes, as depicted here, has kind of lost its tactical significance. Yes, it shrinks enemy weapons envelopes, but you put yourself in a position to be shot at randomly by any sand gomer with a rifle. There are other and better ways of minimizing the enemy missile threat ;-)

[sammy small]

Maybe just a glance. I wouldn't even do that at 100 ft. Its eyes out of the cockpit 100% of the time.

Maybe the back seater is flying during this sequence.

[Alexandra]

Scout,

The camera in question is forward-looking, below and behind the nose of the aircraft tucked behind a glass plate in a small "blister."

Ah, thank you...I was trying to figure it out, because stupidly you think it's on the side, and so you can't figure out how you are heading straight for the object of vision.

Thanks Sammy.

You know, since I am slightly obsessed now (LOL) I have to ask guys how on earth can the pilot read a map whilst he is flying what at that moment could be an F1 weed eater it's so low!

[sammy small]

Based on Scout's info, the shot you are asking about looks like it was taken from a forward looking camera mounted in the recce avionics bay. Like the camera mounted over the pilots shoulder, it was probably installed just for this series of shots.

Most fighters have a HUD camera to capture video looking through the Heads Up Display. You can see the HUD beginning at 00:26 in the video, coincident with the map scene you originally mentioned. The HUD is the small combining glass sitting in front of the pilots line of vision.

Scout,

I figured it had to be high wing loaded, kind of like the old "big ugly" F-4 I used to fly. I've flown the Mirage 3 as well which was quite different in those situations as well.

[Scout]

@Ann: You're quite welcome. Yes, I do miss it. Most of my time was in the F-15C. Nice that there's an F-15 on the "cover shot" of this topic, even if it's an F-15E... ;-)
@Alexandra: I'd be happy to. As I said, this is a recce version of an old fighter. Instead of the avionics required to guide radar missiles, the nose of this aircraft is fitted with cameras (of various types... visual, IR, etc), recording, and data link equipment. The camera in question is forward-looking, below and behind the nose of the aircraft tucked behind a glass plate in a small "blister." Just search "Mirage F-1CR" and you'll see plenty of photographs where this blister is evident. BTW, the normal aircraft is a single-seater, but in this video they use the 2-seat training versions, thus a "cameraman" sitting in the back took a lot of the footage, occasionally turning the camera on himself. That thing you see protruding from the starboard side is a refuelling probe; the FAF use the same probe-and-drogue system as the US Navy, but in the case of the F-1, the probe is fixed and cannot be retracted.

[Alexandra]

Firstly I am seriously impressed by how many of you guys have had first hand experince, and your knowledge is admirable. Awesome!

Secondly I can't stop watching the damn thing over and over with the music blaring in my headphones and flying. Can someone explain to me the shot where the pilot flies through the narrow gap, as seen though a window. Where is that window situated, as the shot appears head on?

[Ann]

Scout, thank you for the info.
To us civies it doesn't matter who is flying it we still always think of our brave men up there, and this is the closest I have ever seen to what it must feel like to fly in an army machine. You must really miss it. I am hooked just watching the video and imagining.

[Scout]

For anyone who is interested: Both aircraft are French Air Force Mirage F-1CRs. That’s a recce version of the F-1 fighter which has been in service for about 35 years. South Africa is also a Mirage operator (varient F-1CZ) but they do not own this model. This recce version has been modernized and is fitted with some cameras and sigint equipment, as well as some data link kit to download information to the analysis cell in near real time. The airplane itself is a bit of a dog (I’ve flown it) but any aircraft looks impressive when it is flown that low and fast. @Sammy: The good news is that the F-1 has such high wing loading that it is a comfortable ride low altitude high speed. The helicopter on the ground is a French AF Puma (twin engine, retractable gear, also flown by the RAF and several other countries). I notice the pilots were still using the same crappy helmets and oxygen masks that they were using 20 years ago when I flew the Mirage for the first time.
It’s a nice video, though

[Hawkeye]

A great piece of footage.

The fighters are all French built Mirage F1's. Operator: most likely South Africa.

The choice of music is inspired.

But I'd still like to see some of ours.

[sammy small]

Looks like French F-1's to me also. I hope this was early morning before the air got choppy with thermals. That wouldn't be too much fun at that altitude. Some of these passes are about 1 heartbeat away from impact if something goes wrong. But its thrilling for short bursts.

[John]

Wouldn't surprise me to hear that " The Pentagon " is looking into it to see if any charges are appropriate.
Seriously though them babies seem to just be floating on the wind (nose high), although at some speed. The last guy over the fence at the base does, however, seem to be under way!

[Richard Davis]

Whoa!!! It's not a "chick thing", it made MY eyes well up with pride!! I never flew, but in my 20 years in the Navy I saw lots of planes take off, land, and practice manuevers, on land and at sea, regularly - and always I would watch HYPNOTIZED, in awe and proud to be a part of THE TEAM,

WE WERE, WE ARE - an awesome awesome mighty force..

(I hope we unleash it soon against these Jihadists around the world - sorry for the somber thought, but that's why they do what they do)

This video brought all that back - THANK YOU!!

[Jonathan Korman]

Don't tell the other gutless pacifist lefties, but I do love the beautiful machines and the folks with the talent, skill, and daring to fly them. Thanks for posting this.

[tbrosz]

These pilots are either French, or using French flight helmets.

I did a post elsewhere on this.

[lucklucky]

This are Mirage F1s and the helo is a Puma.

[Chris Hunt]

I would also offer my condolences to Bill, poor as they may be, for his family's sacrifice on my family's behalf. Thank you indeed. May God bless you and yours commensurate with your loss.

As for the video: Whoooooohoooooo!

[brian]

Also to Bill, I echo the sentiments of our hostess here, all my sympathies, condolences and gratitude to your family for keeping us all free. Thank You.

[brian]

British Tornadoes are twin engined, these are single engined aircraft. I thought French made Mirage is most likely correct. Tornadoes air intakes are rectangle shaped, much like the F-15 Eagle that's in your image at the head of this post.

My research on that was really easy, since I have my own Air Force adorning the shelves of my computer desk here in front of me! Among them are a Brit Tornado, a French Mirage 2000c, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Falcon Block 60, F-14 Tomcat, F-4 Phantom, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-117 Nighthawk, F-22 Raptor, AV-8 Harrier (US Marines), SR-71 Blackbird, Russian MiG 29 Fulcrum, Su 37 Flanker, among others. Also, there is what's waiting for our buddies in Iran, the impressive B1b Lancer. I just love the military-industrial complex, don't you?

[Alexandra]

Bill,
you have certainly done your part in keeping us free. Thank you, and I am sorry you have had the pain of losing your son. No parent should have to endure the heartache of outliving their child, no matter at what age.

[Bill]

One of the young men that was a good friend of my deceased son just graduated as a Naval Aviator. It doesn't matter what the plane is, the skills are the same. Having sat in a T-45 simulator, I can testify the pilots of these aircraft are different from you and me.

I am proud of our aviators and all the armed forces. I also have a son who is a Navy diver and EOD technician. It is the dedication of people like these that keeps us free.

Thank you for the chance to see this.

[Crusader.NoRegrets.]

You know you're flying low when you gotta pull back to get your gear down, or when you have to clean the weeds of the pitot tube...

[RunningRoach]

Hey Kid,

Well, I would tell CAIR to FO&D.

Have a great evening,

Regards,
JCC

[FlooseMan Dave]

In a couple of passes, those guys were so lo they would have had to pull back on the stick to lower their landing gear.

My heart is still in my throat!

Whattaride!

[Liquid]

I loved it!!!!

[Alexandra]

RR,

Exactly what I thought. If that was us, we would have some wise ass writing e-mails from CAIR reporting how we were on the hunt for civilians.

It made me think of our boys though, and I have had so many e-mails from our guys telling me: "wow this is exactly how it feels"

[RunningRoach]

Great video, A.
I could almost "feel" the entire flight. Ah to be 24 and do it all again. (of course we would get the boot if caught flying that low)

Regards,
JCC

[The Ugly American]

I love the still photo!

[Crusader.NoRegrets.]

South Arican Air Force Mirage F1's and a couple of Buccaneers? Damn that looks like parts of South West!!

Israeli Mirages? I am sure there is a Bucaneer in there though!

[Lennie]

I agree with Huan. At first I thought they where British Tornados, but the tail doesn't look like one, nor the engine intakes. Also the helo you see is not American. Probably Euro or even Russian. Troops on the ground do not appear to be in American uni's. The pilot's uniforms do not appear to be American (don't believe we issued desert tan). And the pilot's mask doesn't look right either. I think these are French Mirage's in either India or Pakistan....

[Huan]

those are either French Mirage fighters or Euro Tornadoes

[David]

BTW, the music is from "Era: The Mass"--The Champions

[David]

Alexandra,

I'd have given you a heads up on it, too, if I hadn't been nodding off (wore myself out watching the video... and don't ask why I'm back up again at this hour... watching it again... or about to do so... again :-))...

Oh, how I wish there were more hours in the day and more functioning brain cells at the end of those hours!

*LOL*