Page 10 - Aerotech News and Review, Nov. 3 2017

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leading the effort for the past several years.
All the hard work and dedication has ap- parently paid off, as Gray announced that the Foundation expects to break ground for the new museum in the spring of 2018. As that news was met with a round of applause, Bill Gray remind- ed everyone that although the foundation is a lot closer, they aren’t there yet and they need to continue to raise funds to bring the project to
completion.
On that note the foundation held an auc-
tion lead by auctioneer Shawne Chamberlin that brought in more than $2,000. Chamberlin opened the auction offering a United States flag that flew on the first flight of the F-22. The flag was bought by Congressman Steve Knight. Other
Right: Board of Directors for the Flight Test Historical Foundation, Chairwoman Lisa Gray (right) presents Lisa Brown the Volunteer of the Year award for her outstanding contributions in the development of the curriculum for the online Junior Test Pilot School and on-site, eight week summer program at the Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale Calif., where children learned the fundamentals of flight with hands-on experiments. Guest teachers included test pilots and engineers.
items sold ranged from first flight posters signed by test pilot Paul Metz to framed artwork and canvas paintings. Proceeds from the auction went to the Flight Test Historical Foundation.
Danny Bazzell, general manager of the FTHF, thanked those who attended the event and said the foundation is all about raising money to build the museum, “Good news, we’re actually getting there,” he said.
Bazzell, who took over the FTHF reins last November, said his goal is to make it the nation’s largest STEM education center in the Southwest region.
Bazzell said that although they expect to start construction early next year, they still need about $7 million to take the project all the way through.
Photographs by Linda KC Reynolds
Art Thompson of A2Zfx and Sage Cheshire poses with Nay and Julie Schuder in front of an art piece sculpted by Nay during the Gathering of Eagles event. Thompson designed and crafted the centerpieces, which were then purchased by aerospace enthusiasts and autographed by the new Eagles. Artists Doug Castleman and Mark Pestana also displayed their aerospace art.
F-22 CTF celebrates 20th anniversary of Raptor first flight
by Kenji Thuloweit
Edwards AFB, Calif.
The F-22 Combined Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., held a ceremony Oct. 19 to commemorate the first flight of the F-22 Raptor.
The first flight of the first F-22 air- craft took place Sept. 7, 1997. The fight- er took off from Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga., with F-22 chief test pilot Paul Metz at the controls.
The F-22 CTF continues to test sys- tems upgrades and modernization proj- ects on the fifth-generation fighter.
According to the Air Force, the F-22 Raptor’s combination of stealth, super- cruise, maneuverability, and integrated avionics, coupled with improved sup- portability, represents an exponential leap in warfighting capabilities. The Raptor performs both air-to-air and air- to-ground missions allowing full real- ization of operational concepts vital to the 21st century Air Force.
The F-22 engines produce more thrust than any current fighter engine. The combination of sleek aerodynamic design and increased thrust allows the F-22 to cruise at supersonic airspeeds (greater than 1.5 Mach) without using afterburner — a characteristic known as supercruise. Supercruise greatly ex- pands the F-22‘s operating envelope in both speed and range over current fight- ers that have to burn a lot of fuel using an afterburner.
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Air Force photograph by Jennifer Correa
Members of the F-22 Combined Test Force and special guests pose for a photo in front of one the CTF’s F-22 Raptors at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The CTF held a ceremony Oct. 19, 2017, to commemorate the first flight of the F-22.
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