|
Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 60 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
|
 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 USAF
| An Air Force is only effective when it has the ability to support ground operations in combat. Which bomber can dump the biggest payload? (ordnance) | USAF Aircraft!
|
Rockwell B-1B Lancer. B-1B = 125,000lbs. With four GE F-101 afterburning engines, the B-1B can haul the big iron. Designed in the late 70s as a supersonic, high altitute 'swing wing' bomber, it has been forced to fill a low-level bombing role with the advancement in USSR SAM technology. The agile Lancer fills both roles today admirably. B-36H = 85,000+lbs. With such a huge wing and airframe altogether, the Peacemaker outweighs even the big, 8-jet B-52. B-52H = 50,000+lbs. This magnificent airplane is 50 years old, and still jets the job done efficently. One of the most enduring military aircraft, the B-52 carries a deterring load of 50,000 pounds, and is not scheduled to retire for more than another decade. B-2A = 40,000lbs.
| In the USAF's Light Weight Fighter (LWF) competition of the early '70s, the General Dynamic's YF-16 beat out Northrop's YF-17 (The original F/A-18!). This revolutionized world air combat. Now, why would we want to have a LWF competition in the first place? | USAF Aircraft!
|
Due to the inadequate performance of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom in Vietnam.. Let's here it for choosing the most complicated answer! Although the F-16 has proven itself as great for multiple roles, it was the F-4's poor performance in Vietnam that made the AF bigwigs require a smaller, more maneuverable figher. It was too heavy and unmaneuverable to efficiently compete with the smaller, (lighter) more maneuverable MiGs of the day. (LWF = light weight fighter, a low-cost, small and cheap figher prototype program to augment the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter program.) (For the other 2 answers, we did have other jet fighters; the Convair F-106 Delta Dart, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom and F-15 Eagle, the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, the Vought A-7 Corsair II, and more. And, the Shooting Star had been out dated since 1960.)
Mk 82. The Mk 82 is a 500-lb general purpose bomb.
The warhead. The GBU-10E uses a Mk 84 general purpose warhead while the GBU-10J uses a BLU-109 penetration warhead.
1000-lbs & 500-lbs. General purpose bombs, like the Mk 84, have a 1:1 case to fill ratio, while the BLU-109 penetrator has a 3:1 case to fill ratio. Since each weigh about 2000-lbs, you can then do the math.
| This missile has Imaging Infrared, Charged Coupled Device, and Laser-guidance seeker heads. It also has two types of warheads: a 125-lb shaped charge and a 300-lb blast/frag. Which is it? | USAF Air-to-Ground munitions
|
AGM-65 MAVERICK. OK, the the laser Maverick isn't used by the Air Force...sue me. The AGM-65E is laser guided, the AGM-65G uses the IIR (Imaging Infrared) seeker, and the AGM-65H and AGM-65K both use the CCD (Charged Coupled Device) seeker.
4. The Viper will typically carry two per TER (Triple Ejector Rack) on the center and outboard stations. Each TER will be loaded onto stations 3 and 7. A GBU-12 is not loaded onto the inboard station of the TER because when dropped the fins could damage the fuel tanks on stations 4 and 6.
COMMANDO VAULT. The DAISY CUTTER is the 4-foot fuze on the nose of the bomb that allows it to detonate above the ground (originally designed to clear helicopter landing zones). The MOAB is the 21,500-lb bomb recently developed in 2003. MOAB stands for Massive Ordinance Air Burst, or the slang "Mother Of All Bombs."
202. The CBU-87, commonly called the Combined Effects Munition, employs 202 BLU-97 sub-munitions, each with a blast, fragmentation, shaped charge, and incendiary capability. The sub-munition has a scored case to maximize frag, a copper cone that becomes molten metal to penetrate armor, a zirconium sponge to create a ring of fire (ode to Johnny Cash), and an explosive fill to initiate the previous three mechanisms.
| A pilot's call sign is usually created by either a play on the pilot's given name, based on a career or personal life incident, or on the pilot's personality. I will give you the clues about the pilot, and see if you can figure out the call sign from the clues. These are all real call signs from people that our family knows, so I've tried to keep the personal info to a minimum!
First one: Sometimes an aircrew member will share a name with a celebrity, from which will follow a call sign. For instance, if a pilot's given name is Don Johnson, what would be a good choice for his call sign? | USAF Aircrew Call Signs
|
Vice. Don Johnson was the actor who played Sonny Crockett in the 80's TV crime drama, Miami Vice. Make sense?
| Sometimes a call sign will be a play on words based on the last name of the pilot, and these are usually the most clever ones. Our friend whose last name is "Frank", has which call sign? (This one is most like a brain teaser.) | USAF Aircrew Call Signs
|
Furter. Frank Furter. He's quite a "hot dog", too! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
| Occasionally a pilot will transition his career from flying a large, heavy airplane to flying a small fighter jet. In a heavy aircraft the mission is often hours and hours long, with plenty of time and room in the cockpit for meals. As a reference to a pilot's previous lifestyle (where they can actually eat in the plane), what call sign will they be given when they arrive at their new fighter squadron? | USAF Aircrew Call Signs
|
Spork. A "spork" is a reference to the type of eating utensil that is like a spoon and a fork in one, and often comes in prepackaged meals from the flight kitchen...no fighter pilot ever gets to eat a meal in the cockpit!
Frenchie. "Frenchie" Fry...hey, it's not much of a stretch but it works!
| The flight doctor of a squadron usually has a medically related call sign, like "Bones". Can you guess the call sign of the flight doc we knew whose last name was "Pendon"? | USAF Aircrew Call Signs
|
Achilles. "Achilles" Pendon, like achilles tendon! Not only is it a play on words, but has that medical flair, too.
| Sometimes the call sign will be ironic: in direct contrast to what the pilot actually is or does. For instance, one aircrew member was supposed to be reading the map while he and some other pilots tried to make their way into a large city in a rental car. They ended up completely lost, and the "navigator" earned himself an ironic call sign. Can you guess it? | USAF Aircrew Call Signs
|
Magellan. Ferdinand Magellan was a 16th century world explorer, making the first circumnavigation of the earth. You can even purchase GPS navigational equipment for your car that is called "Magellan". Clearly, this guy was no Magellan.
| Another pilot friend of ours has the last name of Gilbreath. It's not much of a leap to figure out his call sign based on his last name. Can you figure out which animal goes with Gilbreath? | USAF Aircrew Call Signs
|
Fish. A "Fish" most certainly could have "gill breath" (Gilbreath)!
| Finally, one pilot I know has had no less than 5 call signs. Every time he moves to a different squadron he acquires a new one. Someone suggested that he be given a call sign to illustrate the fact that no call sign ever sticks to him. With that clue, which call sign do you suppose was suggested? | USAF Aircrew Call Signs
|
Teflon. Teflon is that great substance on the bottom of cookware to keep foods from sticking. Funny enough, "Teflon" didn't stick to him either!
| Many call signs are given when an aircrew member shares a last name with a celebrity. Two of our pilot friends, with the last names of "Gossett" and "Rawls", share the same call sign. Can you figure out their call sign from that clue? | USAF Call Signs 2
|
Lou. Lou Gossett, Jr. is a well-known actor ("An Officer and a Gentleman") and Lou Rawls is a legendary R&B singer.
| If you know a little about golf, you will probably figure this one out. One pilot we know has the last name of "Mulligan". What do you suppose his call sign was? | USAF Call Signs 2
|
Slice. A "mulligan" in golf is basically a "do-over" - if you hit your shot poorly, you can take a "mulligan" and try it again. So to "slice" in golf is to hit the ball in a curving trajectory - not intentional and usually a poor shot. So, to sum up, if you "slice", you may end up taking a "mulligan"!
| No doubt that pilots can spend as much time in the bar as they do in the air. One unfortunate friend of ours drank WAY too much Jeremiah Weed one night, and found himself later worshipping the porcelain god. What gross call sign do you suppose he earned that night? | USAF Call Signs 2
|
Chunks. Hopefully I don't really need to explain this one. :)
| More often than not a pilot's call sign will be some clever play of words based the pilot's last name. For instance, one friend's last name is "Holler", and has the call sign of "Hog"; together it makes "Hog Holler". So what would you guess is the call sign of the pilot we knew with the last name of "Newton"? | USAF Call Signs 2
|
Fig. "Fig" Newton -- a Fig Newton is a delicious fig filled cookie made by Nabisco.
| How about the call sign of the pilot we know whose last name is "Roosa"? Just try to find the combination that fits. | USAF Call Signs 2
|
Kanga. "Kanga" Roosa -- I love that one. Simple and clever.
| Can you guess at the call sign of our friend with the last name of "Barilla"? Sound out the choices with the last name to find the one that could quench your thirst. | USAF Call Signs 2
|
Sass. "Sass" Barilla = sasparilla, or sarsparilla, which is a drink very similar in flavor to root beer.
| Sometimes the call sign is obvious based on the aircrew member's last name. Our good friend with the last name of Parsons, has which call sign? | USAF Call Signs 2
|
Preacher. A "parson" is a member of the clergy, like a minister, from which follows "Preacher".
| The F-105 Thunderchief was what type of aircraft? | USAF Planes
|
high speed fighter/bomber. The reason the 105 came into service, was to replace the F-84, and so the USAF could have a high speed fighter/bomber that could keep up with the MiGs.
| Does the Rockwell B-1B lancer have stealth capabilities? | USAF Planes
|
yes. During the 70sm, the USAF needed a low level high speed bomber to penetrate air defenses, and can hold more payload than any other USAF bomber.
B-36 Peacemaker. During the Cold War, the 36 was the biggest, and the first intercontinental bomber in the USAF.
| Which Four planes in the USAF has stealth capabilities? | USAF Planes
|
F-22, F-117, B-2, B-1. The F-22, F-117, B-2, and the B-1 all have stealth capabilities.
multi role. The F-16 was one of the first multi-role fighters to come out for the USAF, the first one was the F-4, so the USAF pilots could dogfight and take out SAMs at the same time.
| When did the B-2 come into service? (note - combat flight) | USAF Planes
|
1999. The first mission was during a 31 hour marathon to bomb Serbian targets non-stop from Whiteman, AFB Missouri.
2001. The F-22 came out in 2001 and has 4 squadrons in operation right now.
|
Fun Trivia | 
Quizzes | 
Games
| 
People | 
Services | 
Help | 
Me
