Photo: U.S. Air National Guard/Tech. Sgt. Steven Tucker
If there is one military aircraft that would have probably deserved a better fate, then that’s the F-22 Raptor. Introduced with great fanfare in 2005, the extraordinary fifth-generation fighter plane ended up being the victim of political and economic factors, and its production ceased in 2011.
During the time it was in active production, there were 195 of these planes made by Lockheed Martin, nine of which made for testing purposes. That leaves very few presently in active duty, either as part of operational military units or deployed with the plane’s own demonstration team.
That means the general public does get to see the F-22 in action at various air shows, performing the incredible maneuvers it was designed to perform. And thank’s to the Air Force’s habit of releasing incredible images of its airplanes, so do we.
What we have here is the Raptor flown by the demo team’s commander, Major Joshua Gunderson, as it passes over the crowds gathered at the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show back in September.
Seeing how the team’s goal is to “showcase the unmatched maneuverability of the Air Force’s 5th generation dominance stealth fighter,” the thing is not flying as normal planes do, but upside down, showing the people on the ground its top side.
Of course, this is not something the F-22 alone can do, but still looks impressive enough to earn this pic its rightful place in our Photo of the Day section.
As for the technical aspects of the F-22, most of you must already know them by now. The thing is powered by two Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines, that give it a top speed of Mach 2 (1,534 mph/2,469 kph), an operational ceiling of over 50,000 feet (15 km) and, with the tanks fully-loaded, a maximum range of 1,841 miles (2,962 km).
That means the general public does get to see the F-22 in action at various air shows, performing the incredible maneuvers it was designed to perform. And thank’s to the Air Force’s habit of releasing incredible images of its airplanes, so do we.
What we have here is the Raptor flown by the demo team’s commander, Major Joshua Gunderson, as it passes over the crowds gathered at the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show back in September.
Seeing how the team’s goal is to “showcase the unmatched maneuverability of the Air Force’s 5th generation dominance stealth fighter,” the thing is not flying as normal planes do, but upside down, showing the people on the ground its top side.
Of course, this is not something the F-22 alone can do, but still looks impressive enough to earn this pic its rightful place in our Photo of the Day section.
As for the technical aspects of the F-22, most of you must already know them by now. The thing is powered by two Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines, that give it a top speed of Mach 2 (1,534 mph/2,469 kph), an operational ceiling of over 50,000 feet (15 km) and, with the tanks fully-loaded, a maximum range of 1,841 miles (2,962 km).
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