Raptors fly through first 5,000 hours

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stacey Haga
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AFB, Fla. --  The F-22 Raptors of the 43rd Fighter Squadron here collectively reached the 5,000 flying hour mark Sept. 20. 

Tyndall is the second base to reach the 5,000 hour milestone with the Raptor following Edwards AFB, Calif. 

This feat may seem insignificant compared to the many hours of other fighter aircraft, but the Raptor's journey here has been an intricate balance between tactical progression and discovering the full capabilities of the advanced weapon system technology. 

"Initially, the ratio was about six pilots to one jet, and the jet didn't have all the capabilities the pilots needed for effective training," said Master Sgt. Michael Rabb, 43rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit production superintendent, who has been with 43rd AMU since the Raptors arrived. "Since then, with all the modifications, this jet has truly become the cream of the crop. As the old saying goes, 'it's like fine wine - it gets better with age.' The more time we have to work the bugs out, the better the jet gets." 

The first local sortie for the Raptor took place Oct. 31, 2003. Every year since then, the 43rd FS has increased its annual flying hours. In fiscal year 2006, the F-22 spent 2,770 hours airborne. 

The further developing of the maintenance process played a large part in achieving those increased flight hours, according to Mike Cabiness, F-22 site manager here. 

The Raptors here are first production aircraft, and as with any new vehicle, they are the initial models used to determine future upgrades and advancements. 

"The F-22 is the new kid on the block," said Mr. Cabiness. "It's a leap in technology compared to anything flying today. In a way, it's like comparing the P-51 to the F-4." 

Maintenance professionals encountered challenges with the jet, the main issue being getting people trained on an entirely new weapon system. 

"This was not just a change in how we perform maintenance, but a total renewing of the mind," said Sergeant Rabb. "The maintainers had to renew their maintenance concepts from the (older jets), to the new F-22 maintenance concepts, which deal with a lot software computer processes." 

Regardless of inevitable obstacles, Tyndall's crews have continued to mature the planes to match the configuration of later production models like those at Langley AFB, Va. 

Along with the impressive accomplishments of the Raptor maintainers, is the success of ensuring safety of flight. The maintainers and pilots have prevented extensive damage and loss of aircraft here since the Raptor arrived. This accomplishment was achieved because focus is put on one mission - training world-class Raptor pilots and crew chiefs. 

"We train the best pilots and maintainers to do the job right the first time," said Sergeant Rabb. "Without proper training, accidents could happen." 

The F-22 became combat mission capable in December 2005. The 43rd FS was a major contributor to that benchmark by providing qualified Raptor pilots to F-22 squadrons throughout the Air Force. 

Since standing up as the only F-22 FTU squadron, the 43FS has produced 74 F-22 pilots. 

"Achieving 5,000 flying hours is an important milestone for our operation here.," said Lt. Col. David Krumm, 43rd FS Commander. "The 43rd AMU has performed magnificiently in bringing the airplane from the test environment to a normal flying operation. Last year we increased our flying hours by over 50 percent from the previous year. We are planning an even larger increase for Fiscal year 2007 and will continue to increase our flying operations and train more Raptor pilots to meet the needs of the Air Force. 

Tyndall is currently home to 25 Raptors and is scheduled to receive four more aircraft from Langley AFB in the future.