"I am convinced that the future's best F-22 pilot is probably sitting in fourth or fifth grade right now," says Maj. Paul Moga, the Air Force's F-22 demonstration pilot. "we want to catch kids early, inspire them, and motivate them to serve their country, specifically by joining the Air Force. Airshows are a great opportunity to do just that."
In its second year of operation, the F-22 Demonstration Team is flying at twenty-six airshows in eighteen states during the 2008 airshow season. This year's schedule, which runs from March until November, features performances at the Royal International Tattoo at RAF Fairford, England, and at the Farnborough International Airshow outside London in July. Those demonstrations mark the Raptor's first-ever appearance in Europe.
The F-22 Demo Team at the shows consists of the demo pilot, a safety observer, a maintenance superintendent who usually doubles up as the narrator for the demo at the show, two crew chiefs, and one or two avionics specialists who also videotape the demonstration.
"Our job is to get out and show the F-22 and our Airmen to the American public," Moga notes. "A majority of Americans don't have the opportunity to see the Air Force on a daily basis, how we operate, or how professional their Air Force is. Our audiences are, for all intents and purposes, part owners of the aircraft. They don't know how incredible the hardware is.
"We also tell the Air Force story, past, present, and future," continues Moga, a 1995 graduate of the Air Force Academy. "We try to impart how far the Air Force has come as a service in the last sixty-one years."
In addition to its own demonstration flights, the F-22 is flown in the popular Heritage Flight at almost every airshow. Here, the Raptor, often with at least one current fighter, such as an F-16, is flown in formation with one or two vintage fighters from World War II or Korea.
"We want to tell people what the Air Force is doing today," Moga adds. "A lot of people don't know how engaged the Air Force is in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and here in the United States. We also try to impart on folks where we are going as a service. The F-22 plays a significant role in getting that message across."
Airshows are also fertile recruiting grounds. According to the International Council of Airshows, an industry trade group, more than 25 million people attend airshows annually. A high percentage of those attending are children and teenagers.
"We are actively recruiting on the road," continues Moga. "That is an important mission for us because we want to motivate the next generation of Air Force Airmen. And we have to find them early."
The demonstration team performs other public relations tasks as well. "We visit a lot of schools, hospitals, and veterans' homes," Moga says. "An airshow involves much more than going out there and flying for ten minutes."
Establishing The Team
The 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Virginia, reached Initial Operational Capability with the F-22 in late 2005. About the same time, the Air Force decided to form a demonstration team for its premier fighter. F-22 pilots at the wing were either too far along in their careers to be demonstration pilots, or they had only minimal time flying in the Raptor. As a start, then-Maj. Michael Shower flew the Raptor in a limited number of Heritage Flight performances in 2006. He also made several passes with the aircraft in front of airshow crowds. However, Shower was scheduled for promotion and wouldn't be available to become a full-time demonstration pilot.
So officials at Air Combat Command widened their search. "Tyndall AFB, Florida, was the only place the Air Force had any significant amount of F-22 experience," says Moga, who was part of the initial group of fifteen pilots who stood up the F-22 schoolhouse, the 43rd Fighter Squadron at Tyndall.
"I had about two and one-half years flying the Raptor at the time," recalls Moga. "When they asked me if I was interested in becoming the demo pilot, I thought about it and discussed it with my wife. I viewed the job as very important since it contributes to the overall Air Force mission. I accepted, and we moved to Langley."
Chief maintainer was the next critical position to fill. "I was not looking for a job, but my chief in the maintenance group called me into his office," recalls MSgt. Tim Green. "He said, ‘I want you to be the very first F-22 demo team superintendent.' "
Green had already volunteered for a deployment in the Middle East. "My first reaction was, ‘Chief, I am not your guy.' He said, ‘Well, go interview with Major Moga. If you are their guy, he will be willing to wait for you.' So I did. Major Moga called me that night with the assignment. The only thing the major asked was that I hire a good assistant."
TSgt. Jason Schmidt worked for Green at the 94th Aircraft Maintenance Unit and was the 2005 1st Fighter Wing Crew Chief of the Year. "Can you think of anybody else I'd want with the demo team while I'm gone?" Green asked rhetorically. "So, I deployed January to May with no worries. I came back in May 2007 and caught up with the team.
"Our role is to provide a safe, reliable, and effective aircraft for Major Moga to go out and demonstrate to millions of people," Green adds. "We try to live by these three things. One: Provide safe, reliable, and effective aircraft maintenance. Two: Maximize readiness. And three: Be the best."
Developing A Routine
"Setting up the demo team was difficult in the beginning," notes Moga, a native of a small town near St. Paul, Minnesota. "We had no F-22 Demonstration Team that could just be handed over to me."
Moga spent time with Maj. Jason Costello, then the F-15 East Coast Demonstration Team commander during the 2006 airshow season. "I went on the road with him and learned the nuts and bolts about airshows," Moga notes. "That experience was crucial, but you can only learn so much from a different aircraft. In this case, no one could pass on any specific knowledge about flying a Raptor demo."
Moga developed the show routine based on three objectives: safety, repeatability, and looks.
"First, the routine has to be safe," states Moga. "At no point in the demo do I put the aircraft or myself at risk." Moga worked with Lockheed Martin test pilots Bret Luedke and Al Norman and tested each potential maneuver repeatedly in the simulator.
"I also need a set of maneuvers that can be flown the same way and with confidence at every show," Moga explains. "I have to make sure that, if I fly the jet correctly, it is going to do exactly what I'm expecting it to do on every maneuver." Over the course of development, some maneuvers were taken out, and some were added to make the show consistently repeatable.
Looking good was also important. "The routine had to showcase the uniqueness of this jet, which is probably the easiest one of the three," Moga says. "You could fly this jet straight and level and have people drool over it."
Moga says he didn't want to do cool tricks with the F-22. So, he decided on a set of maneuvers that every other Raptor pilot had flown before. "I chose either a tactical maneuver from dogfighting, basic fighter maneuvering, or it was an aircraft-handling maneuver that we use to get new pilots comfortable with the aircraft," he says.
He put the maneuvers in order, spun some music, and, with Green, wrote the narration. "We realized we had a fairly amazing demonstration profile," observes Moga.
Moga flew what he describes as a demo-in-progress in 2007. "I knew it would take some time to come up with a complete and final viewer package. We wanted to get the F-22 and the demo out in front of the people as soon as we could, so initially I flew a sequence with only three or four of the aggressive aerobatic maneuvers in it. At the same time, I continued to test the full profile." He flies the full show for the 2008 season. (See Best Seat In The House, which follows this article.)
The show is much more than just the flying. "We had to make schedules," Moga explains. "We had to order T-shirts and hats. We spent a month designing our patch. We had to get offices and equipment. We did a lot of work just getting operational for a demo team so we could sustain ourselves and operate effectively on the road. That took a lot of work."
Scheduling
The F-22 airshow schedule is run a little differently than for the other Air Force fighter demonstration teams. "We are still in our infancy with the Raptor," Moga states. "Even though the 1st Fighter Wing is at Full Operational Capability, we are still learning a lot of things about the operation of the aircraft."
Air Combat Command was adamant that the demo team not adversely affect the operational readiness of the 1st Fighter Wing. So, unlike the F-16 or F-15E demo teams, the F-22 Demo Team could not have a thirty-five show schedule. Also, the F-22 airshow schedule is completely set at the beginning of the year, not quarterly.
"We had to sit down, list all the airshow schedules, and compare them with the taskings for the wing," says Moga. "Then we asked what shows would get the Raptor in front of the most people while not having a demo scheduled when both operational squadrons at Langley were going to be deployed to different locations."
"We made a conscious decision to try and avoid shows with the Thunderbirds as much as possible," Moga continues. "We're trying to spread the wealth—the Air Force wealth, at least—with as many shows as possible. If the choice for a given show slot was appearing with the Thunderbirds, the Blue Angels, or neither, we would almost always choose neither."
Deploying to England for Air Tattoo and the Farnborough Airshow is going to be a significant operation. "The first trip across the Atlantic Ocean is going to be a very important step for the Raptor and for the team," Moga notes. "We are really looking forward to taking this jet overseas and landing on European soil for the first time."
A show extra planned for its debut in England is the addition of inert weapons in the F-22 weapon bays. "We will bring a weapons troop with us to do a post-flight inspection," Moga explains. "The weapons won't affect the performance of the Raptor during the show. However, they will underscore its capability. Crowds will see four AMRAAMs, a JDAM, and two Sidewinders when we open those doors on a pass during the show."
Planning for the trip has been involved, including determining airlift and tanker support. But in early July, the team will ferry from Langley to RAF Fairford. They will stay there for one week, fly at Air Tattoo and one time at Farnborough, and then return to the United States.
A Typical Week
The F-22 Demo Team's weekly operations primarily revolve around getting ready for the next show. Most weeks, Moga performs on both Saturday and Sunday. "We launch the aircraft to return home Monday morning," notes Green. "If the support crew can get a flight out Monday afternoon, we do. If not, we get back first thing Tuesday morning."
"When I get back to the base, I fill out my grade sheets from the weekend, start typing up my trip report, and get my stuff put away," Moga says. "Then I go home and see if my wife recognizes me."
Detail planning for the next show begins on Tuesday. "Quite a few things go into that planning—whether it's mission planning; where we're going to meet the tanker if we need one; how long it's going to take us to get there; and making sure all our equipment is ready," says Moga. "Typically on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I'll do call-in interviews to radio stations or newspapers to promote the upcoming show.
"My maintenance guys determine what aircraft we're going to use. We don't have dedicated demo team jets, so we make sure the line jets we're going to use are in good condition and look sharp," Moga adds. "They try to put me in a jet that I have flown before. Every jet has its own nuances. Our aircraft do not require any modification for the demo, though. I don't have to take pylons off like other demo aircraft do. I can fly any jet off the line."
The team flies locally based F-22s when performing at another F-22 base, such as Nellis AFB, Nevada; Tyndall; or Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. "Nellis sometimes provides aircraft when we fly on the West Coast."
Sometimes on Tuesday or Wednesday, Moga, who is administratively assigned to the 94th Fighter Squadron at Langley, flies a tactical sortie. "I don't want to get too rusty as far as tactical execution goes," notes Moga. "I'm basic mission capable, which means I need to fly practice combat missions five times a month." To keep current in the demonstration profile, Moga has to fly the show routine once every fifteen days. He practices at Langley the weeks that no show is scheduled.
Sergeants Green and Schmidt are the demo team's only full-time maintainers. Four crew chiefs and four avionics specialists rotate on and off the team. These maintainers work out of their home aircraft maintenance units during the week. The maintenance team selected for a particular show usually packs on Tuesday afternoons.
"We fly out commercial on Wednesday to the show location," says Green. "The F-22s normally arrive on Thursday. We recover them, get them ready for a Friday practice, and then fly the Saturday and Sunday shows. We arrive a day early to check all the facilities, make sure the rental cars are available, and make sure the base has all the equipment necessary to support the rest of the team's arrival the next day."
The maintainers have a special demo tool kit. "We take basic support equipment that we'll need for general maintenance as well as equipment we'll need to recover, launch, and refuel the jet. We have not had to do any extensive maintenance on the jets on the road."
Schmidt is the assistant team chief and handles the budget and other administrative tasks. "Basically, we alternate shows," Green notes. "When I'm on the road, he'll be at Langley planning his show. Then while I'm home planning my show, he is on the road for his show. That way, we are both not on the road for all twenty-six shows."
The F-22 doesn't have a travel pod, so what the pilots and maintainers can take to a show is limited. "We usually have to carry everything with us on the commercial flight," Green notes. "We had airlift when we went to Toronto last year, so we had space to take some aircraft generating equipment, but we never even unloaded it. Bringing the Raptor out on the road with literally no support equipment is phenomenal in itself. This jet is very self-sufficient."
Moga and his safety observer depart Thursday morning and arrive at the show site that afternoon. The five safety observers who work with the team rotate going to the airshows. The observer, also an F-22 pilot, flies the spare aircraft to the show and watches the demo from the ground to make sure everything runs smoothly.
"We host media at the jets on Thursday, normally for live TV, radio, and then additional newspapers," Moga observes. The team members get together for dinner on Thursday night. "We try to do some public affairs work between all of the show events," says Moga. "Then we pack it up, come home, lather, rinse, and repeat for the next week."
"Probably the most rewarding part of our job is the community work," says Green, who like Moga will be rotating off the team after this show season. "We get a lot out of visits to schools and children's hospitals. Last year, we visited the La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago and spent a couple of hours with those kids. We want to bring the Raptor to those who can't make it to the airshow."
The day after performing a show at the Naval Air Station at Meridian, Mississippi, Moga received an e-mail from the tower chief. "The Blue Angels performed at that show," he explains. "The tower chief thanked us for performing at the show. He said people at Meridian were still talking about the F-22 demonstration, talking more about it than about the Blue Angels. He said a Marine instructor pilot who came up in the tower to see the show drooled so much that they had to change the carpet. That's not to take anything away from the Blues; they're an amazing organization. We, however, are new and different. That was our first weekend show of the year. I predict we will see more responses like that."
"People see the F-22 do maneuvers they didn't think were possible," says Green. "When Major Moga does the pedal turn, where the jet falls and turns at the same time, people say, ‘That is a flat spin.' They remember that spin from the crash scene in Top Gun. They are thinking an airplane should not be doing that. I explain to them that the pilot is in total control of the aircraft. You should see their expressions. It is good stuff."
Jeff Rhodes is the associate editor of Code One.
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