A2A Journey: T-6 Texans and F-104 Starfighters

[Scott - A2A]

We are meeting with several partners this week in Florida on some new and exciting business. First, we flew down the East coast in the A2A Comanche to Stallion51 in Kissimmee Florida to give Robert Rogalski some hands on experience with the T-6. Friday, Michal Krawczyk will be taking the controls.

According to their "Ace" instructor, Steve Larmore, Rob performed great stall recoveries (both slow and high speed), barrel rolls, and loops.












Tomorrow we'll be visiting our good friends at Starfighters Aerospace (http://www.starfighters.net/)



It's wonderful to have both Rob and Michal over from Poland, here in the U.S. We'll keep you posted.

Scott.

[guillaume78150]

Thanks... Wouaaahh, as far as aviation and airmen are concerned, US, UK and NZ are heaven on earth...

[Oracle427]

I need to change careers! Really cool work the A2A team is doing, looking forward to the new sim.

[Alan_A]

What I find amazing about this post is... well, many things, actually... but one of them is what it might mean from a business- and technology development perspective. Don't get me wrong, it's lovely to see more T-6 work going on, and the possibility of a future F-104 is nice to think about. But if you have a look at the Starfighters Aerospace website, see what they're involved in (flight test, avionics, research, education), and then think of what a collaboration with A2A might produce... what kinds of shared capabilities, projects and technology transfers... those are things that have the potential to produce all sorts of surprises... and to make this a fun space to watch and a fun community to participate in over the next five, ten or more years. Excuse me while I go make some popcorn and settle in for the long haul...

[Piper_EEWL]

Wow. Looks like we have a pretty sweet lineup in front of us. Not that we didn't already know that.

Thanks for the update Scott!

[T6flyer]

Thanks for the update, so much appreciated.

Here is a superb video featuring the very same airframe and instructor. One of the better T-6 films available.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUPrupq1SFo

Cheers,

Martin

[Bruce Hamilton]

Nice to see that the Starfighter is still progressing, even if on the back burner.

[n421nj]

Thanks for the update

[Pistonpilot]

The Starfighter is secretly the only airplane I want A2A to work on until it's done.

...okay, perhaps not-so-secretly!

Really nice to see the photos of any research in progress, though. Most importantly, remember to have fun, guys!

-Ian C

[Ian Warren]

Good to see peoples getting locked and loaded and strapped into it

[Scott - A2A]

Our Starfighters Aerospace visit was very productive. What Rick Svetkoff and his talented team have managed to do, and what they can do with this last fleet of Starfighters is nothing short of incredible. In fact, the missions they perform cannot be done by any other aircraft in the world, including the F-15. There are a lot of ideas being discussed in house as of this writing.













Scott.

[guillaume78150]

Another Kelly Johnson's bird. Hats off.

[speedy70]

Hi.
Wasn't the starfighter considered to be the most dangerous aircraft ever produced for pilots.
Cheers Chris

[guillaume78150]

I was in Germany in the 70s and remember the Luftwaffe F104 crossing the "Autobahn" at around 500'. It was in winter, low ceiling and with external fuel tanks, I guess it let not much margin in case of engine failure.
Hot bird ?

[Scott - A2A]

Chris,

These guys have an outstanding safety record - it's all about training. The aircraft has also been very reliable for them.

Here are some more pictures during our extended research into this airplane and their organization:












Scott.