Tag Archives: F-15 Eagle

Keeping Reagan-era F-15s in the Air Via CNC Mills and 3D Printing

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It’s hard to believe, but the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a Vietnam-era aircraft that first flew over 51 years ago on 27 July 1972, although the first Eagle bound for a combat squadron wasn’t delivered until January 1976.

U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles assigned to the 44th and 67th Fighter Squadrons await clearance for their last take-off from Kadena Air Base, Japan, on Dec. 1, 2022. As a part of its modernization plan, the 18th Wing is retiring its aging fleet of F-15C/D Eagles that have been in service for more than four decades. (U.S. Air Force photo 221201-F-PW483-0008 by Senior Airman Jessi Roth)

click to big up. You have to admit, the F-15C was, with the possible exception of the F-14, one of the sexiest air superiority fighters of the past 40 years.

However, with the last USAF F-15C/Ds leaving the assembly line in 1985, those classic air superiority fighters are now all pushing 40 years on their airframe with many being even older and the Air Force is moving full speed ahead with retiring the type on active duty.

Keeping those legacy birds flying until the new F-15EXs arrive starting in 2025 requires out-of-the-box solutions.

Tech. Sgt. Nate Brown, a 142nd Maintenance Squadron metals technology craftsman, observes a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) mill as it carves a piece of solid aluminum into a stringer, an essential aircraft part, Nov. 4, 2023, Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon. U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Sean Campbell

Via Air & Space Forces:

The average age for America’s fleet of F-15C Eagles is about 38 years old, and many of the aircraft’s spare parts are no longer produced or can take days to order from a manufacturer. Luckily, the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing has a metals technology shop at Portland Air National Guard Base where Airmen fabricate parts in-house to keep the wing’s elder Eagles flying.

More here.

50 Years of F-15s

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On 26 June 1972, the first of 12 pre-production demonstrator prototype YF-15A Eagles, Airframe # 10280 (later 71-0280), rolled out of the McDonnell Douglas hangar in St. Louis.

In USAF “Air Superiority Blue,” 10280 carries Sparrow AIM7 mockups and full-color markings

Just over a month later, on 27 July 27, 1972, decked out in high-viz orange test markings and under the control of McDonnell Douglas chief test pilot Irving L. Burrows, 10280 took to the California skies over Edwards AFB, the type’s first test flight.

The first pre-production prototype McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, YF-15A-1-MC 72-0280, on its first flight near Edwards Air Force Base, California. Note the with McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II chase plane. (U.S. Air Force)

Six months after that, the Air Force ordered the type into full production and the rest, as they say, is history.

To date, F-15s have shot down 104+ enemy aircraft, mostly assorted MiGs, for zero air-to-air losses, leaving them with a serious claim of being the current, “World’s largest distributor of MiG parts.”

For those curious, 0280 is on display today at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

Eagle and Lightning

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The same photographer recently took these two shots from the same aspect at Hill AFB in Utah, and they really contrast the two fighters, showing off the best of 1986 vs the best of today.

A McDonnell Douglas F-15C-41-MC [86-0155 / AF86-155] Eagle from the Florida Air National Guard’s 125th Fighter Wing takes off from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, for a training mission with the 388th Fighter Wing, June 22, 2021. The 125th Fighter Wing is scheduled to receive F-35A Lightning IIs in the next few years and spent the week flying alongside the first operational F-35A unit, the 388th Fighter Wing, sharing tactics, techniques, and procedures to better each flying unit’s readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Kip Sumner)

An F-35A Lightning II from the 388th Fighter Wing takes off from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, for a training mission, June 22, 2021. The 388th Fighter Wing’s mission is to employ combat power with the Air Force’s most advanced 5th-generation fighter, and works to do so alongside the Air Force Reserve’s 419th Fighter Wing in a total-force partnership. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Kip Sumner).

Constructed at St. Louis and delivered to the Air Force in 1986, 86-0155 has been assigned to the Florida Guard since 2006, flying from various bases in the Sunshine State on NORAD taskings, deploying to Europe in 2015 as part of the composite 159th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, in addition to its CONUS ADF duties. The airframe that rolled off the line just after, 86-0156, gained fame at the hands of Capt Jeffrey Hwang (48th FW, 493rd FS, RAF Lakenheath) when he shot down two JRV MiG-29s with AIM-120As26 March 1999 during Operation Allied Force.