Lockheed Test Pilot Tom Morgenfeld
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- Опубликовано: 6 авг 2024
- Lockheed Skunk Works Test Pilot Tom Morgenfeld shares personal stories based on his experience flying various aircraft including the F-117, YF-22, and X35. Produced by Jarel & Betty Wheaton for Peninsula Seniors www.pvseniors.org
I have my own story about Tom from my time working at Lockheed. Tom was flying the simulator doing some very preliminary testing for the YF-22. Tom was in the simulator cockpit and flying some landing approaches. On one approach, he reached out, flipped a switch, and the nose immediately pitched down and the plane augered-in. The flight controls engineer was shocked, and asked Tom to repeat what he just did. Tom did, and again, the nose pitched down and the plane augered-in. The engineer then asked Tom what he did. Tom said that with the gear down, he then flipped the switch that would open the aerial refueling door. The engineer, astonished, asked Tom why in the heck he would want to go into aerial refueling mode when the gear was down. Tom, with a completely deadpan voice said "It got me back to Da Nang once." Tom then went on to tell a story about a Vietnam mission where his F4 had been shot-up and was getting very squirrely. So, he lowered the gear and opened the aerial refueling door because both of those would reduce the gains in the flight controls, and that allowed him to get the airplane (and his own butt!) back home. The Lockheed engineer, in a small voice, simply said "We'll get that fixed right away." That story has stayed with me for 30 years!
Exactly the reason you want real-life pilots in the cockpit, and not just some systems engineer...or some sterile software!
God bless all of you for what you do !!! AZ
I just LOVE the peninsula seniors videos! I always find myself back here watching your wonderful presentations. thank you for all you do for us aviation fans and for aviation history as a whole. You bring the legacies of aeronautics to life.
The humility of this great American is inspiring.
Another great story!
You should go down and listen to one of these talks in person... I was privileged enough to attend an SR-71 pilot lecture at Sun-N-Fun in 03 and what a rush to listen, then meet one of these (Col. Richard Graham), real life super hero's :-) You'd love it Mr Maus!!!
I'm with you Tom, I can talk aircraft till the cows come home, and I was NEVER prouder than my days as a "Baja Scorpion" out where it doesn't exist, I was there (in mission control which we knew as "Chain Saw") the day that Tom did the unauthorized grinding of the nose gear strut - that made for some VERY interesting radio comms between Tom and Chain Saw! Tom was cool as a cucumber - (at least on the radio :-) ) Lockheed always had it together (uhhh Northrop not quite as much, with "Willie the Whale" LoL) Tom was a test pilot out there flying the black jet (that was not always black (Tail number 780 was camo, and then haze gray tail 781-785 were black and painted with radar absorbing paint however. I think it was tail number 783 that was painted with an American flag on the belly for President Reagan's inspection ) The guys who were flying out there were the best of the best, everyone had the right stuff, none more so than Tom.... we had our heart stopping moments that's for sure... but darn, how'd we get so dad gum old?? Ha!
Great job, Tom. You and the entire cadre of American test pilots are a national treasure. Thank you for your dedication and service.
This channel has become one of my favorites, and I can't thank all involved enough for featuring some of the best pilots ever. It's especially interesting to me to hear stories from test pilots on classified programs of the past, who can now speak a little more freely. Thanks for all the work!
What a great lecture and Q&A. Just when I thought I had seen the best of these series, this one is just wonderful.
Great video and a very interesting, humble man. What a great life he has had!
Excellent presentation by Mr. Morgenfeld and Peninsula Seniors. Very informative and entertaining. Thank you.
Seriously though, how are all the videos soo dang good? I don't know, but I keep watching and loving them.
I am very humbled watching presentation. Thank you very much for this.
I watched the pbs documentaries, when they were broadcasted, of the X planes and this adds so much detailed info to that doco. You've had a dang good life!
Tom, Thank you so much!
Great presentation. Thank you for your service Tom. You sir are a stud!
Thanks, Tom. Great presentation. Lucky guy.
Such a fantastic insight on a brilliant and modest man's life as as a test pilot
God Bless you for your service....
TY, what memories. I have gret ones too, like the sounds of planes like B-56s from Carswell AFB, as a two year old and others all my life from GD. -- My grandkids(4), all have 1/4th ea. of the hundreds of model aircraft my dad built and hung over my crib. The grandkids still have them hang in their bedrooms, cribs too. :- )
F8 Crusader is flat out the coolest Navy fighter ever! Love the F-117 as well!
Great job, Tom!
Good video. I like him. He is a very personable feller
enjoyed the video.
Interesting guy with a stellar career.
I love these videos! I always wanted to join the Air Force to become a fighter pilot. My dad became a private pilot when I was just getting into my teens. I was a much better pilot than dad. I was good enough to solo. Just not old enough yet. No ground school. But I was really good with the flight charts. And then many years later came the real thrill.
I didn't pilot aircraft. I piloted, NBC-TV, control rooms as an audio engineer. But you also learn how to fly technical directing, lights, cameras. But that wasn't the real thrill.
As a network television engineer and a freelance engineer. I found myself as a camera person. For about four straight years. At the Air Force Association Convention, in Washington DC. Mostly shooting camera for the, awards and dinner banquet. When on this particular year. I was asked by one of my colleagues if I had gone down to the convention floor yet? I said I wasn't in the military so... I didn't think I was allowed to go just being a camera guy? I was told that because I was part of the media crew. I could go down to the convention floor.
So near the end of the day after wandering the convention floor and looking at all this incredible military stuff. Boeing was presenting the new cockpit for the, brand-new and not yet in the service, F-22. It was just now in the video. I realize. When Tom was showing pictures. He showed the cockpit for the F-22. And I suddenly realized. That was a very different cockpit than the Boeing version cockpit for the brand-new F-22. Then. After watching all of these lieutenants, captains, majors, colonels fly this Boeing F-22 fixed, simulator. On approximately 6+ million dollars worth of computers. At the end of the day. I asked the Boeing guy. If I could try the simulator? I mean it was just a big video game. Wasn't it?
So he's starting to explain everything in the cockpit. But I am a step ahead of everything he is saying. And he looks at me and asks me if I've flown, 15's or, 16's? Maybe a 14? No, I replied. Just a Piper Cherokee, 140, 180 and for one time an Arrow. When I was between 13 and 15 years of age. And here I was somewhere around 47. And I hadn't flown anything since I was that age. Certainly never age at much less a brand-new not yet in military service, F-22 fighter simulator by Boeing.
So I take this thing up. I'm flying an F-22! I take out these targets, no problem. Then the computer screws up on one of the computers. The guy from Boeing was very concerned about this. Said it hadn't screwed up during the entire length of the convention. But it shut down the preprogrammed simulation. And then he asked me what I wanted to do? I asked him if he could put me into full manual control? He looked surprised. He said sure. And I went back to take out the target I had flown over due to the computer glitch. And took it out. It was awesome! It was the most incredible thing in the world I had ever done! How the hell did I do that? I sure didn't know? But when I got out of this cockpit. Unbeknownst to me. There were a few officers that were watching me. They also asked me if I had flown 15's or 16's? Nope. Never. Tried, wanted to. 4F. Oh well. They said I missed my calling. No I didn't. I landed just fine.
Ever since then. I have never been able to play a video game. Microsoft flight simulator??? Are you kidding me?
The following year I flew a Northrop Grumman, A-10, warthog. I actually found it harder to fly. It's all hydraulic. All manual. I never realized how heavy the drag was when ordinance under a wing, that had not yet been dropped? The force feedback nearly pulled my arm out of my shoulder socket. It was amazing! And those things don't STOL very easily. I nearly crashed on landing doing that. I got the Northrop Grumman got all upset. It turns out I wasn't exactly just flying a single simulation. I wasn't supposed to be flying that simulator at all. I thought it was a videogame? But no. No. It was the military's high-speed Internet flight simulation. He told me there were three other A-10's and and F-16 in my airspace. I thought it was just a game? Until I had a near midair collision with the F-16. That's what he got really mad. Because only actual military pilots were supposed to be flying that simulation with each other. I wasn't supposed to be flying anything! I'm an old broadcaster, civilian. And I don't have a flying license. I'm not qualified for multiengine nor jet nor IFR. But it's definitely cool! That was only $3 million worth of computers. 20 some years ago! It was all very mind blowing! And I got to fly a couple of jet fighters! Real military jet fighter simulators. Oh my God!!! And I guess he was on my side? Because I sure don't know how to fly those things? But I guess I do? Who knew?
Good talk - as usual.
However, the Brits most definitely are not buying Alpha Jets to replace their Hawks. What has happened is that QinetiQ (formerly DERA) bought some ex Luftwaffe Alpha Jets because they needed some two seat jet trainers and the RAF would not let them have any of their Hawks. The RAF is actually replacing their Hawks with an upgraded and modernised version of the Hawk.
the history makers speak!
An honor to serve with you Tom, and to show you that rattlers do prowl the ranch
F22 max speed is classified so cool they only list that it goes 1,450 miles per hour is what’s listed so I knew I could go more
The RAF bought used Alpha Jets to help train test pilots. They never replaced Hawks
What was the little slip up at 19:00?
No offense, but the YF-23 was a far more beautiful plane than the F-22, but the F-22 is very sweet!
2020 is too far away for the Navy's F-35C!
Thanks for your work Tom!
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I think the YF-23 may have appeared less "aggressive" which put one strike against it. It was a very capable airplane, though.
There was speculation a long time ago, may have been Combat Air magazine X planes periodicals or something I used to have, that talked about YF-23 being basis for a bomber, either with traditional diamond shaped wings and extended fuselage, or a long sliver triangle wing. Not much really too it other than speculation, with artist rendurings to sell magazine article. Pretty cool idea though. It bassically took on the idea of being another possible explanation for Aurora, whether or not that was B-2 funding code, or something else I'm not concerned with. A bomber version FB-23 is more interesting to me than any of the other Aurora ideas anyway.
Tom also flew mig's out of Tonopah. Interesting that he doesn't mention it.
What happened to radical innovation? I just keep getting turned down for my design, no one has ever seen, ...
He does, later in the Q&A
is he retired ?
QF-117 )
I wish the Brits had traditions for such oratory and litterary skills as this. Do you want a good story; make an American tell it.
Testing F-117 IRADS by pickling an oil barrel with charcoal coals, out in the desert night?
yes maam, yes maam, 3 boxes full
Interesting video I saw about Russian technology he mentioned MIG 21. The guy asked a Russian friend when in Russia what kind of washing machine to buy. He bought it and it broke down after 2 weeks and complained to his Russian friend it broke down, and friend said yaha but see ho easy it was to fix. The T34 tank an absolute great tank had gaps you fit fingers in but it was 4 times quicker to repair a thrown track. Russians make it happen Look at the AK indestructible and dirt cheap
If you ever shoot AKs in high volume and have to maintain them at an armorer level, the propaganda starts to wear off really quick. It's a piece of garbage really with gun counter platitudes repeated so many times, that millions of people have bought into it, including me when I was younger. They will break when subjected to the types of firing schedules we used in many of the US units I was in. I've used, deployed with, trained on, and helped train foreign armies with a wide variety of assault rifles, and the AK is at the bottom of my list of rifles I would ever want to use if I had a choice. I'm highly proficient with them and respect them for what they are, but they are very much subject to the laws of physics when fired repeatedly.
Maybe you (Lockheed) built the airplane (F-22) Col. John Boyd’s E & M studies dictated.
I just think it's STUPID to have a company develop and test a plane like the YF-23 and then to NOTHING with it. I don't care about some stupid competition. The plane should have been used in limited numbers somehow at least.