如何赢得混战 来自F-16和米格飞行员的故事

如何赢得混战 来自F-16和米格飞行员的故事
How To Win In A Dogfight: Stories From A Pilot Who Flew F-16s And MiGs

“打击者”弗雷德·克利夫顿上校是迄今为止最有经验、最富倾略性的战机飞行员之一。他已经飞过F15、F5、F16和鼎鼎恶名的米格29。这位在混战的空中战场里几乎驾驭过每一种战斗机的飞行员毕业于久负盛名的飞行武器学校。现在他在这里与你分享他的经历。

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com ... who-flew-1682723379
http://www.ltaaa.com





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Lt. Col.Fred "Spanky" Clifton is one of the most experienced aggressor pilotsever, having flown the F-15, F-5, F-16 and the notorious MiG-29. He's been indogfights with pretty much every fighter out there and is a graduate of theprestigious Fighter Weapons School. Now he's here to share his expertise withyou.

“打击者”弗雷德·克利夫顿上校是迄今为止最有经验、最富倾略性的战机飞行员之一。他已经飞过F15、F5、F16和鼎鼎恶名的米格29。这位在混战的空中战场里几乎驾驭过每一种战斗机的飞行员毕业于久负盛名的飞行武器学校。现在他在这里与你分享他的经历。




How in the hell did you end upbecoming the first USAF fighter pilot to fly the Russian-built MiG-29 Fulcrumas an exchange pilot?

作为一名交换飞行员，你究竟是如何成为首位飞俄制米格29“支点“的美国空军战斗机飞行员的？


First– a little (actually, a lot of) background. I earned a degree in aerospaceengineering in 1979 and worked for Boeing in the Seattle area for two yearsafter graduating from college. I had no real interest in joining the militaryat the time since I was an Army brat, growing up mostly at Fort Bliss, TX, andprobably felt I had done my time. Plus, my dad told me if I ever joined theArmy he'd kick my butt. Trust me Dad, an Army career was never on my radarscreen. The Army doesn't have cool jets!


首先——一点点（实际上很多）背景。我于1979年获得一个航空工程专业的学位。大学毕业后在西雅图大区为波音工作了两年。那时我无意于参军。因为我出生在军营，几乎就是在德克萨斯州的布利斯堡长大的，我感觉我花在军队里的时间够多的了。此外，我爸爸对我讲只要我参军，他就会踢我的屁股。相信我爸爸，军队生涯绝不会出现在我的雷达屏幕上。军队没有那么酷的喷气式战斗机！





Ihad a life-long fascination with airplanes and had built hundreds of plasticmodels, eventually moving on to u-control models and then radio-controlledmodels. I had always wanted to learn to fly myself, but could never afford it.One of my coworkers at Boeing told me about the Boeing Employees FlyingAssociation (BEFA). BEFA had a range of different airplanes at affordableprices to members. For example, a Cessna 152 rented for $19 / hour, includingfuel. An instructor was another $10 / hour. I joined BEFA and got my privatepilot's license in 1981. The ink wasn't wet on my certificate when I took mygirlfriend for a flight. I moved up to the Cessna 172 and thought this was thecat's meow. Flying bug smashers was fun, but it sure wasn't exciting. OneSpring Saturday in 1981 another coworker called and asked if I wanted to go tothe open house at McChord AFB. It was an abnormally sunny day in the PacificNorthwest, so away we went. Parked next to each other on the flightline was anF-15 and F-16. I was drawn to them like flies to a cow patty and I'm sure thetwo pilots were happy to have me quit bending their ears with questions. Aftera great show by the Canadian Snow Birds, I went and stood about 100 feet infront of the two fighters and thought to myself that I could fly one of those.

飞机是我终生的迷恋。我做过几百个塑料（飞机）模型。最后做的是“由您控制“模型，然后是无线控制模型。我自己是常常想去学开飞机的，但我肯定负担不起学费。我在波音的一个同事告诉我有这么一个“波音雇员飞行联合会“（BEFA）的组织。BEFA以雇员们支付的起的价格，让其成员租用不同类型的飞机。

举个例子吧，一架塞斯纳152型飞机一小时的租价是19美元，包括燃料费。请个教练一小时另加10美元。我加入了BEFA并于1981年拿到私人飞行执照。当我带我的女朋友一起飞的时候，我已经有一些飞行经验了。我可以飞塞斯纳172了，但我觉得它还是太弱。飞臭虫粉碎机很有意思，但是不能让人兴奋起来。

1981年春天的一个星期六，另一个同事问我要不要去麦克德空军基地的开放日看看。那天对西北太平洋地区来说真是一个不同寻常的晴天，所以我们就去了。停机坪上远远地一架挨着一架停着的是F15和F16。我就像一只被馅饼吸引的苍蝇那样被它们吸引了。我确信那两个飞行员很高兴我缠着他们提问题。在看过加拿大“雪鸟“的精彩表演之后，我走到距离那两架飞机100英尺的前方，并思索着我也能飞它们。




Thenext week, I called the local recruiting office and talked to the USAFrecruiter. We set up a meeting and upon entering the building the Navyrecruiter told me that if the Air Force wouldn't take me, the Navy would. TheAir Force recruiter must have had some issues with my appearance. I hadshoulder-length hair and a way out-of-regs mustache. His first comment was thatI had to have a college degree to become an Air Force pilot. Got one of those.First square checked off. He next commented that I can't be doing (or never haddone) drugs. Hadn't gone there. Second square checked off, and the ball startedrolling. Remember, this was 1981 and the start of the Reagan military build-up.If you met certain minimal criteria, and could fog a mirror, you were in. Acouple of months after starting the application process, completing the testingrequirements and passing a flight physical, I was awarded a slot in USAFOfficer Training School (OTS) with guaranteed pilot training as a follow-on;assuming successful completion of OTS.

我在第二个星期给当地的征兵办公室打了一个电话，和美国空军征兵人员谈了话。就在我们准备进入一栋建筑物（和空军）互相见个面之时，海军的征兵人员告诉我如果空军不要我，海军要我。空军的征兵人员肯定不喜欢我的外貌。当时的我是长发披肩，满脸络腮胡子。

他向我说明的第一件事就是要加入空军我必须有学士学位。接过我若干文凭中的一份，第一栏便核对完毕。他向我说明的下一件事我没有吸毒（从来没有吸过毒）。还没有到那里，第二栏就核对完毕，那个球也开始左右摇动了。记住，那是1981年，里根正在开始逐步增强他的军事实力。

如果你是个活人，并满足最低标准，你就能参军。开始申请程序、完成必要的测试、通过飞行员体格检查，这一切只花了两个月，然后他们就在美国空军军官培训学院（OTS）赏我一个位置，以培训后续飞行员的标准要求我，还假定我一定会成功从OTS毕业。



Drivingfrom Seattle to San Antonio, TX (OTS was at the Medina Annex of Lackland AFB inthose days) the route took me past Hill AFB in Utah. As a drove by I saw acouple of F-16s in the traffic pattern. If you've ever been to the Salt LakeCity area, you know how nice it is. Let's see – F-16s, mountains (skiing,hiking, etc). It must be a sign from God. I made up my mind right there Iwanted to fly F-16s.

在驾车从西雅图到圣安东尼奥的路上，德克萨斯州的公路带我穿过犹他州的希尔空军基地（那时候OTS位于拉克兰空军基地的麦地那附近）。如果你去过盐湖城地区，你就知道那是多么美的一个地方。让我们看看——一架一架的F16，群山（滑雪的人、徒步登山的人，等等）。上帝肯定在那里签过名。我就是在那里下定决心飞F16的。

Inever got stationed at Hill.

我从未在希尔驻扎。




Afterfinishing OTS, I started UPT at Laughlin AFB, TX in March 1982. There were 72students who started the class (Reagan build-up once again). If I had anyapprehensions about flight training, the biggest was aerobatics. Up until thattime, I had never been a big fan of things like roller coasters and such and wasafraid I'd get sick doing 'acro.' We started doing some mild acro on the secondor third flight in the T-37and I took to it like afish takes to water.

从OTS毕业之后，我于1982年三月在蓝翎空军基地开始本科飞行员训练。同我一起上课的有72名学员（彼时里根又在集结军队）。如果我要感谢飞行训练的话，那么最大的感谢应该给特技飞行。直到那时我还很痛恨像“过山车”之类的动作，并且害怕我会因为做“高翻”而呕吐。我们在第二次或是第三次飞赛斯特T37型飞机时开始做一些温和的高翻。我视此为一条鱼开始喜欢水了。






Thenext thing I was apprehensive about was instrument flying. I'd never done that.There are four things one needs to do simultaneously to fly instruments – holdheading, hold altitude, hold airspeed and talk on the radio. In the firstcouple of T-37 instrument simulator sorties, I could do three, but not allfour. During the second sim sortie, this hot-tempered first lieutenantinstructor was banging on the glare shield and yelling at me over my errors.I'm not one to swear a whole lot, but I finally looked over at him and told himthat if he'd STFU I'd do better. He did shut up and the sim went much better.He and I got along great after that and we ended up flying a lot together. Ididn't bust any flights or sims in the T-37.

我要感谢的第二件事是仪器导航飞行。我以前从没用过这种方法。在依靠仪表飞行时需要一个人同时做四件事：掌握方向、掌握高度、掌握速度和无线电通话。在头一两次短暂的T37仪表飞行模拟训练中，我做不了四件事，只能做三件事。

在第二次仪表舱训练中，暴躁的空军中尉飞行教练重重拍击我的闪光屏，冲着我一遍一遍地吼着我的错误。虽然我不是那种大量赌咒的人，但是我最后还是盯着他告诉他：如果他停止骂脏话，我会做得更好。他确实闭了嘴，而那次模拟训练也进行得更顺利了。自那以后他和我相处得很好，而且我们在一起飞了很多次。我没有弄坏任何一架T37或是T37仪表舱。

Thesuccess continued into the T-38; although, I did bust one T-38 flight because Iwas slow getting the landing gear up as the flight lead during a formationtake-off. As assignment time approached, I had been ranked as "fighterqualified" and filled out my assignment preference sheet (aka, DreamSheet) with F-16 at the top and F-15 was number two.

这种成功一直持续到T38。虽然我确实弄坏了一架T38。在一次编队起飞中我收起落架时慢了。随着分配任务的那一刻到来，我被评为“合格飞行员”。我把F16填在“我喜欢飞的机型”（又称作“梦想表格”）的表格的最上端，紧跟着是F15。
  


Every UPT class does its Assignment Night a little bit differently. We knew beforehand what aircraft would be in the assignment drop for my class.As far as fighters, there would be one F-16, two F-15s, one F-4 andthree A-10s. We decided that on Assignment Night, each student would be calledup and face the crowd with a projector screen to his or her back. The first picture projected on the screen was the student'sfirst-choice aircraft, the second picture was what the class voted that thestudent would get and the final would be a picture of the USAF's (final) choicefor you. As the students went up, oneafter the other, it was easy to narrow down the remaining available aircraftfrom the deck. Kind of like counting cards. It got down to the last two students, me and another, and the twolast available jets were an F-15 and an F-16. I was called up first. As I stoodin front of the crowd – first picture: F-16, second picture: F-16, thirdpicture: F-15.


每一个本科飞行培训班的任务之夜都有点不同。我们事先都知道我们班会分配什么机种。无非就是一架F16、两架F15、一架F4和三架A10。我们决定在任务分配之夜每个学员都要被点出来面对观众，然后放一个投影仪屏幕在他/她的背后。第一张被放在屏幕上的图片是该学生自己首选的飞机。

第二幅图片是同学投票为该学生选的机型。最后一幅图片是美国空军为你选的机型，也是你的最终选择。随着学生一个接着一个走上去，在停机坪上仍然可选的飞机就变得越来越少了。这有点像数牌。最后剩我和另一名同学，而最后剩下可供挑选的战斗机是一架F15、一架F16。我第一个被叫上去。然后我面对人群——第一张图片是F16，第二张图片是F16，第三张图片是F15。






My reaction? Are you effing kidding me? I had to gather myselfquickly. This was actually a great deal and honor. 13 of my classmates had beenselected for one of the ultimate USAF screw jobs, First-Assignment InstructorPilot, and were staying at Laughlin to instruct in T-37s and T-38s. I'd betterput on a happy face. I saluted the student squadron commander and pumped myfists on the way back to my seat. Since I didn't get my number-one choice, theF-15 was going to have to 'sell' itself to me, but I decided to go into it withan open mind. Of the 72 students who started, about 38 graduated. Even duringthe Reagan build-up, there were standards. The last student was washed out theday we received our wings.


我的反应？你这是在给我开一个该死的玩笑吗？我不得不快速打起精神。这确实是个很大的荣誉。我有13个同学被美国空军选去拧螺丝了——也就是第一任务教练飞行员。他们待在蓝翎空军基地坐在T37和T38里教别人开飞机。我最好装得很快乐。

我向学生飞行中队的指挥官致敬，在回座位的路上捏紧拳头给自己打气。因为我没有得到我的首选机型，这架F15不得不“说服”我去接受它，不过我决定用一颗包容一切的心走到它里面去。一开始我们是72个，最后大概38个毕业了。即使在里根大量需要士兵的时候，标准还是标准。那天在最后一个学生被淘汰掉之后，我们得到了我们的飞机。






Istarted F-15A training at Luke AFB, AZ in July 1983 and was assigned to the 7thTacticalFighter Squadron at Holloman AFB, NM in October 1983. In February 1987 I wasassigned to the 65th AggressorSquadron at Nellis AFB. About a year and a half into the Aggressor assignment,the decision was made to convert from the F-5E to another airplane; which was,ultimately, the F-16.

我于1983年六月在卢克空军基地开始我的A级别F15训练，并于1983年十月分派到新墨西哥州霍乐门空军基地第7战术飞行中队。在1987年二月，我被派到那尼斯空军基地的第65进攻中队。大约一年半之后，得到该中队的进攻任务，然后决定用另一架飞机换我的F5E，最终，换成了F16。




There was a lot of indecisiveness at the USAF level as to whichAggressor pilots would convert to the F-16. At first, the Air Force wasn'tgoing to send a lot of former F-15 guys like me to F-16 training. So here was alarge group if F-5 instructors with no place to go; or, at least, we thought.Uncle Sugar had a lot of F-5 instructor pilot (IP) jobs in exotic locations andhe lined us former Eagle pilots against the wall and started throwing darts atus. I got an assignment to Sidi Ahmed Air Base in Bizerte, Tunisia. I went onrecord as having volunteered for the job if I could come back to the Aggressorsand convert to the F-16 (Remember? My number-one choice). The deal was done andafter a year in a land of strange new sights and smells, I got an assignment tothe PACAF Aggressors who were in the process of moving from Clark Air Base inThe Philippines to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa and taking delivery of brand newBlock 30 F-16C Vipers.

涉及到将哪一类进攻型飞行员转变成F16飞行员这个问题，在美国空军这个层面存在许多不确定因素。首先，空军没打算派大量像我这样的前F15飞行员去参加F16的培训。因此，如果没地方去的F-5教练，都会聚在这里，至少我们是这样想的。

那些嘴上抹了蜜糖的人的确在异国他乡有大量工作提供给F-5飞行教练。他会将我们这些前"鹰”战机飞行员排成队往墙上撞，还会向我们投掷标枪。我得到一个去位于突尼斯比塞大市的西堤米赛迪空军基地的任务。我公开表示，如果我能回到这个进攻中队，并转而开F16（记得吗？我的首选），我就主动提出去那里接受这个任务。

最后他们表示同意。在那片奇怪的土地上，看了一年的稀奇，闻了一年的怪味，我又得到一个任务——去太平洋空军当进攻飞行员。而这个太平洋空军基地正从菲律宾的克拉克空军基地搬往冲绳的嘉手纳空军基地。彼时正收到30架崭新的F16C型“毒蛇”战斗机。




Unfortunately, en route to Mac Dill AFB, FL to get checked out inthe F-16 the powers-that-be decided to close all the USAF Aggressor squadrons.Suddenly, I become that guy with Eagle stink on him that the Air Force didn'twant to send to a Viper if it didn't have to. This was especially true at thecaptain level. Those streams were just not to be crossed. There was a lot ofback-and-forth at Tactical Air Command assignments and the USAF PersonnelCenter about what to do with me and the initial hack wasn't very good – AirLiaison Officer at Fort Irwin, CA. However, cooler heads prevailed and I wasallowed to continue F-16 training and got an assignment to Misawa Air Base,Japan. That's how I got to the F-16. It took me over 7 years from the time astarted UPT to the time I got my first Viper flight.


不幸的是在我前往佛罗里达州麦克迪尔空军基地准备上F16的途中，上层决定关闭所有美国空军进攻中队。突然之间我成了不招人待见的“鹰”战机飞行员，而空军认为如果没有必要，就不会派给像我这样的飞行员一架“毒蛇”，对一个上尉尤其如此。

而这些是我无法跨越的。战术空军指挥部在给我布置什么任务，以及美国空军人事中心对我应该干什么，存在大量分歧。而且他们对我最初的到处跳的行为甚为不满。不过，我被允许继续我的F16培训，并得到一个去日本三泽空军基地的任务。那就是我如何得到我的F16的过程。从开始本科飞行员培训到得到我的第一架“毒蛇”总共花了7年。




Arrivingat Misawa, I fell into an age gap. There were a bunch of old-heads and a bunchof young punks, and with lots previous fighter experience, I upgraded to F-16IP (instructor pilot) pretty quickly. Our squadron weapons and tactics officer,now a four-star, was a great guy and an outstanding example of what a squadronpatch wearer (USAF Fighter Weapon's School graduate) should be. I still hadtime left before I got too senior, so he backed me to go the F-16 FighterWeapons School (I was in the last "Fighter" Weapons School class –92A).

到达三泽之后，我又掉进了时代的鸿沟之中，因为那里存在着大量的顽固的老领导和大量的无知的新队员。我飞战机的经验丰富，很快就被提升为F16的教练飞行员（IP）。现在我们中队的武器及战术官是一位四星上将。他很不错，是平息中队争吵的杰出典范（美国空军战斗机武器学院毕业）。因为我在晋升到更高级别之前还是有机会离开的，所以他把我送进了F16战斗机武器学院（我上的是最后一届“战机”武器学习班——92A）。





Being a FWS graduate openssome doors not necessarily available to other fighter pilots. In 1995, whileflying Vipers at Pope AFB, I was selected to be the first MiG-29 exchange pilotin Germany. A requirement for the job was to be a Weapons School graduate.After that assignment, it was back to the Viper at Cannon AFB, NM and then,ultimately, back to Nellis in 2001. I hung up the spurs in December 2004.That's the chronology in a nutshell.

作为战机武器学院的毕业生，很多机会向我敞开大门，而这些机会对其他战机飞行员来说却不那么容易得到。1995年我正在教皇空军基地飞“毒蛇”的时候，被选为第一批飞米格29的交换飞行员，前往德国。得到这份工作的前提条件就是要从武器学院毕业。那个任务完成之后，我又去新墨西哥州的加农空军基地飞“毒蛇”，最终于2001年返回那尼斯空军基地。2004年十二月退役。一句话这就是全部大事记。








When it comes toUS fighters, you have flown some of the most notorious American fighters inmodern history, including F-15, F-5, and F-16. Can you give us an idea of whatthe different characteristics of each jet are and their positives andnegatives, especially in terms of air-to-air combat?

自从加入空军之后，你飞过几乎所有最富赫赫威名的美式现代战机，这其中就有F15、F5和F16。你能不能告诉我们各种战斗喷气式飞机的不同特征，以及他们的优缺点，尤其是在空对空战斗中？


F-15A/B: The F-15 I flew was nowhere near the jet it evolvedinto. The Eagle is big, powerful and handles great. It's a lot like a Mercedes.The cockpit is large and roomy and the outward visibility, except for thecanopy bow, is slightly better the Viper's. Control response is crisp andsometimes twitchy, especially in pitch. The F-15A is structurally 1500 poundslighter than the F-15C. It also carries 2000 pounds less internal fuel than theF-15C. That meant lots of short sorties. It is a great BFM (Basic Fighter Maneuversaka dogfighting) machine.


F15A和B型：我飞过的F15完全不像那些由它发展而来的战机。该战机大而有力，操控很顺利。驾驶它就像在开奔驰一样。驾驶员座舱很大，空间很足，还可以向外看，除了顶棚弧度，它甚至比“蟒蛇”都好点。控制反应很干脆，有时闹点小别扭，尤其是在俯冲的时候。

F15A型的机身比F15C轻1500磅，比F15C型少携带2000磅内部燃料。那意味着大量短距离飞行任务。F15是一款伟大的BFM（基础战斗机操纵，又称作空中鏖战）仪。




The jet accelerates well, but is not especially fast at lowaltitude. At lot is written about the F-15 being Mach 2.5 capable. First off,Mach 2.5 is altitude limited to above 50,000 feet and time limited to 1 minutemaximum. I've flown the jet to Mach 2.35, its normal operating limit, on only acouple of occasions.


这款战斗机加速很快，但是在低空却不是特别快。有许多关于F15在2.5倍音速时的记录。最初2.5倍音速是有高度和时间限制的：必须超过5万英尺，最多1分钟。我曾将这款战机飞到2.35倍音速——这是他的正常操作极限——不过只飞了一两次而已。
  


We occasionally did intercepts against SR-71s in which we gotout to Mach 1.9 to Mach 2.1, but flying at those kinds of speeds were rare.Before anyone thinks we were trying to chase down SR-71s, that was not thecase. The intercepts were head-on in which we simulated launching AIM-7s usingthe SR-71 as a MiG-25 simulator.

我们也偶尔飞到1.9倍至2.1倍音速之间去拦截SR-71侦察机，不过飞到那个速度很少。任何人认为我们是在设法追踪SR-71的情况并没有发生。拦截是头朝前的，在拦截中，我们假装用SR-71的模拟器充当米格25的模拟器，并向它发射AIM-7导弹。

Accelerating straight up? That's a myth. First off, the oldcoal-burning Pratt F100-100 proved troublesome. When the throttles were pushedinto afterburner you weren't 100% sure if the flame would come out of the backend or the front end. Sometimes, it came out of both ends. I've flown atwin-engine glider, meaning that both engines, while still operating butproducing no thrust, as they had stalled. I had maybe 30 hours in the jet atthat point. While the Pratt F100-220 in the F-15C is more trouble free, it onlyproduces about 23,500 pounds of thrust. Installed thrust-to-weight is slightlyless than 1:1 with eight missiles and no external fuel. If you point the jetstraight up and start climbing thrust starts to fall off as the air's densitystarts to decrease. Weight is not decreasing, as fuel is burned off faster thanthrust is decreasing. So stop it everyone – there's no accelerating going straightup in the F-15.

加速直往上冲？那是虚构的。首先，老式烧煤的PrattF100-100（注：F15和F16的动力设备，烧煤是夸张哈！）已被证明很麻烦。当节流阀被推进到加力燃烧室时，你就无法百分之一百确认火焰是从末端还是从前端出来。

有时它从两端一起出来。我飞过双引擎滑翔机，是真的双引擎。当引擎熄火了，它还能运转，只是没有推动力。在战机里处于那种情况对我来说可能有30个小时。F15C型的动力装置Pratt F100-220的麻烦少一些，但是它仅仅能提供23,500磅的推动力。

安装能推动自身重量的推进器，其与自身重量，再加上八枚导弹，当然不带额外燃料，的比例小于1:1。如果你要战机直上，并开始爬升，那么随着空气密度开始增加，推进力会开始变小。机身重量不增加，随着燃料烧光的速度比推进力增加的速度更快。所以，各位，别在往这方面瞎想了——F15不可能提速垂直上升。

Where the F-15A fell short, at least compared to what the jetbecame, is in the avionics department. The original APG-63 radar nowhere livedup to the hype and is worthy of a whole other discussion.

F15A型不达标的地方是它的航空电子设备，至少和它的后继者相比是这样。无处不在的极富独创性的APG-63雷达无愧于它那些天花乱坠的宣传，值得对它另开一个讨论专题。

Bottom line – I was able to lay a solid air-to-air foundation inthe F-15 and, in the end, the jet 'sold' itself to me. I loved flying it.

最后概括一下：我是在F15里打下我坚实的空对空基础的，而F15最终把它自己“推销”给了我。我喜欢飞F15。



2
F-15 Eagle Vs F-16 Viper, which wins the day in an air-to-air engagement?龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.com

F15“鹰”对F16“毒蛇”，谁会在空对空行动中赢得天下？

Starting from BVR, the F-15 enjoys a big advantage in radar detection range. Surprisingly, the Viper's radar has significantly higher peak power than the Eagle's radar. Because the F-15s radar can operate with a high pulse-repetition frequency versus the Viper, whose radar operates with a medium pulse-repetition frequency, the Eagle's radar is actually transmitting more radar energy down range resulting in greater detection range. Because of some of the limitations of the old APG-63 I flew with in the F-15A, the F-16C's APG-68 was actually a step up for me. The APG-68 had more modes and multi-targeting capability. Unfortunately, for the first couple of years I flew Vipers, we were AIM-9 only. AMRAAM didn't start to come into the equation until late 1991.

从超过可视范围开始，F15在雷达侦测范围内享有很大优势。令人吃惊的是，“毒蛇”的雷达比“鹰”的雷达有明显更高的峰值功率。这是因为F15的雷达能用高脉冲回复频率操作，相较之下，“毒蛇”用的是中脉冲回复频率操作，这样，“鹰”的雷达确实转送更多雷达能量，结果就是侦查范围更大。

由于旧式APG-63雷达的某些限制，因此我飞F15A型和F16C型时，它们的APG-68雷达确实是为我专门安装的。APG-68雷达有更多的模式和多任务能力。不幸的是，我飞“毒蛇”的头几年，我们只有AIM-9响尾蛇导弹。直到1991年AMRAAM空对空导弹才启用。


WVR (withinvisual range) scenario: An F-15C and GE-powered F-16C merge head-on, nomissiles, guns only. This is truly where the F-16 excels. The F-15 isabsolutely no slouch in this arena and the margin for error is small, but heF-16 enjoys a sustained turn rate advantage and a thrust-to-weight advantage.My game plan would be not to slow down too much in the F-16. Where the F-16starts to fall off in comparison is when it gets slow and butts up against itshard-wired angle-of-attack limiter. Slow is not a place to be in the F-16unless absolutely necessary. I wanted to keep my airspeed up relative to theEagle and beat him down to where his nose track starts to slow and use thevertical as required and the F-16's turn rate advantage to bring my nose tobear. Both jets bring excellent handling qualities and visibility to theequation. What you really don't want to be is the MiG pilot who faces offagainst either jet in this scenario.

在可视范围之内（WVR）的场景：一架F15C型战斗机和一架使用通用电力的F16C一起向前飞，不带导弹，只带机枪。这正是F16胜出的地方。在这个竞技舞台上F15当然不会绝对的毫无办法，犯错误的空间也很小，但是F16享有持久的转弯速度优势和“推进功率对重量”的优势。

我的游戏计划是不会降低太多F16速度的。相比之下F16速度开始下降的地方是它开始降速，并且屁股朝上，和它的硬线冲角限制物对着干的时候。

除非绝对必要，否则慢不是F16的特征。相对于“鹰”，我想要保持我的空速不断增加，然后击败他，让他的机头开始变慢，如果必要，垂直拉升，而我的F16的转弯优势会让我的机头承受住。在平衡品质和可视性这方面，两种战斗机都有很精彩的控制能力。你真正不想当的是米格飞行员，因为在这个场景里面他不得不对付这两类战斗机。






What was it like being sent to Germany to flywith former enemies in a fighter that you trained so hard to kill for so manyyears?


被派往德国去和前敌人在一架战斗机里飞，而且杀掉他是你艰苦受训多年的唯一目的，你当时是什么感觉？





As stated earlier, I got this assignment while I was flyingF-16s at Pope AFB, NC. We officially activated the F-16 squadron in June 1993and were declared operational six or so months later. Air Combat Command (ACC)brought in a fairly experienced group of guys to stand up the new squadron. Thefour flight commanders, of which I was one, were promoted to major in February1994. I personally pinned on major on the 1st of March, 1994. We completed ourfirst combat deployment in November 1994 and that set the whole scenario up.

就像前面所说的那样，我当时得到这个任务的时候正在北卡罗来纳州教皇空军基地飞F16。我们在1993年六月正式启动F16中队，而且要在六个多月之后宣布军事活动。空军战斗指挥部（ACC）带来一组相对有经验的人组建新中队。

四个飞行指挥官，我是其中一个，在1994年二月被擢升为少校。我个人是在1994年三月的第一天开始履行少校职责的。我们在1994年十一月完成我们第一次战斗部署，并开始准备整个方案。

At the time ACC (Air Combat Command) had a policy of only threefield-grade (major through colonel) officers in a line fighter squadron. Thatmeant the squadron commander, the operations officer and the assistantoperations officer. We suddenly had too many field graders, but ACC let usslide until the combat deployment was completed. Then the handwriting was onthe wall and I had to find a new assignment.

彼时ACC（空军战斗指挥部）曾有一个政策：在一个战斗机中队中只有三个级别（少校到上校）的军官，即中队指挥官、行动指挥官和行动指挥官助理军官。虽然我们突然之间多出了很多其它级别的军官，但是ACC还是让我们迅速而低调地开始，直到该战斗部署完成。然后有些不好预兆，我也有了新的任务。

In the 1990s, assignments could be found and applied for on-lineon the Personnel Center's website. We called these 'the want ads.' I had beenunsuccessful until one of my squadron mates asked me if I had applied for theMiG-29 exchange assignment. I had missed that one. It was in the special dutyassignments section. I checked out the want ad and called the point-of-contact(POC). All assignments had to be posted in the want ads, regardless if someonehad already been penciled in for that job or not. Officially, it had to be a'competitive' process. Sometimes, someone already had the job but it was listedjust to be 'legal.' I asked the POC if this was the case. I figured someone'sprize show dog at Nellis already had the assignment. It has to be in the wantads just to be legal.

在二十世纪90年代，各种任务都可以在人事中心的网站上找到并在线申请。我们称其为“通缉广告”。直到我的中队中的一个同事问我是否申请了米格29的交换任务，我才去申请的。我当时都忘了这码事。

它在一个特殊职责任务栏里。我检查了“通缉广告”，然后电联了联系人（POC）。不管是否有人已经用笔申请了那个工作，所有的任务都必须贴在“通缉广告”里。它是一个正式的“竞争”过程。有时候，某人已经得到那份工作了，但是它还是会被列出来，并标明“法定的”。

我询问POC情况是否如此。我想在纳里斯空军基地某人的奖只是给狗看看的，也已经获得了任务分派，但是在“通缉广告”里它还是显示“合法的”。

The POC told me it was an open competition. "Put me down asa volunteer," was my reply. The job required that one be either an F-15Cor F-16 Weapons School graduate, pass the Defense Language Aptitude Battery(DLAB) and complete German language training at the Defense Language Institute(DLI) in Monterey, CA. As an Aggressor pilot I had been the MiG-29 / Su-27subject matter expert. I really wanted this job. What a chance to see if what Ihad been teaching about the MiG-29 Fulcrum was actually correct.

联系人告诉我说这是一场公开竞争。我的回答是“我会放低姿态，就当自己是个志愿兵。”这份工作需要申请者从F15C和F16两个级别的武器学院毕业，通过国防部语言资质系列（DLAB），并在加利福尼亚州蒙特雷完成了国防部语言大学（DLI）的德语培训。

作为一名进攻型飞行员，我已经是米格29（或称为苏27）这个主题的专家。我真的很想要这份工作。这是一个检验我一直以来学的米格29“支点”战机的相关知识是否正确的的机会。

The first thing to do was the DLAB.。In El Paso,TX we had to take Spanish from the first through the seventh grade and Icouldn't put together a complete sentence in Spanish; how was I supposed topass the DLAB? For the DLAB I was set at a desk and issued a set of headphones.The test proctor inserted a cassette tape into a tape player and the tapestarted off with language rule 1. With language rule 1 in hand, the recordingwent into some made-up language that sounded like a mixture of Tagalog andArabic. Based on language rule 1, and the made-up language, I had to translatedifferent statements. After about five questions with only language rule 1,then came language rule 2. Oh by the way. Don't round file language rule 1.It's still a player. Now I had to translate more statements using both languagerules. Then came language rules 3, 4 and 5, each at a time. Each new rulerequired translating statements while retaining the previously introducedrules. It was a hard test and there was no rewinding the tape to listen tosomething over again. I knew I had busted it and my name would be taken out ofconsideration for the MiG-29 assignment. Lo and behold, I actually passed thetest. "When in doubt, 'C' it out" really worked. As a result, I wasofficially a player for the MiG-29 exchange assignment.

第一件要做的事就是国防部语言资质系列（DLAB）在德克萨斯州埃尔帕索，我们必须从七年级的初级西班牙语开始学习。我甚至不能用西班牙语写出一个完整的句子。我该如何通过DLAB？为了国防部语言资质系列（DLAB），我在课桌旁坐了下来，挂上了耳机。

考试监考人把一盒磁带塞进磁带放音装置里，然后磁带就以语言规则1阶段开始播放。一进入语言规则1阶段，磁带就播放一些预制的语言，那声音听起来就像是阿拉伯语和塔加洛语的混合物。我不得不基于语言规则1和那些预制的语言，再将它们转换成不同的表述。

语言规则1阶段仅仅问5个问题，然后进入语言规则2阶段。不要绕过语言规则1的文件。它仅仅是个播放机。现在我必须使用两种语言规则翻译更多的表述。然后语言规则3、4和5会一个跟着一个来。每一个新的规则都需要在保持先前已经介绍过的规则的同时翻译表述内容。

这是一项困难的测试，不能倒回磁带重听。我知道我完了。他们不会考虑我去接米格29的任务了。不过你瞧，我其实通过了测试。“当遇到麻烦的时候，‘合格’就是胜出。”这句话真灵验。结果，我正式获得米格29的交换任务。

There was a report-no-later-than date for German languagetraining at DLI for May 1995. About a month out, there had not yet been arelease of who had actually gotten the MiG-29 job. Anyone who got the job wouldhave to have time to prepare for the move, actually get to California and thenfind a house before the class started. The Air Force created a time crunch.There was a guy I had gone to OTS and UPT with working fighter assignments atthe Personnel Center. He got one of the A-10 assignments out of UPT and weeventually ended up flying F-16s together at Misawa. I called him to see if hecouldn't get any intel from the special duty assignments folks. He said he'dhave to call me back. When he did he told me he couldn't tell me but he said ifhe got a chance to come to Germany he'd like for me togive him a ride in the MiG-29.

1995年五月有一个报告会，其时间不迟于在国防部语言大学德语培训。大概一个月过去了，还没有公布究竟谁得到了米格29的任务。不管是谁，只有他得到了这份工作，就需要时间为出差到加利福尼亚州做准备，还要在开课之前找到住的房子。这是空军制造的时间危机。

人事中心有一个和我一起在空军军官训练学校（OTS）和本科飞行员训练班（UPT）进行战斗机任务的熟人。他出了本科飞行员训练班后得到了一个A10任务，而且我们最终一起在日本三泽飞F16。他说他必须把我叫回来。当他确实这么做了的时候，他又告诉我他不能告诉我，但是他说如果他得到一个来德国的机会，他愿意为了我让他坐一次米格29。

I got the official word a few days later when a USAF colonel inLondon – he was responsible for all exchange officers in Europe, North Africaand the Middle East – called to congratulate me on my selection. He explainedthat what put me over the top, and it was the Germans' call, was that I hadflown both the Eagle and the Viper and had been an Aggressor pilot.

有这么一位在伦敦的美国空军上校，负责欧洲、北美和中东的交换军官。几天之后我获得了准信，他向我祝贺。他还告诉我是什么助我越过巅峰（最终入选），那是德国的召唤，因为我既飞过“鹰”又飞过“毒蛇”，还是一位进攻型飞行员。







如何赢得混战 来自F-16和米格飞行员的故事
How To Win In A Dogfight: Stories From A Pilot Who Flew F-16s And MiGs

“打击者”弗雷德·克利夫顿上校是迄今为止最有经验、最富倾略性的战机飞行员之一。他已经飞过F15、F5、F16和鼎鼎恶名的米格29。这位在混战的空中战场里几乎驾驭过每一种战斗机的飞行员毕业于久负盛名的飞行武器学校。现在他在这里与你分享他的经历。

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com ... who-flew-1682723379
http://www.ltaaa.com





1

Lt. Col.Fred "Spanky" Clifton is one of the most experienced aggressor pilotsever, having flown the F-15, F-5, F-16 and the notorious MiG-29. He's been indogfights with pretty much every fighter out there and is a graduate of theprestigious Fighter Weapons School. Now he's here to share his expertise withyou.

“打击者”弗雷德·克利夫顿上校是迄今为止最有经验、最富倾略性的战机飞行员之一。他已经飞过F15、F5、F16和鼎鼎恶名的米格29。这位在混战的空中战场里几乎驾驭过每一种战斗机的飞行员毕业于久负盛名的飞行武器学校。现在他在这里与你分享他的经历。




How in the hell did you end upbecoming the first USAF fighter pilot to fly the Russian-built MiG-29 Fulcrumas an exchange pilot?

作为一名交换飞行员，你究竟是如何成为首位飞俄制米格29“支点“的美国空军战斗机飞行员的？


First– a little (actually, a lot of) background. I earned a degree in aerospaceengineering in 1979 and worked for Boeing in the Seattle area for two yearsafter graduating from college. I had no real interest in joining the militaryat the time since I was an Army brat, growing up mostly at Fort Bliss, TX, andprobably felt I had done my time. Plus, my dad told me if I ever joined theArmy he'd kick my butt. Trust me Dad, an Army career was never on my radarscreen. The Army doesn't have cool jets!


首先——一点点（实际上很多）背景。我于1979年获得一个航空工程专业的学位。大学毕业后在西雅图大区为波音工作了两年。那时我无意于参军。因为我出生在军营，几乎就是在德克萨斯州的布利斯堡长大的，我感觉我花在军队里的时间够多的了。此外，我爸爸对我讲只要我参军，他就会踢我的屁股。相信我爸爸，军队生涯绝不会出现在我的雷达屏幕上。军队没有那么酷的喷气式战斗机！





Ihad a life-long fascination with airplanes and had built hundreds of plasticmodels, eventually moving on to u-control models and then radio-controlledmodels. I had always wanted to learn to fly myself, but could never afford it.One of my coworkers at Boeing told me about the Boeing Employees FlyingAssociation (BEFA). BEFA had a range of different airplanes at affordableprices to members. For example, a Cessna 152 rented for $19 / hour, includingfuel. An instructor was another $10 / hour. I joined BEFA and got my privatepilot's license in 1981. The ink wasn't wet on my certificate when I took mygirlfriend for a flight. I moved up to the Cessna 172 and thought this was thecat's meow. Flying bug smashers was fun, but it sure wasn't exciting. OneSpring Saturday in 1981 another coworker called and asked if I wanted to go tothe open house at McChord AFB. It was an abnormally sunny day in the PacificNorthwest, so away we went. Parked next to each other on the flightline was anF-15 and F-16. I was drawn to them like flies to a cow patty and I'm sure thetwo pilots were happy to have me quit bending their ears with questions. Aftera great show by the Canadian Snow Birds, I went and stood about 100 feet infront of the two fighters and thought to myself that I could fly one of those.

飞机是我终生的迷恋。我做过几百个塑料（飞机）模型。最后做的是“由您控制“模型，然后是无线控制模型。我自己是常常想去学开飞机的，但我肯定负担不起学费。我在波音的一个同事告诉我有这么一个“波音雇员飞行联合会“（BEFA）的组织。BEFA以雇员们支付的起的价格，让其成员租用不同类型的飞机。

举个例子吧，一架塞斯纳152型飞机一小时的租价是19美元，包括燃料费。请个教练一小时另加10美元。我加入了BEFA并于1981年拿到私人飞行执照。当我带我的女朋友一起飞的时候，我已经有一些飞行经验了。我可以飞塞斯纳172了，但我觉得它还是太弱。飞臭虫粉碎机很有意思，但是不能让人兴奋起来。

1981年春天的一个星期六，另一个同事问我要不要去麦克德空军基地的开放日看看。那天对西北太平洋地区来说真是一个不同寻常的晴天，所以我们就去了。停机坪上远远地一架挨着一架停着的是F15和F16。我就像一只被馅饼吸引的苍蝇那样被它们吸引了。我确信那两个飞行员很高兴我缠着他们提问题。在看过加拿大“雪鸟“的精彩表演之后，我走到距离那两架飞机100英尺的前方，并思索着我也能飞它们。




Thenext week, I called the local recruiting office and talked to the USAFrecruiter. We set up a meeting and upon entering the building the Navyrecruiter told me that if the Air Force wouldn't take me, the Navy would. TheAir Force recruiter must have had some issues with my appearance. I hadshoulder-length hair and a way out-of-regs mustache. His first comment was thatI had to have a college degree to become an Air Force pilot. Got one of those.First square checked off. He next commented that I can't be doing (or never haddone) drugs. Hadn't gone there. Second square checked off, and the ball startedrolling. Remember, this was 1981 and the start of the Reagan military build-up.If you met certain minimal criteria, and could fog a mirror, you were in. Acouple of months after starting the application process, completing the testingrequirements and passing a flight physical, I was awarded a slot in USAFOfficer Training School (OTS) with guaranteed pilot training as a follow-on;assuming successful completion of OTS.

我在第二个星期给当地的征兵办公室打了一个电话，和美国空军征兵人员谈了话。就在我们准备进入一栋建筑物（和空军）互相见个面之时，海军的征兵人员告诉我如果空军不要我，海军要我。空军的征兵人员肯定不喜欢我的外貌。当时的我是长发披肩，满脸络腮胡子。

他向我说明的第一件事就是要加入空军我必须有学士学位。接过我若干文凭中的一份，第一栏便核对完毕。他向我说明的下一件事我没有吸毒（从来没有吸过毒）。还没有到那里，第二栏就核对完毕，那个球也开始左右摇动了。记住，那是1981年，里根正在开始逐步增强他的军事实力。

如果你是个活人，并满足最低标准，你就能参军。开始申请程序、完成必要的测试、通过飞行员体格检查，这一切只花了两个月，然后他们就在美国空军军官培训学院（OTS）赏我一个位置，以培训后续飞行员的标准要求我，还假定我一定会成功从OTS毕业。



Drivingfrom Seattle to San Antonio, TX (OTS was at the Medina Annex of Lackland AFB inthose days) the route took me past Hill AFB in Utah. As a drove by I saw acouple of F-16s in the traffic pattern. If you've ever been to the Salt LakeCity area, you know how nice it is. Let's see – F-16s, mountains (skiing,hiking, etc). It must be a sign from God. I made up my mind right there Iwanted to fly F-16s.

在驾车从西雅图到圣安东尼奥的路上，德克萨斯州的公路带我穿过犹他州的希尔空军基地（那时候OTS位于拉克兰空军基地的麦地那附近）。如果你去过盐湖城地区，你就知道那是多么美的一个地方。让我们看看——一架一架的F16，群山（滑雪的人、徒步登山的人，等等）。上帝肯定在那里签过名。我就是在那里下定决心飞F16的。

Inever got stationed at Hill.

我从未在希尔驻扎。




Afterfinishing OTS, I started UPT at Laughlin AFB, TX in March 1982. There were 72students who started the class (Reagan build-up once again). If I had anyapprehensions about flight training, the biggest was aerobatics. Up until thattime, I had never been a big fan of things like roller coasters and such and wasafraid I'd get sick doing 'acro.' We started doing some mild acro on the secondor third flight in the T-37and I took to it like afish takes to water.

从OTS毕业之后，我于1982年三月在蓝翎空军基地开始本科飞行员训练。同我一起上课的有72名学员（彼时里根又在集结军队）。如果我要感谢飞行训练的话，那么最大的感谢应该给特技飞行。直到那时我还很痛恨像“过山车”之类的动作，并且害怕我会因为做“高翻”而呕吐。我们在第二次或是第三次飞赛斯特T37型飞机时开始做一些温和的高翻。我视此为一条鱼开始喜欢水了。






Thenext thing I was apprehensive about was instrument flying. I'd never done that.There are four things one needs to do simultaneously to fly instruments – holdheading, hold altitude, hold airspeed and talk on the radio. In the firstcouple of T-37 instrument simulator sorties, I could do three, but not allfour. During the second sim sortie, this hot-tempered first lieutenantinstructor was banging on the glare shield and yelling at me over my errors.I'm not one to swear a whole lot, but I finally looked over at him and told himthat if he'd STFU I'd do better. He did shut up and the sim went much better.He and I got along great after that and we ended up flying a lot together. Ididn't bust any flights or sims in the T-37.

我要感谢的第二件事是仪器导航飞行。我以前从没用过这种方法。在依靠仪表飞行时需要一个人同时做四件事：掌握方向、掌握高度、掌握速度和无线电通话。在头一两次短暂的T37仪表飞行模拟训练中，我做不了四件事，只能做三件事。

在第二次仪表舱训练中，暴躁的空军中尉飞行教练重重拍击我的闪光屏，冲着我一遍一遍地吼着我的错误。虽然我不是那种大量赌咒的人，但是我最后还是盯着他告诉他：如果他停止骂脏话，我会做得更好。他确实闭了嘴，而那次模拟训练也进行得更顺利了。自那以后他和我相处得很好，而且我们在一起飞了很多次。我没有弄坏任何一架T37或是T37仪表舱。

Thesuccess continued into the T-38; although, I did bust one T-38 flight because Iwas slow getting the landing gear up as the flight lead during a formationtake-off. As assignment time approached, I had been ranked as "fighterqualified" and filled out my assignment preference sheet (aka, DreamSheet) with F-16 at the top and F-15 was number two.

这种成功一直持续到T38。虽然我确实弄坏了一架T38。在一次编队起飞中我收起落架时慢了。随着分配任务的那一刻到来，我被评为“合格飞行员”。我把F16填在“我喜欢飞的机型”（又称作“梦想表格”）的表格的最上端，紧跟着是F15。
  


Every UPT class does its Assignment Night a little bit differently. We knew beforehand what aircraft would be in the assignment drop for my class.As far as fighters, there would be one F-16, two F-15s, one F-4 andthree A-10s. We decided that on Assignment Night, each student would be calledup and face the crowd with a projector screen to his or her back. The first picture projected on the screen was the student'sfirst-choice aircraft, the second picture was what the class voted that thestudent would get and the final would be a picture of the USAF's (final) choicefor you. As the students went up, oneafter the other, it was easy to narrow down the remaining available aircraftfrom the deck. Kind of like counting cards. It got down to the last two students, me and another, and the twolast available jets were an F-15 and an F-16. I was called up first. As I stoodin front of the crowd – first picture: F-16, second picture: F-16, thirdpicture: F-15.


每一个本科飞行培训班的任务之夜都有点不同。我们事先都知道我们班会分配什么机种。无非就是一架F16、两架F15、一架F4和三架A10。我们决定在任务分配之夜每个学员都要被点出来面对观众，然后放一个投影仪屏幕在他/她的背后。第一张被放在屏幕上的图片是该学生自己首选的飞机。

第二幅图片是同学投票为该学生选的机型。最后一幅图片是美国空军为你选的机型，也是你的最终选择。随着学生一个接着一个走上去，在停机坪上仍然可选的飞机就变得越来越少了。这有点像数牌。最后剩我和另一名同学，而最后剩下可供挑选的战斗机是一架F15、一架F16。我第一个被叫上去。然后我面对人群——第一张图片是F16，第二张图片是F16，第三张图片是F15。






My reaction? Are you effing kidding me? I had to gather myselfquickly. This was actually a great deal and honor. 13 of my classmates had beenselected for one of the ultimate USAF screw jobs, First-Assignment InstructorPilot, and were staying at Laughlin to instruct in T-37s and T-38s. I'd betterput on a happy face. I saluted the student squadron commander and pumped myfists on the way back to my seat. Since I didn't get my number-one choice, theF-15 was going to have to 'sell' itself to me, but I decided to go into it withan open mind. Of the 72 students who started, about 38 graduated. Even duringthe Reagan build-up, there were standards. The last student was washed out theday we received our wings.


我的反应？你这是在给我开一个该死的玩笑吗？我不得不快速打起精神。这确实是个很大的荣誉。我有13个同学被美国空军选去拧螺丝了——也就是第一任务教练飞行员。他们待在蓝翎空军基地坐在T37和T38里教别人开飞机。我最好装得很快乐。

我向学生飞行中队的指挥官致敬，在回座位的路上捏紧拳头给自己打气。因为我没有得到我的首选机型，这架F15不得不“说服”我去接受它，不过我决定用一颗包容一切的心走到它里面去。一开始我们是72个，最后大概38个毕业了。即使在里根大量需要士兵的时候，标准还是标准。那天在最后一个学生被淘汰掉之后，我们得到了我们的飞机。






Istarted F-15A training at Luke AFB, AZ in July 1983 and was assigned to the 7thTacticalFighter Squadron at Holloman AFB, NM in October 1983. In February 1987 I wasassigned to the 65th AggressorSquadron at Nellis AFB. About a year and a half into the Aggressor assignment,the decision was made to convert from the F-5E to another airplane; which was,ultimately, the F-16.

我于1983年六月在卢克空军基地开始我的A级别F15训练，并于1983年十月分派到新墨西哥州霍乐门空军基地第7战术飞行中队。在1987年二月，我被派到那尼斯空军基地的第65进攻中队。大约一年半之后，得到该中队的进攻任务，然后决定用另一架飞机换我的F5E，最终，换成了F16。




There was a lot of indecisiveness at the USAF level as to whichAggressor pilots would convert to the F-16. At first, the Air Force wasn'tgoing to send a lot of former F-15 guys like me to F-16 training. So here was alarge group if F-5 instructors with no place to go; or, at least, we thought.Uncle Sugar had a lot of F-5 instructor pilot (IP) jobs in exotic locations andhe lined us former Eagle pilots against the wall and started throwing darts atus. I got an assignment to Sidi Ahmed Air Base in Bizerte, Tunisia. I went onrecord as having volunteered for the job if I could come back to the Aggressorsand convert to the F-16 (Remember? My number-one choice). The deal was done andafter a year in a land of strange new sights and smells, I got an assignment tothe PACAF Aggressors who were in the process of moving from Clark Air Base inThe Philippines to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa and taking delivery of brand newBlock 30 F-16C Vipers.

涉及到将哪一类进攻型飞行员转变成F16飞行员这个问题，在美国空军这个层面存在许多不确定因素。首先，空军没打算派大量像我这样的前F15飞行员去参加F16的培训。因此，如果没地方去的F-5教练，都会聚在这里，至少我们是这样想的。

那些嘴上抹了蜜糖的人的确在异国他乡有大量工作提供给F-5飞行教练。他会将我们这些前"鹰”战机飞行员排成队往墙上撞，还会向我们投掷标枪。我得到一个去位于突尼斯比塞大市的西堤米赛迪空军基地的任务。我公开表示，如果我能回到这个进攻中队，并转而开F16（记得吗？我的首选），我就主动提出去那里接受这个任务。

最后他们表示同意。在那片奇怪的土地上，看了一年的稀奇，闻了一年的怪味，我又得到一个任务——去太平洋空军当进攻飞行员。而这个太平洋空军基地正从菲律宾的克拉克空军基地搬往冲绳的嘉手纳空军基地。彼时正收到30架崭新的F16C型“毒蛇”战斗机。




Unfortunately, en route to Mac Dill AFB, FL to get checked out inthe F-16 the powers-that-be decided to close all the USAF Aggressor squadrons.Suddenly, I become that guy with Eagle stink on him that the Air Force didn'twant to send to a Viper if it didn't have to. This was especially true at thecaptain level. Those streams were just not to be crossed. There was a lot ofback-and-forth at Tactical Air Command assignments and the USAF PersonnelCenter about what to do with me and the initial hack wasn't very good – AirLiaison Officer at Fort Irwin, CA. However, cooler heads prevailed and I wasallowed to continue F-16 training and got an assignment to Misawa Air Base,Japan. That's how I got to the F-16. It took me over 7 years from the time astarted UPT to the time I got my first Viper flight.


不幸的是在我前往佛罗里达州麦克迪尔空军基地准备上F16的途中，上层决定关闭所有美国空军进攻中队。突然之间我成了不招人待见的“鹰”战机飞行员，而空军认为如果没有必要，就不会派给像我这样的飞行员一架“毒蛇”，对一个上尉尤其如此。

而这些是我无法跨越的。战术空军指挥部在给我布置什么任务，以及美国空军人事中心对我应该干什么，存在大量分歧。而且他们对我最初的到处跳的行为甚为不满。不过，我被允许继续我的F16培训，并得到一个去日本三泽空军基地的任务。那就是我如何得到我的F16的过程。从开始本科飞行员培训到得到我的第一架“毒蛇”总共花了7年。




Arrivingat Misawa, I fell into an age gap. There were a bunch of old-heads and a bunchof young punks, and with lots previous fighter experience, I upgraded to F-16IP (instructor pilot) pretty quickly. Our squadron weapons and tactics officer,now a four-star, was a great guy and an outstanding example of what a squadronpatch wearer (USAF Fighter Weapon's School graduate) should be. I still hadtime left before I got too senior, so he backed me to go the F-16 FighterWeapons School (I was in the last "Fighter" Weapons School class –92A).

到达三泽之后，我又掉进了时代的鸿沟之中，因为那里存在着大量的顽固的老领导和大量的无知的新队员。我飞战机的经验丰富，很快就被提升为F16的教练飞行员（IP）。现在我们中队的武器及战术官是一位四星上将。他很不错，是平息中队争吵的杰出典范（美国空军战斗机武器学院毕业）。因为我在晋升到更高级别之前还是有机会离开的，所以他把我送进了F16战斗机武器学院（我上的是最后一届“战机”武器学习班——92A）。





Being a FWS graduate openssome doors not necessarily available to other fighter pilots. In 1995, whileflying Vipers at Pope AFB, I was selected to be the first MiG-29 exchange pilotin Germany. A requirement for the job was to be a Weapons School graduate.After that assignment, it was back to the Viper at Cannon AFB, NM and then,ultimately, back to Nellis in 2001. I hung up the spurs in December 2004.That's the chronology in a nutshell.

作为战机武器学院的毕业生，很多机会向我敞开大门，而这些机会对其他战机飞行员来说却不那么容易得到。1995年我正在教皇空军基地飞“毒蛇”的时候，被选为第一批飞米格29的交换飞行员，前往德国。得到这份工作的前提条件就是要从武器学院毕业。那个任务完成之后，我又去新墨西哥州的加农空军基地飞“毒蛇”，最终于2001年返回那尼斯空军基地。2004年十二月退役。一句话这就是全部大事记。








When it comes toUS fighters, you have flown some of the most notorious American fighters inmodern history, including F-15, F-5, and F-16. Can you give us an idea of whatthe different characteristics of each jet are and their positives andnegatives, especially in terms of air-to-air combat?

自从加入空军之后，你飞过几乎所有最富赫赫威名的美式现代战机，这其中就有F15、F5和F16。你能不能告诉我们各种战斗喷气式飞机的不同特征，以及他们的优缺点，尤其是在空对空战斗中？


F-15A/B: The F-15 I flew was nowhere near the jet it evolvedinto. The Eagle is big, powerful and handles great. It's a lot like a Mercedes.The cockpit is large and roomy and the outward visibility, except for thecanopy bow, is slightly better the Viper's. Control response is crisp andsometimes twitchy, especially in pitch. The F-15A is structurally 1500 poundslighter than the F-15C. It also carries 2000 pounds less internal fuel than theF-15C. That meant lots of short sorties. It is a great BFM (Basic Fighter Maneuversaka dogfighting) machine.


F15A和B型：我飞过的F15完全不像那些由它发展而来的战机。该战机大而有力，操控很顺利。驾驶它就像在开奔驰一样。驾驶员座舱很大，空间很足，还可以向外看，除了顶棚弧度，它甚至比“蟒蛇”都好点。控制反应很干脆，有时闹点小别扭，尤其是在俯冲的时候。

F15A型的机身比F15C轻1500磅，比F15C型少携带2000磅内部燃料。那意味着大量短距离飞行任务。F15是一款伟大的BFM（基础战斗机操纵，又称作空中鏖战）仪。




The jet accelerates well, but is not especially fast at lowaltitude. At lot is written about the F-15 being Mach 2.5 capable. First off,Mach 2.5 is altitude limited to above 50,000 feet and time limited to 1 minutemaximum. I've flown the jet to Mach 2.35, its normal operating limit, on only acouple of occasions.


这款战斗机加速很快，但是在低空却不是特别快。有许多关于F15在2.5倍音速时的记录。最初2.5倍音速是有高度和时间限制的：必须超过5万英尺，最多1分钟。我曾将这款战机飞到2.35倍音速——这是他的正常操作极限——不过只飞了一两次而已。
  


We occasionally did intercepts against SR-71s in which we gotout to Mach 1.9 to Mach 2.1, but flying at those kinds of speeds were rare.Before anyone thinks we were trying to chase down SR-71s, that was not thecase. The intercepts were head-on in which we simulated launching AIM-7s usingthe SR-71 as a MiG-25 simulator.

我们也偶尔飞到1.9倍至2.1倍音速之间去拦截SR-71侦察机，不过飞到那个速度很少。任何人认为我们是在设法追踪SR-71的情况并没有发生。拦截是头朝前的，在拦截中，我们假装用SR-71的模拟器充当米格25的模拟器，并向它发射AIM-7导弹。

Accelerating straight up? That's a myth. First off, the oldcoal-burning Pratt F100-100 proved troublesome. When the throttles were pushedinto afterburner you weren't 100% sure if the flame would come out of the backend or the front end. Sometimes, it came out of both ends. I've flown atwin-engine glider, meaning that both engines, while still operating butproducing no thrust, as they had stalled. I had maybe 30 hours in the jet atthat point. While the Pratt F100-220 in the F-15C is more trouble free, it onlyproduces about 23,500 pounds of thrust. Installed thrust-to-weight is slightlyless than 1:1 with eight missiles and no external fuel. If you point the jetstraight up and start climbing thrust starts to fall off as the air's densitystarts to decrease. Weight is not decreasing, as fuel is burned off faster thanthrust is decreasing. So stop it everyone – there's no accelerating going straightup in the F-15.

加速直往上冲？那是虚构的。首先，老式烧煤的PrattF100-100（注：F15和F16的动力设备，烧煤是夸张哈！）已被证明很麻烦。当节流阀被推进到加力燃烧室时，你就无法百分之一百确认火焰是从末端还是从前端出来。

有时它从两端一起出来。我飞过双引擎滑翔机，是真的双引擎。当引擎熄火了，它还能运转，只是没有推动力。在战机里处于那种情况对我来说可能有30个小时。F15C型的动力装置Pratt F100-220的麻烦少一些，但是它仅仅能提供23,500磅的推动力。

安装能推动自身重量的推进器，其与自身重量，再加上八枚导弹，当然不带额外燃料，的比例小于1:1。如果你要战机直上，并开始爬升，那么随着空气密度开始增加，推进力会开始变小。机身重量不增加，随着燃料烧光的速度比推进力增加的速度更快。所以，各位，别在往这方面瞎想了——F15不可能提速垂直上升。

Where the F-15A fell short, at least compared to what the jetbecame, is in the avionics department. The original APG-63 radar nowhere livedup to the hype and is worthy of a whole other discussion.

F15A型不达标的地方是它的航空电子设备，至少和它的后继者相比是这样。无处不在的极富独创性的APG-63雷达无愧于它那些天花乱坠的宣传，值得对它另开一个讨论专题。

Bottom line – I was able to lay a solid air-to-air foundation inthe F-15 and, in the end, the jet 'sold' itself to me. I loved flying it.

最后概括一下：我是在F15里打下我坚实的空对空基础的，而F15最终把它自己“推销”给了我。我喜欢飞F15。



2
F-15 Eagle Vs F-16 Viper, which wins the day in an air-to-air engagement?龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.com

F15“鹰”对F16“毒蛇”，谁会在空对空行动中赢得天下？

Starting from BVR, the F-15 enjoys a big advantage in radar detection range. Surprisingly, the Viper's radar has significantly higher peak power than the Eagle's radar. Because the F-15s radar can operate with a high pulse-repetition frequency versus the Viper, whose radar operates with a medium pulse-repetition frequency, the Eagle's radar is actually transmitting more radar energy down range resulting in greater detection range. Because of some of the limitations of the old APG-63 I flew with in the F-15A, the F-16C's APG-68 was actually a step up for me. The APG-68 had more modes and multi-targeting capability. Unfortunately, for the first couple of years I flew Vipers, we were AIM-9 only. AMRAAM didn't start to come into the equation until late 1991.

从超过可视范围开始，F15在雷达侦测范围内享有很大优势。令人吃惊的是，“毒蛇”的雷达比“鹰”的雷达有明显更高的峰值功率。这是因为F15的雷达能用高脉冲回复频率操作，相较之下，“毒蛇”用的是中脉冲回复频率操作，这样，“鹰”的雷达确实转送更多雷达能量，结果就是侦查范围更大。

由于旧式APG-63雷达的某些限制，因此我飞F15A型和F16C型时，它们的APG-68雷达确实是为我专门安装的。APG-68雷达有更多的模式和多任务能力。不幸的是，我飞“毒蛇”的头几年，我们只有AIM-9响尾蛇导弹。直到1991年AMRAAM空对空导弹才启用。


WVR (withinvisual range) scenario: An F-15C and GE-powered F-16C merge head-on, nomissiles, guns only. This is truly where the F-16 excels. The F-15 isabsolutely no slouch in this arena and the margin for error is small, but heF-16 enjoys a sustained turn rate advantage and a thrust-to-weight advantage.My game plan would be not to slow down too much in the F-16. Where the F-16starts to fall off in comparison is when it gets slow and butts up against itshard-wired angle-of-attack limiter. Slow is not a place to be in the F-16unless absolutely necessary. I wanted to keep my airspeed up relative to theEagle and beat him down to where his nose track starts to slow and use thevertical as required and the F-16's turn rate advantage to bring my nose tobear. Both jets bring excellent handling qualities and visibility to theequation. What you really don't want to be is the MiG pilot who faces offagainst either jet in this scenario.

在可视范围之内（WVR）的场景：一架F15C型战斗机和一架使用通用电力的F16C一起向前飞，不带导弹，只带机枪。这正是F16胜出的地方。在这个竞技舞台上F15当然不会绝对的毫无办法，犯错误的空间也很小，但是F16享有持久的转弯速度优势和“推进功率对重量”的优势。

我的游戏计划是不会降低太多F16速度的。相比之下F16速度开始下降的地方是它开始降速，并且屁股朝上，和它的硬线冲角限制物对着干的时候。

除非绝对必要，否则慢不是F16的特征。相对于“鹰”，我想要保持我的空速不断增加，然后击败他，让他的机头开始变慢，如果必要，垂直拉升，而我的F16的转弯优势会让我的机头承受住。在平衡品质和可视性这方面，两种战斗机都有很精彩的控制能力。你真正不想当的是米格飞行员，因为在这个场景里面他不得不对付这两类战斗机。






What was it like being sent to Germany to flywith former enemies in a fighter that you trained so hard to kill for so manyyears?


被派往德国去和前敌人在一架战斗机里飞，而且杀掉他是你艰苦受训多年的唯一目的，你当时是什么感觉？





As stated earlier, I got this assignment while I was flyingF-16s at Pope AFB, NC. We officially activated the F-16 squadron in June 1993and were declared operational six or so months later. Air Combat Command (ACC)brought in a fairly experienced group of guys to stand up the new squadron. Thefour flight commanders, of which I was one, were promoted to major in February1994. I personally pinned on major on the 1st of March, 1994. We completed ourfirst combat deployment in November 1994 and that set the whole scenario up.

就像前面所说的那样，我当时得到这个任务的时候正在北卡罗来纳州教皇空军基地飞F16。我们在1993年六月正式启动F16中队，而且要在六个多月之后宣布军事活动。空军战斗指挥部（ACC）带来一组相对有经验的人组建新中队。

四个飞行指挥官，我是其中一个，在1994年二月被擢升为少校。我个人是在1994年三月的第一天开始履行少校职责的。我们在1994年十一月完成我们第一次战斗部署，并开始准备整个方案。

At the time ACC (Air Combat Command) had a policy of only threefield-grade (major through colonel) officers in a line fighter squadron. Thatmeant the squadron commander, the operations officer and the assistantoperations officer. We suddenly had too many field graders, but ACC let usslide until the combat deployment was completed. Then the handwriting was onthe wall and I had to find a new assignment.

彼时ACC（空军战斗指挥部）曾有一个政策：在一个战斗机中队中只有三个级别（少校到上校）的军官，即中队指挥官、行动指挥官和行动指挥官助理军官。虽然我们突然之间多出了很多其它级别的军官，但是ACC还是让我们迅速而低调地开始，直到该战斗部署完成。然后有些不好预兆，我也有了新的任务。

In the 1990s, assignments could be found and applied for on-lineon the Personnel Center's website. We called these 'the want ads.' I had beenunsuccessful until one of my squadron mates asked me if I had applied for theMiG-29 exchange assignment. I had missed that one. It was in the special dutyassignments section. I checked out the want ad and called the point-of-contact(POC). All assignments had to be posted in the want ads, regardless if someonehad already been penciled in for that job or not. Officially, it had to be a'competitive' process. Sometimes, someone already had the job but it was listedjust to be 'legal.' I asked the POC if this was the case. I figured someone'sprize show dog at Nellis already had the assignment. It has to be in the wantads just to be legal.

在二十世纪90年代，各种任务都可以在人事中心的网站上找到并在线申请。我们称其为“通缉广告”。直到我的中队中的一个同事问我是否申请了米格29的交换任务，我才去申请的。我当时都忘了这码事。

它在一个特殊职责任务栏里。我检查了“通缉广告”，然后电联了联系人（POC）。不管是否有人已经用笔申请了那个工作，所有的任务都必须贴在“通缉广告”里。它是一个正式的“竞争”过程。有时候，某人已经得到那份工作了，但是它还是会被列出来，并标明“法定的”。

我询问POC情况是否如此。我想在纳里斯空军基地某人的奖只是给狗看看的，也已经获得了任务分派，但是在“通缉广告”里它还是显示“合法的”。

The POC told me it was an open competition. "Put me down asa volunteer," was my reply. The job required that one be either an F-15Cor F-16 Weapons School graduate, pass the Defense Language Aptitude Battery(DLAB) and complete German language training at the Defense Language Institute(DLI) in Monterey, CA. As an Aggressor pilot I had been the MiG-29 / Su-27subject matter expert. I really wanted this job. What a chance to see if what Ihad been teaching about the MiG-29 Fulcrum was actually correct.

联系人告诉我说这是一场公开竞争。我的回答是“我会放低姿态，就当自己是个志愿兵。”这份工作需要申请者从F15C和F16两个级别的武器学院毕业，通过国防部语言资质系列（DLAB），并在加利福尼亚州蒙特雷完成了国防部语言大学（DLI）的德语培训。

作为一名进攻型飞行员，我已经是米格29（或称为苏27）这个主题的专家。我真的很想要这份工作。这是一个检验我一直以来学的米格29“支点”战机的相关知识是否正确的的机会。

The first thing to do was the DLAB.。In El Paso,TX we had to take Spanish from the first through the seventh grade and Icouldn't put together a complete sentence in Spanish; how was I supposed topass the DLAB? For the DLAB I was set at a desk and issued a set of headphones.The test proctor inserted a cassette tape into a tape player and the tapestarted off with language rule 1. With language rule 1 in hand, the recordingwent into some made-up language that sounded like a mixture of Tagalog andArabic. Based on language rule 1, and the made-up language, I had to translatedifferent statements. After about five questions with only language rule 1,then came language rule 2. Oh by the way. Don't round file language rule 1.It's still a player. Now I had to translate more statements using both languagerules. Then came language rules 3, 4 and 5, each at a time. Each new rulerequired translating statements while retaining the previously introducedrules. It was a hard test and there was no rewinding the tape to listen tosomething over again. I knew I had busted it and my name would be taken out ofconsideration for the MiG-29 assignment. Lo and behold, I actually passed thetest. "When in doubt, 'C' it out" really worked. As a result, I wasofficially a player for the MiG-29 exchange assignment.

第一件要做的事就是国防部语言资质系列（DLAB）在德克萨斯州埃尔帕索，我们必须从七年级的初级西班牙语开始学习。我甚至不能用西班牙语写出一个完整的句子。我该如何通过DLAB？为了国防部语言资质系列（DLAB），我在课桌旁坐了下来，挂上了耳机。

考试监考人把一盒磁带塞进磁带放音装置里，然后磁带就以语言规则1阶段开始播放。一进入语言规则1阶段，磁带就播放一些预制的语言，那声音听起来就像是阿拉伯语和塔加洛语的混合物。我不得不基于语言规则1和那些预制的语言，再将它们转换成不同的表述。

语言规则1阶段仅仅问5个问题，然后进入语言规则2阶段。不要绕过语言规则1的文件。它仅仅是个播放机。现在我必须使用两种语言规则翻译更多的表述。然后语言规则3、4和5会一个跟着一个来。每一个新的规则都需要在保持先前已经介绍过的规则的同时翻译表述内容。

这是一项困难的测试，不能倒回磁带重听。我知道我完了。他们不会考虑我去接米格29的任务了。不过你瞧，我其实通过了测试。“当遇到麻烦的时候，‘合格’就是胜出。”这句话真灵验。结果，我正式获得米格29的交换任务。

There was a report-no-later-than date for German languagetraining at DLI for May 1995. About a month out, there had not yet been arelease of who had actually gotten the MiG-29 job. Anyone who got the job wouldhave to have time to prepare for the move, actually get to California and thenfind a house before the class started. The Air Force created a time crunch.There was a guy I had gone to OTS and UPT with working fighter assignments atthe Personnel Center. He got one of the A-10 assignments out of UPT and weeventually ended up flying F-16s together at Misawa. I called him to see if hecouldn't get any intel from the special duty assignments folks. He said he'dhave to call me back. When he did he told me he couldn't tell me but he said ifhe got a chance to come to Germany he'd like for me togive him a ride in the MiG-29.

1995年五月有一个报告会，其时间不迟于在国防部语言大学德语培训。大概一个月过去了，还没有公布究竟谁得到了米格29的任务。不管是谁，只有他得到了这份工作，就需要时间为出差到加利福尼亚州做准备，还要在开课之前找到住的房子。这是空军制造的时间危机。

人事中心有一个和我一起在空军军官训练学校（OTS）和本科飞行员训练班（UPT）进行战斗机任务的熟人。他出了本科飞行员训练班后得到了一个A10任务，而且我们最终一起在日本三泽飞F16。他说他必须把我叫回来。当他确实这么做了的时候，他又告诉我他不能告诉我，但是他说如果他得到一个来德国的机会，他愿意为了我让他坐一次米格29。

I got the official word a few days later when a USAF colonel inLondon – he was responsible for all exchange officers in Europe, North Africaand the Middle East – called to congratulate me on my selection. He explainedthat what put me over the top, and it was the Germans' call, was that I hadflown both the Eagle and the Viper and had been an Aggressor pilot.

有这么一位在伦敦的美国空军上校，负责欧洲、北美和中东的交换军官。几天之后我获得了准信，他向我祝贺。他还告诉我是什么助我越过巅峰（最终入选），那是德国的召唤，因为我既飞过“鹰”又飞过“毒蛇”，还是一位进攻型飞行员。