T
HE AIR COMBAT Command
F-22 Raptor aerial
demonstration is one of
the most popular airshow
acts on the circuit. The
fact that a stealth fighter
with the prowess of the F-22 is able
to demonstrate its remarkable agility
in front of huge crowds leaves most
onlookers speechless. Sure, we’ve seen
this kind of post-stall, thrust-vectoring
agility from the Russians for many years,
but not from a front-line, operational,
stealth fighter!
The 2017 demonstration pilot for
the F-22 ‘demo team’ is Maj Dan ‘Rock’
Dickinson. Maj Dickinson has the formal
title of F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration
Team Commander and Pilot. It’s a
two-year billet and he is based at Joint
Base Langley-Eustis and attached to
the 94th Fighter Squadron. The F-22
demonstration role is the responsibility
of the resident 1st Fighter Wing, and the
pilot leads a 19-member team.
As far as selection is concerned, Maj
Dickinson told this magazine: ‘To qualifyto become the F-22 demo pilot, the
Air Force is looking for an instructor-
qualified Raptor pilot, typically on his
or her third assignment on the jet.
Every two years the 1st FW — that runs
the team — sends out a request to all
the F-22 bases looking for demo pilot
nominations. Those candidates come
here for a formal interview with the wing
commander at Langley and this process
is combined with a thorough review
of the pilot’s flight records. This is such
a small community, everyone already
knows each person’s reputation.’
Ultimately, the Langley Wing
Commander makes the decision on the
new F-22 demo pilot for the coming
two years. This leads to the new pilot
shadowing the current incumbent. ‘You
spend six months going through the
upgrade process to become the Raptor
demo pilot’, explains Dickinson. ‘You fly
about 19 upgrade sorties, while at the
same time shadowing the outgoing
demo pilot. So right now, the next pilot,
Maj Paul ‘Loco’ Lopez, is following me to
all the airshows for on-the-job training.’LEARNING TO BE
F-22 DEMO PILOT
The training starts in the simulator at
Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas,
facility. Dickinson says that this facility
is fantastic for learning the potential
emergency procedures and becoming
comfortable with the Raptor’s handling
qualities at low altitude. ‘The engines
and the avionics in this simulator
respond identically to the way they do
in the actual jet’, he says. ‘The training
you really care about is the response ofMaj Dan ‘Rock’
Dickinson talks
about how pilots
train to become
the Raptor
demonstration
pilot and the
challenges of
this awe-inspiring
aerial routine.The high angle
of attack
elements of the
F-22 produce
dramatic results
as huge balls of
vapour envelop
the jet.
Rich Cooper
Above inset:
Maj Dan ‘Rock’
Dickinson. USAF6564-71 Rock Display C.indd 65 28/09/2017 14:48