Aviation Specials — F-22 Raptor (2017)

route to the Raptor lead-in course on the

F-16 at Luke AFB, Arizona. That course

no longer exists, but was previously used

to help new pilots step from the T-38

to the F-22. Dickinson joined the  rst

USAF F-22 Basic Course run by the 43rd

Fighter Squadron at Tyndall AFB, where he

graduated as the Distinguished Graduate.

Upon graduation, he was assigned to the

94th FS at Langley for four years.

In 2012, Maj Dickinson was assigned

back to the 43rd FS at Tyndall as a Formal

Training Unit Instructor Pilot, before he

returned to Langley and then became

the demonstration pilot. After nearly two

years as the demo pilot he has taken his

the aircraft, particularly to emergency

procedures, and it’s all replicated really

well in this simulator. After that we start

the live  ying, so the  rst few sorties are

 own out over the water near Langley

above 5,000ft as a two-ship. Currently,

I’m chasing the new demo pilot through

the upgrade process’. It means that Maj

Dickinson  ies in an observational role

watching the new pilot go through the

routine at altitude. ‘Assuming that goes

well then we will start  ying the routine

over the air eld. We start up at 2,000ft

and over the next 15 sorties we will slowly

work down to a target altitude of 300ft.

So I’m the chase pilot over the water then

over the air eld I’m the safety observer

and the instructor pilot watching from

the ground.’

As the Raptor demo pilot, Maj Dickinson

receives a lot of attention from the media

and public alike. He initially trained on

the T-6 Texan II before he completed

specialised pilot training at Columbus

AFB, Mississippi,  ying the T-38C Talon,

earning his wings as the Distinguished

Graduate and Air Education and Training

Command Commander’s Trophy

recipient. Maj Dickinson then attended

Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals

(IFF) training at Randolph AFB, Texas, en

Top: The

‘dedication pass’

shows o the

upper surfaces of

the F-22.

Jamie Hunter

Above: The

Raptor demo

team includes 18

personnel who

look after the

jet on the road.

USAF/SrA

Shane Karp

(^66) RAPTOR
64-71 Rock Display C.indd 66 28/09/2017 14:48