Performer Brief:  F-15E Strike Eagle

The only reason why I am doing this performer brief on a military aircraft is because this is the first time I have gotten a chance to catch the newest Air Combat Command single-ship demonstration, the F-15E Strike Eagle.  The F-15E has been around for about twenty years now, and since then, has not had any kind of aerial display in front of North American airshow audiences.  With the phase-out of the F-15 East Coast Demo Team by the end of this year, the Strike Eagle Demo Team fills the void left by the Langley Eagle Team as well as a void that's been around since the Strike Eagle made its first flight and entered service.  The F-15 Eagle East Coast Demo Team will stand down this November, making room for the F-22 Raptor Demo Team in 2008 (which was supposed to launch in 2007 but was held back another year for unknown reasons).  F-15 West will still be doing shows, so don't worry about that.

The F-15E Strike Eagle Demo Team consists of pilots and maintainers from the 4th Fighter Wing, based at Seymour-Johnson AFB in Goldsboro, North Carolina.  Captains Al "Jewel" Kennedy and Jason "Woody" Stallworth are the pilot and WIZO for the demonstration, which kicked off its first public demonstration in Fort Smith, Arkansas this past March.  While the Strike Eagle looks very similar to the regular Eagle, it is a completely different airplane on the inside and outside.  Both aircraft are powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-229 engines, but the Strike Eagle has a crew of two over the Eagle's crew of one.  Conformal fuel tanks are installed along the engine intakes of the Strike Eagle, and on the fuel tanks themselves are three additional hardpoints, mainly used for 500lb bombs.  Overall, the Strike Eagle is painted in Gunship Grey (which is FS36118 for you modelers out there) while the smaller Eagle is in a two-tone grey (FS36176 and FS36251).  The Strike Eagle has a slightly larger combat radius than the Eagle but at the same time, can carry more payloads than the Eagle, which can reduce its range.

The Strike Eagle demo profile is somewhat similar to the F-15C demo profile with two exceptions.  It is the basic F-15 Eagle demo profile minus a couple of maneuvers and the addition of two attack passes, which are never seen in the fighter demonstrations.  Jewel and Woody are Heritage Flight qualified pilots and are qualified to fly formations of up to four aircraft, as with the rest of the ACC Demo Teams.  On the hot ramp or the static ramp, the Strike Eagle looks very menacing, while the basic F-15C Eagle looks rather sleek.  In the northeast, you can see the Strike Eagle perform at Burlington, VT in August as well as in Atlantic City, which takes place a mere four days after Burlington's airshow.  If you are able to get out to an airshow with the F-15E Strike Eagle in its lineup, do it.  Click here to view the Strike Eagle Demo Team's home page.

Static Display Aircraft at Andrews AFB, May 20-21, 2006

1 - Aircraft was roped off

2 - Aircraft was open for tours

Military Demonstration Teams

• US Navy Blue Angels
  
• Canadian Snowbirds
  
• US Army Golden Knights
  

Tentative Military Demonstrations

• 82 Airborne Paradrop
  
• AH-64 Apache Demonstration
  
• AV-8B Harrier Demonstration
  
• F-15E Strike Eagle Demo Team
  
• F-16 Fighting Falcon East Coast Demo Team
  
• F-22 Raptor Flyby (Saturday only)
  
• F-117 Nighthawk Flyby
  
• MH-60 SPIE Rig Demonstration
  
• T-6A Texan II East Coast Demo Team
  

Civillian Demonstrations

• Lima Lima Flight Team
  
• Dale Snodgrass
  
• Air Force Reserve Above & Beyond Jet Car
  
• Sean Tucker
  
• Nancy Lynn
  
• Jill Long
  
• Michael Hunter
  
• John Klatt
  
• Bill Reesman
  
• The Skytypers
  
• Frank Ryder
  
• Warbird Review
  
• USAF Heritage Flight
  
• USAF Texan Flight
  

Participating Organizations

• Fighter Factory
  
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Announcer: Rob Reider

Gates Open: 8:00 AM

Showtime: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM