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Finnish Uber Driver
A stellar display of the F/A-18C Hornet by a Finnish Air Force pilot.
The Finnish Air Force Hornet solo display pilot in 2019 is Captain Arto Ukskoski from Lapland Air Command. This year’s solo includes several high angle of attack manoeuvres.
Captain Ukskoski was named the winner of the Best Individual Flying Display of the 2019 RIAT airshow.
I come from Tikkakoski. We lived by the airfield, and I’ve been watching planes since my childhood and by the time when I was in high school I had decided to apply for the Air Force. In 2002 I took the Conscript Pilot Elementary Training Course and continued on the Air Force cadet course the following year.
It’s nice to have the opportunity to fly a display routine for a big audience, and of the air shows in Finland, Turku Airshow is the one I really wait for. Of foreign air shows, I most look forward to the RIAT Airshow in the United Kingdom because it is one of the world’s largest aviation events, and it’s great to go and perform there with the top-notch pilots from other countries.
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Published in Military
Dang!
Does the flight profile of the F/A-18C change without something in those wingtip weapons holders? Interesting to me there is something there for an airshow.
Nope. Those bits are designed to come off.
Sometimes, you just need to reach out and touch someone.
I know just about nothing about aviation. It does seem to me that those things must change the flight profile to some extent. Maybe not significantly, but some.
Weight is a bigger factor than drag.
During an airshow in the UK?
Btw, that flight seemed like a dolphin playing in the water. A marvel to behold.
He perfectly demonstrates the exquisite low airspeed, high angle of attack control for which the Hornet is famous. This is due almost entirely to the computer-controlled flight surfaces. In older aircraft, if you wanted to roll to the left, the control surface you used (either rudder or ailerons on wings) depended on the airspeed. At high speed you simply moved the stick left or right. But at low speeds you had to primarily use the rudder pedals because the ailerons could put you into a spin. (think A4, F4, A7 era jets). But with the Hornet, the pilot always uses the stick to roll but the flight computer integrates the pilot’s requested action with its sensor data (airspeed and angle of attack, altitude) and automatically moves the appropriate flight surface. Sometimes it will use the ailerons on the wings. Other times it might use a combination of the horizontal tail surfaces (they can move together or opposing) the vertical tails (rudders) and the ailerons and flaps. It makes it a dream to fly!
Angle of attack explained: https://executiveflyers.com/what-is-angle-of-attack-in-aviation/
I don’t know the F/A-18C but I was the maintenance control officer for an F/A-18D squadron in 1991. One of my responsibilities was to maintain the weight and balance for our jets. For the A-6E it was easy but for the hornet it was a bit tricky. I mostly remember that if you put bullets in the gun and had nothing hanging on the wings then it would be well out of balance. Or something like that. Slick and no rounds loaded in the gun was fine. I don’t think the wingtip AIM-9 Sidewinder missile rails impacted the center of gravity much.
I became interested in the Finnish Air Force because the 142nd Wing of the Oregon Air Guard flew training exercises in Finland,
The Oregon Air Guard has about 27 F-15’s based in Portland. They are responsible for air interdiction from the Canadian border to a part of Northern California.
I was just starting out in avionics when fly-by-wire was just coming out. It was the opinion of the greybeards that getting pilots used to the idea was going to be like pulling teeth.
That would make sense. The gun (M61A1) is on the left side of the aircraft, the ammo, hydrive, etc, are all heavy.
I’m not following your comment. The gun on an F/A-18 is mounted in the nose, centerline. https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3452/3208428836_b6d0208548_b.jpg
The aircraft would be nose heavy for balance purposes if the wings are slick but rounds are in the gun. It would likely be able to fly, but not properly. I’m not a pilot, so you’d have to ask one of them what the effect would be. I only knew it was out of tolerance, and presumably not safe.