With a top speed of about 1,500 mph, this plane is the first American jet with “supercruise” – meaning it can fly faster than the speed of sound for long periods of time without using the engines’ fuel-guzzling afterburners. In fact, F-22 tech is so secret, the Air Force doesn’t allow photos or video to be taken of the F-22 cockpit.įor national security reasons, US federal law prohibits selling F-22s to other nations. The F-22 has sophisticated stealth, aerodynamic and on-board computer systems that set it apart from any other. It’s a business that pulls in about $110 million annually.įor the unfamiliar, the plane Lopez flies is among the world’s most technologically advanced fighter jets. Military demonstration squads like the F-22 team, along with the Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds, attract big crowds for the airshow industry, which holds at least 325 shows annually in the US and Canada alone, according to the International Council of Air Shows. Thundering across the sky at airshows in places like Australia, Chile and Canada – and October 13 and 14 at Georgia’s Atlanta Air Show – the team is on a mission to demonstrate the aerobatic prowess of the Raptor, while providing a bit of Air Force public relations.Įvery year the Air Force F-22 Demonstration Team performs at dozens of shows in front of an estimated 10 million spectators. Paul "Loco" Lopez, the first African-American pilot of the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team, preps for flight.
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