AIAA St. Louis Celebrates a Milestone: The F-15 Turns 50

By Carmelo Turdo

The St. Louis Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) held their last spring dinner meeting on Tuesday in honor of the upcoming 50th Anniversary of F-15 Eagle 's first flight. From its home in St. Louis to service in air forces around the world, the F-15 has earned a reputation for owning the skies since taking over the mission from the legendary F-4 Phantom II. Many of the AIAA members in attendance worked on the F-15 from the beginning at McDonnell Douglas and some are still involved with the current generation produced at Boeing's St. Louis production facility. More events will be scheduled as the actual July 27, 1972 date nears.

Bob Dowgwillo, retired Boeing aerodynamics engineer and frequent subject matter expert guest speaker for local aerospace organizations and media productions, hosted the dinner meeting and gave a presentation on the F-15 development dating back to the mid 1960s. Departing from the trend of commonality of fighter aircraft between the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy that saw the deployment of the successful Phantom II but also the development of the regrettable F-111B, the Air Force sought a dedicated air superiority fighter to counter the growing threat of advanced Soviet fighters and interceptors such as the MiG-25. In 1967, McDonnell Douglas responded to a request for proposals for the FX concept refinement two years after the initial studies were initiated by other companies. In 1968, project definition contracts were awarded to Fairchild Hiller, North American and McDonnell Douglas (McAir) in St. Louis. Through many iterations, the Model 199 proposal was awarded the development contract as the F-15 Eagle in 1969 with Pratt & Whitney providing the new F-100 series engines.

The F-15's first flight was conducted on July 27, 1972 by McDonnell Douglas test pilot Irv Burrows at Edwards AFB, CA. The development program became known as one of the smoothest in modern military history, using twenty pre-production aircraft to test all aspects of the jet's performance. No aircraft were lost, and the aerodynamic and propulsion issues discovered were evaluated and resolved before the first aircraft was accepted by the Air Force at Luke AFB in November of 1974. From January 16-February 1, 1975, Operation Streak Eagle broke eight time-to-climb records previously held by the Phantom and the Soviet MiG-25. Since then, the F-15 has evolved into the current production models for allied nations and again for the U.S. Air Force as the F-15EX. 

Boeing F-15 Chief Test Pilot Matt "Phat" Giese gave a presentation on the current F-15 program involving the F-15QA for Qatar and the new F-15EX now under development for the U.S. Air Force. Giese, a former U.S. Air Force test pilot and a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, conducted tests on the F-15SA fly-by-wire system and flew the first flights of the F-15QA and F-15EX models. 

The most advanced Eagle yet developed, the F-15EX employs the fly-by-wire control system developed for the F-15SA and F-15QA along with additional radar, sensor, central computing and cockpit display enhancements that outrival even the stealth jets now in service. The F-15EX  airframe carries forward the air superiority and strike capabilities of the previous models but with more responsive handling qualities. Full Size Determinant Assembly (FSDA) production delivers larger subassemblies to the final production area, saving time and money while increasing quality. The first two F-15EX aircraft are currently in flight testing at Edwards AFB, CA and several more are in production. 

Following the formal presentations, several attendees were recognized. Matt Giese was given a mounted AIAA challenge coin in appreciation for his presentation at the dinner meeting. Giese then recognized Jackie Blumer, a 2022 Challenger Learning Center/AIAA Trailblazing STEM Educator Award recipient, with an F-15EX memento that he carried during his test flight. Those in attendance who are associated with the F-15 program then gathered for a group photo.