RAF Lakenheath Visit

Today we had our eagerly anticipated visit to RAF Lakenheath, home of the USAFE 48th Fighter Wing known as "Liberty Wing".

This was the invite from Joyce.

"RAF Lakenheath visit. The base will host us really well with an itinerary that will visit 5 areas of Operations support for The 48th Operations Support Squadron, known as the “Eagles”, The areas are Tower, RAPCON, Weather, AMOPS, RAWS. Our visit is likely to begin at 10am with lunch being provided also. More details nearer the time but it is a rare chance for you to come onto the USAF base and be up close to these departments such as the Air Traffic Control Tower. The trip is open to the whole walking group whether you have walked with us all year or just on a social basis. "

The 48th Operations Group oversees the operational support, execution, and sustainment of all flight and airfield operations for the Liberty Wing. The 48th OG maintains combat-ready forces in support of operations and deterrence for U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command and NATO operations. The group consists of two F-15E Strike Eagle fighter squadrons, two F-35A Lightning II fighter squadrons, an operations support squadron (which is what we were visiting today), and over 500 personnel capable of delivering global aerial dominance during the execution of war plans and contingency operations.

Here (thanks to Will Lewis) are some pictures of planes from Lakenheath in flight...

An F-15E.

An F-35A.

In total there were 33 of us on the visit. Once we had been escorted onto the base and parked by the control tower, we were split into three groups and escorted around the different sections of the 48th Operations Support Squadron, known as the "Eagles". 

They train and equip war-fighters to enable agile combat air power in support of 48 FW, USAFE Combatant Commands, and Allied Forces. 48th OSS includes flight and airfield management, air traffic control, weather, intelligence, weapons and tactics, wing scheduling, training, life support, operational plans, and group administration.

This was the sequence in which my group visited them.

Radar Approach Control (RAPCON). RAPCON controls flights up to 40,000 feet and within 40 miles, including adjacent airfields. We were ushered into a darkened room and had to keep our voices down to avoid disturbing the controllers. Each of them had a screen displaying the airspace along with all the position and identification tags of every aircraft in it.

I thought the displays were fascinating. The job requires a lot of concentration to keep track of what is going on and take action as necessary. We could see the occasional flashing in red warning of proximity of the F-15s out on a training mission flying close to each other.

You can see a video about RAPCON operations here.

Next we visited the Weather section. We had an interesting discussion about the need to understand wind speeds and directions at multiple heights. One of the sources of information they use is Windy.com. But ground conditions are important too, especially during inclement weather that may lead to restrictions in activities (see here).

Then we visited the Airfield Management Operations (AMOPS) section that provides Airfield and Flight Plan management. They inspect the runway daily. One of the things they have to do is bird control... and dealing with animals that have strayed onto the airfield. Not much of that here apart from the occasional muntjac, but we were told of a couple of difficult situations on a couple of US bases - one in Alaska where they had to deal with a moose and one in Florida where they had a large alligator on the runway.

Next we visited the Air Traffic Control tower. It was seven flights of stairs to get to the top but it's well worth the climb. 

The team's responsibilities include

• Tower Operations: Managing immediate runway activity and gets aircraft airborne.
• Airspace Zone: Managing the CMATZ (Combined Military Aerodrome Traffic Zone), covering 5 nautical miles from the runway, surface to 3,000 ft.
• Safety Services: Providing Basic, Traffic, and Deconfliction Services for aircraft transiting the vicinity.
• Communication: Utilising a "red phone" system for instant coordination with emergency responders.

You can find a video giving a virtual tour of the tower from 5 years ago here and a more recent video here.

The view from the balcony is brilliant and we spent some time there, being lucky enough to see the F-15 planes on a training exercise all coming in to land, including some going round over the top. Read all about the planes here.

Here are a couple of Karen's photos (thank-you Karen).

I thought it was interesting that they travelled quite a distance along the runway before dropping the front wheel onto the ground.

The noise, especially of those that flew over the top without landing was pretty loud. Once we were inside the tower and able to talk to the controllers, Dawn remarked how quiet it was. They must have pretty good soundproofing!

You can see a video from the YouTube Aeroplane channel of some F-15s landing here.

The three groups now joined together for the rest of the tour.

Next we visited the Aircrew Flight Equipment folk responsible for maintaining the pilots' essential equipment. They inspect the over-the-shoulder suits that they wear every day and as needed hand sew the neck, wrist and ankle seals and patch any holes. In addition they inspect their Advanced Concept Ejection Seat -II parachutes, drogue parachutes and survival kits.

We were amused to find an inflated flight suit on the table. It was explained that they do regular checks on them and test them by blowing them up and checking for leaks. The pilots have to wear these suits, made of Nomex, whenever they travel over water which has a temperature of less than 65 degrees F which is basically every flight from Lakenheath as they are generally over the North Sea at some point, and that is never that warm. Each pilot is custom-fitted with their own G-suit, harness, and helmet.

We then were shown the parachutes they used with their clever design to provide camouflage. It takes at least a full day to properly inspect and pack each parachute (providing no repairs are needed).

Then we got to see and hear about their survival kits. You can see a video about their latest Arctic Survival Kits here.

The final part of our visit was to the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) specialists. Their aim is to train Liberty Airmen to survive, evade, resist and escape in any environment so that they can return home with honour.

We got some great stories about what was involved in the training and 4 of us (Will, Dawn, Dan and Dan) got to have a go on the parachute training simulators. Virtual reality headsets give them a simulated view of what they would see while falling, responding to their steering by pulling on the cords.

The rest of us got to see what they were seeing, which was quite fun too. Will landed in the water, but Dawn (with a bit of help) landed on the island, as did one of the Dans, but the other Dan just missed landing on the aircraft carrier.

Then it was off to the "Eagle's Nest" where we had lunch and hot drinks laid on thanks to Joyce and Sue (who baked all the cakes), before we were escorted back off the base to go home.

Before we left, Dawn and I got ourselves some souvenirs from the mini-shop....

Dawn got a beanie with fighter aircraft and the Eagles logo on...

..and I got a whiskey glass.

Now all I need is some American whiskey to drink from it.

What a great tour! Many thanks to Priscilla for making it happen and organising it, Joyce for organising us, our escorts for taking us round, and all the personnel for their time and information-full presentations. We were really made to feel welcome and came away in complete admiration for the enthusiasm and pride everyone showed in telling us about what they do.

P.S. One interesting fact that stuck in my memory is about their low-level flying practice that they do in the Welsh Valleys. Apparently it takes them all of 12 minutes to get there!