Introduced in 1972, the F-15 was the most advanced fighter plane ever built, outperforming all other fighters of the time and still in service today as a leading air superiority fighter. F-15s shot down 33 of the 35 Iraqi planes downed during Operation Desert Storm, and no F-15 has ever been defeated in combat.
Captain Michael King Smith was an F-15 pilot and squadron leader for the Oregon Air National Guard. He and fellow Oregon Air National Guard F-15 pilot Major Rhory Roger Draeger were killed in an automobile accident in March 1995.
This F-15 was placed on this pedestal, as if in flight, on September 19, 1996 in their memory by the Oregon Air National Guard. It is actually located across the highway from the museum building.
Photo by Cliff West
This F-15A Eagle, U.S.A.F. serial number 76-0014, was manufactured by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri on April 15, 1977. It is 63 feet, 9 inches (19.43 meters) long, 18 feet, 8 inches (5.69 meters) high, and has a wingspan of 42 feet, 10 inches (13.06 meters). It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney F-100-PW-100 turbofan engines with afterburners, each producing up to 25,000 pounds (11,250 kilograms) of thrust. It has a maximum speed of 1,875 miles per hour, or Mach 2.5, at sea level. It can reach a maximum altitude of 65,000 feet (19,697 meters) and has a maximum take off weight of 68,000 pounds (30,600 kilograms) and a ferry range of 3,450 miles (3,000 nautical miles) with three external fuel tanks. Armament consists of one M-61-AT 20-millimeter multibarrel rotating cannon mounted internally with 940 rounds of ammunition, four AIM-9L/M Sidewinder missiles and four AIM-7F/M Sparrow missiles or a combination of AIM-9L/M, AIM-7F/M and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles.
Photo by Cliff West
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