David Hingtgen

The F-117 is notably quieter than others, and though I haven't heard one, they say the B-2 is very quiet. Visually, both the SR-71 and B-2 dump chemicals into their exhaust when on missions so that they don't leave contrails. If you've ever read any "chemtrail" conspiracy theories, that fact is incredibly ironic. Also the B-2 is grey because that's what blends in. If you've ever seen footage, that grey is the perfect color at altitude. Heat---plenty of theories on how to dissipate it, not sure of any practical implementations. I think most people assume that the engines are the only real concern, as you can't detect anything else at long range. Sure, modern heat-seeking missiles can detect leading edge heat, but only at very short ranges. Other: there's plenty of WEIRD theories there, like the electro-plasma charged leading edges the B-2's said to have. (that's up there with Mach 6 SR-71's though)

A problem when talking stealth is that there is no real definition for stealth. By 1960's standards, a Super Hornet is really stealthy. There's no "magic number" for radar cross section or "detection range by XYZ-type radar" where something is or isn't stealthy. The more I read about the Shornet, the stealthier I think it may be. Some places even credit it approaching the B-1B. Plus AFAIK they're developing stealthy cases for the weapons, and they already have special attachments and fairings to make the pylons stealthy---you can sometimes see some of them when carrying air-to-air missiles. (They go over the sway fittings). Super Hornets have a special set of "extra" fittings/fairings/RAM that is applied only in times of war. Like many stealth coatings/seals/panels they are hard to maintain in top condition, so they are only used when needed. So basically, when it needs to, a Super Hornet could have the 'stealthy' panels/seals used, add the stealthy radar fitments to the nose and canopy, add the stealth parts to the pylons, and in the future, use the stealth covers over the weapons. Plus most planes don't have published numbers, and a lot of "good guesses" are totally wrong. AFAIK a F-22 beats (and possibly by a wide margin) the F-117 for radar detection, which is a big part of the reason it's being retired. And then "stealth" usually has people talk only about radar, when heat is another big factor. People often talk about the F-22 for that, for if you're supercruising you've probably got a lot of heat on you leading edges, and the raw heat of the engines heating up the aft fuselage skin. And then there's age-old "radio silence" which is part of the reason for in-air datalinks etc. Stealth is supposed to mean ALL aspects of detection, but usually just means radar in common usage.

Most aircraft are already as light as they can be. To change to better materials would require redesigning the aircraft. Brand-new F-15's don't weigh any less than 1972 models, despite 30+ years of material advances. One of the few cases I know of to really lighten a plane is the 747-300 to 747-400. It changed to a new alloy for the outer wing skins. But that required a total redesign of every rib, stringer, etc. RAM isn't as good mainly because of weight/strength/durability issues. Having "aluminum painted grey" that's inherently of a stealthy shape will be lighter and stronger than funky carbon-fiber-epoxy-graphite-whatever RAM skin panels. And regular paint over aluminum is of course lighter than "liquid uranium" RAM paint. Also, aluminum is easily repaired, composites aren't.

I personally still find the "new posts" icons pastel overall and not enough difference between new posts and no new posts. Especially the green ones, they look very similar. And the white shine in the upper right bugs me, but I think that's just me. I like the 3 final ones---moved, locked, etc. But again, don't like the shine effect. Too strong in the upper right corner, especially the locked icon.

Just a note: RAM is generally used when you cannot make specific parts of the airframe itself stealthy. RAM is kind of a "last resort". It's inferior to a stealthy shape, is expensive, and many types weigh a ton. You could make a stealth F-15 if you put enough RAM on it, but then it'd be so heavy it couldn't fly. (RAM paint is said to be so dense than two men are required to lift a small bucket of it) F-22 makes use of a lot of structural RAM to make it equal to the YF-23 AFAIK. That was part of Lockheed's promise to the Air Force--they said they could make the YF-22 as stealthy as the YF-22, they'd just need a bit more money to develop new materials. Well, they did, but required a LOT of money and time to do it. The YF-23 was stealthy because of its shape, with minimal RAM. The F-22 needed it's intakes wings and tails redesigned and coated with or made of RAM to equal the -23. If the YF-23 had a extra couple billion to develop new high-tech RAM that didn't exist when it flew, it'd be insanely stealthy in a production version.

Now I'm thinking it's actually my viewer, and not the .gif. I'll try this: And I think the kite should be the main logo seen/used, both aesthetically and "importance to Macross". The kite is for the whole UN Spacy, skulls are just one squadron. ::edit:: Yup, that seems to work, at least viewing it here. Nice simple kite with no effects or anything. I must admit I do not like the shine/flare on some of the proposed ones. Also, the "less intense" ones are not "less intense enough". New vs no new posts need a greater difference. Or actually, I think it's the opposite--the "new posts" ones aren't bold/intense enough, the flare/shine adds too much white, washing them out. Just my opinion, but I liked it best when we had ONLY the two kites like 2 days ago, for new posts and no new posts. Leave everything else the board default. People understand them, and they're small and distinct.

I'd feel like such a hack including ads in my sig. But if I don't get any more offers this weekend I think I'll do it.

I would think the main problem would be the wing glove seal area---that's always been a problem just to get smooth airflow over, much less make stealthy. One of the "problems" with current stealth design is that now the average person simply cannot look at a design and have any clue as to how stealthy it is or isn't. The F-117 is angular simply because that's all the computers could handle--2D objects. The B-2 is so precisely made that if you changed the outer skin shape by an inch or two, it'd have the signature of a 747. A B-2 that's off by one inch would look VERY stealthy to the average person, as it'd look identical---heck, any model kit of the B-2 isn't that accurate, it's within an inch or two. Having angled tails and intakes are usually a compromise for aerodynamic or production reasons---they're better than "whatever you want" for stealth, but not as good as an optmized curved surface. But it takes a lot of computing power to calculate 3D curves of an entire aircraft. Also, "type of radar encountered" has a tremendous affect. The Aerofax F-117 book (the best of the early F-117 books, and still among the best) has some great diagrams showing how different shapes reflect radar, and how different radars have different pulse patterns etc. Basically--you could design a plane that's utterly invisible to one type of radar, yet would show up 100 miles away on another. It's all compromises.

My point is, I basically want cash now to buy stuff. I'm not looking for the max price, I just want it sold. If 25 bucks is the highest offer, it sells for 25.

IMHO the kite works because it's small, round/simple shape, and only 2 colors. Icons shouldn't be complex. Just triangles, circles, and squares. And simple colors. A skull and bones or Minmei is just too much to have on a page 2 dozen times in a row. Also, here is (I think) a bit better version of the basic kite, 27x27 .gif ::edit:: Ack, forgot to make the background transparent, give me a while, that's always hard for me. Edit 2. I just can't get it to SAVE transparent. I can get it to look transparent, and all the previews are transparent, but when I actually open up the final version, it's still got the white background. I spent way too long trying to get around it, something to do with Indexed vs RGB. If someone can give me a transparent version of the original larger one, I do believe I could nicely shrink it. I just can't get transparency tonight.

Panzer grey's too dark IMHO, panzer grey is generally the darkest grey out there. Gunship grey is also a bit too dark IMHO---that's B-2/B-1B/F-15E grey. The problem is there's not many colors "near" Gunship grey---081 and 076 are a lot darker, and most of the others are in the 200+ range. Maybe 36176 or 36173, but those are harder to find. If you want "almost black" blue, try Insignia blue, or the even darker Dark Sea Blue. Dark Sea Blue is so dark, most people would swear under oath that it was black, even in bright sun. Heck, that happens to Insignia blue too. If you want blue-grey, I would definitely see how 35164 Intermediate Blue looks. VERY popular color used in mecha. Always mis-translated in Gundam instructions as medium blue----if you've ever wondered why a kit's instructions wanted you to paint something you know is grey as "medium blue" it's because it's basically a US to JP to US translation of "Intermediate Blue" which looks grey. Also---look at WWII German Luftwaffe colors. They have SO many medium and dark greys with a hint of green, a hint of blue, etc.

If the rest of the GI Joe movie was like the opening scene, it could have surpassed Transformers The Movie. The opening 2 mins ROCKED, then it quickly goes downhill.

Well, I ordered a 1/48 Milia from Neova today. Also---my VF-11FP and YF-21FP have a combined total of two offers. VF-11FP: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=18415 YF-21FP: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=18416

specr0101----did you use French blue-grey for the VF-0D? It reminds me of that. Though I think Intermediate Blue 35164 is very close.

All my M7 stuff is on my previous PC's hard drive, somewhere in the garage. I still have to get all the other stuff though---the M7 OVA, etc. I've only seen the basic 49 eps, really want to see "Fleet of the Strongest Woman".

I was going to post in the comic thread that I found and bought it today. (At my local friendly independent comic shop)

Final F-14 flights. A lot of F-14D's are being flown to museums, here's the unofficial topic about it: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83641 They won't do an airshow demo, but they usually do try to "play it up" for the crowd before they land, with a few passes, rolls, maybe some wing sweeps, etc.

If you just hit "mute" and watch the movie that way, there is no way you would possibly think that Duke survived. I mean, General Hawk CRIED because Duke was SPRAYING BLOOD from being IMPALED. If not for 2 lines quickly re-dubbed, he'd be very dead. He's animated as dying, but the vocal track completely ignores what the audience sees. It'd be like if just after Starscream crumbles into dust leaving only his feet and Galvatron crushes the crown, Astrotrain yells off-screen "He's ok!"

One of the funny(sad) things is how many people don't read pinned threads, or especially--don't notice new ones. When there's like 7 pinned threads, no one notices an 8th one added. I mean, we STILL have people posting about "Stealth!"

I *really* want to know what truck he modeled that CG Prime on. It's even closer than the "really close" pic I have. It may even be the same model, just a different year of production. (My best guess is still a Freightliner FL86). Even without the CG he did, he should tell the world what model of truck he found that matches the G1 toy so closely. I have read that the older 70's Freightliner cabovers had angled wheel arches (like the toy) so it's very possible that a slightly earlier version of that model of truck would EXACTLY match Prime.

Cheaper/faster to build, not older/less advanced. The implication was that they could still have so many planes while taking heavy losses, because of that special manufacturing technique. The manufacturing technique was old and inferior, not the aircraft design itself. But if you can get decent planes a lot quicker and cheaper, most air forces in a war would go for it.

You know, a lot of people don't check any forums other than "the big 6" (TV/Movies, Games, Other Anime, How To, Toys, Models). I believe that despite this thread, 99% of the board had no idea this was going to happen, and probably would have liked to have their voice heard if they knew this was being discussed. Count me in among those people. A posting a day or two before in the relevant doomed super thread(s) would have been nice to alert people. Telling people beforehand is a lot better than smiting all the threads at once then posting a notice that you did it. Discussing it in a not-very-visited sub-forum isn't enough when a huge chunk of the forum reads those threads but not this one.

Because Zero is a direct prequel to 5, set years before. And excluding the X-02 and ADF-01 (from AC4 and 2 respectively), all the planes were real. Also, we keep asking for neat older planes, instead of yet MORE Flanker variants. Getting a game that was definitely set earlier than 4 and 5 opened up that possibility.

'99 Grand Prix GTP. (with brand new supercharger drive belt) All my "when it was new and shiny" pics were taken with a 35mm, so I don't really have any to post. And I'm NOT going to post my recent "scratches from gravel avoiding a head-on collision with a deer" pics...

Emulating possibly the most famous post on all of A.T.T: TRUKK NOT PICKUPP!