Aircraft Vs Thread 4

[F-ZeroOne]

UK to get unmanned fleshy one aerial destroyer units:

http://www.baesystems.com/ProductsServices...onstrators.html

And if you're not worried by that, then you should perhaps know that the communications system they'll be using is called Skynet...

[Warmaker]

Everything's occuring, but they're 10 years late

[Nied]

At this point I have to believe there's someone in the MoD with a really good sense of humour when it comes to naming military equipment. Isn't there a piece of avionics on the Tornado called the TARDIS?

[F-ZeroOne]

At this point I have to believe there's someone in the MoD with a really good sense of humour when it comes to naming military equipment. Isn't there a piece of avionics on the Tornado called the TARDIS?

Indeed there is. And the UKs premier military research and development organisation is called QinetiQ, and if you don't get the significance of those Qs, you don't watch enough Bond films.

However, the best people for names are the British squaddie; after problems with the Armys new BOWMAN radio system, they decided it stood for "Better Off With Map And Nokia"...

[F-ZeroOne]

Speaking of cool UK hardware names, I forgot that one of the missiles in the inventory is the Storm Shadow.

That right, evil-doers - we can fire NINJAS at you!

[David Hingtgen]

Yeah, that's been IMHO the coolest weapon name in a long time. I also like how the UK equivalent of the Hellfire is the Brimstone.

[Warmaker]

However, the best people for names are the British squaddie; after problems with the Armys new BOWMAN radio system, they decided it stood for "Better Off With Map And Nokia"...

The ranks are always a great place for acronyms (i.e. sarcastic ones). One of my favorites and one of the first I heard when entering service was perfect when you know beforehand your unit is about to get f****d again.

BOHICA: Bend Over, Here It Comes Again

[David Hingtgen]

Posting this in two threads because it's appropriate to both:

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1286859/L/

Even cooler than a vapor shockwave, is a sheer distortion shockwave (also much harder to photograph). And no, this ISN'T photoshopped.

[eugimon]

wow, that's an amazing shot. I don't think I've ever seen a sheer distortion wave before.

[HoveringCheesecake]

Posting this in two threads because it's appropriate to both:

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1286859/L/

Even cooler than a vapor shockwave, is a sheer distortion shockwave (also much harder to photograph). And no, this ISN'T photoshopped.

Wow

[F-ZeroOne]

How to own if you're in a SR-71:

"One day, high above Arizona, we were monitoring the radio traffic of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. ‘Ninety knots,’ ATC replied. A twin Bonanza soon made the same request. ‘One-twenty on the ground,’ was the reply. To our surprise, a navy F-18 came over the radio with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was. ‘Dusty 52, we show you at 620 on the ground,’ ATC responded.

The situation was too ripe. I heard the click of Walter’s mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, ‘Aspen 20, I show you at 1,982 knots on the ground.’ We did not hear another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast."

Quote taken from an item on Defence Tech (http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003869.html#comments).

Edited November 26, 2007 by F-ZeroOne

[eugimon]

haha, that's an awesome story.

[David Hingtgen]

From all indications, it's true as well.

[Nied]

Posting this in two threads because it's appropriate to both:

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1286859/L/

Even cooler than a vapor shockwave, is a sheer distortion shockwave (also much harder to photograph). And no, this ISN'T photoshopped.

What sucks is that it's very difficult to see the effect without a telephoto lens, and believe me I was looking for it this year. This photo was taken on Saturday though, when I watched the day before the weather was even more conducive to vapor production (though not for my comfort it was fracking cold that day!)

[David Hingtgen]

I've personally see a mach shadow, though I didn't photograph it. Lasted several minutes. Took years before I ever found a mention of the phenomena (and its name)----thought I was seeing things or was nuts for a while. (Most people doubt you saw a hovering shadow of a non-existent object above a plane's wing)

http://atmospherical.blogspot.com/2007/09/...ridescence.html (bottom 3 pics)

I can't find any references to a "mach shadow" using google, but I'm pretty sure that's what it was called---it was specifically more of a shadow/darkness than a simple mirage-like "transparent distortion) But that link's the closest thing I could come up with. Though if you look, you notice everything to the right of the shock in the photos is slightly darker. What I saw is more like a clearly defined "line of darkness".

[Apollo Leader]

How to own if you're in a SR-71:

"One day, high above Arizona, we were monitoring the radio traffic of all the mortal airplanes below us. First, a Cessna pilot asked the air traffic controllers to check his ground speed. ‘Ninety knots,’ ATC replied. A twin Bonanza soon made the same request. ‘One-twenty on the ground,’ was the reply. To our surprise, a navy F-18 came over the radio with a ground speed check. I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, he had a ground speed indicator in his cockpit, but he wanted to let all the bug-smashers in the valley know what real speed was. ‘Dusty 52, we show you at 620 on the ground,’ ATC responded.

The situation was too ripe. I heard the click of Walter’s mike button in the rear seat. In his most innocent voice, Walter startled the controller by asking for a ground speed check from 81,000 feet, clearly above controlled airspace. In a cool, professional voice, the controller replied, ‘Aspen 20, I show you at 1,982 knots on the ground.’ We did not hear another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast."

Quote taken from an item on Defence Tech (http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003869.html#comments).

Since we're talking about the Blackbird family, here's an account of what happened when an A-12 pilot deployed his landing gear at MACH THREE:

http://roadrunnersinternationale.com/video...h3geardown.html

For those who follow the Roadrunners site, A-12 Article 128 did finally make its way out to Virginia in time for the Oxcart memorial dedication in September. It was down in Bellevue, NE during the spring and I guess part of the summer. I was able to get a whole slew of pictures of it when it first arrived here from Minneapolis.

[Nied]

I've got good news and bad news:

The F-15s have been grounded... Again.

Boeing designs new technology to allow bomb drops at Mach 2! Bonus Macross tie in: the active flow control design used is very similar in concept to the Active Aerodynamic Control on the YF-19.

I've also heard rumors that some F-22s made their first Bear intercept last week, but I haven't seen anything to confirm it from a reputable srouce.

[David Hingtgen]

ARC's down so can't ask our resident F-22 pilot. (Dunno if he could say or not, but he surely knows if anyone)

[Nied]

ARC's down so can't ask our resident F-22 pilot. (Dunno if he could say or not, but he surely knows if anyone)

::facepalm::

Now why didn't I think of that!

There's no mention of it over at Fencecheck and I know there are some Raptor pilots over there. That's definetly something to ask Waco since IIRC from my lurking, he's in AK where the rumors say the interception flew from.

[Mislovrit]

The bear is pretty sturdily built...I'm not sure I'd want to go at it with anything less than cannons.

Any modern prop aircraft would be using cannons and AtA missiles instead of HMGs for the job.

[kalvasflam]

I've got good news and bad news:

The F-15s have been grounded... Again.

Boeing designs new technology to allow bomb drops at Mach 2! Bonus Macross tie in: the active flow control design used is very similar in concept to the Active Aerodynamic Control on the YF-19.

I've also heard rumors that some F-22s made their first Bear intercept last week, but I haven't seen anything to confirm it from a reputable srouce.

Sounds like more reasons to buy additional F-22s. And make mods to turn the -23s into strike fighters.

Hmmm, Boeing's designed new tech eh... oh, high speed bombing.

[Phyrox]

Any modern prop aircraft would be using cannons and AtA missiles instead of HMGs for the job.

I was referring to this statement:

"But yes, taking down Tu-95s with 50 cals would be VERY satisfying"

But thanks for bringing me up to speed on modern weapons.

[Apollo Leader]

Boeing designs new technology to allow bomb drops at Mach 2! Bonus Macross tie in: the active flow control design used is very similar in concept to the Active Aerodynamic Control on the YF-19.

I'm trying to understand what the big deal is here. There have been plenty of aircraft that have launched bombs and missiles in the Mach 2 and 3 range before (AIM-47 on the YF-12 for example). Or is it the significance of dropping PRECISION guided munitions up in that speed range? I guess that probably ties in with the development of possible Mach 3+ capable precision strike aircraft.

Edited November 29, 2007 by Apollo Leader

[Mr March]

That vapor shockwave is amazing. Never seen anything like it.

[David Hingtgen]

F-35's been grounded since May, may fly again soon:

http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/337508.html Also, the second F-35, first F-35B, will be rolled out Dec 18. Anyone taking bets on if it'll actually hover?

Australia's asking for the F-22 again: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/sto...onsider%20F-22s

New USAF tanker will be designated the KC-45A, regardless of who wins.

[Nied]

Australia's asking for the F-22 again: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/sto...onsider%20F-22s

You're going to make me wear out my Family Guy firebreathing bug.

Hopefully this and the F-15 groundings will help get the F-22 approved for export and drive down prices so we can buy more for us as well.

Also can you imagine the RAAF with a combo of Superhornets and Raptors? They'd be one of the most powerful air forces in the Pacific!

[David Hingtgen]

Well, Malaysia just took delivery of their Su-30MKM's. Not exactly a threat or anything (I'm unaware of Malaysia being aggressive to anyone, much less Australia) but it is "yet another nation in the area with really advanced fighters".

[David Hingtgen]

French news:

1st Rafale crash.

Libya wants to buy lots of stuff from France. Airbuses, Rafales, and nuclear reactors.

[Warmaker]

You're going to make me wear out my Family Guy firebreathing bug.

Hopefully this and the F-15 groundings will help get the F-22 approved for export and drive down prices so we can buy more for us as well.

Also can you imagine the RAAF with a combo of Superhornets and Raptors? They'd be one of the most powerful air forces in the Pacific!

It doesn't surprise me that the US Congress wouldn't allow export of the F-22. I recall a while back that some developments in the JSF program were being withheld from other countries despite putting money and alot in stakes in the program (secret squirrel tech I guess), and this didn't make the British happy who threatened to walk out.

I'm figuring this got sorted out since I haven't heard anything related to that in a while.

But the F-22 is supposed to be the USAF's, All-American Baby. I figured the export sales of the F-22 to longtime, reliable allies would be a good thing. Build more, drive the cost of the line down from what I understand. I really figured the Japanese would have the best chance of getting an F-22 export. Good regional allies for decades, they have a long history of purchasing US aircraft. But Japan didn't get the approval for an export model. So I guess the American taxpayer will be paying alot for a small number of F-22's.

P.S.- I'm still not fond of the F-22 having the name of "Raptor" It lacks flair and sounds overly generic.

Lightning - Ok

Thunderbolt - Cool

Falcon - Cool

Eagle - Powerful, sounds aggressive

Warthog - Great

Mustang - Awesome name

Raptor - The Yawn

[David Hingtgen]

The YF-22 was for a short time, the Rapier. I liked it a lot. Lightning II was meh (but far better the -22 gets the name than the ultra-slow -35), but Rapier's good, as there's a history of US fighters named for swords, like the F-86 Sabre and F7U Cutlass.

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

Rapier immediately brings back memories of a Blue Haired Pilot in VGA graphics with 8 bit music in the background.

BTW, how did the Mustang get named as such? Its a bit of an odd one out.

I thought the 'Gray Ghost' name that was associated with the YF-23 was rather neat.

For the F-22, I would have named it Warhawk II.

Edited December 8, 2007 by Retracting Head Ter Ter

[Warmaker]

The P-51 Mustang's naming stands out in American convention. The only other US made aircraft with a "horse" name is the OV-10 Bronco, AFAIK. Not sure how they came up with Mustang, but it sounds nice for such a great plane.

US Navy a/c have some colorful ones also, but namely from what I recall on the Grumman birds.

Wildcat - Grumman! - ok name

Hellcat - Grumman! - nice name

Tomcat - Grumman! - Anytime, Baby!

Corsair - Not sure what exactly the Corsairs were named after for a long time, but it sounds great

Crusader - ok name

Intruder & Prowler - Grumman again - I really like Intruder as a name for a strike aircraft

Avenger - Very good name, IMO

Helldiver - Awesome name

Skyhawk - Bland, but x3 better than Raptor!

[David Hingtgen]

Crusader continued Vought's trend:

F6U Pirate

F7U Cutlass

F8U Crusader

If they'd made a F9U, it'd probably have been Buccaneer, if that hadn't already been used.

[Phyrox]

If I recall correctly, the name Mustang was the British name for the American produced fighter (designed for a Brit. requirement), and the name stuck. Despite a brief stint as the A-36 Apache in early USAAF service.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

If I recall correctly, the name Mustang was the British name for the American produced fighter (designed for a Brit. requirement), and the name stuck. Despite a brief stint as the A-36 Apache in early USAAF service.

Yes, and the British were the ones who originally requested it.