Aircraft Vs Super Thread VI

[kalvasflam]

Guys? I think we might need to update our official paint schemes guide...

Hmm interesting, I guess it's the look up and see the sky, and look down and see the sea scheme. what happens though if this thing is over land?

Should paint it pink though to add in the element of surprise to the enemy. heh heh

[hobbes221]

Re the EA-6B the Navy did a few birds with paint jobs like for the centennial of naval aviation (IIRC), here are a few I found awhile back. I think I have more saved somewhere and I know that there are more photos out there

edit to add - Would loved to have seen an F-14 done up like this.

Edited November 29, 2011 by hobbes221

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

Was looking out the pothole during a recent flight and noticed that when the water (it was raining) is deep enough under the wing, the engine is running and the plane stationary, a nice watersprout/tornado spiral of white water will form from ground level up till the tip of the engine nacelle.

Wonder if anyone ever saw this too?

[kaos13]

Was looking out the pothole during a recent flight and noticed that when the water (it was raining) is deep enough under the wing, the engine is running and the plane stationary, a nice watersprout/tornado spiral of white water will form from ground level up till the tip of the engine nacelle.

Wonder if anyone ever saw this too?

everytime it rains bro i watch the f 108s on the 135 do the very same thing..LOL..

[David Hingtgen]

C-17's are especially noted for it.

[reddsun1]

Find myself coming back to the earlier "wagon rut" link periodically. While they're all some pretty amazing images...

this fella's AoA is positively terrifying. Anybody up for a swim?

and I find myself drawn back to this one in particular, for some reason. Want to set it as my desktop background, I like it so much.

it should be interesting to know if this bloke managed to survive the war?

ed: upon closer inspection of the B.U.F.F., it makes a little more sense; the wings and tailplanes are actually level...

Edited November 30, 2011 by reddsun1

[VF-19]

Oh the guy in the P-47 probably only did it once. I would not be surprised if his CO saw it and grounded him.

[David Hingtgen]

ed: upon closer inspection of the B.U.F.F., it makes a little more sense; the wings and tailplanes are actually level...

I was about to comment--the B-52 was built with a weird angle of incidence, as the weight can shift so dramatically. Under certain conditions (like, lightly-loaded and at sea-level apparently) they can "fly level" but be nose-down.

[kaos13]

yeah even watching watching BUFFs come in for landings can be an experience..wheels crab in line with the runway but nose off center..watching that thing do low levels is a sight to behold..speaking of which if yall havent seen it check out the vid mishap of b 52 at fairchild on youtube..unfortunally it ends with the major/his vice commander/ the nav and the WO losing their lives but it displays the awesome flt dynamics of the b 52.every day i look at that tower and say a prayer......l8s..

Edited December 1, 2011 by kaos13

[VF-19]

That mishap was the result of an idiot at the controls and the fact that the system didn't do anything to remove said idiot's wings, despite numerous complaints and safety violations.

[reddsun1]

That mishap was the result of an idiot at the controls and the fact that the system didn't do anything to remove said idiot's wings, despite numerous complaints and safety violations.

Yes, I had heard [or read, rather] before that that particular pilot was known for repeatedly flying those craft outside of their safe performance parameters, i.e. something to the effect of: BUFFs were never meant to do "knife edge" maneuvers.

[kaos13]

true....he might of pushed the edge ALOT.. what a lot of yall dont know is that he was encouraged 80% of the time to perform these manuevers at retirements/ALS graduations/airshows ect....the vid of the crash was a rehersal for an airshow(the day before) and was given FULL cleareance to perform said manuevers...this was the early 90s and it wasnt uncommon for pilots to push the envelope...he just pushed it to many times and as a result lives were lost..this incident pretty much resulted in harsher punishments for performing these acts and is a training tool for not only pilots but us maintenace guys as well..L8s...

[kalvasflam]

Apparently they lost the Beast of Kandahar... assuming of course there was only one of those operating in Afghanistan.

RQ-170 down though doesn't sound quite as dramatic as Blackhawk down.

[David Hingtgen]

ISAF confirms? Darn Useans...

[Fatalist]

For all you airline fans........design (as in paint) your own 787 Dreamliner.

Enjoy wasting your hours away.

https://designyourown.newairplane.com/

[reddsun1]

We must not forget the significance of today's date: Dec 7th. The generation most affected has all but passed away from us, so it doesn't seem to hold as much relevance as it once did for many people. But let us not forget the events in that heretofore little-known harbor in Hawaii 70 years ago, that plunged a America into war and changed the course of history for a nation, and for much of the world.

ed: I think it's a godd**ed crying shame that nowadays, about the only commemoration that it will get will (probably) be repeated airings of that 2-1/2 hrs schlock of Micahel Bay's excrement of a film by the same name...

Edited December 7, 2011 by reddsun1

[VF-15 Banshee]

Well my grandpa has managed to hang in there. Thank heaven that he wasn't actually AT Pearl Harbor when the bombing happened. But he did spend 6 years trucking around the Pacific without one hour of leave. He didn't even get a proper uniform until he got to San Fransisco on his way home!

[renegadeleader1]

There was a ceremony at the charlestown navy yard. Sadly ony one out of a handfull of pearl harbor survivors from new england was in good enough health to make the trip.

[kalvasflam]

what an interesting story from Iran regarding the RQ-170.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/iran-releases-images-downed-u-spy-drone-171144210.html

From what you can see, it looks literally like the plane decided to find an Iranian air field and land. This is the weirdest thing.

[F-ZeroOne]

Theres some speculation as to whether thats the drone or not. I'm in the "I don't think so" camp, on the grounds of size - drones maybe unmanned, but they can also be surprisingly large. Wikipedia lists the RQ-170s wingspan as approx. "20 metres" (at least), and while its always difficult to judge scale accurately without a measure, assuming Mr. Iranian Air Force Guy is of average height, that whatever-it-is looks a bit undersize to me.

Its also been pointed out that the drone would also weight quite a bit - which suggests thats one hefty desk they're propped it up on...

[reddsun1]

I know it's not at all practical or realistic, buuut. I wonder if anyone's tried the diplomatic equivalent of a statement to Iran saying: "um, y'all need to give us our sh*t back, aight?"

[eugimon]

I know it's not at all practical or realistic, buuut. I wonder if anyone's tried the diplomatic equivalent of a statement to Iran saying: "um, y'all need to give us our sh*t back, aight?"

I'm sure they'll put a note to that effect on the cruise missile they're going to send.

[kalvasflam]

I'm sure they'll put a note to that effect on the cruise missile they're going to send.

Well, if the Iranians are putting it on display, that means the Russians and the Chinese have already been all over it. This thing might be a mock up for all we know, it looks really too intact to have crashed or anything like that, may be it ran out of fuel, and luckily glided onto a runway or something. Either that, or the Iranians are telling the truth, and they've somehow co-opted control of the RQ-170, and managed something close to a landing.

I doubt if there will be any real covert actions over this. What is surprising to me is that these things don't have a self destruct built in. This isn't the first instance that unmanned drones have been lost due to failure to communicate. One would've thought that with a system this sensitive, self destruct mechanism would've been a necessity. If nothing else, to save the embarrassment of this display. Geez, been losing a lot of classified tech this year in the middle east.

[renegadeleader1]

I remember reading that in afganistan our drones data was unencripted and taliban lap tops recovered by troops had hours of flight cam footage on it. Is it possible to exploit the fact that it is unencripted to hijack the control signal and take it over? I'm also reminded of a virus the drones control computers kept getting that they couldn't figure out how to get rid of it or where it came from even after wiping the hard drvies and reinstalling the software.

It might also be a trojan horse that we want the russians and chinese to get a look at. It wouldn't be the first time the CIA and the US tried it, during the cold war we often leaked bad technology to the soviets just to get them to waste resources or measure their scientific eforts.

Edited December 9, 2011 by renegadeleader1

[David Hingtgen]

No single-ship demo teams for the USAF for the 2012 airshow season. That sucks. They are ONLY funding the Thunderbirds. Honestly, I go more for single-ship demos and static display, than T-birds or Angels. I like seeing front-line fighters from "real" squadrons, if that makes sense.

[Ghost Train]

Drone piloting sounds like an awesome job, perfect for a generation of guys who've spent most of their childhoods vegging in front of a videogame console. You fly your drone around for a couple of hours, go to taco bell for lunch, and resume. I would suggest the following training curriculum:

Basic:

1. Galaga (or any classic shooter): Basic Control Stick Familiarization.

2. Microsoft Flight Sim: Basic Flight Dynamics

Advanced:

1. Ace Combat 5 Trench Mission: For reflex building and dealing with frustration.

2. Battlefield 2/3: Why flying aircraft is not for everyone.

3. EVE Online: Counterintelligence, crime, espionage, and smack talking in the digital warfare environment

Electives:

1. Ikaruga: The philosophy and zen of controlling remote killing machines.

2. Touhou: Modern moe and its influence on controlling remote killing machines.

[reddsun1]

Drone piloting sounds like an awesome job, perfect for a generation of guys who've spent most of their childhoods vegging in front of a videogame console. You fly your drone around for a couple of hours, go to taco bell for lunch, and resume. I would suggest the following training curriculum:

LOL, it may have been a Taco Bell break that caused this most recent fiasco.

**operator returns to workstation** "Okays. Which o you noobz been playin with mah console? Who putz diz scr33nsaver ons my scrnz? Hey wait--this ain't no screensaver. Oh noes!"

ed: and yes--anyone who doesn't think that titles like: MW3 are considered effective training & recruitment tools are fooling themselves...

Edited December 12, 2011 by reddsun1

[David Hingtgen]

The last F-22 has been built, #4195. It will go to the 525th to replace their flagship which was lost (along with its pilot) last year due to the O2/hypoxia issue. Former demo pilot Paul "Max" Moga is currently CO of the 525th.

[VF-15 Banshee]

The last? What if a dozen of them get blown up next year?

Also, Discovery OV-103 is dead: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/111216doors/

[VF-19]

Apparently, unlike the stupidity involved with the F-14, they're carefully preserving the tooling to make more F-22's. Although, there was one remark about the potential for delays if various sub-contractors go out of business.

[Shadow]

Well Japan has announced it has selected the F-35 as its' next-gen fighter aircraft. Not really surprised to hear this either.

Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011

U.S.-made F-35 is chosen for ASDF

By NATSUKO FUKUE

Staff writer

The government on Tuesday officially selected the U.S.-made F-35 Lightning II as the Air-Self Defense Force's next-generation fighter plane to replace the aging fleet of F-4s.

The Defense Ministry said it plans to purchase a total of 42 of the state-of-the-art jets, the first four of which will be delivered in fiscal 2016 with a price tag of ¥9.9 billion each.

Funding to purchase the four F-35s will be reflected in the defense budget starting in fiscal 2013.

The formal decision to buy the F-35s was made Tuesday morning by the Security Council of Japan, which is headed by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. The council had initially been expected to reach its decision Friday.

Because the fighter is still being developed by an international consortium led by Lockheed Martin Corp., the price has only been agreed for the first four F-35s delivered, prompting concerns that the final cost may rise substantially and that the delivery schedule could be delayed.

The F-35 "was evaluated the highest in terms of performance" compared with the other two candidates, Boeing Co.'s F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofigher Typhoon developed by four European countries, Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa said.

Out of the three jets under consideration, the F-35 has the most advanced technology and the best stealth capability, the ministry said.

The interoperability of the F-35s with the ASDF's existing radar and weapon systems, most of which have been purchased from the United States, is believed to have been another key factor, and the importance of maintaining good bilateral relations with Washington is also thought to have played a role.

The ministry will demand that after the first four F-35s are delivered in 2016, the rest of the new fighters are to be assembled in Japan. Further negotiations will be held to establish the price of the planes to be assembled after 2016, the ministry said.

The ministry has been desperately searching to find a replacement for the ASDF's out-dated fleet of F-4s to keep up with China and other Asian countries that have been beefing up and modernizing their air forces in recent years. The F-4s were used extensively during the Vietnam War by the U.S. Air Force.

The government's selection was "understandable" given the F-35's high performance and Japan's close ties with the U.S., especially at a time when Tokyo is increasingly looking to Washington to contain China's growing might, said Narushige Michishita, an associate professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and an expert on Japan's defense policy.

"China's defense spending has been drastically boosted recently. Japan needs the U.S. as its partner to deal with China," Michishita said.

The ASDF scrambled to intercept Chinese aircraft approaching Japan's airspace 83 times between April and September, a 3.5-fold increase from the same period last year, according to the Defense Ministry.

In January, China claimed that trial flights of its own stealth fighter, the J-20, were successful.

"We're still not sure how China will act as a member of the international community," so buying a new fleet of fighter jets that remain interoperable with U.S.-made weapon systems was critical, Michishita said.

But as the F-35 is still under development, there are concerns about whether the scheduled delivery of the first four by fiscal 2016 will be met, and that the cost per aircraft could increase if problems arise. If the price is significantly hiked, Japan may not be able to afford all 42.

The government is also paying more to purchase the stealth jets than other countries, as Japan's long-standing weapons export ban prohibiting participation in joint arms development projects with other nations, has prevented Tokyo from taking part in the F-35's development.

"Considering Japan's fiscal crisis, it would be better for the government to change the ban on exporting weapons so that it can jointly develop military aircraft at a lower cost," Michishita said."The government should make efforts to reduce the cost as much as possible."

Information from Kyodo added

[David Hingtgen]

Cool Russian stuff:

(check out 5:45 in on the second one)

[F-ZeroOne]

Now if I can just find the other million or so parts, I can make my own never-produced naval stealth attack aircraft!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/McDonnell-Douglas-A-12-Avenger-II-Canopy-Only-one-Private-Hands-Unobtainium-/150718532486?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2317864b86#ht_9829wt_1344

[JELEINEN]

Now if I can just find the other million or so parts, I can make my own never-produced naval stealth attack aircraft!

http://www.ebay.com/...#ht_9829wt_1344

It's kind of cool, but what the heck would anyone do with it?

[electric indigo]

It's kind of cool, but what the heck would anyone do with it?

Make money, apparently:

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2011/12/how-an-a-12-avenger-ii-canopy.html