Aircraft Super Thread Mk.VII

[frothymug]

dat area ruling

[Shadow]

Nice find.

Not exactly new news but interesting still.

It only took us 40 years to develop an equivelent to the Hind. Still, the Battlehawk looks quite beastly.

[wm cheng]

Pretty funny tanks on top (MZ wasn't that far off eh?)

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-typhoon-looks-like-a-futuristic-combat-jet-with-the-1566389209

...not to conformal if you asked me.

[Knight26]

Ah yes the Typhoon Tit tanks.

[Nekko Basara]

If the Typhoon stays in service as long as the Lightning, I shudder to think what those will look like.

[VF5SS]

Falconkpd and I just did a podcast about old console flight sims and we got on the subject of the indomitable Agile Warrior F-111X so I had to take some video of it to share. You may remember this game because it is an amazing experience.

Starring Tucker Smallwood.

Edited April 24, 2014 by VF5SS

[Falconkpd]

Falconkpd and I just did a podcast about old console flight sims and we got on the subject of the indomitable Agile Warrior F-111X so I had to take some video of it to share. You may remember this game because it is an amazing experience.

Starring Tucker Smallwood.

If you scroll through your target map in game, you can actually find the building Elvis is in and blow it up if I recall correctly.

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

I like the typhoon CFTs. At least in that 1st picture in the link. I think it looks good. Ditto for the F16's CFTs.

I feel it makes the planes look tougher in a mecha armour/gadget kind of way.

[hutch]

The F-16 Block 60 with the CFTs is a great looking plane.

[David Hingtgen]

Gyah, sorry, exact opposite IMHO. They ruined one of the sleekest planes around.

[Falcon]

Ageed. I can't stand the new CFT F-16's. The F-16 when it first came out was a sleek beauty. Not it looks like it's grown welts and lumps where it shouldn't. :S

[renegadeleader1]

Falconkpd and I just did a podcast about old console flight sims and we got on the subject of the indomitable Agile Warrior F-111X so I had to take some video of it to share. You may remember this game because it is an amazing experience.

Starring Tucker Smallwood.

Here's what I remember about this game that I still own.

1. It plays like a fully 3-D member of the strike series, only with jets.

2. You can kill enemy pilots after they eject and are in their chutes.

3. Fully deformable terrain that lets you literally move a mountain with enough weapons.

4. Napalm, fuel air burst and nuclear bombs.

5. Co-op mode involved one guy flying while one guy handled the weapons systems similar to a real attack jet like the F-111 or A-6.

6. Finish the game and Tucker Smallwood buys you a stripper as the ending.

[VF5SS]

Tucker Smallwood says, "THIS ONE'S ON SOCOM!"

And then you hate yourself for wasting this much time for a bad mpeg striptease.

[renegadeleader1]

Tucker Smallwood says, "THIS ONE'S ON SOCOM!"

And then you hate yourself for wasting this much time for a bad mpeg striptease.

Lol! I checked for the heck of it on youtube and its like the 4th result if you search "agile warror f-111x". Here it is in spoilers for anyone that might think its NSFW even if there is no nudity, or much of anything else.

Oh yeah I should have mentioned earlier Agile Warrior did get a sequel called Black Dawn. This time though you pilot a chopper instead of a jet so it really is like a 3-D jungle strike. The problem is it was released before the analog stick controller came out for the psx so the controls are a pain. The difficulty is high too, and it sucks when bullet holes in the canopy obscure your vision.

[Nekko Basara]

The F-16 Block 60 with the CFTs is a great looking plane.

Older aircraft get to be like kitted-out tactical firearms. Some folks see the rails and flashlights and multiple optics and think it looks badass; others see a mess of afterthoughts that ruin the original form.

Personally, I can usually enjoy both sides in different ways. One of my favorite examples is the Skywhawk. To me, the initial machines look like sleek 1950s rocketships. But the 80s and 90s machines, all hump-backed and covered with extra doodads, look like grizzled warhorses. Both are "beautiful" in their way.

So, yeah, I think that F-16 looks great for what it is, but I won't blame anybody thinks they've ruined the original viper.

As for the Typhoon CFTs, could we say that the extended range program has gone "tits up?"

Edited April 26, 2014 by Nekko Basara

[mechaninac]

Were we in the 1940's, the CFT equipped Typhon would likely be nicknamed the Mae West, perhaps?

[hutch]

Same. I enjoy both. I work with some Block 30 F-16s with nothing extra added. Gorgeous jet. I partially love the Block 60 for the tech they put in it. Highly capable aircraft.

Heck, I get to see F-4s come up off the deck with regularity and it's a thing of beauty.

Thankfully for every bulked up F-16 50+ or 60 out there, somebody's flying a classic looking 30 or 40.

Also a great looking jet...

Edited April 27, 2014 by hutch

[Shadow]

Wait, what?

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303417104579542212039334946

U-2 Spy Plane Triggered Air-Traffic Outage

By

Andy Pasztor and

Susan Carey

connect

Updated May 5, 2014 9:06 a.m. ET

An air-traffic control outage last week across parts of four Western states stemmed from a software glitch sparked by the flight of a single, high-altitude U-2 Pentagon reconnaissance plane in the region, according to two people familiar with the details.

Preliminary information indicates that the problem—affecting roughly 500 flights in and out of Los Angeles International Airport alone—resulted from the temporary shutdown of a key element of the Federal Aviation Administration's ongoing, $40 billion traffic-control modernization effort, these people said.

The chain of events started with a flight plan that resulted in an improper computer code for the U-2's flight, according to one person, apparently prompting malfunctions that overwhelmed the computer system.

The system ultimately went into overload and shut itself down as a precautionary measure.

The FAA implemented a fix quickly after the incident, but on Sunday an FAA spokeswoman didn't have any comment about the specific cause.

Last Wednesday's incident illustrates the vulnerability of the core portion of the modernized traffic-control network, a component dubbed ERAM, or En Route Automation Modernization, which already has faced a variety of budget and performance setbacks. Both primary and backup ERAM computer systems were affected.

The role of the U-2, a 1950's-vintage spy plane able to fly as high as 70,000 feet, was reported earlier by NBC News.

The temporary ERAM shutdown at an FAA facility in Palmdale, Calif., disrupted travel plans for tens of thousands of travelers, at its height prompting a nationwide halt to takeoffs of all flights headed to the region.

It took several hours to sort out the problem and resume normal air traffic to and from the busy hub at Los Angeles, as well as fields throughout southern and central California, southern Nevada, southwest Utah and western Arizona.

At the time, FAA officials didn't elaborate on the technical problems associated with the delays except to say that for about an hour the Palmdale center couldn't accept flights traversing its coverage area.

Considered the backbone of the nationwide traffic-control upgrade, ERAM replaces a 1970s-era hardware and software system written in now-obsolete programming language and used at many of the 20 "en route" control centers that generally handle air traffic at altitudes over 10,000 feet.

ERAM began in 2002 as a $2.1 billion contract awarded to Lockheed Martin Corp.

But it already is three years late—the FAA now expects it to be installed in all the centers by late this year—and the cost has ballooned by $330 million.

Congressional investigators have criticized the FAA for seemingly focusing only on getting ERAM operational with its "core functionality," while leaving important and complex safety and capacity "enhancements" for later.

Those enhancements include a flight plan "trajectory modeler" designed to project aircraft flight paths, help planes avoid colliding and help controllers ensure accurate handoffs when planes move from one section of airspace to the next. Another enhancement is a "fusion" function that allows for the integration of multiple radars and satellite-based information for controllers. ERAM also will require adjustments once the FAA activates the bulk of its so-called for NextGen initiative, a satellite-based navigation and traffic-control network eventually intended to give pilots greater responsibility for determining routes and maintaining safe distances from nearby traffic.

Nevertheless, ERAM is seen as a big improvement by those air-traffic controllers who now use it. It has fully redundant backups, so it shouldn't lose functions when the main system conks out or needs maintenance. The system can process data from more ground-based radars. It offers a tool called "conflict probe," which looks ahead 20 minutes in time and calculates—based on two planes' altitude, speed and direction—if they are going to get too close. But that function is less sophisticated than the "trajectory modeler," which does the same thing more broadly and has had mixed results on rollout.

The ERAM system hasn't suffered exactly this type of malfunction before, according to people familiar with its history. As part of their investigation, FAA officials are expected, among other things, to examine if the level of traffic contributed to exceeding system's computing capacity.

The Air Force currently operates a fleet of more than 30 U-2S models, all delivered in the 1980s, which can take up to one hour to reach maximum cruising altitude. When flying over U.S. airspace, crews typically file flight plans with the FAA to ensure the spy planes maintain safe separation from each other and all other aircraft.

[David Hingtgen]

In short, I'm just guessing: the new ATC program was programmed to only accept/deal with "logical" speeds/altitudes, to help filter out errors/spikes etc. So when a super-high plane reports its altitude/intended flightplan---it can't handle it. It also probably couldn't handle a ground-speed report from an SR-71.

Almost akin to a Y2K-type issue.

[miles316]

In short, I'm just guessing: the new ATC program was programmed to only accept/deal with "logical" speeds/altitudes, to help filter out errors/spikes etc. So when a super-high plane reports its altitude/intended flightplan---it can't handle it. It also probably couldn't handle a ground-speed report from an SR-71.

Was it on a training mission or going on a mission over seas.

[wm cheng]

Probably spying on Americans

(oops I guess I just got redflaged on that one by Prism)

Edited May 5, 2014 by wm cheng

[David Hingtgen]

Recent photo of the currently-Lithuania-deployed Lakenheath-based F-15C's on patrol. Note the live AMRAAM's and Sidewinder-X's.

[Knight26]

Probably spying on Americans

(oops I guess I just got redflaged on that one by Prism)

I could tell you, but you know...

Actually it was heading down for depot level repair work. Also since Congress refunded RQ-4 Blk30/40 the U-2/TR-1 fleet is getting ready to be stood down.

Recent photo of the currently-Lithuania-deployed Lakenheath-based F-15C's on patrol. Note the live AMRAAM's and Sidewinder-X's.

Bad ass picture. Once I get the knew computer I will have to make a render with my designs copying it.

[VF5SS]

I know there's some Muv-Luv fans around here that might appreciate these. It's a pair of great build ups of Kotobukiya's Tactical Surface Fighter kits painted and decaled like their real like counter parts.

F-22A Raptor

http://www.fg-site.net/en/archives/3165069

F-18 Super Hornet VFA-31 Tomcatters.

http://www.fg-site.net/en/archives/3164522

The series has an alternate universe angle where an alien invasion forced airplane makers to build giant robots so these take the place of the real fighter jets.

It's coooooooooooool~

[F-ZeroOne]

If you're all fed up with the SR-71 groundspeed check story, or the aircrew/mechanic fault/response list, heres a link to some aviation-related funny stories, some of which are familiar and some of which are new (at least to me):

http://www.businessballs.com/airtrafficcontrollersfunnyquotes.htm

[anime52k8]

I liked the flock of seagulls one.

[F-ZeroOne]

I think the radar check call on the B2s is my favourite...

[Falconkpd]

Tucker Smallwood says, "THIS ONE'S ON SOCOM!"

And then you hate yourself for wasting this much time for a bad mpeg striptease.

I'm still not over it.

[RFT]

Were we in the 1940's, the CFT equipped Typhon would likely be nicknamed the Mae West, perhaps?

and in the 50s/60s. they'd be "Sabrinas", like the cannon bulges on Hunters.

[Model-Junkie]

Low flyby of two Su-24's:

[renegadeleader1]

and in the 50s/60s. they'd be "Sabrinas", like the cannon bulges on Hunters.

Because the F-16's are american it would probly be "Jaynes" in honour of Jayne Mansfield.... 40D(44DD after kids)-21-35.

[electric indigo]

Sikorsky S-92 will be the new Marine One.

[David Hingtgen]

That's be an awesome patriotic color scheme if they used something like that.

[Phyrox]

I think I'd be embarrassing. Nothing stately nor dignified about that scheme. It'd be like having the president wear a blazer with the flag on it.

That said...this being the United States, I'd give it even money.

[mechaninac]

It's the Pimp-My-Ride version of Marine One...