Aircraft Super Thread Mk.VII

[miles316]

It also damaged our Aviation museum moved many of the planes even flipped one on to its back.

www.kake.com/mobi?storyid?147485795

Edited April 15, 2012 by miles316

[David Hingtgen]

Seems the British govt had some just-delivered unassembled-in-factory-crates Spitfires buried underneath a Burmese airfield in 1945 to prevent them from falling into Japanese hands. And were then forgotten. And now found again. And the British govt is paying to dig them up and get them back----so there may soon be a lot more flyable Spitfires out there---or at the very least, one heck of a nice batch of spare parts for the existing ones.

Makes you wonder if there isn't still an Fw190A in a crate somewhere in the Alps or something...

[reddsun1]

I've often thought it would be cool if all nations agreed to ban things like guided missiles, radar, jet engines and stealth to reducing spiralling defense procurement cost.

Then I'd love to see with today's technology, how good of a prop driven fighter plane we could build, compared with the best WWII planes.eapons to be limited to machineguns, cannon, unguided rockets or unguided bombs.

Graham

I didn't know about The Sky Crawlers. That story apparently goes a fair way along those very lines. I like the designs--what little I've seen so far. Familiar, yet, evolved. Very cool. And the dogfight scenes I've seen snippets of so far? I can only say:

[Graham]

Sky Crawlers is worth checking out. Very thought provoking, but a bit depressing (kinda like Jinroh in that way). Definitely worth watching at least twice, as you pick up more on the second viewing.

Graham

[electric indigo]

Last week I was hiking in the french Alps, and while on a hiking path at 1200 m, I had the pleasure of witnessing two Mirage 2000 making a pass through the Canyon of Verdon below me (the valley ground is at 900 m at this point). The area is not totally unpopulated, so I'm not sure this was a regular drill, but it was an awesome "Chevaliers du Ciel" moment.

[PetarB]

I'm doing some hiking in the Tasmanian wilderness towards the end of the year. I don't think we'll get to see any FA/18s though... I imagine seeing them from above passing below you would have looked amazing. I live on a peninsula which while isn't 'underpopulated' it's right next to a national park. Once or twice a year we will hear the roar of jets above and we will rush outside to look into the sky, and then you realise how fast they actually are. I never, ever, have time to grab a camera.

[Shadow]

Was saddened when I saw this. Great shots nontheless.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/space-shuttle-discovery-makes-final-flight-over-washington-dc/2012/04/18/gIQAMtqcQT_story.html

[PetarB]

They are great shots. She looks battle-scarred. I haven't seen that nacelle cover for years...

[Ghost Train]

Of course it looks battle scarred... fighting the Klingons is hard work!

[Graham]

Seems the British govt had some just-delivered unassembled-in-factory-crates Spitfires buried underneath a Burmese airfield in 1945 to prevent them from falling into Japanese hands. And were then forgotten. And now found again. And the British govt is paying to dig them up and get them back----so there may soon be a lot more flyable Spitfires out there---or at the very least, one heck of a nice batch of spare parts for the existing ones.

Makes you wonder if there isn't still an Fw190A in a crate somewhere in the Alps or something...

It's supposed to be 20 of them. What a find!

Graham

[Graham]

Pet peeve with modern movies, why are drones shown flying way faster than they actual can? Just sat through the start of the Keanu Reeves remake movie, 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' and they had Predator or Reaper style drones flying at supersonic speed and then firing Sidewinders at a ground target.......LOL.

Not the first movie I've seen that has drones flying way faster than they actually do.

Graham

[Knight26]

I agree 100% graham, I work with UAVs and movies always protray them horribly, the TF movies were the worst, and oddly the best protrayal, most accurate and realistic was that horrible movie Skyline. Infact the only scene in it worth a damn is the scene were the UCAVs attack, that one X-47 that makes it long enough to fire was awesome to watch, and honesly was the only character I gave a flying flip about. Infact the X-47 guys here have the scene playing on a loop in their conference room.

[anime52k8]

Pet peeve with modern movies, why are drones shown flying way faster than they actual can?

Because UAV's in the real world are increadibly slow and boring.

[eugimon]

I always watch movies about transforming alien robots engaged in an intergalactic civil war and expect realistic portrayals of military machines.

[Thom]

Japan Airlines gets delivery of 1st B787 Dreamliner...I think the Captain must have had the jitters on this take off...

http://www.newairpla.../takeofftojapan

I think what's more the case is the pilots doing 'wing-wags' as a way of saying farewell.

[VF-15 Banshee]

It's supposed to be 20 of them. What a find!

Graham

I wonder if they can put 'em back together and fly 'em? They seemed to have been pack with preservation in mind...

[electric indigo]

Pet peeve with modern movies, why are drones shown flying way faster than they actual can? Just sat through the start of the Keanu Reeves remake movie, 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' and they had Predator or Reaper style drones flying at supersonic speed and then firing Sidewinders at a ground target.......LOL.

Not the first movie I've seen that has drones flying way faster than they actually do.

Graham

Also, a tiltrotor plane can travel at hypersonic speed, and the A-10 is capable of WWI style dogfighting and goes down in a spiral of flames when hit. As shown in Charlie's Terminator: Full throttle salvation.

[David Hingtgen]

Airliners have Jeffries Tubes---you can crawl above the cabin, then down through the avionics bays, to get to the nosegear...

[Beltane70]

I'm hoping that I'll be able to catch the Enterprise flying over as it's transported to the Intrepid. Somehow, I doubt it'll happen when I'm off from work!

[areaseven]

Quick question: What are the best and worst airline companies you've flown with?

[eugimon]

best: asiana, JAL.

Worst: United and American

Even worse than worst, positively horrible: Air China. It wasn't just the fact that their planes rattled like 30 year old VW rabbits. It was that the boarding agents were Chinese Army and I had an AK-47 pointed at me while I explained that the extended battery pack on my Sony Discman was not a microphone or a pipebomb.

Edited April 24, 2012 by eugimon

[areaseven]

Here are my picks:

Best Airliners

Cathay Pacific

Dragonair (owned by Cathay Pacific, of course)

Cathay Pacific provides some of the best services in the airline industry. The ticket processing is prompt, baggage service is top-notch and the food is excellent. Dragonair is supposed to be of lower class, but it still feels like Cathay Pacific. And while I hate Airbus landings, theirs aren't as painful to the back.

Average

Northwest (R.I.P.)

United Airlines

As I rarely did any domestic flights in the U.S., I've never flown American, Delta, Southwest, US Airways or JetBlue (yes, I'm deprived). I've flown United in the past, and I've never had any bad luck with them (though they're supposedly the AOL of airliners when it comes to service). Knock on wood, I guess.

Worst Airliners

Philippine Airlines

TWA (thank goodness they're gone)

If you plan to fly across the Pacific, stay away from Philippine Airlines. Their flights are cheap, but there's a reason for that: their planes are falling apart everyday. The food in Fiesta Class (coach) is horrible; and if you're seated at the back end of the plane, you're least likely to get your meal choice, as that got sold out midway. In my last flight with them on February, the air conditioning system didn't work.

I flew TWA once, and I'm glad they're gone. The plane I was on was an old, dilapidated 747 which had a faulty in-flight theater system.

In recent years, I've flown Cebu Pacific going to Singapore. They're much better than PAL, but that's not saying much, as a paper airplane flies better than PAL. The only downside of Cebu Pacific is you have to pay for food (not that anyone cares about in-flight meals, anyway).

In terms of airliners, my only regret is having not flown Pan Am before they went off the radar.

[David Hingtgen]

I don't really fly often enough to comment (ironic that I love airliners, yet rarely get to truly indulge in my hobby) but I will say:

Air France seemed quite nice overall the one flight I had.

TWA and NW consistently had the worst food.

Northwest once hand-delivered our bags at baggage claim.

[Shadow]

The only airline I can remember flying with was NW and that was going from Detroit to Narita and back. Not the most pleasant of trips. The food was average but I didn't eat much of it after trying my first meal on the flight.

[Daigoro]

best: asiana, JAL.

Worst: United and American

Even worse than worst, positively horrible: Air China. It wasn't just the fact that their planes rattled like 30 year old VW rabbits. It was that the boarding agents were Chinese Army and I had an AK-47 pointed at me while I explained that the extended battery pack on my Sony Discman was not a microphone or a pipebomb.

Haha... I've been flying several times a year for just over a decade between Canada and East and SE Asia, and I was just about to jump on you for being a lying sack because of all the bogus details in your story about Air China -- rattling planes, "Chinese Army" instead of PSB, AK-47s -- and then I got to "Sony Discman". Okay, assuming you weren't wearing one for retro appeal but were using Discmans back when they were actually popular, that probably explains everything!

I'd say most of the Asian airlines I've tried are great -- Korean Air, JAL, Singapore Airlines, and China's private-owned Hainan Airlines in particular, with great service and -- in the case of KA and Hainan, nice electronic entertainment systems in even the economy-class seatbacks. Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express are also good but didn't have the nice entertainment systems. Lower on the scale are the state-owned Chinese giants -- Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern -- but they are still decent to average.

Below them all I would rate all the American airlines I've flown, in particular United and Delta. Poorly-equipped Economy cabins, terrible service, getting squished between obese passengers, no free food -- flying in the US is a nightmare compared to Asia. The rundown airports and security theatre don't help the experience either, though those have nothing to do with the airlines.

Oh, and the flight attendants... All the Asian airlines have young and attractive flight attendants (both male and female) who are well-coiffed, slim, and move with grace and poise. On Korean Air the women are downright gorgeous. The American ones (and Air Canada) generally have no FAs left under 40, often seem on the verge of burnout, and one Air Canada attendant was so wide that she couldn't walk down the aisle without her hips brushing all the seatbacks...

[eugimon]

Haha... I've been flying several times a year for just over a decade between Canada and East and SE Asia, and I was just about to jump on you for being a lying sack because of all the bogus details in your story about Air China -- rattling planes, "Chinese Army" instead of PSB, AK-47s -- and then I got to "Sony Discman". Okay, assuming you weren't wearing one for retro appeal but were using Discmans back when they were actually popular, that probably explains everything!

I'd say most of the Asian airlines I've tried are great -- Korean Air, JAL, Singapore Airlines, and China's private-owned Hainan Airlines in particular, with great service and -- in the case of KA and Hainan, nice electronic entertainment systems in even the economy-class seatbacks. Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express are also good but didn't have the nice entertainment systems. Lower on the scale are the state-owned Chinese giants -- Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern -- but they are still decent to average.

Below them all I would rate all the American airlines I've flown, in particular United and Delta. Poorly-equipped Economy cabins, terrible service, getting squished between obese passengers, no free food -- flying in the US is a nightmare compared to Asia. The rundown airports and security theatre don't help the experience either, though those have nothing to do with the airlines.

Oh, and the flight attendants... All the Asian airlines have young and attractive flight attendants (both male and female) who are well-coiffed, slim, and move with grace and poise. On Korean Air the women are downright gorgeous. The American ones (and Air Canada) generally have no FAs left under 40, often seem on the verge of burnout, and one Air Canada attendant was so wide that she couldn't walk down the aisle without her hips brushing all the seatbacks...

nope, 100% true story. Traveled in northern china in the early 2000's along the russian/north korean border. Flew in on some airbus something or other and the floor boards and the over head bins rattled like they weren't bolted in properly and we flew out of an airport that apparently served double duty as a military base as there were several military aircraft parked out side and the gates were manned by chinese army. They were much more concerned that the battery pack wasn't a mic than a bomb, fyi.

edit: maybe they were PSB or whatever, but they were dressed in military looking outfits with hats with the red star on them and I'm not a gun guy but they sure as hell looked like ak's to me. But I haven't had much experience with having them pointed at me so maybe they were something else. But considering there were military helicopters and planes outside, I don't think I should be dinged for assuming they were military.

On the same trip, we also visited the chinese side of the tallest mountain in korea and we had to bribe the army guys at the gate that our tickets were real because we had pre-folded the tickets along the perforation (since we wanted to save the stubs as souvenirs) and the army guys told us they must be forgeries because real tickets don't come folded.

on the plus side, we had duck at some famous restaurant in beijing where the server sliced off the skin and fat in little slivers that looked like fish scales and arranged the whole dish to look like a fish and it was the most amazing duck I've had in my entire life. The skin was crispy and then the fat would just melt... it was unbelievably good.

Edited April 24, 2012 by eugimon

[Model-Junkie]

I fly with British Airways almost every year, I find their service good & consistent plus they are the only airline who flies direct from BWI to LHR. Though Heathrow is not my final destination when I fly to the UK, my connecting flight is with BA & the transfer is trouble free.

I flew with Lufthansa for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was able to fly on my favorite airliner, the A340-600. The flight was torture though, 12 hour flight from Munich to Hong Kong was hell, especially when I had to do it again on the way back. I do not remember much of my flying experiences with Cathay Pacific or Air France.

[Vifam7]

I haven't flown enough to know which airlines are the best or worst, but I've never had a bad experience on my flights to Japan. All of the domestic flights I've taken were nothing special. In general though, the best flights are those in Business/First class. Next best (if you're in Economy class) is an empty flight where you can move about and occupy several seats in a row. Worst is when the flight is packed to the gills and you're in Economy.

I don't know if anyone would agree but I liked flying in the 747-400s than in the newer 777s when going to Japan.

[Ghost Train]

All the non-discount US airlines are equally bad, so I think comparing airports (which is where you'll be stuck in for a long time anyways) is a more productive discussion .

Detroit Metro, good now that both terminals have been remodeled. North Terminal (formerly NWA and now Delta) has a nice linear design.

Chicago O'Hare: old, and smelly, chances of delays are very high. In the time I waited for my flight to Detroit, I could have easily driven home.

Atlanta Hartsfield: lol good luck with this one, airport is not bad, but damm thing probably has a different weather report for each end of the airport.

Newark Liberty: Taking lessons from how the roads in Jersey are organized, expect to get lost.

La Guardia: ...Piece of Sh!t

Edited April 25, 2012 by Ghost Train

[areaseven]

Oh, and the flight attendants... All the Asian airlines have young and attractive flight attendants (both male and female) who are well-coiffed, slim, and move with grace and poise. On Korean Air the women are downright gorgeous.

You get absolutely none of that on Philippine Airlines. All of their flight attendants are almost within the same level as the American ones.

On the other hand, Cebu Pacific gives you this:

Since we're also talking about airports, here are my picks:

Best Airports

Hong Kong (Chek Lap Kok) International Airport (R.I.P Kai Tak)

Singapore Changi International Airport

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Denver International Airport

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

If I were to pick just one on this list, it would be Hong Kong. Undoubtedly one of the cleanest and most well-organized facilities in the world. The only downside is that the landings are not as adventurous as the old Kai Tak Airport (just ask Graham). The rest are also very clean and organized, but Hong Kong is completely in a league of its own.

Average

Los Angeles International Airport

San Francisco International Airport

New York JFK International Airport

Chicago O'Hare International Airport

I don't love these airports, but at the same time, I don't hate them. To me, they're just airports.

Worst Airports

Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Terminals 2-3 (domestic flights and all Philippine Airlines flights) aren't bad, as they're only about a decade old, but terminal 1 - which holds all international flights - is a complete dump. Air conditioning doesn't work in most areas, there's no running water in the restrooms and they still charge you for arriving or departing.

[David Hingtgen]

Detroit's new terminal is very nice. (I'd never been to the old one to compare).

For pure arrangement/"getting from one gate to another" regardless of how new it is/how good the restaurant choices are:

Atlanta IMHO has the best layout, period. It's basically a very large multi-tiered "H" but boy does it work. Can get from anywhere to anywhere easily and quickly. I don't know why no other airport seems to copy it---it's been studied many times and declared the best IIRC, and I agree.

O'Hare (and a bunch of other airports) is basically "Y's around a semi-circle" and the design sucks yet it seems everywhere copies it for no apparent reason. (Better than St Louis though, that is the epitome of long corridors that makes anywhere to anywhere a very long walk)

[areaseven]

Still the greatest airline commercial ever produced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJnk40klHaE

[Graham]

I have many fond memories of flying in and out of Kai Tak. First time was in 76, when I was just a wee lad.

Graham

[areaseven]

For those unfamiliar with the legend, here's what a Kai Tak landing looks like:

Now if Kai Tak were still around, imagine landing an Airbus A380 on it.

[Beltane70]

Despite doing a fair amount of flying, I haven't been on enough different airlines to accurately say which was the worst/best. I've only ever flown on five different airlines. United, Continental, JAL, ANA, and National Airlines.