Yes it is VERY easy to underestimate the Gladiator.

With chocolate sauce, sir?

Bit messy but if thats what it takes….so be it. :diablo: 🙂

Now this should give them something to think about.

Rant mode on

I’ll tell you what though. For the first time I am seeing the general public voice genuine concern about the lack of funding for our forces. Whats more its not even as if they are waiting for a disaster to happen in order to open their eyes to the danger. People are dying as a direct result of this governments underfunding of the military and what do they do? Well Geoff Hoon denies any responsibility! You heard me. The DEFENCE SECRETARY of the UK denies responsibility for the safety and adequate funding of the British military. Next we will hear Tony Blair deny responsibility for the Prime Ministerial conduct of the incumbent administration. Gordon Brown will deny responsibility for the budget and Blunket will deny responsibility for the police. OI! HOON! If you are listening you are THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE! It is your job, you wanted it, you are responsible for it. If you are not then I do not want to see so much as another ha’penny going from my pay packet into yours. If you cannot do the job you have been given, which you can’t, get another one.

Rant mode off

Hmm – just perusing the forum and heard the delightful sound of a Griffin/Merlin(?) – opened the window and there she was – a spit flying at about 1500 feet going towards (N)EMA following the A46 near Leicester!!

Blue with invasion stipes and definately a griffin!

any ideas which? Rolls Royce??

made my day! 🙂
RichB

Did it sound snarly or throaty?

Phil

Hardly verification that the F-16 had an appalling record.

Sauron

Overall? I agree but in its early service life yes it was appalling and these were problems that should have been cleared and sorted out before it entered service. Which is what Eurofighter is currently doing, the ‘in service’ aircraft are not actually ‘in service’, they are still a part of the test programme and some aspects of its operational life are still to be cleared by the manufacturers and the operators. The ‘rag’ in question speculates that the aircraft is not capable of doing things simply because it hasn’t been cleared to do some of them yet just what part of that do you not understand? It can probably be assumed that as the rag went to press many of the things it said the jet could not do had already been cleared. Part of the test programme you see.

The EF2K is still not fully operational, it is still under test so what does the magazine expect? Do they expect this new design to be straight off the drawing board and fully operational in the blink of an eye? No testing or clearances required? These things need to be cleared before they can be exploited its all part of what is called a “Development Programme”. Its a classic case of anti EF media (and Distiller. Yes I bet you cream yourself everytime rumour control gets hold of this kind of story. I’ll bet you laugh your little white supremacist socks off at the thought of another competitor being raked over the coals even when what is being reported is a steaming pile of sh!t written by somebody who knows little about it).

There was a massive inquiry in the late 1970s/early 1980s into the appalling safety record of ‘in service’ F16s which were claiming the lives of pilots with disgusting frequency and don’t get me started on the F104 Starfighter. They tried to blame it on the pilots only to find it had been cleared to do things it had not even been tested for, all in the name of getting it fully operational, wether it was or not was of no consequence. No worries though Dis’ I know you will deny it, nothing is ever wrong with anything Lockheed builds is there? It is always perfect the moment it is built.