ArthurWhat about Romania first straighten out their economy, budget, society, energy situation, environmental situation, ……… before thinking about buying new toys?
Shhhhh…. Dis! If i didn’t know you better, i would say you sound like Arthur in one of his pacifist rants 😉
I do think you’re awfully right though. If only Bucharest got just a tad little depressing…
ArthurPrediction number one:
– 2006 will be next.
Longer term predictments:
– The USAF will join the A400M program.
– The RAF will cancel Eurofighter tranche III, buy two squadrons of F-22s instead.
– USAF will drop B-1B, in stead additional F/A-22s (strike optimised) will be purchased.
– A dozen or so B-52 re-engining programs will be proposed and cancelled.
– Chengdu will display eight new models at Zhuhai.
– Col. Pavlov, Sean, Ken and yours truely will get all nostalgic about those good old days when MAKS was still housed at Zhukovskii (now a housing estate) rather than at Myachkovo (by the time all that’s left of the Russian aviation industry are An-2 spinoffs).
Little bit pessimistic on the second part of the last one, but hey… it sure sounds like a great evening and a terrible headache the next day!
ArthurYou’re really an expert in making nice shots in crappy weather, aren’t you? That Red Arrows Hawk has something nicely etherical about it. Definately a whole lot different than what you normally see when people show their pics. Again, good stuff.
ArthurAs you look north, to the right of the Myasischev ramp is still restricted though – I guess that is where the 1.42 is parked ???
Yes, but waaaay back, almost to the end of the runway. Definately too far to walk, not only because i’m a lazy sod but also because getting arrested way down THERE is just too much to lie/BS/kiss/befriend/drink your way out of.
…but pointing a camera to the right behind the fire station is a no-no!! (although I did go and have a pee against the fire station wall!!!)
Well Ken, possibly without realising you discovered one of the wonderfull ways to explain your intrusive behaviour:
(Enthusiastic security guard): “Wahwahwahwah! Udontunderstandmeatall- butiwilltauntyouanyway!”
(You): “Toohalet?”
(Enthusiastic security guard):”Ah. Ok.”
The ‘Northern’ restricted area – where the Sukhoi, MiG & Tupolev OKB have their flight test facilities – is still ‘restricted’. In fact one of our guys got ‘arrested’ in 2003.
That´s one of the traditional inconsistencies of MAKS security. Each and every year, i hear stories about people getting in a whole lot of trouble (well, sort of) from looking a bit too much into the aprons north of the flightline, actually more of a hassle than people actually getting busted there. Probably an unhappy combination of overzealous Ochrana-people and their opinion of a wrong look on your face. I actually heard quite a lot of stories from people who behaved perfectly nice (but which got apprehended for whatever reason), which were worse off than people who did their best to see all sorts of aircraft they weren´t supposed to see. In 1995 for example, a number of Dutch planespotters was kicked off because of misbehaving while on the static (probably before Col. Pavlov realised it was all futile) while the two guys who managed to sneak into the MiG hangar and got a first notice on the 1.42 never got into any problems at all…
Can you tell i really love MAKS 🙂 ?
ArthurKen,
The Ilyushin has been identified – it’s an 976 (the c/n and all is known, haven’t got the data at hand unfortunately), the Chinese will appearantly be using it for the same telemetry tasks the Russians use theirs for. While your picture is the only one i’ve seen, you’re not the only one who spilled the beans Ken 😉
About MAKS: one thing to remember the ‘forbidden’ area North of the flightline/static is far less forbidden (and easier to get on to, you only have to circumvent or bluff your way through the ‘human fence’ or just take the bus with Ken) than the aprons to the South of the runway. Getting apprehended at the northside will get you a lecture by Colonel Pavlov at worst and a glass of wodka or two at best, whereas getting caught on the southside will get you kicked off and your press accreditation taken away after yet another lousy attempt at interrogation (for some reason, security at MAKS is totally clueless what to do with dumb detainees). No wodka either, although in a certain case the cute interpreter-in-miniskirt which sat on a raised platform did make up for that… (white knickers, in case anyone wonders). The southern aprons also house a number of fighter aircraft with all sorts of exciting modifications: antenna, lumps ‘n’ bumps, really cool stuff.
However, the aprons to the south of the runway are really easy to see from outside the base. There is a pretty decent road following the fence from the gates heading west, which turns into a (still decent) dirt road somewhere in the area of the tower. Most of the more or less operational old stuff (Su-15, Su-17, MiG-25s) can be found here, and you will still get a really good view on them from outside the fence. Also, the road outside of the base will give you a bit of a view on the heli platform in the S-W corner of the base, although there are some trees here. One of the few remaining places where you can still see a Yak-38U.
To get there, you could probably hitchhike (there are plenty of Russians watching the show from outside anyway) or take a taxi. Unless you’ve rented a car, of course 🙂
And don’t forget to take a look with your binoculair (if you haven’t brought one with you, you can buy the great Russian-made 20×60 binos at the show for very little money, definately recommended) to the shed at the SE corner of the base. That was where i saw the 1.42 in 2001.
ArthurI have a doubt: I did not hear that the opsec rule that forbids mentioning squadron numbers was lifted. Was it?
From the mid-1990s on, IDF/AF tayaset identities slowly began to creep through to the general public, linking the numbers to the badges. I believe Oren Rozen did a lot of the pioneering work on that matter (as well as a number of squadron histories by Schlomo Aloni), and today you can find a full name/unit list on the Scramble OrBat at http://www.scramble.nl/il.htm
Suffice to say, it’s useless to keep a lid on freely available information.
ArthurPardon my ignorance – but what is that thing marked 97+04?
ArthurYou’re not the only one who has snapped that 976, Ken (it was that, an 976 aka that-other-Il-76-with-a-dish).
Sean, i wouldn’t worry too much about some early-proposed camera ban. They won’t be able to enforce it anyway, and besides: it’s really easy to get yourself accredited at MAKS as press, which will obviously allow you to take a camera with you. Better still, you can avoid the ‘public’ days which are horribly crowded. Still plenty of people around on the press days, but at least you will be able to find a piece of grass next to the runway to dig up those notes out of your shoes and write ’em down properly.
As for your day-job… any idea yet what you are going to put on your visa application? 😀 I wouldn’t worry too much anyway just now (August is still a looong time away), i’m sure we’ll get back on this. Including the stuff Colonel Pavlov of the Zhukovskii FSB won’t be happy you to know 😉
ArthurThe device on top is actually a missile controller for the second pilot/gunner when the aircraft is fitted with TOW missiles…:)
Not that the Gazelle can be fitted with TOW missiles… But yes, a number of Army Gazelles recieved the TOW sights from the Army Lynxes after those lost their anti-tank job. I don’t think it’s a full IR sight, but i could be wrong.
ArthurFor the Yak-38, I thought it was the other way around. They can’t do vertical take-off at all…?
Yes they can, but not with a full weapons and fuel load. Just like the Harrier, but with an even smaller weapons/fuel fraction of course.
Why the extensive maritime recce capability, if you are not able to penetrate the fleet defenses and destroy the carrier?
In the Soviet doctrine, WW3 was to be a land battle fought in Europe. Crucial for the Soviets to win this war would be to defeat NATO land forces and to prevent reinforcements to arrive. The main targets would have been the convoys, not the carrier groups.
ArthurErez, those pics take helicopters one step beyond NOTAR 😀
Aditya, the V is a common recognition marking on Israeli vehicles.
ArthurOverengineered? Two pretentious trainers first: L159 and Hawk 200. I don’t have a problem with either one of them as light attack aircraft, but thinking a subsonic aircraft has anything to do in AA combat is a bit too optimistic if you ask me. If you want to win a fight, you want to dictate the fight. And a subsonic Hawk or Albatros-de-luxe simply cannot do that.
The B-1B. A stand-off non-penetration bomber (remember it’s nuclear role was that of cruise missile carrier) with all the goodies needed for penetration missions. Not that it’s state-of-the-art ECM ever worked properly, of course.
ArthurIt’s a bit more pale than the Russian green, but you can’t expect the Western aeromedics to reach the same conclusion as their Soviet counterparts overnight 😀
ArthurThe US not following it’s Mission Designator System? There’s a whole lot more than just this whole F/A-blahblahblah. That started with the F/A-18, which originally was suggested to be built in both the F-18 and A-18 variants (with the A-18 being out-of-sequence anyway) for the Marines (F-4 replacement) and Navy (A-7 replacement) respectively. What happened here, is that the designations were merged, and the total nonsense began. It would have fitted in the MDS if the aircraft was designated AF-18: a fighter aircraft modified for the attack mission. By the same standard, the Aardvark for SAC should have been the BF-111 rather than FB-111.
The F/A-22 designation was indeed taken up to market the Raptor to Congress as a multi-mission aircraft rather than the pure air-to-air jet it was actually designed and built to be.
And there won’t be an A-13. Because of superstition, the -13 has always been avoided in aircraft designations. No C-13, no F-13.
ArthurAnd a heads-up in the article on the Russian OrBat. The Flanker unit at KnA/Dzemgi used to be the 60 IAP, so it has been relabeled to the 23rd.
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