Only know it from a few cover versions, makes me wonder if my birthday song was the original.

the U.K. No.1 on the 7th November 1974 was… Everything I Own by
Ken Boothe

Oh, and thanks everyone post-1982 (or so) posting their songs. Makes me really feel old, darn you. And Erin – even in case ‘Centrefold’ doesn’t refer to you as much as Flood would like, there’s an absolutely horrible cover from Captain Jack. Their rightfully failed attempt at a comeback 😀

I was kind of amazed not to see the LCA pop up in the previously deleted IAF Fest-of-Flames-and-Desires.

Well indeed many such collapses are bound to happen when the engines are put to their operating limits. The very purpose of such tests are to enquire the limitations of any engine then why should it be a cause for any alarm ??

If subsequent tests are cancelled after the engine collapses, it suggests something is wrong. It would be interesting to hear (not only for us sideliners, but especially for India’s defense industry) what did go wrong. Engine design (and where exactly in the engine), metallurgy… there’s fairly little software to tweak in order to get a turbofan working reliably.

Like Distiller, i think the LCA is impossible to underestimate as a learning tool for India’s developing aerospace industry. But as an eventually operational fighter… the Italians were right in developing a replacement for their G91 too, but that one became a too-little-too-late dud. More experienced countries have had failures in less ambitious projects.

They could as well make the wing fences useful as on the Su-24MK: make ’em as big as possible, and double them as chaff/flare dispensers. Perhaps that makes up for the RCS-reduction 😀 I’d love to read the Boeing press release about this. And their new photoshopped advertising material.

Tral,
The Whino (yes, i believe the first pun on the Subpar Hornet’s on-deck name, especially since the SH name has NOT been taken over officially by the Pentagon) looking like the MiG-25? I’m sorry, but the R15F and F414 engines are no comparison by a wide margin. It’s like trying to get a tan from Proxima Centauri…

So Boeing’s engineering is slowly but surely catching up with good old 1950s Soviet designs? Cool.

http://forum.sukhoi.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=27402

No other thread for that one anyway.

-SK

Did they clean up Mikolayiv because the photographer was coming? No junk on the tarmac whatsoever – that used to be different.

Pay attention to 55y on that pic btw – it’s a Be-12PS SAR variant, with the extra hatch under the wing.

The US had quite a bit of help in Vietnam. There were Aussies, Kiwis, Thai, South Koreans and for a few weeks an RAF Beverly. As for the US winning that war… isn’t Saigon officially called Nixon City nowadays?

For some reason I doubt the Ukranians would be too interested in giving up their An-124 commercial-lift monopoly (in conjunction with Russia, which also participates) to China. Most likely, they’ll tell them to either buy or take a hike.

There hardly is a monopoly. ADB itself leases machines, Volga Dnepr does, Heavylift (or what’s left of it) does some brokerage… Definately not profitable or reliable enough to pass the chance of selling a few airframes.

Also, it’s hardly two and two equals four, as demand for the An-124 has been steadily increasing. It only makes sense to build more to take advantage of the heavy lift commercial market.

While the commercial market for heavy lift haulers slowly seems to be growing, commercial customers aren’t likely to have a continuous need for such large lifters. Military organisations can use such aircraft on a far more structural base (as the very regular use of An-124s by a number of NATO countries proves).

Nothing has been signed yet of course, but there is quite a difference between commercial use of something like the An-124 and military ops. I think China would be an interesting candidate for the latter.