Cool!
Here goes:
1. SSSR-77112.
1a) What is it.
A Tu-144
1b) Where is it.
Sinsheim, Germany
1c) How did it get there.
By boat from Zhukovskii
1d) How can it be distinguished from other airframes of this type?
The extended canards maybe?
2. Give me the serial numbers assigned to the A-12 program (the pointy black one, not the whitish dorito one ).
From 60-6924 all the way to 60-6933, and 60-6937 to 60-6941. The three missing serials in between were YF-12As.
3. What is the Tu-95MA?
There were actually two. First, and most numerous, it was the NK-12M powered Tu-95 BEAR A with an airconditioned bomb bay (amongst a few other modifications) for the carriage of nuclear weapons. The bulk of BEAR-A production was actually of this version.
The other Tu-95MA (and i think this is the one you were meaning to ask) is the missile carrying testbed/prototype for with two pylons for large 3M25-A ‘Meteorit’ (western designation AS-X-19 KOALA) missiles at the wing/fuselage joint. It was a modified Tu-95MS.
4a) What was Pye Wacket?
A hypersonic saucer-shaped air to air missile, unfortunately didn’t even enter prototype stage. One of the examples why the early jet age (it was a late 1950s project by Convair) was whoa cool. It would have been the self-defense weapon for the XB-70.
4b) What were its competitors?
The AIM-47? The only one i could find quickly.
5a) What was the fastest speed an AAM has been launched at?
What i could find was Mach 3.2.
5b) What is that AAM? 2 possible answers.
The two possible answers make it easier… GAR-9 or AIM-47.
5c) What was the date of the launch?
5d) What is the type and serial of the launch platform?
Dates and types i could find for M 3.2 launches:
28 IX 1965, 60-6934 firing an AIM-47 at a Q-2C drone.
21 IX 1966, 60-6936 firing an AIM-47 at a QB-47 converted bomber (which did survive, but with a large hole in it’s tail).
The launching aircraft being of course YF-12s.
6. What countries have the R-77 in service (arguably)?
Peru, India, PRC, Russia… Belarus doesn’t seem unlikely either (considering their MiG-29s which went to Peru seem to have R-77 capability too).
7a) How many stealth aircraft have been lost?
7b) What were their types and serials?
Lost or shot down?
I’ll start with your favourites, the Blackbird series (assuming their LO characteristics are good enough to consider them stealth)
A-12:
60-6926 w/o 24 V 1963,
60-6928 w/o 5 I 1967
60-6929 w/o 28 XII 1969
60-6932 w/o 5 VI 1968
60-6939 w/o 9 VII 1964
60-6941 w/o 30 VII 1966
YF-12A:
60-6936 w/o 24 VI 1971
SR-71A:
64-17950 w/o 10 I 1967
64-17952 w/o 25 I 1966
64-17953 w/o 18 XII 1968
64-17954 w/o 11 IV 1969
64-17957 w/o 11 I 1968
64-17965 w/o 25 X 1967
64-17966 w/o 13 IV 1967
64-17969 w/o 10 V 1970
64-17970 w/o 17 VI 1970
64-17974 w/o 21 IV 1989
64-17977 w/o 10 X 1968
64-17978 w/o 20 VII 1972
(didn’t realise that so many Blackbirds met an early ending. 19 out of 50 airframes, 38%).
Now the more classic ones:
Have Blue:
‘1001’ w/o 4 V 1978
‘1002’ w/o 10 VII 1979
F-117A:
80-0792 w/o 11 VII 1986
82-0801 w/o 5 VIII 1992
82-0806 s/d 27 III 1999
84-0825 w/o 4 VI 1997
85-0815 w/o 14 X 1987
86-0822 w/o 10 V 1995.
So that’s eight more of the Hopeless Diamond-evolved jets.
No B-2s have crashed (knock on wood if you like).
8. Who was Jack Weeks?
A CIA A-12 pilot who died in the crash of 69-6932 out of Kadena, Okinawa. He was appearantly on a ‘Functional Checkout Flight’ towards the Phillipines and back, to test a freshly replaced engine. The new engine failed over the South China Sea, with both the loss of Weeks and the aircraft.
9a) What was an AWL?
9b) What was it associated with?
It’s a needle-like thing for leather, for example used when making shoes. The russian word for it is Shilo, and that was the nickname for the Tu-22 Blinder because of it’s similarity in shape (when seen from above) with an awl.
In full caps, AWL was the ASCC designator for the K-9 and K-155 air-to-air missiles. These were never to enter service, but they were shown on the fat MiG-21 lookalikes called Ye-152.
10. How can you distinguish the MiG-31 prototype from the service models?
If you’re talking about the first prototype: ‘831’ lacked the cannon. Second prototype ‘832’ did have it. Both prototypes did leave their forward main gear doors open (the ones doubling as speed brakes) when on the ground, all production aircraft have them closed.
11a) What aircraft first performed the Cobra?
MiG-29? Some people claim the F-14 did it too (although it would seem like the perfect way to compressor-stall your TF30s)
11b) Why is it called the Cobra?
Rearing up your head like a Cobra snake does to impress it’s prey?
12. In 1988 the Soviets sent the MiG-29 to Farnborough. They didn’t crash or anything, but another Soviet aircraft did have a problem. What was the aircraft and the problem?
I guess the An-124 pilot was disregarding the comments of the ATC personell at the tower? Would seem typical.
13a) What was project “Nice Girl”?
13b) What aircraft types were involved?
Sorry….
14. Lastly, identify the object in the following picture:
The A-12 Dorito prototype? It does look triangular enough.
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