But Vort, when buying stocks in a plan economy you only need to make sure you know when to sell. Either just before the results of the previoud 5-year-plan are presented, or just after the new 5-year-goals are announced…

In all honesty, this is actually ment a little less sarcastic as it seems 🙂

Sean,
I know the Wichita plant was built as a state factory and hence could be considered as a GAZ, but it could well be sold/handed over to a private company over the years. I know it’s a terribly nerdish question, but for an idiot like me it’s interesting to know who is the actual owner of the infrastructure (production hangars, tarmac, stuff like that) at Wichita. It was definately built as a GAZ to counter all the evil menaces, but i don’t know who owns the plant today. I expect it to be Boeing, but i wouldn’t be surprised if it was Cessna or the US Gvt.

Israel, Iran and the Netherlands also have boom-tankers, but that has more to do with being compatible with US-supplied gear than anything else.

The reason why boom-refuelling has become the way to go with the USAF (and hence with all apostle-air forces also taking up boom refuelling) is that this way of refuelling allows for the largest quantity of fuel transferred through the shortest amount of time. Don’t forget, boom refuelling was initially ment to refuel bombers like the B-47 and B-52 on their 24/7 alert patrols around the USSR. Back in the early days, USAF tactical fighters like the F-100 and F-104 used the good old hose&drogue refuelling system. Only because the SAC with it’s B-47s and B-52s wasn’t just the main recepient but also the main operator of KC-95 and -135, the boom refuelling method became the main way of refuelling within the USAF.

For strategical operations, one single large bomber sucking fuel out of a tanker airplane via boom refuelling makes perfect sense. But tactically, it’s a lot more efficient to refuel three tactical aircraft out of one tanker via hose and drogue refuelling. But since it was SAC which called the shots in the 1950s and early 1960s USAF, we’re stuck with boom refuelling these days.

Which is fine with me, because it has given us nitwit enthusiasts some awesome aerial photography.

His car should be lifted by an ice-skating henchperson, but instead he uses his poor driving skills to twirl.

As long as your feet are smelly enough, it can still be called a dish.

No, they are fried first.

So after wearing them a few weeks, it’ll be more like Chicken Kiev.

No, Nicky also does mid-air twirling. But he’s a cheat, he isn’t lifted by some scantily clad twirling-henchman.

Eddie Hitler, you know. That guy from Bottom.