Iran could call it a battleship… that still won’t change what it really is.

XB-70 Folks:

Good day!!

5.Also on the comments of Mr. G. Simmos, I think he meant to say that the F-104 first hit the R/Horizontal stab vs the L/Horizontal stab.

Tks in advance!

Actually, I believe the original statement is correct… he was referring to the F-104’s left horizontal stab contacting the XB-70’s right wing-tip. The F-104 was below and to the right of the XB-70, and just forward of the wing-tip.

Especially as there IS NO separate horizontal stabilizer structure on the XB-70!

The small control surfaces forwards are called “canards”.

Note the narrated sequence in the last half of this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCORwUxlNQo

The USAF summary report of the accident investigation stated that, given the position of the F-104 relative to the XB-70, the F-104 pilot would not have been able to see the XB-70’s wing, except by uncomfortably looking back over his left shoulder. The report concluded that Walker, piloting the F-104, likely maintained his position by looking at the fuselage of the XB-70, forward of his position. The report estimated that the F-104 was 70 ft (21 m) to the side of, and 10 ft (3 m) below, the fuselage of the XB-70. The report concluded that from that position, without appropriate sight cues, Walker was unable to properly perceive his motion relative to the Valkyrie, leading to his aircraft drifting into contact with the XB-70’s wing. The accident investigation also pointed to the wake vortex off the XB-70’s wingtips as the reason for the F-104’s sudden roll over and into the bomber.

But as I have already said I don’t think a small number of civil C5 could compete with the large number of AN-124 already operating in the outsize cargo sector.

The US DOD already charters AN-124 when they need extra capacity on short notice. There are more AN-124 (and the AN-225) out there operating in the civil market so they are going to be able to undercut a civil operated C5 fairly easily. I would argue it would cost more to lease a civil C5 unless the US DOD is prepared to subsidise the cargo operator which isn’t going to happen with defence cuts.

Perhaps the idea is to stop using An-124s, so that that charter funding goes to a US company operating a US built & maintained aircraft.

After all, there is a push for government aid to increase domestic spending and government-aided job creation.

Contrast Sandra with Lady Gaga… remember her “wristbands for Japan” campaign?

She claimed “100% of proceeds will go directly to the victims”… but she made a nice profit off the campaign… and was subject to a lawsuit over deceptive pricing.

She charged $5 for a “We Pray for Japan” wristband, another $3.99 for shipping and handling and $0.60 for tax. As per the lawsuit, Gaga inflated the cost of the shipment and pocketed the extra. She also refused to disclose the amount that actually went to the victims.

Lady Gaga cheats japan tsunami victims ends up with a multi million dollar lawsuit

Kuwait purchased 36 A-4KU & TA-4KU Skyhawks (delivered 1977-78). They were among the aircraft flown to Saudi Arabia when Iraq invaded in 1990.

I don’t know for sure about between 1977 and the Iraqi invasion, but after the defeat of Iraq in 1991, a friend (recently discharged USMC A-4 maintainer) was contacted by a contractor.

They were recruiting former US military A-4 maintainers to work for the Kuwaiti Air Force on a multi-year contract to do all support work for those A-4s.

So, while Airwork itself may not have supported the Kuwaiti Lightnings, another contractor may well have.

Right, now make a thin-wing “Vulcan B.4” fitted with 4 of those Oly-593s and afterburners…

:diablo:

I was thinking more along the lines of T-45 Goshawk, T-X Northrop Grumman!
Has there ever been this sort of arrangement before, with essentially two different suppliers supplying (have they delivered all T-45c’s yet?) essentially the same aircraft?

The T-45 Goshawk had a completely redesigned main wing, so they weren’t quite “essentially the same”… but were pretty close.

The last T-45C was delivered to the USN on 20 October 2009, so we are almost 2 years past the end of new-build Goshawk production.

Probably.