BIGVERN1966And a rocket engine are apparently going to be used on a new landspeed record car designed to do 1000mph!-details were released today according to msn-its being done by the same team who hold the current record-not strictly aircraft, but a lot of aerospace technology involved
Well the driver is currently a serving RAF Pilot, no doubt other RAF personnel will be involved as has happened on the two previous LSR attempts (Thrust 2 and SSC). Plus love the car name. I’ll be throwing some money in their direction, as I did in 1983 and 95-97. Have met both Nobel and Green and though didn’t have chance to talk a lot to Nobel, Andy Green is a really nice bloke to talk to.
BIGVERN1966‘Les Chevaliers du ciel’ is the French film your thinking of, which funny old think was the name of a 60’s French TV series which was shown in the UK as ‘The Aeronauts’
Remember a few of the stories, and was going to put them on here but for the fact, was covered on here a while back.
As for the Pathfinders, got them on video a few years back, yes it could have been a hell of a lot better than it was, but did enjoy the one ‘Nightmare’ which started with the Wingco Flying catching the Cpl pretending to be Aircrew in the pub. (most of the stories in the series were loosely based on fact). Cpl gets killed at the end, saving the lives of a number of people. The real pity was the only one I remebered from the series when I saw it on TV as a kid was the one where two young pilots are attached to a SD unit flying Lysanders for being bad boys. (13 were made, 12 went on to DVD and the I remember wasn’t one of them)
Loved the theme music though.
BIGVERN1966Very good comparision. Ur comparing a fighter which was sold at scrap prices to Tornado. Even IAF MIG-29 which were the best export were priced at $2m. I am not saying there wont be 20 times combative effectiveness between $40m MIG-29K and $2m MIG-29A. Missile range depends more on speed and altitude of fighter than missile itself. There is also element of downgrade in export missile performance.
or ur claiming they are at 100% same height and range with all MIG-29 missiles have the same range for all the customers.
I think you will find that the East German Mig 29’s were full spec ‘A’ models, as were the weapons (Luftwaffe wouldn’t have kept them if they hadn’t been). The radar was fully serviceable and the pilot was very good (Called Judy exactly at the range figure given in the Wiki entry on the Mig 29 A) . Fights was at same altitude and around 0.9 Mach. Tornado didn’t mix it close in (No surprise there as it would have lost). Yes your right that it would have most likely different had the Mig 29 been a later model with later version of the R-27, however as I stated on the last post the Tornado F3 of today is a completely different beast in regards of SA, BVR, WVR and ECM systems to the one I sat in at the time. As regards Typhoon, from what I’ve heard from people in the know, Its pretty much well kicked the asses off most of what its taken on in exercises and PI’s since IOC was reached, though not seen it with my own eyes.
BIGVERN1966And how fast was that landrover going when that picture was taken? Am sure there is an urban myth based around that!:D
20 MPH was the speed limit on that part of the airfield if memory serves đŸ˜€
BIGVERN1966Flex,
It does get tiresome endlessly having to correct uninformed drivel.
The bribery allegation against BAE (which remains unproven, and for which there was insufficient evidence to warrant further action, according to Britain’s Attorney General) related to Al Yamamah (the Tornado/Hawk deal) and not to Salaam, and therefore is irrelevant to the Typhoon deal.
I only wish that you were well informed about anything. :rolleyes:
Arthuro,
I can only judge you by your posts, which (despite your protestations) are always uncritically pro Rafale. I’m amused that you don’t like it that I grant “good and bad points to everyone.” That’s because I’m not an uncritical fanboy, and can see good and bad in most aircraft and programmes.
You may insist that on the MMI issue, my work is “unprofessional and unacurrate” – but you are utterly wrong. Though MMI is to some extent subjective, I don’t rely on testimony alone – and the testimony that I do rely on is from people who really no there stuff, and not to a random pilot I manage to chat to across the barrier at an airshow, or who I meet in passing.
It’s hardly appropriate on an enthusiast/spotter fansite like this to go on about the NASA TLX, Bedford, or Modified Cooper Harper scales (objective measurements of MMI, which those I speak to base their conclusions on).
And while you’ve spoken to Dassault and Thales about evaluations, I’ve spoken to them (and to people from both companies at all levels, including some who don’t parrot the party line), but also from the other contenders, Boeing, GE, Raytheon, EF GmbH, Selex, etc. But more usefully, I’ve spoken to Singapore air force pilots who flew both jets. (And I’ve spoken to Korean and Japanese evaluators, too). You believe what the French side tells you about how a French jet performed – I take what all sides tell me, and measure it against what the customers thought. You can disagree as much as you like on the basis of your one-sided information, but you haven’t had the full picture. That’s not rhetoric, it’s fact, and anyone with an atom of common sense will see that. If French Rafale fan boys can’t or won’t face up to the truth, then do you really think I care?
Venky,
I did not notice any of the major UK media outlets step back from their coverage of bribery allegations when the deal was signed, though as more and more evidence has emerged of the Guardian’s shabby tactics, coverage has gradually tailed off. A campaign by two left wing journos, operating in concert with the CAAT was never going to stay the course.
Good Post that Jackonicko.
Yes Typhoon has had a troubled development, but as told to me by a former RAF Typhoon project officer, a lot of the delays were caused by certian goverments in the program defaulting on development costs and slowing the project down. Also just happened to talk to a pilot who was involved in JOUST standing next to him, though I was more interested finding out what driving a car at Mach 1 was like.
For all the Mig/Su fanboy’s out there, I’ve actaully seen a German Mig 29 fight a RAF Tornado F3 in a 1v1 on an air combat range from the controlling ground radar……
and the Tornado F3 won every time!!!
Why, beacause the F3 was flown to its strengths, namely
miles better SA and longer legged weapons (and this was in the days before Link 16, AIM-132 and the full AIM-120 fit as Skyflash did out range the missile in the attached photo I took after getting the chance to sit in the cockpits of both a few days later. (Its not a dummy (Telemetry fit sans warhead and live rocket motor), Germans were firing them off at Jindavik drones during the detachment).
Real air to air combat, even in training is nothing like you see at an airshow.
BIGVERN1966Mirage 3
Take off run requirement at MTOW – 1600m.
Take off run requirement at min (airshow) mass – 760m
Stopping with wheel braking & chute – 800mSource “Janes All World Aircraft 1976”
The Dagger being a Mirage 5 copy, was maybe pretty similar, i.e no leading edge devices (these where introduced on the IAI Kfir specifically to improve T/O performance). Typical European Mirage operating bases used runways approximately 2100m long.
A very simplistic calc would suggest that a risky “no margins” T/O from Port Stanley with no useful ordinance load, would just about permit a ferry flight to main land Argentina with a secondary A/F diversion fuel load.
SEU operations were also very marginal, not sure about Skyhawks. For these two types, even the very limited availability of C130 AAR tankers i.e. 2 (or was it 3) made the option of Port Stanley basing pretty academic really….AAR was much more effective, as demonstrated on a number of occasions.
A CANA Skyhawk did land at Stanley during mid April 82, to see if the type could operate from the airfield in a combat role. It was found that unless weather and wind conditions were perfect, operating the type from the Islands with a worthwhile fuel and weapon load was a non starter.
BIGVERN1966I wonder how Sharky Ward’s giant ego took being nearly shot down…:D
Tried to read his book but frankly he didn’t just have a chip on his shoulder but a whole potato farm! I know he was good at what he did but he does spend a lot of time explaining why he knows better then everyone else…
To be honest, enjoyed ‘Sea Harrier over the Falklands’, and don’t have any problems with Ward’s Ego (he does admit his mistakes in the book, like firing a 9L missile by mistake and almost shooting down some GR3’s who movements had not been passed on by Hermes), A lot of what he says is backed up in the other books written by GR3/SHAR pilots during the confilct, namely those by Jerry Pook and Dave Morgan. Jerry Pook’s views on what the British organisation of air tasking’s was like in the war are more extreme than Ward’s, and Dave Morgan says the same, without the venom. Plus neither of them have a bad word to say Ward.
BIGVERN1966Didn’t any RAF Tornado F3s shoot down any Iraqi aircraft during Gulf War 1?
No, Only things that were launched from the F3’s during GW1 were three sets of Hindenburger drop tanks when some F-3’s were tasked to engage Iraqi Heilcopters. In all three cases the Iraqi’s landed or were engaged by other aircraft before the F-3’s got in Skyflash range. Rumour has it that a couple of RAF F-3’s were lined up to engage a pair of Mirage F1’s over the gulf, but they were pulled off the targets to give a RSAF F-15 the kills.
GR1’s may have got what could be called a couple of boarderline air to airs, in that they sprayed JP233 submuntions over at least one Iraqi (Mirage F-1) aircraft in the process of taking off which may have just got its wheels off the deck. Rumour has it that a Mig 25 was also taken out while on its take off run by JP233 submuntions hitting it from above.
BIGVERN1966I was reading AFM last night and the write up on the RN carriers, plans for JSF:mad: and the demise of the Sea Harrier:(. It said (rightly) that the Sea Harrier was the highest scoring naval fighter of the last two decades (beats the F-18 and F-14 by a country mile) It also mentioned that an RAF operated aircraft hadn’t scored air to air in decades. It got me thinking…. RAF pilots scored kills in SHAR’s in the Falklands, but when was the last RAF kill in one of their own aircraft?
Malaya, 1965 or so with the “alleged” C-130 or did that crash while evading?
Off to Duxford today with two cubs to help with their airmanship badges – its a tough job but somebody has to do it !:D
A couple of RAF Spitfires shot down a couple of Egyptian Spitfires during the Arab – Isriali war of 1948 when the EAF attacked RAF Ramat David during the British pull out. Last offical comfirmed kill by an RAF pilot in an RAF Aircraft was one of them.
BIGVERN1966There is also a report about a possible Sea Harrier damage during a Dagger interception during May 21st.
The SH could intercept a Dagger flight over MLV.
The Dagger commander ordered to drop the fuel tanks and bombs and engage in air combat with the UK airplanes.
The Dagger configuration was bombs, two drop tanks and the two 30 mm Defa cannons.
At very low altitude, the Dagger pilot could aim his cannons and made some shots.
But, He didn’t see the impacts.Anyway, those three Daggers were shot down by the SH using AIM9L.
The Argentine Pilots were Capt Donadille, Capt Senn and Mayor Piuma.
All of them could safely eject and return to Argentine.The British built Martin Baker ejection seats are very good!!!!!
Indeed a Dagger of Groupo 6 did try to engage the SHAR of Lt Cmd ‘Sharky’ Ward with guns over West Falkland in that engagement and missed. I can’t remember who it was, but it is mentioned in ‘Falklands, The Air War’. Of the three Dagger’s shot down, one of them was C-403, which I have a compressor blade of, sitting in a box in my loft somewhere. Picked it up when down on the Falklands in 1989 when a Helicopter had to drop us off at the wreak, to pick up some army personnel off the top of Mt Caroline in high wind conditions. (lent my copy of ‘Falkland’s the Air War’ to a guy who was down there at the time with the REME, hence cannot check facts) Also got some photos of the wreakage, including a photo of me on the wing.
A Dagger nearly got an air to air kill on a Sea King towards the end of the war, when it put a 30mm cannon round though a rotor blade of the Sea King. Fortunatly, the blade stayed on long enough for the crew to make a rapid emergency landing. Again photos and details are in Falklands the Air War (think the Sea King may have been an HC4).
Photo of me on the wing of C-403 attached
BIGVERN1966I first read about him in Focus Magazine about ten years ago, taking his Mini Mirage for a spin (Flew the real thing for a day / Weekend job).
and text Here
BIGVERN1966Cannot believe nobody though of the F-104 Starfighter!!!!
BIGVERN1966Got to be the Harrier, the only imitations were further marks.
Which was an imtation of the Kestral (OK not a production operational type, but was operated in a trials role by a number of air arms)
BIGVERN1966Buccaneer – Engines at wing roots and T-tail.
Javelin – Delta wing and T-tail.
BIGVERN1966Yep 3AAC Regt are a very good bunch, was involved with them a while back and had a great time (they do known how to throw a good party in all senses of the word). A very professional bunch of people. Likewise got to hear some interesting information about the WAH-64, in my case warts and all, which I will not cover in any detail, but for the fact that they blow away the most of the arguments that Lewis Page makes in his book ‘Lions, Donkeys and Dinosaurs’ about buying AH-64D’s off the shelf from Boeing.
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