slipperysamI think a turboprop trainer would be too fragile for the COIN role. While the skyraider was a very tough plane. You could use the airframe with a new engine to get even better endurance and payload.
Fragile? as opposed to a 35yr old airframe?
Lets be serious here are how practicable it is…. the idea is nice, but again wasting thousands of man hours in totally stripping every panel and wing skin from an airframe which has sat idle and then adding modern instruments, electrical, engines, fuel, hydraulic systems etc would be cost prohibitive.
I have had the misfortune of working on airframes older then myself and its not fesable to restore an aircraft THAT old to a combat worthy status.
It might however make a nice plane for the airshow circuit where it is flown in a sedate manner for maybe a total of 40 – 50 hrs a year?
slipperysamUmm… sure… there would be plenty of Wright radials out there????
Er the youngest airframe would now be 35 to 40yrs old. There is no way in the world it would be economicaly viable to rebuild an airframe that old.
(Turbo DC-3 not included)
The Sandy was a great plane in its day yes….
But it would simply be easier to use a turbo prop trainer – (Tucano comes to mind)
The Aussie Sea Sprite saga comes to mind…. 30yr old buckets of crap which was someones idea of a bad joke
slipperysamThe worst are the European fan boys……
As opposed to the F-35 fanboys we see here?
slipperysamMayday is the offically recognised (ICAO) phrase to use when there is an emergency in which life and death is threatened.
I have only ever heard numerous PAN calls over the radio over the years when i was actively flying.
(Also its common to hit the alarm for the firestation as soon as Mayday or PAN PAN PAN is heard, at least on tower freq.)
Its more “apparent” that its lack of use in the USA is a problem.
I can recall many years ago that a friend of mine was criticised (by the then CAA here in Australia) for not using the word Mayday when the engine in the Cessna 207 he was flying in failed.
(He was at 8000ft over the airport with a load of parachutists!)
His reasoning was the plane was sinking like a stone and he needed to get clearance to kick the jumpers out first! But it all ended well.
Like was said… he wouldve been very preoccupied with trying to locate a place to land and possible restarts etc…
Still if thats the only criticism he gets in the NTSB report.. then he should be able to get some comfort that he did all the right things and it all turned out well.
And it does make for great training footage!
slipperysamThis has been brought up by many NTSB reports in the past, that crews forget to use Mayday in their transmission.
It can lead to ATC confusion or not realising that the emergency is actually a life and death situation.
Once a Mayday is heard it also tells other crews to immediately SHUT UP on the airways and allow the aircraft with the emergency to transmit without interuptions.
An “Emergency” can mean anything…. and is not “proper” or recognised radio traminology.
Thats not to say the crew did an excellant job!!!!
slipperysamAnd yet again the thread leaves its orginal discussion and becomes a “forum” insulting a particular race, country, airforce, religion……
slipperysamQuote:
Originally Posted by CommanderJB
Then I take it the extra hardpoints are just there for fun?
Typically, they are for drop tanks.
AND, just like large internal fuel capacity, just because you CAN carry it does not meant that you HAVE to…
If memory serves me…. Flight testing of droptanks were “dropped” 😉 from the F-35 in order to save money in its spiralling costs… This news was mentioned a few years ago because of the fact that the bases here in Aust as so far apart that long range flights would become an issue here.
slipperysamIt is not limited to 2 A/G weapons and 2 A/A weapons. It can carry 2 2000lb JDAMs and 2 AIM-120s, or it can carry 8 SDBs and 2 AIM-120s, or it can carry 4 SDBs and 3 AIM-120s, or it can carry 4 AIM-120s, and this is right now. It WILL carry 6 AIM-120s once the Block 5 upgrade happens.
http://www.livescience.com/technology/081107-f-35-fighter-jets.html
In a pure stealth air to air configuration, the F-35 currently carries four AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles internally in its weapons bays, Davis said. While this configuration gives the jet a significant punch, Davis said studies have been undertaken that would increase the stealth air to air war load to six to possibly as many as eight air to air missiles which would be carried internally.
We are talking about is ability to do two roles at once…
slipperysam“COULD” meaning all it would take it the effort (time & money) to develope & implement.
No it is not. Even if you limit it to ‘current configuration’, 8 SDB & 2 AMRAAM or 4 SDB & 3 AMRAAM is possible.
LOL. Even WITH external stores, the F-35 is WAY stealthier than they are…
Not to mention the OTHER advantages it has over them. 🙂
They don’t mention a lot of things…
The F-35s IR signature is SMALLER than that of 4th generation fighters, not larger.
And like everyone else waving the F-35 flag.. you miss the point entirely.
In ITS CURRENT CONFIGURATION the F-35 is LIMITED TO 2AG weapons and 2 AA weapons.
Possible FUTURE developments is out of scope of ths discussion.
How is the IR signature rear on different to any other fighters?
But in any case you’ll be able to hear it before it arrives… 😉
(Considering that it will be almost noiser then any other fighter in the sky ..lol)
slipperysamPossibilty 3 is that the plane/bird/alien mothership was moving when the trees and clouds are (almost) stationary. Do we know what shuttertime the photog used?
Motion blurr as opposed to an object out of focus is different.
What you have is a blurry object in a picture that is in focus.
slipperysam“”The Joint Strike Fighter could be upgraded to carry up to six internal AIM-120 AMRAAM Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, according to a Lockheed Martin executive. “Our spiral development program includes the ability to carry up to six internal AMRAAMs”, G. Richard Cathers, senior manager of Lockheed Martin’s strategic studies group, told the IQPC Fighter Conference in London on Wednesday. “It’s a capability second only to the F-22.”””
The word “COULD”… as opposed to… WILL BE was used.
So again… The F-35 is limited to 2 large AG weapons and 2 AA weapons internally.
Were will the funding for this “upgrade” come from?
“”The four added internal AMRAAMs would be carried in place of internal bombs. It’s not clear, however, whether the short-take-off, vertical landing F-35B variant, which has smaller weapon bays, would be able to carry the added weapons.””An executive for a competing fighter program, speaking at the conference, said that the six-missile capability would be a major improvement for the JSF. Until now, competitors have criticised the JSF because it carries only two AAMs – supporting only a single engagement – in stealth mode.
Once you start hanging weapons externally… you may as well buy more Gripens, Rafale, Hornets…
The LM website DOES not mention any upgrades to the weapons bay…
Nor does the official F-35 website..
“”The problem is that your are INCORRECTLY assuming that the F-35’s exhaust is hotter. Besides, modern IR seekers don’t even rely of exhaust heat, but more of airframe heat.””
So a seeker wont be fooled into tracking an exhaust plume?
And the F-35s skin is “cooler” then other other airframes flying out there?
I dont follow your reasoning…
slipperysamI do like to have photographs of different aircraft, mainly for identification purposes. However, my interest is aviation, not just aircraft. Photographs that include “extras” such as crew, other aircraft, etc. add to the what makes up aviation. With photographs from a different eras, even if the are from the same airport, you can get n idea of how aviation has changed over the years.
Spot on… it always amazes me to see how “sparce” airports (military and civillian) were.
Sometimes watching old movies also gives one a glimpse of how things have really changed in aviation. (Night of the Generals is one! and Bullit with Steve Mcqueen)
The clarity of these photos, considering their age and camera used, always gets me!
Dave have you ever considered getting your prictures published as a picture book?
Ospry Book did a series years ago of prop driven aircraft in wrecking yards and still flying (USA, Carribbean etc..)
They were just full of colour pictures with a few captions.
slipperysamThe fact remains the whole photo is in focus… all except the blurry image.
The clouds are several km away…. the tree obviously close by.
If the camera lens is a fixed one then the object is probably just a few mm’s from the lens or the object was added to the picture.:rolleyes:
slipperysamIt could be just the “mystique” of the era?
I know everytime i look at aircraft (military or civillian) pictures of a bygone era, it always draws me to it and i look at every part of the picture, backgrounds etc…
All your pictures on here are to me.. world class! A little bit of history..
slipperysam:rolleyes: It actually looks like the AN-225 with the Buran on top (though it missing the double tail fins) On closer looks it does appear to be a bird !
Still the tree is in focus… and so is the clouds. Not a good effort to photoshop something! If everything is in focus… clouds serveral KM away.. then the camera has no zoom lens… or it was set to focus on infinity(?) This would mean the object should also be in focus. Or let me guess.. its motion blurr???
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