“”X-posting from BR”” what is it?

please gime a link so i can at least read about it.

What is his general impression whiout PC bull****? Which 4+ bird is the best?

Here you go.
http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewtopic.php?t=3655

Vishnu on the Gripen:X-posting from BR

Flying the Gripen
Vishnu Som, Associate Editor (Defence), NDTV

Of all the jets I have flown, there are few that have impressed me more than the Gripen. Sure, each fighter in the MRCA race has its defining features and ultimately it is up to the Indian Air Force to decide on the jet it wants but to be sure, the Gripen should not be considered a dark horse in this race, certainly not if one considers its inherent capabilities.

I was invited for a ride on a Gripen D … the latest variant of the jet in service. I would be flying out of the Gripen headquarters in the beautiful town of Linkoping, a town which, to a large extent, is based around the facilities of SAAB.

I have always been impressed by air show demonstrations of the Gripen. I have had the chance of seeing the jet perform at the Farnborough air show and at Aero India in Bangalore. Other than the MiG 29 OVT, which out maneuvers every single jet in the air show routine, there is nothing which the Gripen can’t match.

Before I descibe the experience of getting a ride on the jet, I think its important to reflect on the culture of SAAB. In comparison to the big aviation majors, SAAB-Gripen is a relatively small outfit, catering to the Swedish Air Force orders and the relatively small orders of a handful of other countries. However, the passion and professionalism with which each team constructs a plane is something quite special. The Gripen is a source of pride for workers at SAAB, an opportunity to showcase the finest aviation technology the company has developed, technology developed on the basis of decades of building some of the world’s finest jets, aircraft such as the Viggen and the Draken. Its tough to describe “quiet professionalism,” but I suppose thats something intrinsic to the culture of Sweden and its certainly reflected in the way they go about building jets.

Before I could get onto a real Gripen, I had an opportunity to fly the jet in a dome simulator. The person guiding me through the experience was Major Johan Sjostrand, a test pilot with Gripen, the person designated to fly me on the jet as well.

What Johan first demonstrated to me on the simulator was the ability of the jet to land in short semi-prepared strips, rearm, refuel and take-off within the span of ten minutes.

I took over the simulator controls and followed Johan’s instructions … lining up to land … lowering the gear … engaging auto throttle … placing the HUD symbol on the point where I wanted the jet to touch down … and then pushing down on the brakes (on top of the rudder pedals) BEFORE actually touching down. This serves as an input for the jet to AUTOMATICALLY engage all THREE brakes (the Gripen has a nose-wheel brake as well) the moment the jet touches down. Sure enough … the jet touched down, the canards came up maximising brake force, the nose wheel almost immediately settles and there is a slight shudder. I corrected with rudder and voila we had stopped.

I could tell Johan was impressed … how on earth did this news-reader journalist manage to land on his first go on a really authentic simulator. Well, I must confess, its way way harder to land a commercial jet on Microsoft Flight Simulator X which is where I spend a lot of my time. As someone who flies on FSX all the time, can I just say the low speed flight handling characteristics of the Gripen were very very easy.

The next day, I had to get suited up in a G suit. The Gripen g suit is very different from the g suits which I have worn on British, American or Russian fighters. It has a full fledged chest bladder with forced oxygen feed into the mask during the flight. This was the summer variant of the flight-overall/g-suit combo which I was wearing. Many Swedish pilots wear full immersion suits even in summer in case they need to eject over the Baltic Sea. The Gripen g suit fits snug … that had to do with an excellent fitter who spent a lot of time in ensuring that I was comfortable. I was equipped with everything … emergency rations, medication, a really cool hunting knife, not to mention a flare fun. No, there was no side-arm. Shucks.

Onwards then to the Gripen flight. Johan (my pilot) had a brand new shiny black Saab 9-5 and for camera sequences, we got him to drive us to our jet in his car. So instead of walking across the tarmac, we simply drove up to the Gripen and got set to get going ! Johan went around the jet doing his pre-flight checks as I got into the cockpit.

The first thing that strikes you about the Gripen cockpit is how narrow it is … certainly narrower than the cockpit of the F-16, F-18 and the MiG-35. Visibility up front (on either side of the pilots ejection seat) is also quite limited.

Johan got in … checked out the systems including the oxygen supply generator before starting up. I must add, there was this one bizarre moment when the oxygen flow stopped .. and so there I was asking myself … `may be its a good idea to tell Johan I can’t breathe !’ but sure enough, Johan came on the intercom and told me the oxygen generator would come online in a few moments as he switched on the engine which it did. You may well ask … `If you weren’t breathing, then why didn’t you just pull your mask off?” Well, the answer to that is … like in all other fast jets … inserting the clip of the oxygen mask into the helmet is a real chore. You have to feel it into the groove and yours truly had been bumbling his way through that process for the longest time. So, once I got it on, there was no way I was inclined to take it off !! The smart thing to do would have been to snap it off … look into the mirror and snap it back on when I needed to ! But that thought struck me just now !

Anyway, Johan instructed me through the process of adjusting the intercom audio and we were on our way.

The take-off run on the Gripen .. in terms of feel … is second only to the F-16 .. To be sure it is very very quick .. but doesn’t feel quite as frightening as the F-16’s take off run.

We shot into the air … climbing almost vertically straight to about 5 g. I immediately felt the Gripen g suit kick in and I must confess, the forced oxygen feed and the chest bladder on the g suit really make their presence felt.

We raced through some clouds as Johan put me through some g warming exercises. I must confess that after all these flights, I am reasonably comfortable right upto 9g. Its all about tightening your calves and abdomen muscles and forcefully exhaling through the maneuver … so there were no real problems as we turned and burned.

In just a little while we were over the Swedish archipelago descending sharply towards the sea … we zoomed over a couple of ships at a very low height (they would have known our presence for sure !) before climbing substantially.

Johan proceeded to handover controls at this stage reminding me of the soft-stop/hard-stop feature on the Gripen’s controls. Basically, the jet pulls to about 7 g if you yank the controls to the soft-stop … to pull more … you really need to yank. Pulling to the hard-stop is accompanied by a warning beep. Not knowing the sensitiviity of the controls, I pulled all the way as we carved through the sky in a 6 g plus maneuver. It was fantastic stuff. I also did a few rolls … and believe me .. if you aren’t prepared for a snap roll, you can really hurt your neck.

Johan proceeded to demonstrate the radar capabilities of the jet as we switched between modes in the full-colour MFDs. The entire setup is highly intuitive and easy to understand, even for an amateur. Johan also set up an MFD to demonstrate how the datalink capability works and what the symbology looks like.

We then proceeded to return to Linkoping for a touch and go. I had controls till close to touch down looking through the HUD repeater on the left MFD. I must confess, it was tough … and Johann took over controls, lined up perfectly as we touched down … engaged burner, blasted off and went around for a circuit before touching down to land. Johann demonstrated the short strip landing capabilities of the fighter … engaging the auto-brakes ahead of touch down. The huge canards came up as we came to a brisk stop in what would have been less than 500 metres.

We rolled off the runway and returned to our parking bay switching off and exiting the aircraft.

It was a great ride on a great jet .. and to top it all, I am now a member of the Order of Gripen, something reserved for those who have had the opportunity to fly the jet.

I will post the Order of Gripen poem when I have a chance.

Coming up … over the next few days, my posts on my sortie on the F-16, F-18 and MiG-35 … and let me just say, I remain deeply impressed by all the jets in this competition though the experience of flying the Gripen was special since it was my first ride on the aircraft.

Vishnu Som
Associate Editor (Defence)
NDTV

X-posting from BR

Vishnu Som has done a series to be aired on TV where he flies the F-16 block-60,F-18, Gripen and the Mig-35.
Heres what he had to say:

The episode on the Gripen was shot at the Gripen International Headquarters in Linkoping in Sweden. The MiG-35 episode was shot at the Zhukovskii Flight Test Centre during the Moscow Air Show. The F/A-18 E/F episode was shot at the Lemoore Naval Air Station at Lemoore, California and the F-16 episode was shot at Hill Air Force Base near Salt Lake City in Utah.

there is no episode on the Rafale or the Eurofighter. Beyond a point, neither of the companies seemed interested in this documentary series despite several reminders. I wonder if this indicates a lack of their interest in the MRCA deal or perhaps its just a case of different media priorities.
…………………………………..
see me doing a Vertical Charlie, air-air tanking, 7 g turns (the camera died on the 9 g maneuver) and tearing across the Swedish archipelago at altitudes you will not believe ! And if you like Cobra maneuvers or Tail Slides then we have that as well.

As far as “feel” is concerned … can I just say all of them felt just fine !

All the companies were deadly serious about transfer of technology.

All the companies are working double-time to ensure that they can match the requirements of the RFP. All of them are trying to ensure that no matter what the challenges, they will identify the industrial base in India which exists to manufacture components to make the 50 per cent offset requirement.

No, I have not seen the RFP. Thats not allowed.

I truly hope the IAF has the final say on the jet they want and its not left to a political decision. Each jet has its defining characteristics:

1. The Gripen … a fully evolved fighter as capable as any of the jets in this competition. Very high on ease of maintenance, presumably very low life-cycle costs, a determination to match life guarantees at all costs, the ability to integrate radars and weapons systems from other companies, an out and out 9g fighter. Evolved data-link technology developed for decades.

2. The F-16 Falcon … India will get a jet called the F-16IN if we want it. The specifications will be done according to the IAF’s requirements. An outstanding cockpit mated to the fully operational APG-80 AESA radar. This is as new as any of the jets in the competition. Add to that the JHMCS and extended range … you are looking at some of the best America has to offer.

3. F-18 Hornet .. A battle-tested workhorse which combines the state of the art in AESA technology with ease of maintenance while operating under extreme weather conditions. Again, with a JHMCS on offer … this is a very capable product.

4. The MiG-35 … Possibly ahead of the Western in electro-optronic systems and radar and laser warning receivers. A nice large cockpit with displays which are as good as any of its Western rivals. An out and out 9 g fighter now being developed to become a genuine multi-role aircraft.

Thats just a brief summary

Cheers
Vishnu

Hi … I am sure the Air Force will draw its own conclusions in the MRCA deal and their parameters in judging which jet they want will be based on several technical factors. However, as far as this series is concerned … I have tried to explain a lot of key technology in the simplest possible manner. For BRfites looking for a scoop on technical aspects of various systems … this is not something you will get. However, there are a few interesting details which you can see …

1. The cockpit of the UAE’s F-16 Block 60 and a broad description of why its been designed in the manner in which it has. I am the first journalist to sit in the cockpit of the Block 60.

2. Lots of shots of the cockpit of the MiG-35.

3. A look at the F-18’s AESA radar.

4. A broad description of how why/how the data-link of the Gripen works/is world class.

5. The ease of changing the F-18’s engines.

6. The 10 minute operational refuelling-rearming ability of the Gripen.

More than anything else … the access which we were granted (certainly in the case of the US episodes) is an indicator of how seriously the US views India as a strategic partner. To have an Indian journalist in a US air base flying on one of their operational fighter jets is something which just would not have happened a few ago. It took me more than 4 months to get the sanction to do all this … and there were multiple cases of how the series was just not working out in terms of the access we were being given. Finally though … it all seems to have come through …

Thanks
Vishnu

But can I just say … there is nothing … absolutely nothing that matches the take-off run of a F-16 … It is simply insane. One of the things we did on the F-16 sortie was to do a vertical charlie (3 rolls in the vertical plane) without the use of after-burner ! Thats one jet that refuses to bleed energy.

But the highlight of all this was being intercepted by an F-22. Thats right. A Raptor. But you’ll have to wait for that .. Cheers

More coming.

A tiny bird had said to me that the Indian team[either knowing about the presence of spies/or suspecting] had resisted considerable “pressure” from the brits to show their radar.

From some other forum:

F-16 bumper stickers:

“Lean, Mean, Flameout Machine.”
“I SHALL RETURN…Well, I might.”
“Mach Nix.”
“The F-16. Takes a licking, and takes a licking.”
“Have you hugged your chute today?”
“This Vehicle Makes Frequent Stops.”
“I came. I saw. I bingo’d.”
“No deposit, no return.”
“We’ve spent so much money on this thing that we can’t afford to admit we
were wrong.”
“A triumph of style over substance.”
“The best damn second place fighter in the world.”
“Instead of a CAS mod, we’re going to install a roll bar.”
“And now with this LANTIRN thing and our new Block 40’s, we can hit the
ground at NIGHT!”
“We cover the target like a thong bikini.”
“And BINGO is my Name-O.”
“We crash more airplanes before 9-o’clock than most people crash all day.”
“Your courtesy appreciated. Please replace your divots.”
“A war record exceeding even the B-1.”
“Last in the talent show, but first in the swimsuit competition.”
“Lose a few, lose a few.”
“Feet and knees together, eyes on the horizon…”
“Designated no-hitter.”
“Everything you wanted in a fighter and less.”
“Optimist: F-16 pilot who’s worried about dying from cancer.”
“Only Michael Jackson is more manly.”
“Hey, today we didn’t lose a single jet.”
“This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.”
“user friendly…if you’ve got three hands.”
“If we have a war with BDUs, we’ve got ’em beat.”
“Careful badguys…I’m carrying BOTH bombs today. I’m talkin’ wall-to-wall
MK-82’s Pal.”

If I carried more weapons, and if
I had enough gas, and if
I could actually hit the target, and if
I had some more REALLY expensive electrons so I could find you, and if
My motor didn’t quit, and if
My wings didn’t crack,
Boy, I’d really teach you a lesson!

😀

Gorgeous picture!!Thanks Kovy!

On a serious note , its a shame really if faulty marketing methods ruin the export prospects of such a capable aircraft.

I have a sneaky feeling that this type of thing might also be behind the protracted negotiations going on for the IAF M2K upgrades!

Dassault better buckle up or in future I see the big 10 billion$ cake going Typhoons way.