The sky-high aircraft and aviation thread

Now this is interesting.

*thud*

edited 13th Oct '12 1:33:55 AM by TairaMai

All night at the computer, cuz people ain't that great. I keep to myself so I won't be on The First 48

Taira: I would also drop the LCS article in the military thread so our resident squids have a better chance to see it.

Who watches the watchmen?

Interesting.

Also, keep in mind that the LCS doesn't belong here except in an aviation related context; since it's a naval thing, it belongs in the military thread.

I wish I had more civil stuff to talk about.

Locking you up on radar since '09

Isn't it really annoying the way that Piper only ever gives aircraft one door...?

There you go.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

Will do Tuffel.

edited 13th Oct '12 6:25:07 AM by TairaMai

All night at the computer, cuz people ain't that great. I keep to myself so I won't be on The First 48

Really only one door? Any particular reason for that?

On the Optionally manned craft. I recall something from DARPA on some of the unmanned or automated systems coming more into play as pilot aides to enhance the human performance. I have also read something along the lines the article was written on. Part of the purpose was the UAV side would handle the bulk of the functions while the human crew simply directed the vehicle.

There is the elephant in the room the article didn't touch on. One of the missions of any long range bomber is the possible delivery of nuclear ordinance. No one in their right mind would trust even a proven automated system to carry nuke in all but the most extreme of conditions.

---

I really hope they get the Raptor problem sorted out. If they can't tha woudl be a huge damper on future high tech craft development systems.

edited 13th Oct '12 6:35:35 AM by TuefelHundenIV

Who watches the watchmen?

"By design, the Obogs oxygen level for the F-22 is lower by five or six percentage points than levels required for earlier-type fighters, and the SAB report says there is “limited understanding of the aviation physiology implications of accepting a maximum 93-94 percent oxygen level instead of the 99+ percent previously required.”"

What the fuck fuck fuckity fucking fuck is all that about? Lowering the oxygen level? By design? What twat, and I say that advisedly, what twat came up with that bright idea? And what twat signed off on it? Seeing as how in high stress environments you need more oxygen to keep your awareness levels up, not less?

I disagree. Pilots make planes worse than they can be. They limit the amount of g-forces that the planes can cope with by a catastrophically huge amount, limiting the airframes performance in diving, climbing and other high speed manouvers. ICB Ms are already unmanned. Bombers are, no doubt about it, going to be the same in the future, if the bomber role exists at all.

edited 13th Oct '12 6:41:16 AM by TamH70

We can only hope not. The human element shouldn't be removed. It just makes it too safe, too easy to go and bomb the shit out of people for trivial reasons. War should be dangerous and it should have a cost. There should be as many reasons as possible to give a government pause before it starts throwing explosives about.

I sincerely hope that technological advances render drones useless.

edited 13th Oct '12 6:49:41 AM by InverurieJones

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

There are reasons to lower the o2 levels. The problem is that the F-22 might be outflying the pilots.

Drones are the future. The West will use it's technology. Actually drones make war less likely. There are too many myths about drones.

All night at the computer, cuz people ain't that great. I keep to myself so I won't be on The First 48

Then the future is death made cheaper and easier than ever.

That does not bode well for any of us.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

Name one reason that would make sense to the average layman for lowering the oxygen level, apart from some wild idea about reducing fire risk?

The USAF might have thought that they could go a little lower on the 02. That it dips to 60-70% sucks, but then they rushed OBOGS. OBOGS was supposed to be a replacement for the bulkier O2 systems in older aircraft and yes it was used to reduce the risk of fire if the F-22 was hit.

The old F-22 testbed.

edited 13th Oct '12 7:17:53 AM by TairaMai

All night at the computer, cuz people ain't that great. I keep to myself so I won't be on The First 48

If the F-22 took any sort of hit from things that are designed to kill it, like 23mm and 30mm AAA high explosive or proximity fused fragmentation shells, SA Ms or AA Ms, it is going to burn/blow up anyway.

^^

The CATBird is the F-35 equivalent, by the way.

And apparently Northrop Grumman still use three BAC 1-11 for radar testing, including testing for the F-35's radar!

According to the FAA's listing of NG's Fleet, they fly this...

Yep, it's an Islander!

edited 13th Oct '12 8:10:09 AM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On

That catbird looks cool. A Lockheed Martin Boeing jet?

That an Islander as in built by Britten Norman?

Thanks. See ya later.

edited 13th Oct '12 8:46:19 AM by TamH70

Yes, yes it is.

Got to Go. Work.

Keep Rolling On

Red Bull Stratos, what a world we live in.

All night at the computer, cuz people ain't that great. I keep to myself so I won't be on The First 48

Glad he made it down safe. Hopefully he can quit doing such dangerous stuff now.

I bet the inside of his spacesuit is none too fragrant.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

Amazing stuff. Broke the sound barrier in free fall exactly 65 years after Chuck Yeager did with the X-1.

And yes, he apparently announced his retirement from extreme sports. Understandable, I guess, there is probably no way you could top this experience.

edited 15th Oct '12 5:54:58 AM by Catfish42

A different shape every step I take A different mind every step of the line

While we're on the topic of breaking the sound barrier, is there any real consensus as to the credence of Hans Guido Mutke's claim that he broke it in an Me-262?

With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.

Oh, I think it is very possible that he did it. He seems to have been a really good pilot, and was able to play the same kind of trick that Yeager pulled in his flight in the X-1.

And you are never going to get anyone from the Allied countries to back him up. Would mean rewriting every aviation history book from the last sixty years, for a kick off.

Plus, for my money, the Schwalbe was a much cooler aircraft than the manned bomb known as the X1, which was in no way shape or form a practical plane.

Good on him. As you say, there is no way to top that unless he wanted to do the same sort of sub-orbital drop that is in STINO. (Star Trek In Name Only)

edited 15th Oct '12 2:40:25 PM by TamH70

Good old Felix broke the sound barrier with his face. He head-butted his way through the speed of sound.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

^^

...and, ahem, the Miles M.52.

Keep Rolling On

Now that is actually a plane. With undercarriage and all that stuff. Hmm, could have worked.