The sky-high aircraft and aviation thread

I was wondering why it took me longer to remember things... and why part of my head was squishy and clammy...

Locking you up on radar since '09

Here's my favorite military aircraft ever.

You can't even write racist abuse in excrement on somebody's car without the politically correct brigade jumping down your throat!

Ew Wicked. Just ew.

PAVE LOW MOTHERFUCKER. SO AWESOME YOU HAVE TO SCREAM WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT IT!!◊

They had no reason to junk such a huge metric ton of badass because of some gimmick with a horrible track record. The Pave Low is extremely modern and relevant in todays skies..

I guess that means they'll mostly get sold on civvie markets and to search and rescue now.. I want one.

edited 20th Apr '10 10:05:35 AM by Barkey

What, you don't like tiltrotors? Or is it that one in particular?

edited 20th Apr '10 10:09:03 AM by Wicked223

You can't even write racist abuse in excrement on somebody's car without the politically correct brigade jumping down your throat!

Meh, extremely high maintenance cost, still probably quite unsafe(I mean the thing is cursed, look how many people it's killed in testing alone}

I'd rather walk.

Plus the Pave Low just LOOKS badass. I also just generally love Sikorsky helicopters in general, they make em big. Same goes for its USMC sister helo. The Sea Stallion.◊

edited 20th Apr '10 10:14:39 AM by Barkey

Barkey, I just checked out the PAVE LOW! on Wikipedia. It is indeed an awesome helicopter. Nice nickname, too.

I've always been a fixed-wing man myself, but I guess I can see the appeal of helicopters; especially when they're the

Mil Mi-24 Hind. I especially love its portly exterior: it just puts me in the mind of an incredibly badass (and heavily armed) soldier. That, and it's pretty much a tank which flies (apparently there's a story that says while a Hind was transporting troops a bullet from a sniper rifle dropped into the main troop bay from above. When a newer soldier was surprised at this, an older one said it happened all the time).

and the

Kamov Ka-50 Hokum-A (to give its NATO designation) or the Russian nickname Black Shark. It's a cool helicopter.

Locking you up on radar since '09

I love soviet era choppers. Nothing peaceful about those fuckers, bred for death.

Definitely. I can't help but feel that although the Hind is vulnerable to missiles, it would be a massive demoraliser for the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan if they saw one of those beauties rumbling across the sky.

What's interesting though is that Russian aircraft in general tend to have small electrically powered rubber bladed fans to keep the crew cool. Apparently they're surprisingly effective.

edited 20th Apr '10 10:20:28 AM by Flanker66

Locking you up on radar since '09

A-10's and Cobras are the scariest things in the sky to Insurgents.

A-10's because they can come around for another pass way quicker than a jet.

Cobras because they can just loiter, and are agile enough to dodge RPG's with ease. 2 or 3 Cobras come on site, Insurgents just gtfo.

Yeah. I've read that sort of thing before.

On that note, I also love the A-10 Warthog. It's got such a lovely, distinctive engine note. Its GAU-8 Avenger is also nothing to sniff at (depleted uranium? Incendiaries? High explosive? Hell yeah!).

Locking you up on radar since '09

Nah. I just have taste. And of course you are right about the Su-34, but I guess with most (smaller) military aircraft being able to carry air-to-air weapons, the definition of what is a fighter is somehow sketcky.

And I have to agree with you again on the Bear and Gannet. First time I heard of the Tu-95, all I could say was a flat "what?". And the Gannet, despite it's uglyness is absolutely awesome.

The A-10 is a scary piece of plane, and again awesome yet ugly, plus it can take a lot of damage.

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

Apparently A-10s have come home with major parts of their structure missing...

In terms of civil craft, I quite like the Piaggio P.180 Avanti II. Quite a sleek and fast aeroplane. I've seen one take-off in real life, and damn are they fast! It took off like a cat on a hot tin roof!

Too bad they cost well over a few million (even here in the UK; the US price is something like $5.2 million).

Locking you up on radar since '09

I love the Hind too. Huge and imposing, enough firepower to handle all sorts of situations, and you can even carry a little squad of troops along! And the body of one found its way into Firefly (the episode Ariel: it's the ambulance).

A-10's used to be stationed at the Air National Guard base at Bradley International Airport, Connecticut's largest. They used to do 4th of July and Memorial Day flyovers, whcih was always amazing. Just a few years back they removed and replaced them with either C-130's or nothing, and it just hasn't been the same...

The Tu-95 is cool because it proves jet engines aren't needed for something to remain a threat and relevant in the modern era. And because you can make funny Shakespeare puns with it...

edited 20th Apr '10 11:12:36 AM by frog753

Flora Segunda | World Made By Hand | Monster Blood Tattoo ^You should read these series.

I seem to recall that the worst an A10 had to deal with was the loss of most of a wing, an engine, part of the tail, and the hydraulics, although the pilot flew it home.

Fight smart, not fair.

^^ Best aircraft image macro ever.

^ Thanks for the info, Deboss!

Locking you up on radar since '09

Thank you Flanker! On Facebook, almost no one noticed it...

The funny part is that I highly doubt a Bear could pursue anything. What would the point be? "Yeah, let's chase that fighter out of our airspace with a strategic bomber, and if they don't want to leave, we'll hit 'em with a Kh-55 at point blank range!

I don't think so...

Ok, different aircraft: Does anyone remember that little company Adam Aircraft from a few years ago, with a pusher-prop twin-tail (boom connected) business-type plane, and a sort of VLJ that looked just like it except for the jet engines? The prop one appeared briefly in the Miami Vice movie, IIRC.

Flora Segunda | World Made By Hand | Monster Blood Tattoo ^You should read these series.

Yeah, I remember it. Thing is though, it doesn't compare to the Avanti II for sheer cool points.

Locking you up on radar since '09

I always found the Avanti interesting, and it looks like it has whiskers. Also, what's the American pusher model that's a competitor to it, or at least used to be? Was it called the Starship or something?

EDIT: Yup, Beechcraft Starship. Cool name, or maybe a little hyperbolic...

edited 20th Apr '10 11:36:56 AM by frog753

Flora Segunda | World Made By Hand | Monster Blood Tattoo ^You should read these series.

Huh, so it does look like it has a pair of whiskers!

I think the Starship wasn't particularly spectacular.

Locking you up on radar since '09

They didn't make very many of them. But visually, I find the broad, swept wings quite spectacular. Also, look at the size of those winglets!

Ok, here's a questions that means a lot to my writing: What's your opinion on the Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano? If the ability to use jet aircraft vanished, would it make a good standard fighter design?

Flora Segunda | World Made By Hand | Monster Blood Tattoo ^You should read these series.

Problem with the Super Tucano is that it's a turboprop - which is (probably as you know) a fusion of a jet and a piston engine (at least the prop).

To answer your question, sure it would make a decent fighter, but it would be even better as a ground attack aircraft. Another problem is its low production run (which considering that you may lose a fair amount of aircraft during its lifetime isn't a good thing). However, its long range, and its good overall performance make up for it. A good roll rate (how long it takes it to change its attitude in roll, measured in degrees per second) would be handy.

edited 20th Apr '10 12:08:52 PM by Flanker66

Locking you up on radar since '09

IIRC, turbo props primarily depend on the prop to generate their thrust, unlike a jet (and turbo just means it uses a turbine). I believe it was props for low end lift and higher efficiency (but unable to break the sound barrier) and jets for high speed and thrust. Turbo fans are the bastard love child of the two.

I know a guy who's working on modifying old crop dusters with ma-deuces and rocket pods for sale to those groups.

Fight smart, not fair.

Yeah, isn't there a turboprop powered Ag Husky that's just been certified?

I heard the prop in a turboprop is predominantly driven by a crankshaft attached to the jet, and it also produces a fair amount of residual thrust. However, I think that the prop itself still does a good deal of the actual work. It's used mainly for commuter aircraft and planes that don't have to fly as high or as fast as jets.

Locking you up on radar since '09

Jet=/=turbine.

Fight smart, not fair.

Yes, but they are related.

Anyway, I don't really want to sour the atmosphere here, so I'm probably going to let the matter lie after this post.

Locking you up on radar since '09