The sky-high aircraft and aviation thread

It happens a few times.

There were zeppelins capable of launching biplanes but not really able to effectively recover them, but a flying carrier that has to deal with UAV and UCAV drones wouldn't have much point. Most drones already have more endurance and range than most aircraft so any benefit from drones launched by flying aircraft carriers would be minimal.

UAV have very endurance? I didn't know that, but not too surprised either.

Interesting.

So are we advocating building a Protoss Carrier?

"Our enemies are legion, and you still procrasinate!"

Man, Starcraft unit quotes can be hilarious at times.

I never thought about it that way; Carrier really IS basically an UAV carrier. XD

Best. Flight simulator. EVER.◊

Let it be known that Best Korea spares no expense when it comes to giving her pilots the best training possible.

The formal turnover of new assets of the Philippine Air Force was held earlier today. The first two FA-50PH's, 6 AW-109E's, and 1 C-295 are the new assets that arrived this year.

Is it wrong that when I read the AW-109E designation, I thought that it was weird that the Philippine military got Messerschmitts?

Lol. That would be an interesting acquisition as a COIN craft.

Where would you find parts for it? Almost all of them got destroyed in the war, the few that didn't such as those belonging to the Spanish stopping making parts for it before 1950.

Or the weapons and munitions fitted for the craft. Part of why they would be interesting. You would have to heavily modify them to be useable again.

Pretty sure a lot of Spanish clones are still flying.

Fun trivia, a variant of the Me-109 was flown by Israel for a while, built from leftover war-era parts. Toda raba, Nazi Germany!

It was the Avia S-199, a Czech-built Bf 109G-6 airframe fitted with a Junkers Jumo 211 F engine and propeller as used in the He 111 bomber.

Most of it — including a batch of Spitfires — came via the Czech Government.

edited 5th Dec '15 7:54:56 AM by Greenmantle

The Israelis used a lot of ex-Wehrmacht kit. Lot of Kar-98K rifles complete with Waffenampt stamps.

Seventy-four years ago today, a day which will live in infamy, forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a daring and dastardly raid on US military installations in Hawaii and the Philippines. Only a small handful of American aircraft got airborne that day, and of note was a Curtiss P-36 Hawk flown by Phil Rasmussen, who would get airborne with three other aircraft. He received the Silver Star for his actions that day, performed while dressed in pajamas and a pistol belt.

In today's Air Force, he'd probably receive a Letter of Reprimand for failing to be properly

But yeah, if you visit the National Museum of the Air Force, they have a Curtiss P-36 display there, complete with a pajama-clad pilot scrambling up the wing.

And if there was such an attack on an airbase like that and a pilot got airborne in his PJ's, that Letter wouldn't live very long before his CO's CO nixes the Letter or some politician decides the CO's who issued that Letter screwed up way worse than a pilot not wearing proper flight gear.

The Army knows you don't always have time to fully dress up for battle, it's why that guy in Afghanistan who was caught by US news media in pink boxers during an attempted attack on his FOB got praise and defended by his CO's, not reprimanded.

Plus I'm pretty sure if you're not on hot standby it doesn't take that long to throw a growbag on top of whatever you were already wearing.

The didn't get copy-pasted when I crossposted this

Though there was the case of Lieutenants Welch and Taylor, who engaged a group of Japanese bombers that morning and were put in for the Medal of Honor, which evidently got downgraded because they failed to get permission to take off.

OH MAN MAYBE I SHOULD WATCH THE MOVIE PEARL HARBOR

just kidding do not watch pearl harbor

He's kidding about being kidding. Totally watch Pearl Harbor. Preferably with a naval historian present.

And your drink of choice for a drinking game.

Really though, Malaysia had a part in that bit of history as well - The Japanese started their invasion of Southeast Asia with their landing at Sabak Beach 2 hours before the strike at Pearl Harbour.

The best and only film to watch about Pearl Harbor if you give a damn about history and good action sequences, with REAL airplanes (albeit most of the Zeros and Vals were T-10 trainers) instead of CGI bullshit, is this one.

Tora! Tora! Tora!

Accept no substitutes.

My father fell asleep halfway through that one. I didn't, but it's probably time for a rewatch now.