More flag waving...

[ahartman]

As if we haven't had enough lately...

This won't do much for those people who see the US as the bully of the world, but I just got back from watching the Chicago Air & Water show.

It started out w/4 bi-planes in formation doing a couple of moves and then from nowhere, a B1-B bomber shoots thru. If you've never heard one, you are really missing out. Following that was a couple of A10-Warthogs that did a mock strafing run of North Ave. Beach - those planes are very maneuverable. Following that were F-16s. Then the Lima Lima flight crew.

Next came some F-18A fighters. Unbelievable. The highlight up to this point was the B-2 Stealth Bomber. Even as it flew past, it had nearly no sound. It's stealth in both radar AND sound. Can you imagine 3 or 4 of these swooping upon you at once?

The show wrapped up with the Blue Angel flight team, the Navy's precision jet flying squadron. The radio announcer mentioned that they flew 18 inches apart when in formation - that's ONE yard/meter...

I'm fortunate enough to live in a northern landmark building that most of the teams use as a turnaround point, meaning lots of high-speed, low-altitude passes - at one point, we could read the names on the canopy of Blue Angel #3 and smell the burning fuel from the afterburners.

If you're in the Chicago area and didn't come out today, do yourself a favor and fight the crowd tomorrow. The only downside is that you won't get to see the B2 - it's replaced by the F-117A (stealth fighter) tomorrow.

The best parts of the show were definately the military aircraft. If they can muster this much firepower for a municipal air show, that just makes you imagine how much whoop-ass they can drop on any part of the world at any time.

Wow.

[Pneumatic]

I use to work at an airport so we always got front row seats to the air shows. One show in particular they were showing of the (then new) stealth aircraft. We convinced one of the more gullible members of our little watching party that it was pointless to take a picture of it because it wouldn't show up on film. We saw several people after that taking pictures of the B-2 and he said "won't they be surprised when they get those developed" then snickered like he knew some big secret. I suppose he figured it out eventually. Ahh, to be young and cruel again.

[dZeus]

give me a Suchoi SU-35 over an american fighter any day of the week!

These Russian fighters really are remarkable...

too bad Russia has no money any more for a larger defence budget (in the aspect of developing even better aircraft). Suchoi now is completely dependant on orders of foreign countries of their airplains.

[This message has been edited by dZeus (edited 19 August 2000).]

[Liquid Snake]

Hmm, the B-2 is a stealth bomber, but I don't think its visually invisible.

DZ, it's Sukhoi not Suchoi.

[ahartman]

Is that the Russian plane with the vectoring thrust? I've seen that plane do some amazing things - where else can you see a supersonic fighter jet do a sommersault?

On our rooftop deck, there were about 30 people watching the show and when the B-2 went overhead, one woman said "Look, there it is!" and her guy-friend says "Where?" He did that for a good 2 or 3 minutes before she caught on.

[Jorden]

I guess dZeus and I saw the same thing on Discovery Channel Europe, although I think it was the Mig-30

Even a Mig-27 Fulcrum and Mig-29 (errrm...) can do those tricks these days. The Russians are easier in building those tricks into already proven aircraft, whereas the US and Europe want to build a new fighter around it.

So now we wave the red, white and blue (I thought?) of the Russian Democratic (yeah right ) Republic.

Okay, so do we see non old-Russian-pact countries buy Russian aircraft? No, we don't. Even when they are cheap as hell. Cheaper even then sending a spy onto them to photograph the plans... Heck, if you win the lottery anywhere in the world, you have enough money to buy some "old" Russian scrap, which includes half an army and some scuds, and leave money for you to live on... and you can plant it all in your backgarden. Just don't press that <font color="red">red button</font>

Jord.

[This message has been edited by Jorden (edited 20 August 2000).]

[Snake-Eyes]

You've got a good point there, Jorden.

On the other hand, we decided to build a stealth platform around the vectored thrust, multi-missle doohicksis technology that the Russians are putting into those planes. The first of them to come out is called the F22 Raptor, and it's a cool looking jet.

On the other hand, since we like to throw lots of cash down the drain to build these things, some of them never make it off the design and testing docket, since Congress sinks them deeper than the Titanic.

------------------
Ace

[paulcs]

Thank goodness the Russians don't have the money for more R&D. The last thing the Alliance needs is another arms race.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[Liquid Snake]

Yep, I heard the B-2 takes $2 billion (!!) to build. The F-22 takes $74 million (I think).

[paulcs]

Well, clearly the F-22 is a bargain.

How much do we sell them for. I hope we're making a tidy profit.

Maybe the government should set up a website:

www.warplanes4sure.gov

Along with the F-22 and other fighters, maybe the Pentagon can sell some of those $2,000 toilet seats. I bet they're really comfy. And for a small percentage of the gross, they could also help the Russians unload <coff> some of those unused nuclear weapons.

Vintage mustard gas from WWI, treaty violating biological weapons, our own aging nuclear arsenal (heck, we spend all that money disarming and destroying obsolete nuclear weapons when Pakistan and India could use them now), etc. Hell, we'd never have to pay taxes again.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[This message has been edited by paulcs (edited 20 August 2000).]

[Jeff]

These new planes are cool but don't forget the older ones, they are amazing.

A couple of years ago I was flying back to Dallas from Midland. Midland is the home of the Confederate Airforce, a collection of many WWII era planes. While I was waiting in the terminal for my flight, there was this tremendous noise and the building began to vibrate. I looked out the window to the runway and there was a B-29 doing touch and goes. It would come in and land and then go to full throttle and go right back up. That plane was huge. Check it out.
http://www.jdsworld.com/b291998.htm

JP

[spoogenet]

Jord: The 29 is the Fulcrum, IIRC.

Paulcs: Doubt we'll sell 22's for a while...but I'm sure we'll make enough money if and when we do.

And for the rest of it....nobody can beat Aurora....hahahahaha.

b

[Brian R.]

We really ought to make an offer to buy as much weapons-grade nuclear fuel from the Russians (and other ex-soviet states) as they'll sell. We may not need it, but I'd feel better if it was stored here.

[Jorden]

by Paulcs
Vintage mustard gas from WWI

Paul, the army didn't disarm these nice weapons, just buried them under water, on a sandy shoal off the coast of Holland and Belgium. And now these grenades are rusting down to their core and might be releasing this gas any moment, the US claims to know of nothing... Thanks very much

Yeah I know, it wasn't the US only who used these shells (and other painfull death grenades, with other usefull gases etc.) and buried them around. I'm not pointing a finger, just saying "Shit... "

So back to the fancy flying things. My fave flying thing is the F117a, which was first codenamed the F19, and later the F22 (!!!). My next fave would be the Casper, the plane that came after the U2 and the whatever after that (can't remember the name, it's the titanium plane with the 2 big afterburners on the sides), and before the rumoured Aurora. And the Casper has the nickname F22 as wel... so are there now 3 planes in one that use the F22 name, the Casper (Mach 4), the F117a (Mach 1) and the Raptor (Mach 2 to 3)?? Or is this one of the F's that has gone in deep hiding?

Even if I won the biggest lottery in the world, I wouldn't stand a chance of buying one of those planes, I guess

Jord.

edit: Anyone heard about the aftermath of the Concorde crash? No? The Russians decided to ground all of their submarines

[This message has been edited by Jorden (edited 21 August 2000).]

[Taz]

Between races at this years World Superbike round at Brands Hatch, (England), they had various aircraft flying passed but the one which really freaked me out was the Harrier Jump Jet. It's amazing to see a plane stop in mid air and then go straight up like a helicopter. The pilot then preceeded to raise the front and then the back so it looked like the plane was pivoting in the middle. Very impressive and also very noisy