For those who like Aircraft pictures

[Ohmisterporter]

Looking at the spec for CA-23 the armament is stated as four 0.5" machine guns. That seems very under armed for the period.

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

My first thought was Fairey Delta 2.

The delta interceptors all look a little samey.

 

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger (1956), F-106 Delta Dart, (1959) etc.

 

Perhaps one of the most successful small delta wing multi-role aircraft was the Douglas A4 Skyhawk (1954) and of course, the Dassault Mirage III (1961)

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

And then to rub it in they came and tested  atom bombs on us.

I guess if they had dropped them in the Canadian wilderness instead NORAD might have freaked out.

[Tumut]

On 03/07/2024 at 09:53, PMP said:

The RAF had a substantial number of Canadair Sabres, which were license built F-86E’s bought as a stop gap between the first generation Meteor and Vampire etc and the Hunter. The Canadian version was a bit better performance wise (different engine, and later modified wing), than the US homegrown version. With something like 400 ordered their primary role was in Germany as part of the front line in the Cold War.

Many of the RAF aircraft were sold on and some of them went to Italy, Yugoslavia, and then to Honduras. Quite a few were refurbished at Stansted and Prestwick, as well as being scrapped there too.

This is one of them in Honduran guise, in the late 80’s I was working for a company and we were offered five of them and an F-86D. It all got a bit ‘sporty’ when it turned out the Honduran authorised agent offering them for sale, wasn’t quite as authorised as he said he was. The aircraft and spares stayed there, and he was never heard of again. It was a pity as it would have been brilliant to get flying examples of ex RAF Sabres back, including the ferry flights which would have replicated the original Bechers Brook route they originally flew. This took them via Labrador, Greenland, Iceland and then to Prestwick.

Hello All, as you may know, the RAAF had CAC built CA-27 Sabres, using a RR Avon in lieu of the original GE J73. The improvement was marginal, but the Sabres were in RAAF service from 1953-1971, being displaced by the license built Mirage III O  ( O for Australia ! ) 1965-1987. Some of the RAAF Sabres  went to Malaysia (RMAF), and some to Indonesia (TNI-AU), whilst some of the Mirages went to Pakistan (PAF), much to India's annoyance !

 

As an aside Pakistan's PAF once flew both Soviet MiG 19 and Chinese Shengyang J-6, being a license built MiG 19 Farmer, of which the Chinese J-6 was the better made. The MiG 19 / J-6 was a formidable and very agile fighter and some PAF pilots claim it to be superior to the later MiG 21, as used by the IAF. ( Some North Viet Nam / VNPAF MiG 19s brought down both F105 Thunderchiefs, and F4 Phantoms. ) Although relatively cheap to make, and capable of rough field maintenance (unlike many, especially Western fighters these days) they were found to be infinitely maintainable, hence why many remained in front line service into the 21st century ! Produced between 1954-1968  ( J-6, 1958-1986), and entering frontline service in 1955, they were contemporary with the later versions of the F86 Sabre ! Regards to all, Tumut.

 

[Tumut]

On 03/07/2024 at 13:42, Jeff Smith said:

Yes, and all done on drafting boards and slide rules......  You'd think CAD/CAM would speed things up but now they're many times more complex, and more reliable with longer lives....

Hello All, with respect to the "...more reliable..." , the USAF F 35 has a critical failure every 11 hours of flight, requires 4.4 hours airframe maintenance per 1 hour of flight, and this excludes engine and avionics, and Depot maintenance takes 141 days compared to the projected 60 days.The F 35 also requires a very clean hard standing, which I presume would be a tad difficult in a war zone. This is not a new problem, the USAF  F111D had an equipment failure every 12 minutes, and required 98 man hours of maintenance after each flight.th F4 Phantom was also heavy on maintenance, hence the GD F16 and Northrop  F17  Light Weight Fighter Programmes. ( The F17 was navalised, and expanded ! , by McDonnell-Douglas  (now Boeing Defence) into the FA 18 Hornet. ) Both the F16 and F18 are cheaper to operate and maintain than the F4 which they replaced, and both are cheaper to operate and maintain than the F35. I suspect the real reason that the F35 sales are now less than originally intended is their high operational and maintenance costs. After all, it is not much point have the best fighter aircraft if it is stuck on the ground being maintained. The RAAF in WW2 primarily used the P40 Kiityhawk, with Packard Merlin aero engines, in New Guinea due to their rugged construction, and relative ease of maintenance in the very primitive, humid, and wet conditions prevalent in the SW Pacific, the Spitfires in Darwin were apparently less rugged for the tropical north of Australia. ( Air Bases under water was not an unusual experience ! ). Regards to all, Tumut.

[jjb1970]

10 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

And then to rub it in they came and tested  atom bombs on us.

 

The first choice was Coventry until it was realised there would be no way of knowing whether or not the bomb had gone off.

[jjb1970]

The Chinese had a big fleet of MiG21 fighters built locally, some of the J7's were pretty much straight license built MiG21's but it evolved significantly in China, including a redesigned wing on some and very different avionics and mission systems. The things were insanely loud. I remember a balmy evening in the city of Liuzhou with PLAAF J7's flying over ever few minutes and it was deafening. Made the F16 seem like some hush kit fitted whisper jet by comparison. I must admit it made my evening.

[Tumut]

Hello All, whilst the Australian CAC delta wing twin jet fighter, the Avro Canada Arrow, and the BAC TSR2, were doubtless all good design concepts, and in the later two cases, had got to prototype stages; the unfortunate fact remains that the potential market, in each instance, was less than 100 units, so unit cots would be huge. In the instances of both the Avro Canada Arrow, and the TSR2, the avionics package were a long way of being ready, and in the TSR2's case, it finally emerged within the MRCA Tornado Programme which was a decade and a half later. Also in regards to the TSR2, the RAF CAS advised his opposite RAAF number that the GD F111 was the better aircraft with both a longer range, and a heavier payload, ( both important for Australia), plus with an avionics suite already partially developed, and in use, and the F111 Programme ended with 563 units produced. Despite its initial teething troubles, and initial operations not meeting expectations, the F111 became a very potent aircraft, and arguably, its performance can not be met by any current individual available aircraft. ( When it went out of service with the USAF, it also saved a fortune in maintenance costs ! )

[Jeff Smith]

1 hour ago, Tumut said:

Hello All, with respect to the "...more reliable..."

Well, I was thinking more of civil aircraft.  I remember hearing that it was not unusual for four engined transatlantic piston powered airliners to arrive with one shut down; and oil consumption was prodigious.

[rob D2]

The thing with these super complex fighters , is , who are you fighting ?

The might need fifth generation plus if it kicks off with Russia ( unlikely as they can’t even prosecute the war they’ve started at present ),

 

But to drop a few bombs on terrorists in the desert , you can go down in tech a bit.

 

Did I read the F22 was being mothballed ? And at the same time we have a new F15 variant stateside 

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, rob D2 said:

Did I read the F22 was being mothballed ?

No. The F22 is the frontline fighter. The program was curtailed. They are not building more of them.

 

It is deployed strategically - air defence around DC, Alaska, Hawaii etc.

Quote

Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Holloman Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico; and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. A training unit is at Tyndall AFB, Florida.

Locally, air defence for the Pacific Northwest (inside the Alaska / Hawaii perimeter) remains the Oregon Air National Guard F-15s. The wing is getting the new F-15EX. Eagle II. They recently took delivery of their first aircraft.

 

Here's one of the retired craft:

And no I wasn't trying to capture the whole aircraft, just the "PORTLAND" + "REDHAWKS" on the vertical stabilizers.

 

Plus, the mock-up of the Northrop-Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance UAV hanging above kept getting in the shot.

 

Edited July 10 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

The F-15 is parked next to this curiosity.

 

It is an F-117 Nighthawk aka "Stealth Fighter". The sharp bits around the 'equator' have all been removed for this display.

 

I recently had the opportunity to speak with someone from Wright-Patterson AFB and asked him if these bits remained classified. He made a non-specific answer.

 

It is very awkward to photograph up close.

This aircraft has been on display for less than a year.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, rob D2 said:

But to drop a few bombs on terrorists in the desert , you can go down in tech a bit.

Like this?

CNN: Flying aboard the Ghostrider, a deadly aircraft carrying America’s biggest gun in the sky

 

In the article, there's a short clip of gunners firing the 105mm howitzer. 

 

The AC-130J is vulnerable to SAMs.

 

Or perhaps this:

 

I wouldn't want one of these chasing me down:

Business end of an A-10.

 

Edited July 10 by Ozexpatriate

[rob D2]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

No. The F22 is the frontline fighter. The program was curtailed. They are not building more of them.

 

It is deployed strategically - air defence around DC, Alaska, Hawaii etc.

Locally, air defence for the Pacific Northwest (inside the Alaska / Hawaii perimeter) remains the Oregon Air National Guard F-15s. The wing is getting the new F-15EX. Eagle II. They recently took delivery of their first aircraft.

 

Here's one of the retired craft:

And no I wasn't trying to capture the whole aircraft, just the "PORTLAND" + "REDHAWKS" on the vertical stabilizers.

 

Plus, the mock-up of the Northrop-Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance UAV hanging above kept getting in the shot.

 

Oh but they were looking to start retiring them but changed their mind .

[Ozexpatriate]

7 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

they were looking to start retiring them but changed their mind .

There isn't a replacement for the F-22, but that article refers to "Block 20".

Quote

By 2020, Block 20 aircraft from Lot 3 onward were upgraded to Block 30 standards under the Common Configuration Plan, increasing the Block 30/35 fleet to 149 aircraft while 37 remained in the Block 20 configuration for training.

 

The Next Generation Air Dominance fighter is a long way off.

 

F-22

Quote

The USAF expects to begin retiring the F-22 in the 2030s as it gets replaced by the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) crewed fighter. In May 2021, Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr. said that he envisioned a reduction in the future number of fighter fleets to "four plus one": the F-22 followed by NGAD, the F-35A, the F-15E followed by F-15EX, the F-16 followed by "MR-X", and the A-10; the A-10 would later be dropped from the plans due that aircraft's accelerated retirement. In 2022 the Air Force requested that it be allowed to divest all but three of its Block 20 F-22s at Tyndall AFB. Congress denied the request to divest its 33 non-combat-coded Block 20 aircraft and passed language prohibiting the divestment through FY2026. While the Block 30/35 F-22 remains one of the USAF's top priorities, the service believes the Block 20 aircraft is obsolescent and unsuitable even for training F-22 pilots and that upgrading them to Block 30/35 standards would be cost-prohibitive at $3.5 billion.

 

Edited July 10 by Ozexpatriate

[jjb1970]

There's an old trick in government departments that when told to find cost savings or live within a budget ceiling they will propose cutting programs guaranteed to cause kickback as a way to squeeze a better deal from the treasury.

[newbryford]

5 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

 

 

F-22

 

 

Love this bit:

 

The F-22 was first deployed overseas in February 2007 with the 27th Fighter Squadron to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.[220] This first overseas deployment was initially marred by problems when six F-22s flying from Hickam AFB, Hawaii, experienced multiple software-related system failures while crossing the International Date Line (180th meridian of longitude). The aircraft returned to Hawaii by following tanker aircraft. Within 48 hours, the error was resolved and the journey resumed.[221][222]

[KeithMacdonald]

Another Boeing with bits falling off?

 

Quote

The Boeing 757-200 was just lifting off when a loud "clunking" sound was heard. It turns out that one of the wheels on the plane's main landing gear had simply fallen off and was plummeting back to the ground. Nobody was injured and the plane still managed to land safely in Denver, but the incident was disturbingly similar to the one in March when another United flight lost a tire while taking off from San Francisco.

 

https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2024/07/09/another-united-airlines-flight-loses-a-wheel-in-mid-air-n3791566

[Jeff Smith]

Let's not confuse possible maintenance issues with design or original assembly issues.  Wheels are frequently changed in service due to tyre wear.

[rob D2]

The thing with Boeing is that people have jumped on the bandwagon to beat them with a stick,

but there’s no single cause of their woes 

[jjb1970]

Some pictures from Denpasar on Monday waiting for our flight home. We flew Air Asia, Air Asia is like a few SE Asian airlines in having several operating units based in different countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Our flights were Air Asia Indonesia, despite being Asia's equivalent of Ryanair the flights were punctual, the aircraft were immaculate and it was all very pleasant. No complaints, for a short-ish flight we really couldn't complain. Basic and no frills but it all felt very professional. A big difference with Ryanair is that Asian LCCs tend to use regular airports and terminals rather than low cost airports and terminals.

 

At the risk of sounding judgemental I can't help thinking the A330 needs a lick of paint.

 

 

[jjb1970]

Although Denpasar is a small airport it is very busy, I think it is Indonesia's second most important airport after Jakarta Soekarno Hatta. Some Garuda Indonesia visitors, including a couple of rather colourful special liveries. Citilink is their LCC offshoot and seems to be more successful than the main operation, the tail is derived from the Garuda design but with a green colour instead of blue. I've flown Citilink quite a few times and they're another LCC which while being basic no frills transport are pretty good.

 

[jjb1970]

The other big Indonesia carrier, Lion Air. Like Air Asia they have various business units, and unusually Lion Air is an LCC which created a full service offshoot in Batik (it's more normally the other way around). The white 737MAX was a Lion Air order transferred to Batik but still in a semi-white tail type livery. Sadly Lion Air is probably best known for a rather problematic safety record and the MAX crash.

[jjb1970]

A couple of big visitors. I saw an Emirates A380 landing as another was waiting for take off, which was really rather impressive for a small airport. SQ had two 787's in at the same time.

 

[jjb1970]

A few others, Jetstar have a big presence in Aisia but more from the local Jetstar Asia A320's than these A321's.