The Need For Speed

[Mynock]

Yeah, but it lacks style. I like to compare the lines of my '77 Monte Carlo with an '82 model. They took all the curves out of it and just ruined it. Same thing with the appearance of a Tomcat and a Raptor. I wouldn't want to get in a dogfight with an F-22 but it will never be beautiful in the same manner an F-14 was. Always made me laugh that Tom Cruise thought he was the star of Top Gun.

Was Tom Cruise ever the star of anything?
It does look like the bastard offspring of an F-15 and a Space Shuttle, I'll give you that, but being a tech junkie I love it for what it is and what it can do. Composite airframe, the avionics of an AWACS, top speed of 'classified' which means somewhere between "holy shit" and "oh damn my retinas just detached". If I remember correctly the first time they were used in a training exercise a squadron of them downed a hundred F-15's and F-16's with no losses.

[kham]

My understanding is that they had to keep changing the rules at the last couple Red Flag exercises to avoid the Viper/Hornet/Eagle drivers from getting all depressed and hiding in the mess

If I can find it, there is a couple of clips discussing an ex, last year, year before maybe? where the Indian AF was invited to play with their Su-27 variants, as well as the ROK guys in their brand-new F-15Ks. Some interesting commentary there

[kham]

While waiting to find that commentary (its Saturday, and have some perfectly good scotch to drink... )

Old School

[water_bug_62208]

OH, YES, MOST OUTSTANDING!!!

The Navy's F-14 Tomcat and the Air Force's F-15 Eagle were the last of the "true fighters" for the REAL men and women. I believe only the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the AV-8 Harrier remain as warbirds meant for the REAL men and women. Everything else is computerized "fly-by-wire," gotta have the computer or it won't fly, and, for the most part, have "glass jaws." The Tomcat, Eagle, Warthog, and Harrier could take punishment and keep flying, and in most instances, keep fighting. As an Air Force maintenance troop for F-4 Phantoms once told me, the F-16 Falcon may be more manueverable and have a shorter take-off than the Phantom, but in a flat run the F-4 would out-Mach an F-16, and an F-4 could take a tremendous amount of Triple A fire while a few rounds of 50 caliber or 20mm would shread an F-16 to pieces.

The footage of the Tomcat going Mach are simply breathtaking, especially that shot of the F-14 breaking the sound barrier right between the aircraft carrier and one of her escorts. The only other such breathtaking shot I've seen is a photo in Air Force Magazine where a photographer onboard a US aircraft carrier captured a picture of a B-1B Lancer shooting past the ship at Mach plus.

Yes, the F-16, F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet, the F-117 Nighthawk, the B-2 Spirit, the FA-22 Raptor, and the F-35 Lightning II are outstanding warplanes for our times. What they do is simply astonishing... however, they are NOT the planes that aircraft such as the Tomcat were.

Thanks for sharing this!

[water_bug_62208]

While waiting to find that commentary (its Saturday, and have some perfectly good scotch to drink... )

Old School

OH, YES, YES, YES!!!

You don't get any better than the "fly it by the seat of your pants" Spitfire or P-51 Mustang! Those and the warbirds of World War I were truly meant for REAL men and women (and I include women here since, although they may not have flown them in combat, they often did ferry them from the factory to where they were needed).

Again, thanks for sharing!

[kham]

The Hogs have character
Plus, they kick the living shit out of the bad guys

Besides, check out some of the pilots....

[kham]

Red Flag 08 - The DEW Line

Very interesting

[water_bug_62208]

The Hogs have character
Plus, they kick the living shit out of the bad guys

Besides, check out some of the pilots....

Oh, yes, I know. I've watched the documentaries on the Warthog on the Military Channel and the gals who drive the Warthog are just as voracious and vicious as their male counterparts when it comes to putting 30mm of DU and incinerary rounds into an armored target. Thanks for sharing!

[kham]

A-10 Close Call

This is CAS called in by some British troops; now, the gun passes are EXACTLY on target; they just er , misjudged the destructive capabilty of that gun...

[water_bug_62208]

Red Flag 08 - The DEW Line

Very interesting

Yes, indeed. Gotta love those F-15s... however... it does show why we need the FA-22. As he noted, the F-15s and F-16s are still great, but the "other" side with their newer generation of aircraft are just about as good. With the FA-22, the US once again takes a big lead in an air battle, and the one thing we don't want to do is fight a "fair fight"... we need to dominate and kick ass!

Thanks for sharing!