How do you know an F16 driver is in the Bar?? He'll tell you.

Still pop to Red Flag and you will see what weight of numbers and some good AC and aircrew will achieve. Red Air is usually dispensed in minutes, though the last time i was there, They lost a few F15's (metaphorically during the games) which meant some questions were asked. All resulting from some bondu bashing below radar got an F3 to pop up in the middle of the package much to the shock of everyone.

 

Although we do know that its not unknown for such exercises to turn into mutual masturbation sessions with much backslapping & congratulating, without any actual learning or manipulation of the "rules" being done

I'm not sure if theres anything relevant I can add from a professional point of view which can't be brought from anyone else who's had CAS or targeting experience. The only thing to say really is that films compress the process of getting a missile strike greatly - its a long drawn out process to program, ready, launch and have delivery of a land or ship based missile (such as a tomahawk); more than likely stretching into hours. Such weapons are fine when attacking a known, fixed, target, but when attempting to provide air support for troops in contact or in order to strike a target of opportunity (regardless of how that target is identified), nothing beats having an airframe - manned or UAV - already in position to strike it. Afghanistan has a constant presence of B-52's, B-1B's, and a whole list of smaller strike aircraft airborne 24/7. Its a capability that simply can't be replaced with missile technology yet.

 

As long as they dont crash over on our heads!! I agree!

 

Hence the new lease of life the A-10 has been given in the A-10C form.

 

Never knew that, I love the A10, even if it looks as though the engines were an afterthought!


astraboy.

 

Awesome aircraft Love 'em

 

Starship Enterprise anyone ?

The warthog is so ugly it's cool.

Wouldn't like to be on the receiving end though ! (Do plane's have feelings ?)

 

About 370 will be updated to A-10C format.

Got to love the GAU-8:
(Youtube=fooked, so Googlevideo)

Video A10 gun test 30mm - a10, gun, test

GAU-8 Avenger

 

Good point. How do they know it crashed? Anyone got any photo's?

 

Another

Video 30mm Gatling Gun - Tir, Gatling, gun, A10, mitrailleuse

 

Having had the opportunity to go out on a night out on the **** with the Blue Angels a few years ago. I can categorically say that the above statement is so damn accurate

I wish I could bring something technically relevent to this discussion but I can't

Up until a few years ago I was one of the boys on the ground not in the air.

(42 cdo)

 

So am I - but apparently this is expanding my employability in the Army...

 

I took part in Red Flag training a couple of times. It was interesting that the F15's with their multiple targeting ability and look "down/shoot down" were unable to see us going in at low level in the dark while they were on CAP unless we chucked out an IRD so they could see the big white light to alert them.

We were also able to prove to them that they were unable to turn with us at height and therefore could not shoot us down on a front gun attack! We got an awful lot of beer on all that

I have flown Vampires CPD, long time ago of course. It was one of the few aircraft that could manage a loop above 30K feet! We used to call it the "clockwork mouse"

Les

 

One day we shall meet, I'll never got bored of stories like that

The rest of the bar may empty, but for some reason that kind of stuff is cool

 

I get more jealous of you every time you post Les

My local college has (or had, I'm not sure it's still there after the recent total rebuild) a Vampire on static display in one of the workshops. We used to climb all over it if we were in that shop and the lecturer was late turning up

A beautiful looking aircraft IMO, a mate of my Dad who used to work just up the road at what was then Avro said they were a joy to fly

 

Me too!
So you went to Brooklands as well then
astraboy.

 

Slightly further north actually AB

Macclesfield college is (was?) one of the training colleges for apprentices from BAe Woodford - formerly Avro


I remember them having one of the Vulcan prototypes in a fenced off area of the car park back in the seventies too

 

FPMSL

 

It was nice to fly CPD, but did not have a lot of poke. When I did my first takeoff in one, I was used to the T-33 I trained on in Canada which had good acceleration where the Vampire did not! I turned to my instructor and asked if the engine was alright! I got the short answer alright.

It had one disturbing habit, if you,as I did once, dive to its max airspeed and pull up to do a vertical roll, the tailplane would twist and the elevator control would reverse!. Luckily for me I did the opposite when it happened and it recovered from the dive. When I told my instructor he said that they all did that! Wish he had mentioned it to me beforehand.

Les