grigolosi

They said feel the wind, not break wind.......

I just bought these, and now I wonder if they might give me the Var or something...

Here is something a tad off topic......isn't it odd to a member of another species who have only been in contact with humans for roughly 30 yrs to have a name like Chuck Mustang. Even the Zentraedi names are more none human or Terrin and they have been in contact with us for at least 20 yrs longer.....just something I thought about earlier today after watching the sub episode.

In order to galvanise your nation to undertake a goal like the Winders have set you have to have the support of the people. Gramia of course has played out the when victim card to a tee. At the end of his speech he had everyone in a patriotic fervor. He has ensured this by 1) making Windermere out to be the victims of an unjust government. 2) He has given his people the view that they are meant to transcend to some greater point in history by making up this true inheritor propaganda.

Gramia has sold this hook, line, and sinker to his people while controlling them through the restriction of information from off world. He has set them up for a big fall and further anguish at his and the nobles hands. I am sure that the Epsilon Foundation has plans also to take control in some way once all the dirty deeds are done.

You are absolutely correct Sildani. We are to far along now to canx the program. Always liked Baron Von Richtofen............

Blue trim with Max's markings........

Excellent work man! I haven't built any kits for years ( since I was AD AF we never had anywhere for me to build them except when I was stationed at Edwards). Got a closet full of kits I need to build (once the oldest one moves out I will have my own room again for building) including some VF's. Nice work finding the 1/48 Dragon NZEOD. I haven't had the time to really look myself in depth on line.

I don't think Keith took control of the dogfight until Messer landed some rounds on him. If you watch he almost seems to be enthralled in the synchronicity between him and Messer and then wham! Messer lands some rounds on him and shakes him out of his euphoria. That is when he focuses on actually trying to shoot down Messer. it was like he suddenly realized that Messer was an actual threat to him and moved to remove that threat at that point.

I am curious as to whether or not they have notched the corners of the LEF's. That angle surface the LEF forms between it an the frame is a major RCS draw back. That is why the F-22 has notched LEF corners. In the photo it is hard to tell from the forward angle. I found this pic of one without the paint getting ready for a test flight. The LEF's don't seem to be notched. bUt you can get a better view of how far the LEX's move down ( it looks like about 25 degrees).

Even in a dogfight at the speeds they are moving vision is life. The more visual acuity you have the more likely you can counter what your opponent is doing. The wrap around would allow the pilot in the VF to more readily predict what his/her opponent is going to do. A great part of VR engagement is seeing where your opponent is and the next part is intuitively predicting and counter maneuvering them. Even with an outstanding field of vision from a normal canopy I bet most pilots would love to have a wrap around system that allows them a complete 360 view in both the horizontal and vertical plane area.

As for the material the canopies are made of I would have to say Seto is probably correct in it being some form of hypercarbon. The canopies on modern fighters are soft, so soft that you can scratch them with a strong fingernail. Considering the wear and tear plus harsh environment a VF operates in a modern canopy wouldn't last. The amount of friction a normal canopy is exposed too is insane. Some aircraft have grounding plates built into the cockpit/canopy area for the ground crews to ground them because of static build up across the plastic. I have talked to F-16 pilots who have had electrical arcs between the frame sides of the canopy because of static build up. Also canopies are designed to take frontal impacts. They essentially transmit the impact energy aft when something like a bird strikes it (on the F-16 it transmits aft and the aft transperancy is supposed to shatter...in theory). This would explain why Hikaru's canopy shattered since the concussion from the explosion was directed form the side instead of the front. The canopy material wasn't designed to absorb the shock from that direction. But either way I doubt the material is designed to absorb the impact from a focused energy beam like Keith used. I would have to agree that the shot was a golden BB.

If it has a FBW system which it more than likely does, the tail plane is mounted on a bellcrank mounted to an ISA mounted in the frame fairing area. FBW makes mounting a flight control surface fairly easy. The surfaces are mounted on a pivot point (mainly the horizontal stabilator and rudderons or rudderators not sure what the Russian term for them is). But I bet those frame bearings the tail plane is mounted through are seriously stressed.

Seto if I remember correctly the rounds from D.D. came came from above the VF-0. They stitched along the nose and struck mid canopy. Roy had to look up and to his left to spot Ivanov inbound.

The navy loads all their air to air ordanace by hand including the AIM-120's. The USAF loads AIM-9's by hand but uses a jammer for loading the 120. Here is a pic of the UALS used by the A-10. This would probably be the influence used in making one for the VF-1 considering the GU-11 fires 55mm rounds. But I haven't seen a UALS diorama kit anywhere on the internet.

I don't know if anyone makes a kit of the UALS used by the USAF for loading ammunition into the aircraft. It would be nice if they did. Pay no attention to the AIM-9 in the foreground.

I do believe it supposed to be one. Here is an actual Nimrod for comparison. Unfortunately it is a small picture.

They seem to lately. But eh F-16 world went through the same issue yrs ago. We were having collisions quite often several yrs ago also. It seemed like every time you saw the headlines it was another F-16 collision. I guess it is the Hornets turn right now.

Absolutely correct Shadow. The budget is still the biggest constraint to the F-16V upgrade. Modding the fleet to the newer AESA systems is actually fairly simple. The newer ones are essentially replacing the older APG dish with the scan array and replacing several of the boxes in the aviaonics bays ( mainly under doors 1202,1101, and the radome 1100). It has no requirement for an extra PAO system to be routed through the aircraft also since that part is self contained in the AESA system. But the cost per mod kit will get expensive quick. We will have to wait and see what happens here in the future with the budgets.

One mistake would be catastrophic. Look what happened in the 90's when a Japanese naval vessel had its CIWS set in the wrong mode with live ammo loaded. It shredded a US Navy A-6 during a combined exercise. Fortunately the Intruder crew ejected. People don't realise what kind of game they are playing in these situations until something bad happens.

I saw that commercial last night, someone on one of the FB pages posted it. Boeing did an awesome job with that. I am not a huge Eagle fan but it made me want one. I especially liked that black paint job they used on the jets in the commercial. It may have been glossy looking but it definitely added character to them.

They are definitely testing us Valkyrie. A big way to ascertain a potential opponents capabilities is to pull stunts like this. They did this stuff a lot during the Cold war to gauge our response times. But they also believe that the Baltic and Black Sea are their private bodies of water traditionally (at least in the since in the past 70 yrs).

Meanwhile in Hornet land........

Here is a throwback, one of the first block 30 aggressors from Kunsan prior to the transfer to Eielson with its new aggressor scheme just out of the paint barn.

No I don't just talk about the cooling systems. I don't hate the cooling the system. Fact of the matter is Valkyrie is right. If you want I can tell you how remove the flaperon, PDU, or engine. I was explaining the differences in the frame between the blocks. But I guess I will keep my mouth shut since you know all. I guess 20 yrs of practical experience is nothing to reading articles written by folks who never fixed one of these birds and regurgitating it to everyone. If being completely rude and condescending to me is necessary in your world than be it.

I saw that at the

Just a note on the subs before the discussion goes further, gg took some liberties with their translation (they usually do), specifically with what Arad and Mikumo said.

-Arad didn't really said "He would be proud of you" the actual line is "yoku nite yagaru ze"「よく似てやがるぜ、あの人に」, which is basically "He really resembles that person"

-Mikumo never calls Freyja a princess, so "good morning, princess" it's just gg taking liberties (before the theories about Freyja being secretly part of the Windermerian Royal family start), Mikumo just said "You finally awaken"

That's all.

I saw at the end of the episode right after the scene with Messer they (GG) posted a "random fact" statement about some of the lyrics being BS'ed due to f*&^%$# machine guns firing in the foreground preventing them from hearing certain lines.

I know the idea of somehow acquiring the Block 60 F-16 is popular. There is also the F-16V which could be a more realistic upgrade for the current F-16C fleet. You don't get the uprated GE engine but that APG-83 and Sniper pod would give the Viper a nice capability boost.

Just to give you an idea of what you get in a Blk 60 F-16 Shadow. Yes you get a glass cockpit, and AESA. But in the end you end up with 3 ECS packages for radar cooling, a bigger nose tire, and an analog brake system. The current Blk 40/42/50/52 all have digital brake control systems. in layman's terms they can actually land and takeoff with a heavier load if need be i.e. 600 gal tanks, conformals, weapons etc. . The analog system is prone to burning out brakes with heavy landing loads. Essentially the block 60 is the equivalent of putting thousand dollar rims on a 96 Honda Civic. There are newer and better AESA systems out there that require less internal aircraft system support (cooling). Plus the block 60 was essentially a private venture between the UAE and Lockheed. It was never intended for sale to any other countries. The UAE funded the program from the start. That is the main reason you will never see it used by any other air force.

As for the engine...I am a big GE fan. The F-100-GE-110 series are great engines but the 132 has its issues right now. Mainly with higher operating temps. These are causing the engine to kick out 173 MFL's. basically the turbines aare getting so hot that the turbine blade aeration holes are micro fracturing from hole to hole. Currently once the engine kicks out three 173's in a row the engine has to be removed and sent to backshop for the blades to replaced.

I know currently the USAF wants to upgrade their F-16's to AESA systems but with budget constraints, it like many other needed items are on hold.

I definitely agree with you on that Valkyrie, this new Sec of the AF never served a day in her life. She was a civilian DoD employee who worked her way up. During my 23 yrs in I think the best Sec of Defense we had was William Perry. He retired over his belief that congress was doing more harm to the military with its partisan politics and frustration over the defense budgets.