F-ZeroOne

As for the 10 sec firing time being enough and the comparisions to WW2 fighters.

Well this is a valk, its gonna be outnumbered 10 to 1 at the least.

Anyway, a simple beam weapon would have sorted it out. But running out of ammo is a nice plot device to have anyway.

There are actually numerous incidences of RAF aircraft during the Battle of Britain engaging formations many times stronger. Although there is almost certainly a good degree of exaggeration to many combat reports (which should perhaps be forgiven... ), there are a great many accounts of squadrons of twelve RAF fighters - or even flights of four - engaging upwards of a hundred or more German aircraft.

(of course, the problem for the Germans was that there were those twelve, then another twelve, and then another twelve, all the way to London, until the total the RAF threw at them somewhat exceeded the famous "last 50 Spitfires... ")

The RAF tried big formations during the Battle, and found that aircraft tended to get in each others way (leading to false claims and friendly fire) and that the groups took too long to get organised and up to altitude. Its noticable that "Big Wing" tactics were usually only employed by 12 Group, whose airfields were further back than the vital 11 Group, and who had more reaction time.

I alos believe that being outnumbered is traditionally referred to as being in a "target rich environment"...

I didn't intend it to be an exact match, just an example - I just happen to know those figures better than any others.

Regards the AK47, there was a recent programme on BBC Television where a journalist opened up a AK47. Its no wonder they don't break, theres noting in the thing! I swear I saw a piece of string in there...!

The same presenter also fired a clip on full automatic at a van standing no more than 50 yards away, as a demonstration of the AK47s muzzle climb.

It was untouched...

So... we need someone preferably British, good with guns, and who is used to working undercover to get insider information on top secret projects.

So, tell me, how do you feel about vodka martinis, shaken not stirred, Graham?

Thats easy. Pick the one that looks like the one in the anime.

If you can't stop what you're firing at with half-a-dozen 55mm rounds to a vital area, you've got more to worry about than just running out of ammuntion...

Edit:

Some comparisons.

Supermarine Spitfire, Mk. I or II: 8 .303 Browning machine guns. 333 rounds per gun for approx. 13 seconds continious firing.

Messerschmitt Bf109E: 2 7.62 mm machine guns, 1000 rounds per gun, and two 20mm cannon, 60 rounds per gun - approx 6 seconds firing. This is why at least one historian has argued that asides from making 109 pilots feel a bit more comfortable and being able to penetrate a bit deeper into England, increasing their fuel load wouldn't actually have had much effect on the Battle of Britain, as they would still run out of bullets - and have much further to fly back home after doing so, through the best organised air defence system of the era...

MiG 29: 30 mm cannon with 150 rounds. Fitted with a laser rangefinder, the designers claim that the cannon jam after only three of four rounds, but that the laser made it so accuarate that a target was nearly always destroyed anyway.

Hell if push comes to shove we could borrow some ASRAAMs from the UK (since all versions of the JSF are cleared for the same stores). Considering how often the UK comes on military adventures with us they'd most likely have stockpiles nearby anyway.

Thats odd, we always thought it was the other way round...

The Tornado has an internal gun because the Air Defence Variant was developed from the attack version. It was also fashionable at the time [1] - the Tornado was being developed just after Vietnam - to put guns back into aircraft.

[1] A surprisingly strong part of aircraft design on occasion!

I don't have anything really against Transformers; however having grown up with the original toys I have a bit of trouble with the latest designs. It always seemed to me the point of Transformers was that they resembled something real-world, and that the current lines have moved rather far away from that original idea. For want of a better word, I think they lack the elegance of the original line.

They were always exceptions, of course - the Dinobots, Galvatron, Cyclonus... but even the more sci-fi designs seemed to have been designed with a degree of fuctionality. The latest designs are loaded down with all sorts of cool gimmicks (I'm amazed at what you can do with electronics ina toy these days), but I find the designs - and the colours - rather messy. However, the line is (and of course, always was) aimed at children, who probably like having lots of bits and bright colours (I seem to remember reading that children have greater colour perception which we gradually lose as we grow up).

The new BinalTech/Alternators line and the Masterpiece OP do seem to be a good step in acknowledging Transformers more mature fan base though.

And I wouldn't be too hard on the VF-1. After all, more than one Transformers fan discovered Macross through a certain red and white Autobot air guardian...

The UK has always had an eye on longer-range combat, partly because of our nautical heritage and the need to defend Britains sea-lanes. Remember, we've been nearly bought to our knees twice by interdiction of international shipping...!

BTW, the Eurofighter is now officially the Eurofighter Typhoon. This name was chosen because it was polictically neutral and acceptable to all nations in the project.

German tank commanders may feel a little bit differently about that... [1]

[1] In fact, British pilots were a bit nervous as well, given the original ( WWII ) Typhoons early development difficulties...!

The Mig-15 might had an initial advantage in performance and heavier fire power on paper. Yet the Mig was difficult to fly due to its Mid tail arrangement and when later models of the Sabres entered service the gap in performance was less significant.

I think I saw on the history channel that the Mig-15 was superior to the F-86 in almost every way, from speed to max altitude to range and armament. There was also a Korean defector who used his Mig-15 to escape and the tests done on the plane afterwards confirmed it. Of course, the US countered these inefficiences with better tactics, kind of like a Wildcat/Zero situation from World War II with great success. That doesn't mean the F-86 was a better plane.

I wouldn't entirely trust the History Channel for the last word - not when Hurricanes in footage are referred to as Spitfires...

Again, its always a bit relative. The MiG-15 would appear to have had better altitude performance and speed than a F-86, but that same North korean defector also warned the test pilots - one of whom was Chuck Yeager - not to turn on the emergency fuel pump. Not if they still wanted the tail to stay attached to the aircraft at any rate...

The US did have a big advantage in that its pilots had a good deal of combat experience, and that probably more than anything else was the biggest advantage. Yeagers commanding officer pointed out that during the MiG-15 tests, Yeager did things with the aircraft that probably even the Russians hadn't.

Its also interesting that you bring up the Wildcat/Zero subject. Saburo Sakai, a great Japanese ace, once escaped from a swarm of Hellcats - on paper, a much better plane - through the benefit of his much greater combat experience.

Sakai, by the way, had just returned to flying after losing one eye...!

Or then theres the Falklands - on paper, the Argentine aircraft had much higher performance than the Harriers. The difference was geography - the distance the Argentines were operating from - training, and a superior weapons system.

Anyone remember what happened to Rimmer when he ended up playing "Better Than Life" with Lister, Cat, and Holly? 

Dwayne Dweebly?

DWAYNE DWEEBLY?!!

Of course, it could already have happened, and we're just all virtual avatars unsuspecting of the real battle being fought out there...

...just a thought, neh...?

I know you've already mentioned that the Q-Rau has no real balance problems, Graham, but I think this the first time we've seen photos without any visible means of support - thanks!

There is a reasonable chance its both. Japanese sources can often conflict, even when dealing with the same character. Look at Zion/Jion/Gion/Zeon [1] from Gundam, just to use whats probably the most famous example...

[1] Zeon is now the official version, but I'm pretty sure I've seen products since that was decided that are still different...!

They'll probably now spend ten years trying to buy something else that will turn out to be just as problem plagued or not nearly as capable...

e.g. RAF = F-111 instead of TSR-2 ( that never came through )...

I vote for...

P.S. no Sharon Apple...? 

F-ZeroOne, here she is.......

Sigh... its like... pure joy...

"Higher. Faster!"

I vote for...

...

...the YF-19!!!

Like Isamu said... "My pretty girl!"

Seriously, though, it would have to be Milia. Even if she tries to knife me, and then Max strafes me afterwards...!

P.S. no Sharon Apple...?

One of the opposing solos takes off by retracting the landing gear as he attains enough airspeed to become airborne. He's still only about 6 ft over the runway at that point, but he hasn't completely pulled back on the stick. Once he reaches the end of the runway, he pulls back sharply to climb vertically.

It's pretty cool.

Thanks - it must look pretty scary but I guess its reasonably safe or they wouldn't be cleared to do it.

I wonder if the pilot has a large "NO!" sticker attached to the forward stick position...?

Yeap, a news report said the seller got a visit from the FBI. How sales of military equipment is not illegal is beyond me. Guess Homeland Security was told by the powers that be to leave this seller alone for the sake of economy.

It depends on what kind of equipment it is. Ex-army vehicles - up to and including deactivated self-propelled guns are not uncommon in classified ads in the UK and I suspect we have rather tighter laws on this sort of thing than most of the states do.

There are quite a few 50s era jets wowing audiences at airshows, and some hopefuls are looking to get a Vulcan bomber - one of the most amazing things to watch take off I've ever seen - back flying, if only they can talk the Civil Aviation Authority into it.

At leats one company in South Africa has taken things into its own hands and offers rides in classic ex-British jets such as Buccaneers, Hunters - and my favourite this - English Electric Lightnings, still one of the fastest things in the sky...!

BTW, I have to ask... just how is that Hornet doing that...?!

Nice to see the TSR-2 on the list...

...wait a minute...

...Vic Viper?! Twinbee?!

Okay, I'll own up...

I quite enjoy watching both of them. DC certainly get better treatment for their stuff than Marvel has done. Teen Titans animation style is slightly similar to Totally Spies, which makes me wonder if theres a French connection there somewhere. The anime-style stuff is good fun, but it does come across as more of a gimmick at times. Its also, I think, the best screen representation of Robin so far...

They're both pretty good shows considering the limitations they have to work under, though not quite as good as the original Batman animated series. It was fun watching the JL re-fight World War II.

However, I do wish they weren't quite so limited by broadcast restrictions. Fighting a war in which no-one gets hurt is just dumb, and shows that perhaps we haven't moved on from G.I. Joe quite as much as we should have done by now. I'm not in favour of an all out gore-fest, but I do have to wonder if showing people playing with guns without any consequences is a bit self-defeating...

Anime on UK TV is something I've pretty much given up on. I'm lucky in that I'm usually able to afford any series I'm interested in, and in this era of rapid licensing and region-free DVD players I find it a subject I can't get worked up about as much as I used to. However, I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am.

ADV - whatever their other faults - do deserve some praise for rapidly ramping up their UK release schedule. Its probably going to be some time before the UK ever approaches the US as far as anime is concerned, but at least I don't automatically have to consider an import for a series I might be interested in now.

And yes, I remember Johnny Destiny, Space Ninja. I haven't seen it, but had an opportunity to buy a copy several years back and have long regretted not doing so...

Funnily enough, I'm going to visit the Science Museum in London next week to meet the Honda ASIMO.

If you like, I'll ask it to show mercy on us pitiful fleshy meatbags [1] when the revolution comes...

[1] Just in case anyone takes this personally, its a nod to a certain character in Star Wars: KOTR...

If it helps, Graham, to the best of my knowledge. VOTOMs has never been broadcast or released on DVD or VHS in the UK.

The Harrier does have a few unusual advantages. One, its small, and in visual combat small is good, as it makes you harder to acquire by sight. Its also been stated that the Harrier is a very odd shape - its sometimes hard to tell which end you're looking at as it doesn't have a conventional engine nozzle system and has a similar profile from either the front or the rear.

Also, as anyone who has seen one at an airshow can attest, it is almost ecrtainly the loudest aircraft of its size that there has ever been! It probably just sneaked up behind those F-15s and then went to full throttle, instantly making the F-15s deaf...!

Okay, correction time. Fox's Escaflowne was the dubbed/edited for US audience version. It was not hacked. It only eliminated episode 1 from the series.

OT a bit, but I'm curious, why was episode # 1 cut? I don't recall there being any 'questionable' content.

Graham

Possibly the main reason - as I think BFG-1 has said - is that the first episode of Escaflowne is a little misleading as to the direction it will take at first, and full of that lovey-dovey romantic stuff and boring conversation that little boys hate, because as we all know no-one else over the age of six watches cartoons...

Also, IIRC, Van ends up absolutely covered in blood from the dragon he fights, though I believe other violent scenes were kept in so...

Cats Eye.

Dammit, they got it in France. They got it in Germany.

Can I have it in England, Mr. Anime Company? Please!!!

I've only seen the first half of the series - I bought it thinking it was something else, go figure! - and it was rather odd as a viewing experience. I think the only way I can put it is "Final Fantasy meets Platoon". The style of the animation doesn't quite seem to fit in with the mood, and I found it very hard to like a number of the characters, especially after what happened to the Sara.

The army as depicted would appear to be an analogy for the Japanese "advance" - - into China in the 30s as well...

Its different, definitely different, and I would like to see how it ends sometime, but not really my cup of tea in the end...

OTOH, I didn't think anyone would ever top Dilandau from Escaflowne as an utter nutcase of a villain. Then I saw Hamdo...