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F-ZeroOne

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  1. F-ZeroOne
    There was a "Flapjack", of a kind. It just wasn't Russian... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_XF5U
  2. F-ZeroOne
    Funny you should say that, I've seen promotional videos which have the Skylon moving past very "Thunderbirds" looking spaceport hangar buildings, which was almost certainly deliberate. The name is also of an era: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylon_(Festival_of_Britain)
  3. F-ZeroOne
    That image immediately reminded me of the stillborn British 1980s "HOTOL" project; a couple of people that worked on that that are now working on "Skylon", which is a similar concept: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Aerospace_HOTOL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylon_(spacecraft)
  4. F-ZeroOne
    The line about "The past is written" I find a little ironic, considering the events of "First Contact"...
  5. F-ZeroOne
    Yeah, I get the engine and prop are missing. But the cockpit looks like a kids fairground ride in that photo!
  6. F-ZeroOne
    Just struck me... is that JU-87 actual size? It might just be the camera angle, but it looks tiny!
  7. F-ZeroOne
    Heh, with remarkable timing theres just been a documentary on the BBC4 channel here about the Spitfire and it actually featured one that the current owner claimed was "98% original parts" - largely because it had never been used in combat! (the aircraft had also been "signed" by Mary Ellis, a wartime Womens Air Transport Auxiliary pilot, when she first flew it and she gets to sign it again at the age of 100...!). I know that one problem with "original parts" on Spitfires is that apparently the wartime magnesium screws they used actually corrode the airframe over time, so these usually have to be replaced.
  8. F-ZeroOne
    Virtually all - probably all - vintage warplanes flying today are not made entirely of 100% authentic parts. I have a Haynes [1] manual lying around somewhere for the Spitfire and IIRC the criteria is more or less as long as theres something in there thats authentic, then its counted as a "genuine" aircraft even if the other 95% of the aircraft is recreated parts. [1] I think you get these in the States - detailed technical manuals, originally for car repairs but now covering a wide range of topics from aircraft, military, space and fictional vehicles.
  9. F-ZeroOne
    Just want to point out that the RAF has been using a bullseye as its symbol for decades.
  10. F-ZeroOne
    Is it just me, or is there a wonderful example of double-think in that article - the way in which it claims that these days, the USAF would have chosen stealth over agility. Tell that to the F-35 and wait for it to stop bitterly muttering.
  11. F-ZeroOne
    I was out for a walk on the British South-West coast today and as it happened it was the Bournemouth airshow, which I didn't know was happening until we got there. We were on the other side of the harbour to where the airshow was happening so didn't see much other than some smoke trails and hearing some jet noise but apparently they had some cool stuff there, like a Draken. However, as we were making our way back, by pure chance we happened to be right under the "holding area" for a RAF Typhoon that was attending the show, and which was burning circles in the sky waiting for its slot. It even rolled at one point! That was pretty cool to see, actually the very first time I've seen one "in the wild" rather than as an airshow display (which technically this one was, but... ). Attached is my photo, which was taken at extreme zoom from some distance away and has been cropped a fair bit, so nowhere near the quality of the images earlier in this thread!
  12. F-ZeroOne
    My main impression from that demo is... "Heavy". It just looks like its... I'm not sure how to express this... weighty?
  13. F-ZeroOne
    Oh, I know the Defiant wasn't successful as a day fighter. It just fascinates me for some reason. At least I didn't say the Roc...
  14. F-ZeroOne
    Bit of an old skool fan here - honestly, I have no idea whats really popular with you kids these days, though I do catch the odd modern thing (like "Attack on Titan"). So my choices might get you asking "What did you do during the Dub/Sub Wars, Grandad?"... "Project A-Ko" - set a standard for quality production that like most anime fans, I later learned might not always be the case (released in the UK by Manga Video. At about the same time they also released "Ultimate Teacher"). Almost infinitely rewatchable. "Bubblegum Crisis" - has there ever been a better opening anime sequence than "Konya wa Hurricane"? "Patlabor" - possibly the most quietly subversive deconstruction of the mecha genre and other anime tropes ever. It says something about this show that when it eventually gets around to doing a "hot springs" episode, it features the male castmembers. "Kikis Delivery Service" - a masterpiece. 'nuff said. "Urusei Yatsura" - one of the shows that got me into anime in the first place, and as a bonus indirectly changed my life. Also, created the "harem" genre of anime, largely because everyone that came after missed the point. "Gurren Lagann" - see, I can be down with you younglings too! The mecha show that gradually turns everything up to "11", and then KEEPS FINDING BIGGER DIALS. "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" - which in "Battle of the Planets" form taught me that some "cartoons" were just different. Zoltar might be... gasp - a GIRL?!! Also features Galactor, the Evil Anime Oganisations Evil Anime Organisation. "Turn-A Gundam" - oh, how we laughed. A 'tache! Tominos given a Gundam a 'TACHE! Hes really lost it! And how wrong we were. Possibly the last great work of mecha genius from the man who, for a large part of the 70s and 80s, was mecha,
  15. F-ZeroOne
    Are there normally so many... rivet? fastener?... holes on a Raptor? Do they normally "fill" them in if its an operational warbird?
  16. F-ZeroOne
    On the subject of forgotten planes, I've long had a soft spot for the Boulton Paul Defiant. It almost always gets left out of T.V. histories of the Battle of Britain (tends to turn up in books more often though).
  17. F-ZeroOne
    Hey! The Typhoon isn't that old - unless you're referring to the Hawker one that is...
  18. F-ZeroOne
    Iran reportedly has lost a Tomcat, crew members ejected and as far as I'm aware are okay: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/rip-another-iranian-f-14a-tomcat-just-bit-dust-68577
  19. F-ZeroOne
    Updated reports say that this was a joint Russian/Chinese operation - "Call of Duty" called, they want the plot of their next game back - and that there were apparently escort fighters for the other aircraft involved.
  20. F-ZeroOne
    South Korea and Russia have had a bit of a territorial disagreement, including rather uniquely "warning shots" fired. The Russian aircraft is described as a A-50, which I understand is their AWACs, so I'm a bit puzzled why they'd risk sending such a valuable asset on without escort in the first place: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-49079719
  21. F-ZeroOne
    Oh, bless him for the "Doug Masters" reference!
  22. F-ZeroOne
    The forums called "Anime or Science-Fiction" and no-ones mentioned the Griffon from "Bubblegum Crisis yet?
  23. F-ZeroOne
    The thing I find funny about the whole cow thing is that this was sometimes blamed on so-called "Black Helicopters" - and it turned out during the bin Laden raid that the US military really did have Black Helicopters!
  24. F-ZeroOne
    Its worth pointing out that the term "Unidentified Flying Object" does not have to mean the same as "Flying Saucer" [1] though I accept the two are often lumped together. Every so often, a work colleague will exclaim how they've seen a really bright light in the early morning/late evening and they're wondering what it is. You can probably see where I'm going with this; it is of course Venus, one of the most easily identifiable objects in the sky, yet its pretty common for people not to know this. I'veseen what I first took as a UFO, and would probably have claimed as such if I hadn't heard the "whoosh" of a Chinese lantern igniting at the same time. Someone from further away might not have had the audio cue to tip them off. [1] Which I'm using as a generic term for "possible alien spacecraft" here.
  25. F-ZeroOne
    Music speakers that work in a vacuum?
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