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Aircraft Super Thread Mk.VII


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Holy crap! I've read about the Israeli F-15 that landed missing a wing, but I never saw a Tomcat flying with that kind of damage!

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Chris

Edit: apparently it too landed safely!

The first photo depicts the F-14A BuNo 159832 side number 205 which on Jun. 29, 1991 experienced a mid-air collision over South Chinese Sea with another Tomcat, the BuNo 161597 side number 201. Both aircraft were from Black Lions of the VF-213, at the time embarked on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and while the 201 crashed into the sea where the crew was rescued, the 205 was able to land to Singapore after loosing part of its right wing.

Reminds me of Shin's VF-0 at the end of Zero.

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Except I've actually heard of TWA and PanAm.

No biggie, Eastern was one of the first commercial airlines around. I heard someone had bought the rights, I assume that's the first of the reborn Eastern fleet since its dedicated to Rickenbacker.

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While I know Mitsubishi Heavy Industry has numerous unconnected branches, somehow I still don't think I'd feel completely safe flying on a Mitsubishi Regional Jet, considering how unreliable the cars are, and the fact that they're responsible for the plane that lost WW2. Call it a stigma.

They built one of the best World Rally cars in history which is enough points for me to fly on one of their jets. :p

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While I know Mitsubishi Heavy Industry has numerous unconnected branches, somehow I still don't think I'd feel completely safe flying on a Mitsubishi Regional Jet, considering how unreliable the cars are, and the fact that they're responsible for the plane that lost WW2. Call it a stigma.

When you say "the plane that lost WW2," are you referring to the Zero? Because it was one of the most advanced fighters in the world at the start of the war, with unrivalled range, good armament, and the speed and maneuverability that Japanese tactics of the time called for. It was exactly the machine the Japanese Navy wanted, and it enabled their conquest of such a large area of the Pacific - at least, as much as a fighter aircraft could be responsible for such a thing. It's true that it was outclassed by war's end, and should have been replaced more fully and sooner, but the same is true of the Bf-109, for example, and nobody would accuse that of losing the war for Germany. If the Zero "lost" WW2, it wasn't by being a bad plane - it was by being such a good plane that it emboldened Japan to start a fight it couldn't win.
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They built one of the best World Rally cars in history which is enough points for me to fly on one of their jets. :p

That's the kind of record I'd look to when selecting a fighter plane, maybe, but you don't ask a rally car to get you to work every day, or to drive exceedingly long distances. Reliability isn't a concern in a race car, like it is in a commercial airliner.

Not to mention, Citroen has been winning WRC for the last decade or so.

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737-MAX is shaping up to be pretty interesting, can't say much more now

*Dangles tidbits in front of David Hingeton*

I do get to to go on the factory floor soon...

737 is my all-time least fave jetliner, so not TOO jealous. :p (and Boeing's "new" split-scimitar winglet is just a rip-off of the MD-11's---MDC figured that design out years ago)

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737 is my all-time least fave jetliner, so not TOO jealous. :p (and Boeing's "new" split-scimitar winglet is just a rip-off of the MD-11's---MDC figured that design out years ago)

Oh then you probably wouldn't get too excited about all the 777 and 787 stuff I'm working on either, speaking of which have a 2 hr meeting on 787 to run to...

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I wonder what they would say if it was designated J-22 or J-35 just to piss people off. Is that a Chinese raptor on the tailfin? Nevermind, it's called a gyrfalcon.

J31-f35-compare.jpg

Edited by wmkjr
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Technically, a gyrfalcon is a raptor... :)

Heh. A western millitary enthusiast's nod that it is in no way a F-22/F-35 inspired design lol...

"Meanwhile, PLA Navy Rear Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong said in a speech in Xiamen on Nov. 17 that China's reverse engineering still has its limitations, and that it will take the country another few years to achieve a breakthrough in developing its own engines."

Yup, not too subtle.

Edited by wmkjr
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The primary target of most Chinese hacking attempts isn't even the most classified stuff, which is kept on closed networks, but the research and early design drafts, which while classified/secret and even sometime Top Secret are more accessible on private company and military networks. What they are stealing is the research data that has allowed them to jump ahead to making two fifth gen fighters in a relatively short time. Everything of their's has been reverse engineered, or bought and built under license.

Now, that is not to say that they have not made some innovative leaps and strides, but they have done so by stealing the research from other nations, the US, Russia, Japan, etc... Even the new model J-10B incorporates a lot of improvements seen elsewhere on other aircraft; new inlet shape, sensors, IRST, AESA radar, etc... They are doing some masterful engineering work, even on the J-20 and J-31 but when you get down to the brass tacks they are built on the same research that brought us the F-22, F-35, Pak-Fa, etc... They have just put their own hand into the design to come up with aircraft that while similar are very different.

Back in the day, people said russian designs were just copies of American. That came mostly out of the Tu-4, which was a shameless copy of the B-29. What you really saw between the two superpowers was an arms race where one would come up with a design and the other would come up with a matching design. Or where one nation found out what the other was developing and came up with what they thought the best counter would be. The F-15 was originally designed to engage the MiG-25 before we found out that the MiG-25 was a strict interceptor, designed primarily to take down the SR-71, and not a dogfighter. But the research and design that the two nations did come up with aircraft, that while similar in design, were vastly different answers to the same role: F-16 & F/A-18 Vs the MiG-29 & Su-27. You could throw the F-14 and F-16 into that mix as well, since technically the Su-27 is more in their weight class. The thing is that while the designs share some similarities there is nothing about them that blatantly screams, we stole this design from the other.

As opposed to the J series aircraft where the design theft is super obvious.

J-2: MiG-15s built for China

J-5: License built MiG-17s

J-6: License built MiG-19s

J-7: License built MiG-21s

J-8: Started as J-7s modified with twin engines, later incorporated a front end derived directly from the MiG-23

J-11: License built Su-27s

J-15: Modified J-11s reverse engineered from stolen Su-27K/Su-33 data.

J-10A/B: Reverse engineered IAI-Lavi, which they bought, but still a reverse engineered design

J-20: Developed indigenously from stolen F-22 and F-35 data, some design ingenuity of their own

J-31: Developed indigenously from stolen F-22 and F-35 data, some design ingenuity of their own, since they did not have to compromise the design for VTOL and other considerations

And that;s just the fighters...

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