Airliners.net

bikerthai

Re: Should a fighter aircraft's aerodynamic shape be influenced by optimization of performance in the transonic zo

Operating in the transonic zone is more than just air speed. Even if the airplane is in transonic, there will be portion where the airflow already hit Mach 1. Specifically over the wing and near the nose. Once the shock hits and the airflow is disturbed, control surfaces losses effectiveness. In the...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

To this point NATO has deterred an attack on the US or its Article 5 allies from Russia. Is it not true that the US arsenal is calculated to fight a two war scenario? i mean if the total Patriot arsenal is calculated to ballance the total number of Russian and Chinese jets/missiles, then as Russia ...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

https://www.flyingmag.com/how-far-would ... essna-172/

So if the explosive weight about the same as a 100kg pilot, and you add extra tanks, with favorable winds, you can get 2500 miles.

bt

bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

Then what? The students who complete training using the T-7 eventually graduate and will presumably move onto the USAF's fleet of fighters, Question about this. After graduating from T-7A training. Does a pilot necessarily go to fighter? What training aircrafts do Tankers or C-17or B-21 train on? bt

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bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

Was this captured in the RFP before the T-7 was even designed? Probably yes. But probably buried. If I were to guess, it would be something like this: The design is to meet the requirement per some MIL spec. Boeing having proposed the T-7A using off the shelf ejection seats assuming that since it w...

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bikerthai

Re: New RAAF 737Max8 BBJ

So, would the 'D' in that mean the 'real' issues with Spirit are going to be 'divulged & detailed' by them They would have to divulge any issue with the FAA for type cert. I for one only blame part of the issue on Spirit. I saw this coming when many left/retired during the Covid crisis. Now bot...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

This is a much different situation than the wars in Afghanistan. How true. The Ukrainians has similar population to Afghanistan but is much better armed and supported by outside benefactors. So additional points to the Ukrainians But I think people need to understand that no Russian President is li...

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bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

The lower 49kg weight limit is also just as ridiculous. This would be extremely rare in the USA. Japan would likely have a reasonable percentage of women at that weight but Japan would also have no issues rejecting light women as pilots. You may want to rethink that. The US is having problem recrui...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

Ukraine does not have the troops on the ground to beat back the Russians. And did Afghanistan have enough troop to beat back both Russia and the US? That argument is tiring and is not supported by history. At a minimum Ukraine only need enough troop to hold out until Putin dies. At most they only n...

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bikerthai

Re: New RAAF 737Max8 BBJ

Devilfish wrote:
The 737 Max 8 is getting a massive vote of confidence with this order.

The latest issue with the door bolt does not impact the MAX 8 or MAX 9. The quality issue with Spirit does impact the 737 line.

So TBD?

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

They are able to do this, and you argue Boeing is not! The trainer .. that's super secret. Again, in a democracy we should know what the government is spending about $10B on. Unless you are "it's the government, they almost always do the right thing". What we get to know is what the gover...

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bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

It seems unrealistic to design a cockpit/ejector seat combination to match pilots' excess weight. But if it could be done, then why not. The 95% male and 5% female is embedded in various requirements that military designers design to. I wonder if the same requirement applies to submarine service or...

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bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

Oh no, more people can safely use an ejection seat, how... terrible? I guess? Double edge sword. Yes open up envelope increases the number of qualified candidates but increases complexity. The civilian equivalent would be the airbag and small person in front seat dilemma. They'll figure it out even...

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bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

GalaxyFlyer wrote:
Where are you getting the 245# Pilot from?

Not sure about pilots, but 246 lbs is a 95% tile male and a 5% tile female is 110 lbs.

Quite a range to design to.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

The open architecture computing system is real. That will make transitioning to an F/A-7 easier as well as incorporating system upgrades

bt

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bikerthai

Re: South Vietnam AF aircraft in HCMC in 2004(!?)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Th ... al_Airport

Not sure if they will keep this airport for domestic uses.

Property price being what it is, most likely this airport will be gone in a decade.

bt

bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2 ... ide-terny/

bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

Wouldn't the conservative move be to buy the plane already in production and already in use, over the plane that's four years late and not yet finished with development? Conservative but not future proof. With the T-7A you are banking on the USAF paying for future upgrades that you can get for penn...

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bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

GDB wrote:
to design and build a new jet trainer, hence the T-7.

I would put money on the build part. I will not be surprised if a major part of the deal would be Japan building major sub components if not the final assembly.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Japan wants the T-7a (What are they thinking?)

What will Boeing charge for T-7As when they can set a new price to a new customer having experience billions of dollars in excess charges on the USAF contract? For FMS, Boeing don't necessarily set the price for new customers. The price could be the same price the USAF plus a fee to the US gov. The...

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bikerthai

Re: Boeing P-8 Poseidon News, Production and Delivery Thread

Contracts have not been released yet, but the recent approved defense bill has an additional 10 P-8A for the USN.

With this potential order, production of the P-8A is guaranteed up to late 2027.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

GDB wrote:
Post strike assessment, satellite images, one Logistics ship damaged, the other likely only splinter as the harbor took the hit

Even if its a near miss, looks like the center of the miss might be enough to buckle some panels in the hull.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

tomcat wrote:
It's good to see Ukraine continuing degrading the command and logistics of Russia in Crimea, but to what end?

Other than killing off competent commanders and staff officers?

Lots of hard to replace encrypted communication equipment going up in smoke is both a short term and long term benefit.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

or just didn't trust them so ignored it as they thought the US was messing with them. Or their security network is stretched too thin to stop such attack. If one is being constantly being attacked by Ukrainian drones, how much resource will one devote to catching Ukrainian spies and saboteurs vs ca...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

Anywhere in the world, increased fuel prices mean people get upset, at least in the short term. The increase fuel price may not be uniform. Russia will force to sell more crude because they don't have the refining capacity. Those with refining capacity will benefit. As excess capacity does not mean...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

Regarding the political optics, the data don't fit the story... I'm thinking its more complex. The US is a petro exporter, but more in terms of LNG. We get our oil from Alaska, Canada and of the Gulf of Mexico. Alaskan oil is more expensive and Canadian shale oil is more expensive to process. If Uk...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

MohawkWeekend wrote:
refineries and terminals. I'm surprised that the crude oil export terminals haven't been targets

Refineries are higher value targets and harder to repair.

They would be higher value targets for the limited number of long range drones.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

plus the frankly disgraceful request from the US, I suppose they could threaten to cut off aid, oh wait...........(I know that is not administration policy but more 'please fight for your survival with your hands tied behind your back', Disgraceful? No more disgraceful than the House Republicans st...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

1. How easy is it to switch from making bullets to making shells?. I don't think it's easy as we see the current delay in ramping up 155 production. But making small caliber shells would be easier. Half the problem is obtaining the raw material. This would not seem to be the hold up. The other half...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

Unfortunately, they won't have the benefit of a gigantic stockpile of PG-7 rounds to strap to them. Don't worry about US small arms production. In case of war the infrastructure for small arms production can swiftly convert to producing PG-7 or other ordinance for military use. Just look at how man...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Military Aviation News and Discussion Thread

The Ukrainians don't have the manpower to spare, and as the conscription law issue suggests, seem to be stuck in a force generation loop where line units cannot be pulled out because there is no one to replace them. Read somewhere recently that the training pipeline has finally caught up to a point...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Military Aviation News and Discussion Thread

GDB wrote:
Can their AIM-120's be used if they might hit a Russian aircraft over it's airspace even in the border areas?

AIM-120 is a must to push back Russian aviation from the front line: Glide bombs and helo.

Rules of engagement for any F-16 A to G weapons should be no different than GLSDB.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Military Aviation News and Discussion Thread

Are they in use? The air launch harpoons would be a good candidate as the range of 200km is close to 150 and Ukraine already have ground launch harpoons. AGM 149 with a range between 22 and 130 km depending on launch height would be another. 300km cluster ATACMs may not be able to take out the Kerc...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Military Aviation News and Discussion Thread

I doubt the US will send anything cleared for the type longer ranged than JDAM even if the deliberate obstruction is cleared on the Hill. I'll wager on that. There are AGM with 150 km range, similar to GLSDB range that would not "appear" as escalation. I would not be surprised if 300km ra...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

Railways -- you have to look for helpful cargo (explosives, petroleum) to amplify the effect of your action, otherwise you are just making small stings. There should be plenty of railway bridges within range of GLSDB within Ukraine. Even a small bridge over a creek would be more difficult to repair...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

I just don't get how these drones can cruise over Russia for hours without being shot down while the Bayraktar drones (similar in size) quickly became irrelevant in attacking the Russian invaders in Ukraine. Flying coast to coast in the US looking down, what do you see? Lots of empty land with only...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

Another crazy aspect of this war. https://www.euronews.com/2023/04/27/dutch-flower-exports-to-russia-blooming-despite-sanctions-moral-question Russia invade Ukraine. Gets its soldiers killed. Buy flower from the Netherlands for soldiers funeral. Netherlands help finance Ukrainian defense More Russia...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

In this war, Ukraine is very unlikely to directly cause the Russian military to run short on fuel, but the oil is still very important for Russia to be able to fund the war. It is Perun approved as it is all part of the economy of war. Just as Russia attacked the grain export facilities of Ukraine,...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

Now I wonder if the US Army is re-evaluating an aircraft for that role after seeing the situation in Ukraine, or still believes the combination of Longbow and UAV's is the right answer today. I suspect the latter, but always thought the Kiowa was cool little helicopter.. Because of the Ukrainian wa...

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bikerthai

Re: How to defend against slow unmanned strike vehicles?

RJMAZ wrote:
The Russian SAM systems will not be able to detect the F-35 100 miles away but the 737 based platform would be easily detected and shot down at that distance.

True, they would have to fly below the Radar Horizon.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: How to defend against slow unmanned strike vehicles?

If using Ukraine as example I would estimate the F-35 would be placed 50 to 100 miles from the front line. If using Ukraine as an example, the cheaper solution is to take a 737 and put the P-8A radar on the nose. Plenty of 737 pilots out there. Bet Denys can fly a 737 where as probably not an F-35....

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

Would the Russians pursue? Geo politically, I don't think it will get that far. I see the worst case scenario for Ukraine right now is without US support, we will see a freeze in the conflict. I don't see Russia logistically able to operate beyond the Dnipro river. Even without US support Ukraine c...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

There are no Russian tactics to explain because they don’t have any. There is actually one that seems to worked for them. Besides artillery barrages, one way they attack a village is sending small group at a time hoping to have a few make it to shelter and hold. They keep build up until the have su...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

GDB does what many outlet do. Collect info from various sources and present them in one accessible place. True there is some slant in the sources. But its better than getting info from highly censored sources. Now if you want a pessimistic view, we have art :D I do appreciate some of the info from s...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

The Ukrainians don't even have the sanctuaries the Taliban and North Vietnam/Viet Cong had. Actually Ukraine's situation is very similar to Afghanistan, Vietnam and even Korea. All four of those countries had an open border through which the opponent can not or is unwilling to cross. Ukraine's amou...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

GDB wrote:
Here is a recently released Russian video, from last year, of being at a SAM site on the receiving end of not ATACMS but regular HIMARS;

Even if the GMLRS did not hit, the cost of having to launch all those S400 missiles alone is a + cost benefit for Ukraine.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

mxaxai wrote:
I'm not sure if it's a deliberate effort to let Russia win or simply accepting collateral damage as long as it gives them an upper hand in domestic politics.

One more theory.

Darth Putin has dirt on the leadership of the Republican party.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

A bittersweet acheivement. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/11/20-days-in-mariupol-documentary-oscar The Ukrainian film 20 Days in Mariupol, which was shot inside the besieged port city during the assault by Russian forces, has won the best documentary Oscar at the Academy Awards in Los Ang...

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bikerthai

Re: Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Discussion Thread

MohawkWeekend wrote:
Nor do they have the Americans, Brits, Canadians and French pounding their enemy's supply lines and a second front.

On the contrary, the Americans are helping with hitting Russian supply lines with feeds from satellites and ISR assets.

bt

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bikerthai

Re: Sweden officially joins NATO - Impact on Swedish Air Force

N328KF wrote:
I am in no position to say for sure, but there's a bit of history between SAAB and BAE

And if Boeing wins NGAD, SAAB has an inside track to be subcontractor.

bt

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