Aircraft

LooseCannon said:
I really, really hate the F-35.
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It's like a retarded version of F-22 profiled to be mediocre at all tasks at hand.

But you got to give it to Lockmart. Base technology - mix of already developed technologies of the ATF program, whatever enhancements F-35 has over F-22 they're a consequence of 10 years of progress in general computer and material science, and extremely cheaply bought Soviet technology because Yakovlev was about to collapse financially back in early 90s. They've sold it as a wonder weapon to a number of countries, and those countries were aware of a number of design compromises involved, yet they wanted to profit from technology transfer. But they weren't aware when they start fielding it in numbers the technologies involved would be accessible to former 3rd world countries like India.

It's not enough to take on a Super Flanker let alone a PAK FA. It's far worse than A-10 - which is by far my favourite American craft, I love how their gov't wants to kill the whole thing but they can't, 'cause nobody does it like the Warthog. It will also be inferior to Super Hornet in carrier ops. AND we're talking about three different versions so the production base isn't even that unified to make these huge compromises reasonable.

It's not a good bomber, because it lacks payload and range.
It's not a good attack aircraft because it doesn't have armor.
It's not a good fighter because it has profile of a pig.

But the L&M shareholders are pretty satisfied with it, never the less ;)
 
Aren't you a little eager to crack it down? The debate won’t be settled until the F-35 and J-20, J-31, PAK-FA or Su-35 meet in combat for the first time. Still, even if it is not the best in a head-to-head battle, I heard that the plane is very multi functional (it can do all kinds of missions).

Bits of good sounding pieces I copied from some article I read:

It can likely approach to within launch range of an enemy aircraft undetected and get the first shot.

With its networking abilities, groups of F-35s can coordinate their tactics and share data—which is a huge advantage. Combined with superior American pilot training, tactics and support platforms like the AWACS—the Pentagon’s real advantage—the F-35 is probably adequate to take on most comers. That includes the best Russia and China can offer. The Russian and Chinese aircraft will almost certainly offer grossly superior kinematic performance, but ultimately will probably fall short on stealth, sensors and networking—which are probably better metrics in today’s battlespace.
 
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Forostar said:
Aren't you a little eager to crack it down? The debate won’t be settled until the F-35 and J-20, J-31, PAK-FA or Su-35 meet in combat for the first time. Still, even if it is not the best in a head-to-head battle, I heard that the plane is very multi functional (it can do all kinds of missions).

Bits of good sounding pieces I copied from some article I read:

It can likely approach to within launch range of an enemy aircraft undetected and get the first shot.

With its networking abilities, groups of F-35s can coordinate their tactics and share data—which is a huge advantage. Combined with superior American pilot training, tactics and support platforms like the AWACS—the Pentagon’s real advantage—the F-35 is probably adequate to take on most comers. That includes the best Russia and China can offer. The Russian and Chinese aircraft will almost certainly offer grossly superior kinematic performance, but ultimately will probably fall short on stealth, sensors and networking—which are probably better metrics in today’s battlespace.
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First of all, it's not same class as PAK-FA or Su-35. It would be like pitting F-16 to Su-27 in mid-80s.
Every plane is very-multi-functional today, it's just about the price tag. For an fighter with JAS-39 capabilities + stealth, that stealth surely costs a lot.
 
Realistically, I don't think the UK is planning on getting into dogfights with the most expensive Russian fighters. Most British military operations are patrolling UK airspace, chasing down airliners that have lost contact with the ground, and international intervention is usually in support of the US.

When politics plays such a massive part in the buying and selling of arms, I doubt comparative performance is the be all and end all. There's not a chance of the likes of Britain or the Netherlands buying from Russia, and Chinese engineering has a pretty poor reputation here. European-led collaborative projects like the Eurofighter end up delayed far too long, so developing something independently isn't likely. This does bring money into the UK arms trade, and the ability to use the F-35 on our new fleet of smallish carriers is a big part of the attraction. Price tag will very likely be a major feature, as the Government can't justify being one of the world's biggest military spenders while decimating public services, claiming that the country is broke.
 
It's completely inadequate for Canadian needs, I know that much. F-18E will do nicely for what we want - at a third of the price. AND we can fix it in Canada.
 
This same P-47 recently crashed into the Hudson river.
This is the same P-47 Thunderbolt which crashed into the Hudson River on 5/27/16. A year ago I happened to take a video of this great plane and its pilot William Gordon who sadly did not survive.Thank you Mr. Gordon for risking your life to do what you love to do and for bringing joy to those who admire these great vintage planes.
Note: When I said here comes the stunt plane I was not referring to the P-47....another plane was in the air going overhead.

Recovery of the plane:
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Of course, there was also the pilot and his tragic end.
... Witnesses could actually see Gordon struggle as he tried to get out of the plane before it became completely submerged in the water. ...

... Witnesses who were eating at Frank's Waterside Restaurant in North Bergen told ABC 7 they saw the aircraft fall into the water nose first. ...
'The front glass was off and the guy was trying to get out,' witness Camara Dodd told the station. 'He just couldn't get out, the plane kept going down, down, down, just gone.'
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I didn't know EF1 was reconfigured by Volga-Dnepr Airlines, who are a top tier cargo airline. They've been doing services for USAF and NATO, apart from Russian government being their #1 customer. Their strength are 10 Ruslan crafts but looks like they're doing modifications on other planes.

http://www.volga-dnepr.com/en/press-center/news/3631/

They're talking about livery here, but I doubt it was only a livery contract. VDA is not cheap, 737 takes a lot of hangar space and I guess some extra stuff was done there.
 
Yes. When the plane was damaged, someone from Volga-Dnepr Airlines was answering questions on Facebook about the plane. Hence my comment that getting an Antonov for the next tour wasn't completely impossible. ;)
 
One on one air "battle" (training) between Dutch F-16 and American F-15. Preceded by a fuel (American KC-135) moment.
 
This afternoon I saw two JSF's flying over my hometown, close together. (Cool surprise: fifteen minutes earlier, I read that they were doing a test flight over the Netherlands, but hadn't expected to see them, and surely not this soon!)

Departure and arrival:

Some footage filmed from the ground (nice footage from 0.22):
 
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@Brigantium @Zare @LooseCannon

Livestream Airforce Days 2016, Leeuwarden

Includes a.o.:
F-35, Slovakian MiG-29, Irish PC-9, Spanish C16 Eurofighter, M346 Master.


Demonstration teams:

Red Arrows (Engeland)
Red Devils (België)
Frecce Tricolori (Italië)
Patrouille de France
Patrouille Suisse
Turkish Stars

EDIT:
I just saw a Spitfire together with an F-16 and F-35, all three next to each other.
 
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O yes!

Up next: PH-MCP McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

edit: And now Patrouille de France.
 
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No fast jets here, but I did see Ed Force One landing at East Midlands Airport in the distance this afternoon. Hope to get a better look tomorrow. :)
 
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