1000 Words

This photo caught my eye and I was enthralled by it. It says so much, so compactly.

Legacy and Future

Determination

The torch is passed

America makes some awesome aircraft

f-22-p-51-05-2017

TKC1101

About TKC1101

Curmudgeon (Reserve Status), Corporate Refugee, Proud Grandfather, Small Business Advisor and Salvage, Heinlein American
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21 Responses to 1000 Words

  1. BrentB67BrentB67 says:

    Nice picture and sentiment.

  2. DevereauxDevereaux says:

    Wow! A B Mustang. Don’t think there’s a bunch of them about.

  3. Mike LaRocheMike LaRoche says:

    America owns the skies.

  4. Vald the MisspellerVald the Misspeller says:

    This image doesn’t really give you an appreciation for the difference in size of the two aircraft. Try this one:http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/AirShows/Nellis2005/Highlights/F22P51HeritageFlight10oClock.jpg (sorry, can figure out how to link an image in comments)

    P-51: length — 32 ft 3 in; wingspan — 37 ft; empty weight — 7,635 lb

    F-22: respectively, 62 ft 1 in; 44 ft 6 in; 43,340 lb

    [These are Wikipedia numbers, so probably in the ballpark if not entirely accurate]

    I remember seeing a replica of a Fokker Dr.1 (the famous triplane favored by von Richthofen’s Flying Circus), and being stunned by how small it was. For your edification (amusement? horror?) the specs for the Dr.1 are: length — 18 ft 11 in; wingspan (top wing, the others got progressively smaller) — 23 ft 7 in; empty weight — 895 lb ……. (!). The fuselage frame was 20MM steel tubing, everything else was plywood, fabric and wire. In addition to excellent hand-eye coordination, fatalism, it seems, would have been among an early aviator’s most valuable qualities. Because it must have been like flying off to war in a goddamn box kite.

    • BrentB67BrentB67 says:

      Awesome!

      • 10 Cents10 Cents says:

        Good comparison.

        The only way I know how to put a picture in a comment is to get the in site link “Insert Image” then tab “Media Library” then URL. You can only access “Insert Media” when editing your own OP. Not the most smooth but it is a way.

        Ex.

        http://balldiamondball.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_3464.png

        • Vald the MisspellerVald the Misspeller says:

          Thanks,now let me try to figure out what you’re telling me.

          Nice selfie by the way.

        • DevereauxDevereaux says:

          ?So you have to first download the image to the media library, then do your routine, right. I tried it on the Brent thread but while it seems to work for me, not sure it works for others.

          • 10 Cents10 Cents says:

            Dev, I saw the picture, Nads. Yes, that is the process to get a picture in a comment by putting the URL from the BDB image library.

  5. drlorentzdrlorentz says:

    A friend of mine recently took some pictures at Langley AFB. Enjoy.

    http://whfoto.net/Fotostream/2017_2/2017-04-21/index.html

    • BrentB67BrentB67 says:

      Wow. Eurofighter at Langley.

      Very Cool.

    • Vald the MisspellerVald the Misspeller says:

      These are nice, I take it your friend is a pro.

      • drlorentzdrlorentz says:

        He’s a serious amateur photographer with what his friends like to call “big glass.” His day job is an ME working at the NASA Langley wind tunnels.

  6. ctlaw says:

    “America makes some awesome aircraft.”

    Why are you using the present tense? The Raptor has been out of production for nearly a decade.

    What do we make now?

    • TKC1101TKC1101 says:

      The capability demonstrated is still there. My viewpoint is long enough to encompass the use of the tense.

      I refuse to let the eight years of Obama darken my view of America. It is merely a dark hiccup in the legacy.

  7. DevereauxDevereaux says:

    F-35. You hear the hype but I’ve heard the fighter types say it’s a dog.

    • BrentB67BrentB67 says:

      The F-35 is the most amazing situational awareness IT solution ever conceived wrapped in a low performance and much lower RCS airframe.

      Thankfully it appears to do very well beyond visual range and very well air to surface even with its short legs. That is a good thing because it is so heavily wing loaded that it will bleed energy and get sliced up in a visual engagement.

      • DevereauxDevereaux says:

        I understand (what little I understand) is that this is because the Marine Corps insisted in vertical take-off. I think the concept of VTO is interesting, and in the Marine Corps some case can be made for same, but I am not at all sanguine about the current orthodoxy on its usage. Sort of reminds me of how infantry officers misused artillery in the Civil War.

        But the F-35 is looking like McNamara’s dog, the TFX – for similar reasons.

        • BrentB67BrentB67 says:

          The USMC has no choice since their LHA/LHD class ships do not have catapults.

          If the USN had more carrier battle groups then the USMC variant could be shelved and USMC could put a squadron of F-35C on Nimitz/Ford class CVN’s.

          Additionally, the VSTOL variant is driven by international requirements, specifically the United Kingdom.