Fighter jets, helicopters, future concept planes, etc

Discussion in 'Cars, Motorcycles, Boats, Airplanes Talk' started by rhythmdevils, Oct 7, 2020.

  1. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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  2. Superexchanger

    Superexchanger Friend

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    It's a "former future" kind of thing, but the forward-swept wing design is arresting even if it's not a practical concept. These aircraft look like fighters from another timeline (SU-47 & Grumman X-29)

    [​IMG]
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    I'll throw in that I also think the SR-71 is the most exquisite object engineered by man, and this look back at the designer of it and other Lockheed classics is a fantastic read:

    https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/05/kellys-heroes-lockheeds-five-finest-airplanes/
     
  3. nishan99

    nishan99 Friend

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    ^
    this

    Anyone doubting our choice can STFU and watch the marvelous engineering of this masterpiece!


     
  4. fastfwd

    fastfwd Friend

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    I'll see your Warthog engineering and raise you a Tomcat.
     
  5. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    I would imagine there would have to be some pretty crazy engineering in there so that when you fire the 105mm gun, the plane doenst go the other way/flip over/break apart.
    Like that must be some crazy force, and the plane is in the air, so no ground to brace against...
     
  6. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    If you guys ever go to Israel, go to the Israeli Air Force museum just outside Be'er Sheva. You can see some war wins from the Israeli side over the years. That was a good memory for me back when I was a kid.
     
  7. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    No B52 / BUFFs? Wasn't in the Air Force or military, but if I were, B52 crew would probably be my 2nd or 3rd choice.

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    May sound psychopathic (but really, what complex instrument of destruction aka military aircraft isn't to a degree), but operating something that brings 70,000lb of F U 2 and destruction just brings some level of savage/monkey brain level satisfaction that guns, tanks, fighter jets, or whatever else wouldn't bring. That or I'd have nightmares for the rest of my life knowing I may have directly killed who knows how many people.

    Would suck being in one and knowing that these aren't that hard to shoot down though.

    On a more serious note, amazing that something from the 1950's is probably going to serve and operate into the 2050's with just some upgrades here and there. Not sure if they intentionally designed it this way or if it just happened to work out nicely in this sense but regardless, that's pretty cool from a tech/engineering perspective to me.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2020
  8. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    My deathwish if I were really really wealthy (IIRC these cost $200-250k/hr to operate) would probably be to fly in one of these... knowing full well that all the trained techs and service people for these probably haven't served since the Reagan administration and it may fall apart while I'm inside and I'd be evaporated.
     
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I was walking along the water at Zuma beach near Pointe Dume when a pair of these creeped up. Granted that no helicopter is quiet, these are pretty fricking undetectable, especially with the sound of waves crashing. I didn't even know they were less than 100M away until they passed from behind into my field of vision. They were flying low, maybe 50-100ft above the water.

    I am pretty sure the pair belonged to the Marines at nearby Port Hueneme.



    It kind of scares you. The first thing I thought is that I would not want to be Taliban. If you happen to be facing them straight up, their profile is so skinny that one wonders HTF can I shoot and hit it?
     
  10. EagleWings

    EagleWings Friend

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    Never seen a Viper, only a few Apaches. Pics and videos just don’t do these choppers justice.
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The videos certain do not. Seeing them fly close and observing their silhouette is very surreal. The Apaches are bigger than the Vipers, but the fact it, these helicopters are small for things that fly. The pair I saw were painted dark grey too, which made them look scarier.
     
  12. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    For a big flying thing that helicopter is quite silent. Impressive.
     
  13. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    One big turning point in aerial warfare was the introduction of bigger guns, to be more precise cannons in the smaller fighter planes. This exploded in the Second World War. The American air force at one point made every P-xx fighter plane either armed with heavy machine guns or cannons. I emphasise the American air force because that is what often gave them an edge. They only needed one or a few shots to bust open their targets. Guess why the A10 has cannons?

    Interesting link: https://militaryhistorynow.com/2015/03/04/flying-cannons-15-warplanes-equipped-with-heavy-artillery/
     
  14. Bobcat

    Bobcat Friend

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    LVNV20100305-1073-Edit.jpg

    Red Flag a few years ago. I've got plenty of flying shots, Including B1B's

    Rob
     

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  15. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    yeah. If you’re not American/allied with America etc and you see this approaching you’re dead already.
     
  16. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    The F-23 concept is quite sexy with its diagonal fins and very unique exhaust or whatever it’s called. They have a very natural avian look to them. Which is probably a good thing in terms of aerodynamics and maneuverability

    [​IMG]

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    The profile is particularly beautiful

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2020
  17. farbinator

    farbinator Facebook Friend

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    That Nat Geo documentary was filmed at my old squadron, the 4th SOS. Flown with many of the folks featured in it.

    That stint was definitely the most awesome and humbling assignment of my career. The sideways jolt of the 105 was unmistakable but not as crazy as you might suspect, the real magic was in the highly engineered hydraulically trainable gun mounts that combined with the fire control system and pilot skill could keep any of the three weapon systems stable enough for an incredible degree of first shot accuracy and very long slant ranges. Plenty of incredible heroic shoots over the years, the most notorious was a crew that successfully delivered a 105mm proximity round in an emergency ambush situation 12 meters from friendly forces. One of the guys on the ground that day wrote a piece about it that was published on SOFREP as I recall.

    I still miss it, spending evenings slinging rounds down at the home ranges, or delivering relentless fury from above to keep ground teams safe (pylon turn CAS does have its benefits!). Many times all it took was the noise of those four Allison T56s to make an enemy think twice..
     
  18. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    I'm not an expert my any means, but most of the YF-23's design characteristics are to be as radar-and-heat-stealthy as possible. Notice on the last photo the chines that extend all the way from before the nacelle to the tail (the hard edge, like a clamshell join), that's mostly to separate the bottom heat signature from the top heat signature (and partially why the engine exhaust is entirely above the chine. It is truly a beautiful airframe and I really did hope it would beat out the Raptor from a looks perspective, which is stupid, but I like arecraft for highschooler reasons.
     
  19. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I’ve read that radar has gotten so good that future fighter jets will abandon “stealth” designs because it’s not useful at this point. Instead the article was predicting emphasis on speed, maneuverability and -I’m spacing on the word- high altitude capabilities to be able go above the atmosphere.
     
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Beautiful planes. They make the F18s in Top Gun 2 look lame.

    IMG_20181231_182218.jpg

    At the Ronald Raygun Presidential Library. This presidential library is worth seeing.
     

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