CommieGIR posted:

Not uncommon. The GPS systems that many USAF aircraft use is slow at picking up sats and generally only track 4-5 at a time, so the civvie GPS is used as a backup or to provide GPS to off the shelf avionics systems.

Both on C-130 and JSTARS our navs utilize civvie GPS systems alongside their integrated and antiquated GPS

EightBit posted:

Definitely going to need a source for this. I know that reentry can generate a plasma wall that temporarily prevents radio contact for the reentering craft, but interfering with GPS seems like a stretch. Unless GPS was being degraded by the US government .

quote:

Upon returning to my office, I opened the accident-duty file. The top page was a list of accidents, incidents, and anomalies picked up by air traffic control the night before. I searched for activities in the Hawaii area. Halfway down the page, I found what I was looking for: “An aircraft being transported to Tokyo, Japan from Oakland, California via Honolulu, Hawaii did not close flight plan.” As Peter said, it could mean anything. Sometimes planes secretly landed on remote dirt runways to load up with lucrative Hawaiian marijuana. Other planes simply changed their heading without telling anyone. Most likely, this plane never left Oakland. Pilots sometimes failed to cancel the flight plan when the flight was cancelled.

I scanned through several other occurrences and accidents before I reached the bottom, where I found a second notation: “An aircraft being ferried to Tokyo, Japan from Los Angeles, California via Honolulu, Hawaii did not close flight plan.”

I made more calls and discovered that the pilots of both small planes had originally filed flight plans, but both had departed under visual flight rules (VFR). This happens when a pilot expects clear skies and doesn’t intend to use navigational aids. The decision by both pilots struck me as a risky proposition for a transoceanic flight.

I got back in touch with the LA mechanic. “Why would your guy fly VFR? If something goes wrong, the pilot’s got nothing but a wet compass to get him to Hawaii.” “Well, you know …” “No, I don’t know. So tell me. This is my job.” “GPS, man. He had a handheld GPS. The whole electrical system can fail, and he’ll still get there.”

The mechanic didn’t want to admit that the pilot who left LA was using a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit for navigation. While standard today, in the early 1990s, GPS was not an approved navigation system, although pilots frequently carried a GPS unit as a backup for the less reliable LORAN system then in use. The pilots argued that because the GPS unit was not installed in the cockpit, the unit was not a violation of FAA regulations. I didn’t care one way or the other.

“Well, GPS or not,” I said, “the Los Angeles plane never arrived. Nor did the Oakland plane.” “Weird, huh?” he said insightfully. Later that day, I gave my report to Peter Undem. “The two airplanes left California at about the same time, heading to Honolulu. Both filed flight plans but then went VFR, so they weren’t on radar. I’ve checked out every arrival at every airport in the Hawaiian Islands. Nobody has them landing, and based on what I’ve learned, I don’t think they were drug planes. There’s no evidence of a screwup in record keeping. They just disappeared.”

Peter stared out a window in silence. Finally, he said, “Dave, what you’re telling me makes no sense. You’re missing something. There’s always an explanation.”

(I cut a good portion of the rest of the chapter, here's the relevant part)

The two planes had disappeared on April 5, 1991. The fifth of April was the day of the Atlantis shuttle launch; the fifth of April was the day NASA calibrated the navigation systems for the air force; the fifth of April was the day the two planes using GPS left California and disappeared.

Two days later, I hurried into Peter Undem’s office. “I found ’em,” I announced. “Here’s the accident report.” “Found whom?” I knew that Peter had written off the missing planes as a couple of drug runners avoiding detection. In fact, he had reached this conclusion before even assigning me the task of locating the planes.
“The two planes that left California and disappeared.”
“Really?”
“The planes left on April fifth, the same day NASA shut down access to the GPS satellites while the Atlantis shuttle was over Hawaii. Both of the pilots were using handheld GPS units for navigation. When the GPS stopped working, the pilots had no idea where they were. I think they just flew around over the water in circles until they ran out of fuel.”
“And crashed in the ocean?”
“And crashed in the ocean. The impact probably killed both pilots. Or they drowned when the planes went under.”
“That would definitely suck.”

Fucknag posted:

Bullshit. And here's why!

hobbesmaster posted:

There were a ton made, they're not particularly rare. We're also using F-16s as target drones.

slidebite posted:

Question as a thought exercise:

What would be easier/cheaper at this point: Restarting F22 production or staying the course with the F35?

Of course the whole export thing with the 22 is an issue, but in general and aware it's completely hypothetical.

MA-Horus posted:

And the BUFFs will never be re-engined again because there are literal mountains of TF-33 engine cores sitting around. Thousands of the fuckers.

My mom is a slut posted:

The number of TF33's in storage has come up several times in this thread. I want to say the first number cited was something like 3500. Now its around 2000. At this rate we may run out before this thread hits the goldmine...
edit: this thread and the airpower thread, i guess.

Kitfox88 posted:

simplefish posted:

DID SOMEBODY SAY JSTARS?????

Jonny Nox posted:

So the Concorde disaster. The DC-10 was such a terrible and dangerous plane that you don't even need to be flying on it for it to kill you.

simplefish posted:

You're where I got the link from in the first place

vessbot posted:

- All paint was stripped, as Wingnut Ninja noted. Just like the Space Shuttle External Tank... for the first few launches it was painted, until someone noticed that it's gonna burn up in the atmosphere and fall into the Atlantic, so what's the point? This saved 600 pounds for the Shuttle, I don't know how much it saved for the Streak Eagle. Now it sits at the National USAF Museum in Dayton, with a coat of standard USAF gray paint to protect it from corrosion.

phongn posted:

The Russians have a comparable missile, the 53T6, in operational service around Moscow. The US Army also tested Sprint successors (HIBEX at 400G and HEDI-KITE at 200G) too Terminal-defense ABMs need insane performance.

quote:

The HIBEX program was part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency's Project Defender, a study of ballistic missile defense systems. HIBEX was designed for low level intercept of entry vehicles below 3 km altitude within 2 seconds of launch. Hibex' neutron-generating warhead would disable the fissile core of the incoming enemey re-entry vehicle. It would also kill all living things within a 5 km radius of detonation.

Dread Head posted:

Some video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3iOVtRMwEk&t=9s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6GxRpNox7c&t=3s

The Ferret King posted:

Tell your friends! Shining lasers at aircraft is a felony. They find people who do this, occasionally, and the prison times are not lenient.

iyaayas01 posted:

(It actually makes some sense for T-X to have some sort of red air capability since the USAF currently uses T-38s as pseudo-aggressors for the Raptor at Langley, it's just really funny to me that this $220.5M got put into the FYDP without anyone apparently having any idea it was there or why it was included, even if it was in the out years of the FYDP as opposed to an actual budget.)

quote:

Southwest Airlines on Tuesday announced it grounded 128 jets after it failed to inspect backup hydraulic systems designed to serve as a back-up in case of trouble with the aircraft's rudder system.

Southwest released the following statement:
"Southwest Airlines discovered an overdue maintenance check required to be performed on the standby hydraulic system, which serves as a back-up to the primary hydraulic systems. As a result of this discovery, 128 -700 aircraft were identified as having overflown a required check. Once identified, Southwest immediately and voluntarily removed the affected aircraft from service, initiated maintenance checks, disclosed the matter to the FAA, and developed an action plan to complete all overdue checks. The FAA approved a proposal that would allow Southwest to continue operating the aircraft for a maximum of five days as the checks are completed. Approximately 80 cancellations occurred today as a result of the events and the airline is anticipating a very minimal impact to their operations tomorrow. The Safety of our Customers and Employees remains our highest priority and we are working quickly to resolve the situation."

quote:

French Olympic gold medalist swimmer Camille Muffat and bronze medalist boxer Alexis Vastine were among 10 people killed in a helicopter crash in Argentina on Monday, according to Agence France-Presse and confirmed by international media.

Glorgnole posted:

It would be super cool to have a Catalina and live like those yacht guys who chill out in the Caribbean instead of owning a house.

MadBurgerMaker posted:

Amphibians are super cool. Some company called Antilles was selling, or trying to sell, a new version of the Grumman Goose, but I don't know what happened with that.

quote:

However, as of 2009 Antilles Seaplanes' manufacturing center has been foreclosed and sold at auction. The current fate of new Goose production is currently unknown.

Fucknag posted:

Last page, but I think we can agree the best looking plane is every delta wing ever built.

Now someone post an ugly delta and prove me wrong.

iyaayas01 posted:

Never underestimate the power of the Lockheed bribery machine.

Although I'm pretty sure the last manufacturer of new-build planes was Aeritalia building F-104S's, and I'm pretty sure they wrapped up production in 1979. Still insanely late.

monkeytennis posted:

Jesus Christ the comments on that news page are worse than the usual YT comments.

bull3964 posted:

There are many Air Disasters episodes that have the root cause of the crash be that very thing (not just for Korea, but any culture that places that much overriding emphasis on age earning respect.)

ehnus posted:

Party Plane Jones posted:

http://gfycat.com/FittingSourHalicore

Speaking of Blue Angels.

quote:

Boeing is expected to unveil a design this month that would add 2-14 more seats by reducing the size of lavatories. The plan is to make lavatories smaller on the outside while increasing passenger space inside.

quote:

MAINZ, Germany — The families of passengers killed when a jet was deliberately crashed in the French Alps are "appalled" by a compensation offer made by Germanwings and parent company Lufthansa, according to their lawyers.

"The reactions ranged from blank horror and rage to despair and bitterness," Elmar Giemulla, a lawyer representing families of 35 victims, told NBC News.

Lufthansa this week made an offer of 25,000 euros ($27,700) per victim and an additional 10,000 euros ($11,110) payment to each close relative as compensation for immaterial damage. This would come in addition to the 50,000 euros ($55,540) per victim that Lufthansa had paid out as an immediate support in the days after the crash. Potential compensation for material damages has yet to be determined.

According to representatives for the Germanwings families, compensation after the crash of an Air France Concorde in 2000 was about 1 million euros per victim.

Duke Chin posted:

Jesus loving Christ that poor crew.... except the loadmaster - loving idiot.

hobbesmaster posted:

I need more coffee before posting about vector stuff.

quote:

When Concorde flew for the last time almost 12 years ago it was assumed that it would never enter service again. With financing now secured, however, a group of Concorde experts are confident that the aircraft could recommence flights by the end of this decade. Aviation enthusiasts who may not have the means to fly on board could also have the opportunity to admire an aircraft placed on permanent display in central London.

Operated by British Airways and Air France, Concorde’s last flight took place on October 24 2003, and its demise has been heavily, enduringly, lamented by members of Club Concorde. The organisation comprises former Concorde pilots, charterers and frequent fliers, among others. Though BA and Air France have no plans to recommence Concorde flights, the group has now secured what it believes to be adequate financial backing to independently return the supersonic aircraft to service.

They have two aims: firstly, to place one of the aircraft on a purpose-built platform positioned by the London Eye and above the Thames; secondly, to return another to use as part of a Return to Flight project.

Drawing from a £40 million investment, the club is aiming to purchase a Concorde currently stationed near Orly Airport in Paris and to place it as the main draw in a £16-a-head London tourist attraction that would include a restaurant offering dishes that were originally served on Concorde flights. Club president Paul James hopes the plane could be on display by 2017.

Getting Concorde back in the air would be rather more complex. The club has access to an additional reserve fund worth £120 million and plans to use this revenue to purchase a Concorde currently on display at Le Bourget airport in Paris. When restored (and dressed in an entirely new, neutral livery) and deemed safe to again take to the skies, the plane would be deployed for use in fly-pasts at air shows and made available for corporate and special events, as well as for private charter.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/travel/83904/concorde-flights-planned-to-resume-and-aircraft-proposed-for-display-in-london.html