There are a couple of significant points that come out here: 1. There is a shed load of software in the aircraft. I know that sounds like stating the 'bleedin' obvious', but (from experience) this comes from two main sources. a. The first are the engineers, who (as described above) love doing what t...
Jump to postOh, Gordon Bennett! Question: Why is the QWERTY keyboard laid out as it is? For an accident of history that is no longer relevant. The QWERTY keyboard was laid out to be the LEAST efficient keyboard layout - that way, in the days of the mechanical typewriter, the girls in the typing pool wouldn't ge...
Jump to postFred, Although it is well known that you know far more than I on the aviation front, I do have just one small linguistic point for you: <TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=95% style="border-top: 1pt #28455E solid;border-right: 1pt #1B2E3F solid;border-bottom: 1pt #1B2E3F solid;border-left: 1pt #28455...
Jump to postJust my little 2 Euro-cents' worth... If the F-22 lobby gets its way, all it will get is a large number of F-22As. That succeeds in keeping large numbers of metal bashers in work, but it doesn't maintain the capability that the military wants. The Casa Bianca can't afford (or doesn't want to pay for...
Jump to postSince his predecessor has just spent $xxx Trillion on wars, given $750 billion to incompetent banks and $14 billion to car manufacturers, I suspect that the next Air Force One will be as shown below: <br><center><font color="#EEEEEE" size="1" face="ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva"><a href="/open.file/14586...
Jump to postThe comment about wing bending is being taken out of context. Firstly, wing bending is important, but not paramount. The amount of wing flex on the A380 is simply astounding, but it does not adversely affect the airworthiness of the aircraft. That is due to the advaces in material science. If you mo...
Jump to postCall me unrealistic but, if I were a downed pilot, I'd want all options available. As stated in posts above, I don't care about national products, I just want the best piece of kit to get me out of there. 1. I'm by myself or with at most one other person, assuming at most 'walking wounded'. I want t...
Jump to postOK, a question for the Taxi Drivers out there: At low level, the difference in speed sensation between Mach 1.1 or 1.5 isn't that great. So: What's the best (easiest, most comfortable, most reliable etc.) fast jet to fly fast at low level (just for argument's sake, we'll define 'low level' as being ...
Jump to postThe wing-bending argument is irrelevant in the current age of material sciences. However, as Boeing found out (by accident) very early on, if you mount the engines further outboard and under the wing (the former is the important bit rather than the latter), it prevents wing flutter at higher Mach nu...
Jump to postThe audio warnings are based on 'Mother Syndrome' - I'm not kidding! When they did the tests on possible voices for audio warnings, they did a whole series of experiments on what would be the most effective (i.e., cause the most rapid reaction) voice, and they found out that it is a female voice. Wi...
Jump to postOK, just a few corrections... First of all, they were German pilots, not British. It was at a German airfield, not a British one, and the video was shot by German ground crew (as you can hear from the audio on the video). On the other hand, British pilots (as well as Germans) train to perform exactl...
Jump to postAlthough I have absolutely no experience with the F-18, here are a couple of points: 1. Of all the aircraft that I've worked on (Tornado, Harrier, EuroFighter Typhoon, etc.) as a designer, none of these have auto-eject. It is a seriously dangerous concept that cannot be relied upon. 2. In the aircra...
Jump to postThe precise colour derives from the psychological testing (previously mentioned). The shade, however, is ergonomic, not psychological, in order to minimise eye strain and provide a focus on the important elements. Ideally, you need a contrast ratio of 3:2 between the important information (i.e., dis...
Jump to postThere was a famous story (so famous that I can't remember most of the details) about a flight surgeon who played down the importance of the seat of the pants. [I think this happened in the US<acronym title="Air France">AF</acronym>.] To prove it, he injected his backside with anaesthetic and was tak...
Jump to postSee: <a href="http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=2851" target=_blank>http://www.caa.co.uk/application.asp...pe=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=2851</a> It was a fatal accident involving G-BABB - one of the aircraft in which I learned to fly - which resulted...
Jump to post<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=95% style="border-top: 1pt #28455E solid;border-right: 1pt #1B2E3F solid;border-bottom: 1pt #1B2E3F solid;border-left: 1pt #28455E solid;table-layout:fixed;border-spacing:0;padding:0;border-collapse: collapse;" bgcolor=#1E3951><tr><td><font size=2 face="ARIAL, Helv...
Jump to postTwo-and-a-half quick points: 1. As stated above, SOPs. Once you've released your A-S stores, you've still got an airborne, capable asset, should it be required (OK, highly unlikely, but you never know). 2. Wing flutter. The outboard AAMs actually reduce the wing flutter, both in the transonic range ...
Jump to postSorry, peeps. I haven't been around for a while. The term "Souls on board" dates back many centuries to the (not surprisingly) naval world. If you (as the ship's captain) came across a foundering vessel, you would get within shouting range and then scream, "How many souls on board?" This is extremel...
Jump to postDuring a recent discussion with one of our suppliers, their programme manager suggested that 500 feet is classed as low level. He was a little surprised at the response. 500 feet - in the UK - is the lowest that a civil aircraft can fly (technically, it is, "within 500 feet of any person, structure ...
Jump to postThis one was mostly my fault because I'm a sinner and I am going hell [translation: I smoke]. Following an unsuccessful test flight, I went out the back of the hangar for a smoke. Preoccupied by the implications of the test failure, I failed to notice 20 tonnes of helicopter being towed past me (thi...
Jump to postThe Harrier was originally designed and built by one of the forerunners to British Aerospace (now BAE Systems). The US became interested for a marine variant, but with more with the concept of Close Air Support during amphibious assaults. Therefore, Boeing bought the rights to further develop the ai...
Jump to postI heard a poem from the RAF. Unfortunately, I have forgotten most of it, but the key finishing lines are:
You can always tell a Navigator,
By his books and charts and such.
And you can always tell a pilot,
But you cannot tell him much.
I know that this is a bit late, but I've been busy... An alternative scenario: The planes from the carrier group bomb Pearl Harbour themselves. As history tells us, virtually the entire base was 'asleep'. Warnings were ignored. The site was a sitting duck. If a couple of aircraft flew over at 600kts...
Jump to postThis may be considered to be a politically incorrect thought, but why not just let the attack happen? Firstly, there will be better, more decisive battles to be fought later on. Secondly and more importantly, Pearl Habour was an incredible propoganda moment. It gave the US public the trigger to figh...
Jump to postMilitarily, the preceding answers are fine. However, we are forgetting the politics of the time. The American Isolationism policy was - officially - still in effect. Therefore, any attack on a Japanese carrier group - hostile or not - would have been considered to be a unilateral declaration of war ...
Jump to postQuestion: I'm taking an international flight. During the booking procedure, I am informed that I have to check in at least 40 minutes before the flight. I arrive at the terminal 1 hour and 15 minutes before departure. There is a large queue at the check in desk and the passengers are being processed...
Jump to postI've worked with quite a few pilots from various air forces and met a whole host of characters. Every nation has different concepts, different training programmes, different values and different support networks. It takes skill and effort (not to mention blood, sweat and tears) to harmonise even som...
Jump to post<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=95% style="border-top: 1pt #28455E solid;border-right: 1pt #1B2E3F solid;border-bottom: 1pt #1B2E3F solid;border-left: 1pt #28455E solid;table-layout:fixed;border-spacing:0;padding:0;border-collapse: collapse;" bgcolor=#1E3951><tr><td><font size=2 face="ARIAL, Helv...
Jump to post<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=95% style="border-top: 1pt #28455E solid;border-right: 1pt #1B2E3F solid;border-bottom: 1pt #1B2E3F solid;border-left: 1pt #28455E solid;table-layout:fixed;border-spacing:0;padding:0;border-collapse: collapse;" bgcolor=#1E3951><tr><td><font size=2 face="ARIAL, Helv...
Jump to postFirst of all, the ejection sequence (simplified version, assuming a seat-mounted system): 1. You prepare yourself for ejection (legs out, arms in, at least one visor down - assuming you have time). 2. You pull the yellow and black handle. 3. The MDC in the canopy explodes. 4. The rocket motor ignite...
Jump to postThe Typhoon for 30-35 years? I disagree. In the face of an inferior opposition, this might be the case. However, as stated in previous posts and fora, the biggest limitation on UCAVs is bandwidth. You can only have a limited number of UCAVs flying in the same area before the bandwidth is exhausted. ...
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Jump to postOh dear. It happened again. If we tried listing all the things that have accidentally dropped/jettisoned from aircraft over the years, we'll have one of the longest posts in history. The Harrier has a small problem in that it has the secondary trim switches next to the selective jettison button. Thi...
Jump to postThis is a political deal, for certain. The benefits are that the Saudis get to show a new (and potent) toy to everyone in the region, while the UK gets to defer 24 aircraft. This means that the RAF will either get later block Tranche 2 or Tranche 3 airframes as replacements (this isn't clear from th...
Jump to postUsnseallt82: Yes. <acronym title="CSA Czech Airlines">OK</acronym>, you got me. That's what comes from watching videos late at night... However, the RAF (and, I'm told, also the US<acronym title="Air France">AF</acronym> and <acronym title="Ulsan (USN / RKPU), South Korea">USN</acronym> fast jet pil...
Jump to postRe: the helmets. They are not 'blacked out' for any security reasons. A military helmet has two visors: one tinted and one clear. The clear visor is on the inside. You should always fly with the clear visor down, to protect you in case of a bird strike on the canopy, loss of the canopy, the need to ...
Jump to postLockheed got British Ar$ehòle on board because of the decades of experience with the Harrier (i.e., VSTOL). BAES joined up to get the stealth technology (and a huge amount of cash from the MoD). Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that the US refuses to let any 'interesting' information g...
Jump to postI'm with Saintsman on this one... The programme has been a screw-up from the start, mainly due to BAE's management (IMHO). That said, it is now 'approaching' a very capable system. While the fuselage may date back to the 50's, everything else is new. The performance is impressive, considering the ba...
Jump to postThe problem with UCAVs (Unmanned <i>Combat</i> Air Vehicles) is not the fact that they do not have a pilot on board; it is the fact that they are carrying live weapons. During the actions in Kosovo, the unarmed US<acronym title="Air France">AF</acronym> Predators (at that point, only the <acronym ti...
Jump to postThis is a generalism, but... For the RAF, it usually works like this: 1. You can opt to be a Navigator. You do this during Officer and Aircrew Selection (at the OAS Centre (OASC)). You could also do this (in theory) afterwards. 2. You enter the RAF as General Duties (Pilot) (<acronym title="TAESA (M...
Jump to postMy 2 Euro cents-worth: 1. Pilotless civil passenger aircraft (30 year timeframe) 2. True free flight - no more airways (5-15 year timeframe) 3. Trans-oceanic reduced separation (5 year timeframe) 4. The option of behaving like an intelligent, well behaved passenger or being dumped out of the aircraf...
Jump to postThis thread seems to have turned into e search for single point failures. However, (in general), the days of aircraft crashing due to single point failures are gone (I know that this is a generalism and, occasionally, there is the odd accident that belies this statement). These days, the accidents a...
Jump to postTanker? No. A tanker is designed (or bastardised) to provide the amount of fuel required during the period for which it is able to loiter. The A380 could provide enough fuel to fly Elvis and his entourage from London to Sydney and back (just for a Cheeseburger). But, it doesn't have the loiter capab...
Jump to postAnd there was me thinking that the best use of 'classified information' was to cover up how cr*p our equipment is... Yet, put Mr Rumsfeld in a press conference, and we provide more useful information to the current 'enemy' than the 'nutritional information' on the side of a packet of peanuts (Warnin...
Jump to postHamad, It depends what you mean by, "Decompression Sickness." If you mean what divers call, "The Bends," then this should not happen due to taking off. Had you been SCUBA diving in the previous 24 hours? If you mean, "Altitude Sickness," then this is a different thing. The fact that your colleagues ...
Jump to postOne word: Cost. The whole point of a supersonic aircraft is to get something small (usually a bomb or air-to-air missile) to its destination quickly and then get the aircraft home again. The amount of cargo that is required for a campaign is enormous. That is why, if it is possible, we use ships to ...
Jump to postWith all due respect, the pilot's don't have a say in it. The former pilots may have a say but, these days, it's the politicians (who could forget them?) and the bean counters who have the final word. The F-22 is the dog's danglies and it's lucky that it won't be exported for many years, if ever. Th...
Jump to postMy 2 pennies-worth: 1. Whilst I may detest software engineers (my apologies to the SEs out there - this is based on professional experience), Flight Control System (FCS) software is the way forward. In my opinion, the UCAVs in today's world will evolve into military cargo/heavy lift aircraft, which ...
Jump to postYou also need to remember that an 'aircraft' is not simply an aeroplane. The unit cost also includes the ground support equipment, training equipment (including, but not limited to, simulators, maintenance trainers etc.). As such, the cost of the actual aeroplane is much less than the quoted figure....
Jump to postA bit off topic, but picking up on something that Key wrote: "MSL" - Mean Sea Level. The altitude at which one flies (or the elevation of the ground etc.) is <i>Above</i> Mean Sea Level (i.e., AMSL). The British pilots that I know, as well as all of the UK-sourced references that we have used throug...
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