The Airplane Thread

[Lady Jane]

EWR VJ 101was considered as a potential replacement for the F-104 Starfighter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EWR_VJ_101

[chassis]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

EWR VJ 101was considered as a potential replacement for the F-104 Starfighter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EWR_VJ_101


Attachment 3144570

Attachment 3144571

Interesting.

How useful, strategic or necessary is the STOVL use case? e.g. Harrier, F-35, Yak-141, etc. Add the F-22 Osprey in as well, although not a jet.

Which conflict has seen the most STOVL aircraft used in the largest numbers?

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by chassis

Which conflict has seen the most STOVL aircraft used in the largest numbers?

The Falklands War.

[Jbrown7403]

Fun quiz! The Concorde stuff towards the end is particularly interesting.

My guess is that Lady Jane will score 100 on the quiz! 😉

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

The Falklands War.

You may be right, but there were an awful lot of Harriers involved in the Gulf War of 1991: RAF and U.S. Marine Corps.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

EWR VJ 101was considered as a potential replacement for the F-104 Starfighter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EWR_VJ_101

When I was a teen, my dad brought home a manufacturer's model of the VJ 101; I guess some U.S. defense contractor was angling for contracts.

[Jbrown7403]

This beautifully vivid video of Kai Tak in the 70s is really cool!

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Jbrown7403

This beautifully vivid video of Kai Tak in the 70s is really cool!

Kai Tak was my favorite airport to fly in to during the 80s. Since then I haven't had nearly as much excitement during the last two minutes before touchdown at any other airport.

The video below shows some landings from one of the nearby plane-spotting stations at 4:11. Landing in the early evening after dark, it was always remarkable to see people making or eating dinner in their apartments just before we landed. The first time was jaw-dropping.

China Eastern was still flying 707s into Kai Tak at that time. I hadn't heard one for at least 20 years and couldn't believe how loud they were from the airport's outdoor observation deck.

[Jbrown7403]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Kai Tak was my favorite airport to fly in to during the 80s. Since then I haven't had nearly as much excitement during the last two minutes before touchdown at any other airport.

Agreed! My favorite flight experience of my life was landing at Kai Tak in 1989. Thrilling! 😊

[Llarry]

The 84th birthday of the Mitsubishi A6M Type Zero fighter. The photo is of the only remaining Zero with original engine from the Planes of Fame in Chino, California.

[Llarry]

Japan's air force is called the Japan Air Self Defense Force and is state-of-the art. There are three combat aircraft:
-- The license-built F-15J Eagle
-- The Mitsubishi F-2A, which is a modified F-16 design with larger wing and greater load capacity, emphasizing air-to-surface combat.
-- The new F-35A stealth fighter, just entering service. Japan has also ordered F-35B V/STOL fighters and will be able to operate these from the helicopter carriers that the Navy operates.

Japan has not yet produced an entirely domestically designed fighter but I suspect it is just a matter of time. Presumably the F-15Js, if subjected to the same high-G environment that U.S. F-15Cs are, are getting tired; it may be that the JASDF has done a better job of keeping up with maintenance and rework.

The JASDF operates two different AEW (or AWACS if you prefer) platforms: The Boeing E-767 and the Grumman E-2C/D (not pictured.) They also operate four KC-767 tankers (not pictured), bought before the USAF chose the 767-based KC-46A.

For transport duties, the JASDF operates C-130H Hercules (not pictured) and has also developed and produced a larger twin-jet C-2 transport reminiscent of a smaller C-17.

They have also developed and produced an advanced jet trainer, the Kawasaki T-4.

Given their proximity to Russia, North Korea and China, you might guess that intelligence collection is a priority and you'd be correct. The new C-2 transport is being modified as an RC-2 SIGINT aircraft, replacing the old YS-11EB in service. (The Japanese Navy uses EP-3 SIGINT aircraft as well.)

Heavy-lift helicopters -- the CH-47J Chinook -- are also operated by the JASDF, while the Army (JGSDF) operates attack helos.

The JASDF also has ground-based early-warning units and surface-to-air missile installations.

[Llarry]

Jeff Ethell was, like me, born in 1947 and the son of a World War II fighter pilot. His dad flew Lockheed P-38 Lightnings during the war.

Jeff was a prolific writer of aviation books on warbirds. In particular he had a knack for finding color photos of older subjects.

He also flew warbirds; I believe he flew most of the Allied fighters of World War II at one time or another, and a few Axis aircraft as well.

Jeff was killed in 1997 while practicing for an airshow in a P-38 when he had an engine failure. An engine failure in a high-performance twin-engine aircraft can lead to an uncommanded roll onto the aircraft's back, I believe, and that phenomenon has killed many an unwary pilot at low altitude.

These days an engine failure on a twin-jet commercial aircraft is not a life-threatening event. Modern turbofan engines are exceptionally reliable, but the crew can cope well with the failure of one engine.

If one of our aviator members cares to weigh in, I'd appreciate it.

[Llarry]

Speaking of high-performance piston-engine twins, the Grumman F7F Tigercat was developed during WW2 as a high-performance fighter for use on the large Midway class aircraft carriers under construction. Carrier trials proved the F7F to be not very suitable for carrier use and thus the production aircraft went to the Marine Corps. The first Marine F7F arrived on Okinawa the day the war ended in 1945 and so the Tigercat missed combat.

The F7F did fight in Korea in a night fighter version with pilot and radar operator. Like its stablemate the Grumman F8F Bearcat, it was overtaken by jets.

I suspect that a number of young Marine pilots lost their lives in the same way that P-38 pilots lost theirs; engine failure at high power and low altitude.

The F7F was described by one of the Navy's senior test pilots of the era as the "best fighter we've ever had" and was also described as being like "two Bearcats strapped together."

The last photo is of an F7F flown by my Dad while at the Naval Air Test Center in Maryland 1947-50.

[Llarry]

Arguably one of the best pilots ever was R. A. 'Bob' Hoover (1922-2016.) Bob was a WW2 fighter pilot in a U.S. fighter group equipped with Spitfires, was shot down by a German fighter due to a mechanical issue and became a POW. Late in the war, he escaped and commandeered a German Fw190 fighter and flew it to freedom! He was also a post-war test pilot and a standout on the airshow circuit for many years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hoover

I've tried to find a relatively short youtube video of his airshow routine in which he shuts down one engine of his twin-engine Shrike Commander while doing rolls and loops. Also on youtube is a longer video that features Bob pouring a glass of iced tea while doing a roll with both engines out! What an amazing man.

[Llarry]

Taiwan's air force: The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) is of course vastly outnumbered by the mainland Chinese air force. But they've managed (with sometimes quiet help from the U.S.) to develop a capable air force.

The main combat aircraft are the F-16A, the indigenously-built F-CK-1 and the Mirage 2000. They also have advanced F-16V fighters on order; the F-16V will have advanced radar systems with electronically-scanned arrays: existing F-16As may be updated as well.

The ROCAF also operates 12 P-3C Orion patrol aircraft and may be modifying 3 more P-3 airframes into SIGINT aircraft -- the equivalent of the U.S. Navy's EP-3Es. They also have several E-2K Hawkeye AEW aircraft.

Transports included the Lockheed C-130H, Beechcraft 1900 light transports and there are also a number of UH-60 helicopters.

The ROCAF is developing a supersonic advanced trainer, the T-5 from the F-CK-1 fighter. (By the way, the designation includes 'CK' because of the late president Chiang Ching-Kuo.)

The Air Force also has a number of ground-based radars and surface-to-air missile systems, including the U.S. Patriot system.

[SenorFunkyPants]

I flew this a few times back in the day.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Arguably one of the best pilots ever was R. A. 'Bob' Hoover (1922-2016.) Bob was a WW2 fighter pilot in a U.S. fighter group equipped with Spitfires, was shot down by a German fighter due to a mechanical issue and became a POW. Late in the war, he escaped and commandeered a German Fw190 fighter and flew it to freedom! He was also a post-war test pilot and a standout on the airshow circuit for many years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hoover

I've tried to find a relatively short youtube video of his airshow routine in which he shuts down one engine of his twin-engine Shrike Commander while doing rolls and loops. Also on youtube is a longer video that features Bob pouring a glass of iced tea while doing a roll with both engines out! What an amazing man.

I was lucky enough to see Bob Hoover perform in both his P-51 and his Shrike Commander at 4 or 5 air shows back in the 1970s. What he did with those planes was amazing. My dad, who was a Marine fighter pilot told me while watching Mr. Hoover's performance, "Son, this one of the top pilots ever." Incredible!

[BMWGUYinCO]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Jeff was killed in 1997 while practicing for an airshow in a P-38 when he had an engine failure. An engine failure in a high-performance twin-engine aircraft can lead to an uncommanded roll onto the aircraft's back, I believe, and that phenomenon has killed many an unwary pilot at low altitude.

I am no expert, but I googled an in-depth analysis of his crash. It wasn't an engine failure, but rather pilot error: Jeff neglected to monitor his fuel usage and levels; subsequently a tank feeding one of the engines ran dry, so the engine simply cut out due to fuel starvation. This induced a roll from which he was unable to recover from, being somewhat unfamiliar with that plane. Furthermore, had he been aware, he could have simply flipped a fuel selector switch to another tank and avoided this tragedy.

I'm not trying to sully a great aviator's reputation, but even the best make mistakes. Just look up the cause and subsequent fatal crash of Dale "Snort" Snodgrass, one of our finest and a badass.

[BMWGUYinCO]

Speaking of famed airmen, how about a famed aviatrix?

Beryl Markham learned to fly bush aircraft in Africa. She is famously known for being an author ("West with the Night" is an incredible book) as well as the first pilot to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic from Britain to N. America!

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by BMWGUYinCO

Just look up the cause and subsequent fatal crash of Dale "Snort" Snodgrass, one of our finest and a badass.

In a SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019 of all things...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Snodgrass

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

In a SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019 of all things...

And the lesson is: checklist, checklist, checklist

My favorite Snort photo,

[3798j]

Betty Skelton...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Skelton