RocketRod: Maybe it was needed by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan armada.

^5 brother!!! ^5

Wanted for questioning

The craft in question.

Wow Subby, you went far out of your way to make a pretty poor joke when you had a last starfighter reference right in front of you.

Subby fail

csb

My Dad got a patent for designing a tool for manufacturing the ducts on the F-104.

45 years with Lockheed, working on projects from the P-38 to the F-117.

/csb

//proud

FOUL STENCH

Isnt that the type of plane our former president was qualified to fly?

$20 says some mexicans with a old Chevy pick up pulled it off...

They've seen the lawndarts in one of the "toys of yore that could kill you" slide shows and wanted one.

Summer Glau's Love Slave: [www.wvi.com image 510x395]
The craft in question.

I've always thought those were the coolest-looking of the early Cold War jets. Kelly Johnson outdid himself with that design. Compared to eyesores like the 105, it looks like freaking poetry in motion.

rockforever: Wow Subby, you went far out of your way to make a pretty poor joke when you had a last starfighter reference right in front of you.

Subby fail

QFT.

Now I will put a song in your head:

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah dah dah daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...

In the old days, if you wanted a Starfighter, all you had to do was buy a plot of land and then wait a little. Now you have to steal them from a museum.

Those suckers were prone to crashing. Not so many by our own Air Force, but many European countries we sold them to did. Had a rather short wingspan.

Article needs more hot refueling action.

JohnKimble63: Now I will put a song in your head:

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah dah dah daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...

[www.dvdtalk.com image 400x300]

"Thank God this will be the only plane footage we see in this movie."

JohnKimble63: Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah dah dah daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...

Damn you to heeelllll, JohnKimble63!

Psylence: Isnt that the type of plane our former president was qualified to fly?

No. F-102, allegedly.

"Ridley, I think I see a plane with my name on it..."

maldinero: Psylence: Isnt that the type of plane our former president was qualified to fly?

No. F-102, allegedly.

Was it the VTOL or the AWOL version?

factoryconnection: Summer Glau's Love Slave: [www.wvi.com image 510x395]
The craft in question.

I've always thought those were the coolest-looking of the early Cold War jets. Kelly Johnson outdid himself with that design. Compared to eyesores like the 105, it looks like freaking poetry in motion.

I totally agree

Behold, the Republic F-105 Thundercheif in all its glory. The heaviest single engine fighter ever produced. Lovingly called, "The Thud" because it had a glide ratio like a set of car keys. If the engine went out, you went straight down.

/A-10 is far uglier.
//But I love that plane.
///Because it's a flying tank.

LiteWerk: Those suckers were prone to crashing. Not so many by our own Air Force, but many European countries we sold them to did. Had a rather short wingspan.

They were less fighters than intercontinental bomber interceptors. They were meant to be fast not manuverable. Esentially they were Nike SAMs with wings and a pilot.

/and without a low yeild nuke at the tip.

This aircraft had a frightening flight envelope - very fast and unstable. The old legend goes you could cut yourself on the leading edge of the wings they were so sharp.



The Germans nicknamed it Witwenmacher (widowmaker). Lots of them crashed.

JohnKimble63: Now I will put a song in your head:

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah dah dah daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...

[www.dvdtalk.com image 400x300]

"All right, men, POOP!"

AngryDesertDweller: $20 says some mexicans with a old Chevy pick up pulled it off...

I'm pretty sure that Beta stole the pickup. Had to crash it into that transmitter to protect Alex.

Summer Glau's Love Slave: factoryconnection: Summer Glau's Love Slave: [www.wvi.com image 510x395]
The craft in question.

I've always thought those were the coolest-looking of the early Cold War jets. Kelly Johnson outdid himself with that design. Compared to eyesores like the 105, it looks like freaking poetry in motion.

I totally agree
[img261.imageshack.us image 500x351]
Behold, the Republic F-105 Thundercheif in all its glory. The heaviest single engine fighter ever produced. Lovingly called, "The Thud" because it had a glide ratio like a set of car keys. If the engine went out, you went straight down.

/A-10 is far uglier.
//But I love that plane.
///Because it's a flying tank.

I personally love Thunderchief, but again another century fighter that was misclassed. It was more of a light bomber, anti air suppression "wild weasle", rather than a fighter. Should of had an A rather than an F.

HopScotchNSoda: Yesterday's thread about the B-52 pointed out that the lower deck's ejection seats deployed downward (since there's another deck in the way of going up). The early F-104s had downward ejection also, because the standard ejection seats at the time were not powerful enough to ensure clearing the tail.

I heard a lot of pilots died during training because they ejected too low and had a close encounter with the ground.

Some interesting reminiscences from a 104 pilot: http://users.bestweb.net/~kcoyne/f104story.htm

Speaking of the old Cold War interceptors, does anyone else remember this?

An F-106 of the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (the Cornfield Bomber), piloted by Gary Faust, entered a flat spin over Montana on February 2, 1970. Faust followed procedures and ejected from the aircraft. The resulting change of balance caused the aircraft to stabilize, and it landed wheels up in a snow-covered field, suffering almost no damage. The aircraft was then sent back to base by rail, repaired and returned to service[23] and is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (new window)

Haha!



IIRC, the Delta Dart did carry air-air missiles tipped with tactical nuclear weapons for blasting incoming Soviet startegic bombers.

Wow. Nobody's shown up yet to berate us for admiring warplanes.

/loves me some F-104's

Psylence: Isnt that the type of plane our former president was qualified to fly?

Nope: F-106s....Somebody beat me to this, right?

You people should be ashamed of yourselves for drooling over these overpriced weapons of carnage.

came for the nostalgic 80's movie reference leaving satisfied.

/although the note left by the thieves was a bit odd.

//to be fair to subby, they probably weren't around when this movie came out.

Psylence: Isnt that the type of plane our former president was qualified to fly?

Not quite.

This was his ride:



/All the century series fighters rocked.

Summer Glau's Love Slave: factoryconnection: Summer Glau's Love Slave: [www.wvi.com image 510x395]

/A-10 is far uglier.
//But I love that plane.
///Because it's a flying tank.

Who you calling ugly bish?

fusillade762: You people should be ashamed of yourselves for drooling over these overpriced weapons of carnage.

1/10

You're right. We should go for the bargain-priced weapons of carnage.

/lighten up, Francis. "Fusillade"? I'm to take that seriously?

canyoneer: peaking of the old Cold War interceptors, does anyone else remember this?

I worked on that exact jet, -787, when it was at Griffiss AFB NY.

mainsail: Nope: F-106s....Somebody beat me to this, right?

Yes, someone beat you, and no, it was the F-102.

I had one of these buzz my house when we first moved in. Turns out it was going for a fly-over at our local air museum 3 miles away.

mark12A: Wow. Nobody's shown up yet to berate us for admiring warplanes.

/loves me some F-104's

How could you admire war in this wonderful peaceful world of rainbows and puppydog kisses we live in? If we would just throw away all these dangerous evil "gun-bullet-shooty-thingies" the whole world could come together and sing, I don't know, Kum Ba Ya or something.

LoneDoggie: Summer Glau's Love Slave: factoryconnection: Summer Glau's Love Slave: [www.wvi.com image 510x395]


"The A10 is like an ugly girl at an all-boys school. She may not be much to look at, but you kinda' like having her around, anyway."

LiteWerk: Those suckers were prone to crashing. Not so many by our own Air Force, but many European countries we sold them to did. Had a rather short wingspan.

Short wingspan, high approach speed and blown flaps.

(air ducted from the engines to re energize the air under the wing). When you pulled power to touch down, there was a "sudden" loss of lift, which was in short supply anyway. If you weren't ready for it, bang crash. It was Built for speed and altitude (Mach cone and all)

Was hoping for a blown flap joke

rockforever: Wow Subby, you went far out of your way to make a pretty poor joke when you had a last starfighter reference right in front of you.

Subby fail

I gave him a hand. I mean, not that...oh never mind.

I burn with envy of all the fun the previous generation of engineers had. During the 50's-60's, they got to design and build all kinds of planes and missiles of every type and shape. Nowadays It takes like ten years to build and deploy a new plane, and they're optimized and efficient and BORING.

I mean, the XB-70! God, what a sexy beast! Huge, and went MACH THREE!

They even designed a freakin' nuclear ramjet cruise missile (the SLAM), got to test the engine, chickened out on trying to fly the actual missile because it was the most evil, destructive thing we had ever dreamed up, (several million points out of ten for teh awesomest!) and we couldn't find a safe way to test it. Add to that all the cool spacecraft we made (Mercury, Gemini, Apollo).

Goddam, they had all the fun. Aerospace is boring nowadays...

/not guilty

limboslam: [i486.photobucket.com image 640x383]
"Ridley, I think I see a plane with my name on it..."

THANK YOU.

/He's gotta have clearance, right? ... It's here somewhere.


Summer Glau's Love Slave: factoryconnection: Summer Glau's Love Slave:

Behold, the Republic F-105 Thundercheif ....

/A-10 is far uglier.
//But I love that plane.
///Because it's a flying tank.

To be fair, the F105 was known to take a serious beating and keep flying, too. I've seen pics of them in Vietnam with IR missiles having detonated in their tails and they still made it home. Lots of Vietnam pilots talk about how tough they were (and how fast). Unfortunately, they weren't very manueverable and also became the wild weasel jet, so they had a high attrition rate regardless.