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Showing most liked content on 09/02/2021 in Posts
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4 points
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3 pointsSoviet development often worked in parallel. The Su-17 was a swing wing variation of the Su-7 while the MiG-23/MiG-27 was a swing wing version of the MiG-21. The Su-7 did not do well as a fighter and proved to be almost as bad as a bomber, so the Su-17/22 series evolved to make it into a good fighter-bomber. The MiG-21 was a far superior fighter to the Su-7 and even the Su-9/11 (which were aerodynamically upscaled equivalents to the MiG-21). It is quite accidental that the MiG-23/27 evolved into the same size/weight class as the Su-17. The attempt to turn the MiG-21 into a multi-role/radar-interceptor comparable to the F-4 led to the MiG-23, but to make the MiG-23 good at the fighter-bomber role, it was "dumbed" back down to the MiG-27. If there were any differences in their doctrinal roles in Soviet/Warsaw Pact service, it would have been an arbitrary bureaucratic decision. On paper and most likely in reality, the two aircraft are nearly identical in functionality. I am sure the ground and air crews could cite important differences from a maintenance and operational perspective despite the overall similarity in specifications. The MiG-27 shares commonality with the MiG-23, which would be beneficial from a supply/maintenance standpoint. But the MiG-23 had its fair share of problems and the attempts to make it effective at ground attack ultimately required so many changes that it became the MiG-27. Interestingly enough, despite slightly less power, the Su-17 is slightly faster at sea level. Rivalries and political interests of various factions such as the design bureaus, the Communist party, air force (VVS), and national air defense (PVO) determined the sometimes chaotic development and production paths of the USSR, not unlike the bizarre and wasteful military-industrial complex in the USA. So it is no surprise to me that the Su-17 and MiG-27 ended up functionally being the same aircraft. The F-16 and F/A-18 represents a very similar situation with tremendous overlap in capabilities other than the Hornet being twin-engined, a little heavier, and adapted to operate from aircraft carriers. The YF-17 and YF-16 were literally designed to the same spec with the F/A-18 being a navalized (larger and heavier) variant of the YF-17. If you study the development of the Su-7/9/11/15 series, there is a pattern of struggling for decades to overcome major design flaws to make an effective fighter/interceptor. By the time Su had hammered out a decent interceptor in the form of the Su-15TM (Flagon-F), the US had developed the "teen" fighters. The response to the new US fighters, the Su-27, finally gave Sukhoi a real design win over Mikoyan-Gurevich. Prior to that, the Su-17/22 was unique in being the only Su jet that was comparable if not better than the competing MiG design. Production numbers might give a clue as to which one was actually liked better: 2,867 Su-17 vs 1,075 MiG-27. But that doesn't include MiG-23B/BN variants.
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2 pointsI worry more about WHAT is out there, versus WHO. Using Eric's distances, I have to wonder about WHAT is out there coming our way, that we don't have any knowledge of due to those distances. And therefore we have no plans, no strategies, nor any real ideas on what to do about it. As we have read, star, planetary, and galaxy formations are a mussy business, with lots of remnants left over roaming the cosmos until they run into something. If there is any one thing that gives me the chills where the universe is concerned, it's this. There may be all sorts of cosmic anomalies and fragments of unbelievable sizes & densities headed our way that will destroy us completely, and we'd never know until they entered our neighborhood. When I think of all the money we have wasted over time (as a species) over things that would not matter on iota should that come to pass, instead of using that time to learn more about the universe and creating technologies to save us from what eventually WILL come, up to and including leaving this ball of dirt, I feel only despair. Because it seems the epitaph we'll leave behind for the rest of the universe will be that we were "too busy defending ourselves from ourselves" to concentrate on saving ourselves.
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2 points1983, a Armeé de l'Air Transall lands at dusk at forward air base somewhere in the Sahel. To be continued! Soon is unloaded of all its cargo, and the boxes moved to a nearby makeshift hangar...
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1 pointbut no this evidently isnt satire. who knew islamist/terrorist organizations had snowflakes that dont know how the world works too? https://www.foxnews.com/world/taliban-fighters-helicopters-kabul-airport-afghanistan?fbclid=IwAR1__RwraCxy4nGx7A5WvTLM8Si_t6kcolqhczRRetsLOvKr7XbP2f9bjRw
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1 pointhttps://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,67270.0.html skins here https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,67277.0.html
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1 pointHey Lt if needed, send me the whole plane, tell me what you want and I'll fix it.
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1 pointthey are all mostly snowflakes . the fact that they cannot deal with anything that remotely contradicts their barbaric and outmoded world views without resorting to murder and violence is all the proof you need to see.
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1 pointNo need for a cockpit replacement. Simply remove SeatID and SetCockpitPosition statements altogether from the data.ini, and it should be problem solved.
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1 pointdo you see the extra pilot from the exterior? it might be a part of the cockpit? just a guess though. if not probably a fake pilot issue
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1 pointThis has been wished for since even when it seemed like new content was coming, however i guess SF2 sits right where TK can still get some moderate revenue and wants to keep it safe from, say, having a potentially improved competing option, but not enough to spend any more time/money (the same when you think of it) on the original PC SF/WoX series.
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1 pointSomewhere Out There... Earth Tracking Station... 'Uh, Bob, can you come over and take a look at my scope? I'm picking up something I've never seen before...' 'Sure lets take a look...Holy sh...!'
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