Typhoid

at sea

the article that I saw quoted $1 bil in Brazilian with the conversion in brackets as follows (US$ 500mil.)

haven't noticed that. which cockpit and avionics are you using - the default new one or did you install the older one with air to ground? there isn't anything else to install, if you already had the F-14A then its all done unless you were installing the older cockpit.

change of command flyover? (the T-6 guys are peddaling as fast as they can!)

any airplane, and pilot, can fall to any other airplane, and pilot in any individual engagement. But as a general rule, one would have to compare the aircraft, weapons, pilots, training, doctrine and tactics to make an operational campaign type assessment. I would not, for example, use the example of one Mig-21 taking out an F-14, or for that matter one F/A-18F taking out an F/A-22, to make a general assessment as the relative merits of different air forces. the point is well taken that the F-18E/F has some significant issues as a long range strike aircraft with air to air capabilities against a modern, well-equiped air force. Were I in the position of the Chief of the RAAF making that call, I don't think I'd have taken the F-18E/F as a good replacement for the long range F-111 strike capability. How many squadrons of tankers is the RAAF buying to keep the Super Hornets in the air?

I think its $1 billion Brazilian whatevercurrency they use, not US, to finish the program. They have developed a prototype nuclear propulsion engineering plant (ashore). The additional investment is to finish the program and bring it to a working submarine.

what they could have done is lease something in the interim until what they wanted got cheap enough and on schedule to procure. But that doesn't help the off-set issue which is a killer in any international sales effort. If you can't get some local production run, you don't win the contract. Off-sets will trump military capability. "I hate "New Toy" syndrome, if you know what I mean. It's an epidemic in our armed forces IMHO. I don't know about the others if they have the same problem..." it is endemic and pandemic on a global scale............

one might say that he "Mc Peaked early"......... or perphaps; a falling star nuked his career radioactive career prospects (fill in additional.....)

nein, my friend. In nuke sub terminology that is used to describe the various generations of engineering configurations. I don't know the details of the Brazilian design, but I really, really doubt they are starting at the same baseline that the USN and SN started at.

what do you mean? when you installed there was no radar? or after you installed and had radar for awhile it has now gone away? or did you try to install the optional air to ground and its gone Tango Uniform?

a historic aircraft flyover formation? not to mention - "Fox two on the Mig-38!!"

a bit of Naval Aviation history passed on to me from one of my associates --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For those that remember terms like Yankee Station, Going Down Town, Cubi Dogs and Missions over s**t Creek as something from old books/movies FALCON 129, for the rest, I offer this bit of history that will, no doubt, dredge up some old memories. But get not to nostalgic, its all gone except for the remains that are housed in Pensacola. Slainte, Pete Begin forwarded message: > > The Legend of the Cubi Cat > > > A Cat Story: Retired Cmdr. John L. Sullivan, presents the Cubi > Point Catapult story to National Museum of Naval Aviation Director > retired Capt. R.L. Rasmussen. > > > Submitted by a former "Mud Marine" who tried to ride the > Cat and failed. Doug Talley > > If you're old enough to have served in the Navy or Marine Cor! ps > during the Vietnam War and particularly if you were an aviator, chances > are you've heard of the infamous Cubi Point Catapult. Cubi Point Naval > Air Station and the adjoining Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines > was a place where war-weary Navy and Marine Corps aviators, Marines and > Sailors, could let off a little steam after flying combat missions over > Vietnam or spending weeks on the gunline aboard ships on Yankee > Station. > The managers of the Cubi Point Officers' Club, as well as their > counterparts at the other officer and enlisted clubs, were forever > tasked with devising new and challenging ways of keeping the warriors > entertained. Enter Cmdr. John L. Sullivan and the now famous Cubi Point > Officers' Club catapult. > > The catapult at the Cubi Point Officers' Club came into > existence in 1969 and immediately created a division within naval air > am! ong those who had ridden the cat and caught the wire, and those who > had ridden the cat and missed the wire and gotten soaked. The escapades > of Navy and Marine pilots at the Cubi Point Officers' Club, according > to > Sullivan, is the stuff of legend. "These tale will be handed down and > embellished as long as we have aircraft carriers in that part of the > world," Sullivan said in an article he wrote for Wings of Gold > magazine. > > > One of these escapades, according to the retired commander who > now lives in St. Mary's County, involved catapulting a squadron mate > down a half dozen stairs in a chair from the bar upstairs onto the > dance > floor below. "The fact the chair had castors helped little on the > stairs. Rarely did a pilot make it down the stairs and onto the dance > floor in an upright posture. Most arrived on the dance floor in a > crumpled mess. The practice often ended with disastrous results," > Sullivan said.! "There were broken bones, severe strains, small > concussions and numerous other injuries that grounded crack combat > pilots," former Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, Adm. Maurice > 'Mickey' > Weisner, said in a recent phone interview. Weisner said that he and > Vice > Adm. Ralph Cousins, commander, Task Force-77, suggested to Capt. 'Red > Horse' Meyers, NAS Cubi Point, that the chair catapulting be eliminated > because of the injuries. > > At the time, Sullivan was the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance > Department (AIMD) officer. "I was called to the skipper's office and > asked to come up with a solution," Sullivan recalls. "After a great > deal > of consultation with my maintenance officers we realized we had an > excellent window of opportunity. A new lower club extension to replace > an old bamboo bar was in progress. From that point on we let our > imagination! s run wild." > > Heading off to the surplus yard, Sullivan and his band of AIMD > scavengers liberated a banged up refueling tank which was quickly > converted by the metal smiths into something resembling an A-7 Corsair > II. The 'aircraft,' Sullivan recalls, was 6-feet long had shoulder > straps and a safety belt and was equipped with a stick that, when > pulled > back sharply, released a hook in the rear of the vehicle to allow > arrestment. Propulsion was provided by pressurized nitrogen tanks > hooked > up to a manifold. "This arrangement provided enough power to propel the > vehicle to 15 mph in the first two feet," said Sullivan. "Acceleration > of zero to 15 mph in two feet is the equivalent of the G force of World > War II hydraulic catapults. > > "Beyond the exit from the club was a pool of water 3-1/2 feet > deep. Each pilot had 6 inches to play with if he was to make a > successful arrestment. "We named the vehicle 'Red Hor! se One' in honor > of > our skipper, Capt. Meyers. Successful pilots, according to the > commander, were held in high esteem by their peers and their names were > inscribed in gold letters on the club's Wall of Fame. > > "Reaction time was short because the wire was some 14 feet from > the nose of the vehicle. The downward curvature of the track had to be > precise. The rollers would bind if the curvature were too sharp. "Since > the pool water was the force that stopped the vehicle, we had to get > the > vehicle as deeply and as quickly into the pool as possible. Engineers > from the Strategic Aircraft Repair Team used their 'slip sticks' to > solve the problem. The vehicle was retrieved from the water by a > mechanical wench and cable connected to an eye welded to the back of > the > A-7. > > Sullivan said that Rear Adm. Roy Isaman, (Naval Air Test Center >! commander, 1971-74), had a bronze plaque made in Hong Kong which was< BR>> bolted to the wall next to the catapult with the inscription, 'Red > Horse > Cat-House.' "The first night the catapult was in operation it attracted > a huge crowd. Rear Adm. Isaman was the first to ride the vehicle after > it was declared safe by the BIS (Board of Inspection and Survey). No > problem since I had recently arrived from the test center at Patuxent > River and was declared the BIS representative," Sullivan recalls. > > "Rear Adm. Isaman manned the cockpit, saluted and was launched. > He dropped the hook early and we awaited the hook skip but it didn't > happen. Instead the hook caught the rubber we had attached to the steel > bumper short of the wire. The hook tore the rubber from the bumper and > caught the wire. To the howl of the disappointed junior officers, there > was no wet admiral this time. Isaman became the first pilot to trap in > the vehicle. "After being pr! esented with a bottle of champagne, > Isaman's > name was enshrined on the 'Wall of Fame.' Some 40 pilots rode the Cat > that night before another successfully trapped," Sullivan laughed. > > Word of the Cat quickly spread throughout Southeast Asia and > even attracted Air Force F-4 pilots from Clarke AFB. "They would come > swaggering in loudly claiming they were equal to the task. Each and > every one of them failed to catch the wire, much to the delight of the > Navy onlookers. > > "Enlisted men from AIMD operated and maintained the catapult > during their off time. They were compensated for their work from funds > we took in for the operation of the Cat. It cost nothing to ride the > Cat," Sullivan emphasized, "providing they caught the wire. However, it > cost $5 if the rider required rescue from the pool." > > Sullivan said that of the many dignitaries, who attempted! to > ride the cat, his favorite was Under Secretary of the Navy John Warner > (now a U.S. Senator from Virginia). "After flying in from Japan the > secretary was taken to the club for lunch by Rear Adm. Isaman and Capt. > Meyers. The secretary had heard of the Cubi CAT and unhesitatingly > requested to ride it. Capt. Meyers looked at me; I nodded and > immediately took steps to get a crew ready. Word spread rapidly that > Under Secretary of the Navy John Warner would try his luck. The club > was > soon packed with onlookers. > > "Before launch we outfitted the secretary in a set of white > linen coveralls with 'Red Horse Cat House' embossed in bright red > letters on the back. Amid the cheers of the onlookers, the secretary > bravely launched and promptly landed in the pool. We catapulted him > five > times after that and each time he got wet. The skipper kicked the > bumper > plate back about an inch each time hoping he would catch ! the wire. > While > the official never noticed this, we all did. He told the skipper after > his fifth trip into the pool,'it can't be done.' > > "By this time the bumper was back some 12 inches from the wire > and was an easy arrest for a pilot who had a launch or two on the CAT > under his belt. So 'Red Horse,' in his tropical whites, strapped in. > Before launch one of the junior officers kicked the bumper forward to > its original 6-inch position. Meyers launched and to the delight of the > visiting official, settled ignominiously into the pool. > > Secretary Warner wouldn't take off the coveralls. He and the > skipper, both wringing wet, set down to lunch with dry colleagues. > "Several hours later, still wearing the coveralls, the secretary > boarded > his aircraft. "The tale of his Cat adventures would be told at the > Pentagon, he informed us and the coveralls wou! ld be testimony to the > validity of his tale." > > Sullivan completed his tour at Cubi Point in 1971 and returned > to Patuxent River. "I am happy to say there were no injuries from > riding > the Cat during that period, only wounded pride," Sullivan says. > Sullivan > returned to Cubi Point in 1979, then employed by Grumman Aerospace > Corporation as the Project Manager for the C-2 COD. Much to his dismay > the Cat was gone. "The tracks were covered and the pool was filled with > cement." Introduced to the new club manager, he asked if I could assist > him in putting in a new Cat. I felt like a dinosaur whose time had > passed. I believed that as long as there was a Cubi Point there would > be > a fun place for naval aviators to unwind. In the midst of it all would > be the "Cat" and the 'Wall of Fame.' Now both are gone. What remains is > my fond memories of the officers and men of AIMD whose ingenuity and > hard work made the "Cat! " a reality in 1969. "Today it remains a 7th > Fleet legend." > > > Slainte, Pete

on many of our wish lists. But TK has other priorities.

saw a comment that over 70 have been disciplined, removed, fired, etc. Courts-martial (many) pending. The number of stars that fall could resemble a meteor shower before this is done........

and some b, c and d'soming out soon too.

its just beginning...... falling stars coming soon

worse, I recall watching the PLAT replay of a multi-Phantom launch off the boat. One of the four had a bridle slap which busted his belly tank causing a ton of fuel to leak into the burner exhaust with fairly predictable and spectular results. The Air Boss called - "Phantom off the cat - you're on fire" resulting in the crews of three perfectly good aircraft to eject immediately! The stricken Phantom simply jettisoned the busted tank and came back normally with just a little scorched paint. The CAG was not pleased.......

what would be more realistic is for the mod to call the flight callsign rather than just the number. In reality, any call within the radio horizon is in your ears. Comm discipline with the callsigns is essential although when wrapped up in a tight turning fight that sometimes got abreviated to the number only. With a lot of players, the frequencies would get crowded and everyone on a given strike package would all be on the same freq. With multiple strike packages, they would usually have different freqs in order to reduce that noise. But of course, with "AF Common" up you would here everyone on that party line.

amen.........!

ok, let me rephrase that. The later displays on the later models have much better rwr displays with symbology rather than just the video blob. Much more realistic. I have not noticed that any of those much better renditions were used using the avionics60, I've only noticed those with the models using avionics70.

because it won't be a 1st generation sub that "everyone" can hear. Think who it might be a deterrent to.

now there's an idea.......

there was a mod that someone posted that linked the sam and aaa radars. Without that link, if you take out the radar to a sam site - with the standard 5 or 6 batteries, that sam becomes inactive.

that's all I know too. I'm not familiar with the TISEO. Much earlier we had rifle scopes bolted inside the cockpit of the F-4's and the Topgun "Mig-4's and Mig-5's" which, in the F-4's, were boresighted to the radar boresight. It allowed the pilot to ID aircraft at about 15nm.

grumble grumble....... Colorado steaks on me...... :(