MiGMasher

That's what I thought too. I used to have the USAFE Yearbook 1988 which explained all this. I try to dig it up...

Don't ya hate it when that happens! I was trying to shoot down Tu-22's and managed to empty my load of Falcons. Talk about No Joy! 2 missiles decided to go on holiday while a third seemed to have been hit by something??? The fourth missile hit it but did nothing, and I had to close in with guns. That was the last time I equiped my F-4D with AIM-4's. One mission before this farce I fired my load of Falcons (unguided of course) into a hangar on an airbase. Did a good job I must say!

I think you're right, mate. Hell, the Kuzenstov to Russia is like the Langley was to the United States. They'll get the hint, soon.

Nice pics guys! Yeah, I've never had a bad day in a Tomcat either!

I'd be worried if they produce some more aircraft carriers than the only one they have now. Hell, we all know the Chinese want that kind of blue-water capability.

My impression was that the ALQ-99E that was carried by the EF-111 Ravens was more automated than that on the Prowlers, and the Raven was mostly flying in a clean configuration for its missions. Confirm, anyone?

I love that book. I really hope the movie version gets off the ground soon.

Australian Aviation magazine said something about the RAAF maybe considering buying more Super Hornets as well as up to 8 Growlers.

^^ Well hopefully atleast some good lessons were learned. Just recently read a book called "The Raid" by Benjamin Schemmer, about the Son Tay Rescue Mission. ...Very well executed. Too bad there were no POW's at Son Tay.

We maybe on the way back, with the go-ahead by the govt to build 2 LHDs. The Navy may also be getting a fourth AWD (DDG), which makes alot of sense too. The RAN has been itching to get back the flattop capability ever since it was lost all those years ago.

That's so bloody hilarious! Please tell us you have pics? LOL

LOL 531 Ghost! Tell us more about the USS Oral Sex VD. Is it a strictly navy tradition or did the marines get involved *Puts helmet on and takes cover* Anyways, must have been a very exciting time. Events like these reinforce the value of aircraft carriers! In Australia we got rid of our last flattop in the 80's. Stupid STUPID move. :angry2: Good to know someone in CA was involved. Thanks for the pics and recollections!

25. Never stay for dinner at someone's house if they don't have any food in the fridge and the cupboads. Politely decline and GET THE f*** OUTA THERE!

Thanks Jedi Master and Southernap! I find this whole episode in history very interesting. That and I love the H-53. It's a beauty.

Yes, like I need to be reminded . Never again will I go out with a fellow "uniform" ! DL' ing it from the Winmx....

Well...I always wanted to swtich on/off the engines in flight...think FOTI: I wonder if it would work?

Engine room is a pretty risky place to be on a ship, especially when enemy torpedoes are in the water, or you're in mine-infested waters.

Chocco as in Chocolate Soldier: Melts in Battle! In Australia, it's what ARA personnel calls the Reserves, if anyone was wondering.

Choco eh? There's a reserve aviation unit in Richmond, in my state (NSW). I don't know about SA. If you are just going into reserves then you can take your training in modules, and it won't hurt your uni course so you can still do it. How old are you btw?

What are you going in as?

Firstly no one really wants to go to war. However as some people had said here already, it is the nature of the beast that when you join up, and the time comes, you go do your duty. People like that kid don't surprise me at all. Milking the system in any which way you can is not a new phenomenon. You were right, USAFMTL, in telling RB to advise that boy not to join up. He is a coward.

I'm in Dirty mind mode...it looks like...

Is it an AETC PR Photo or flight demo?

Yep definitely, they without a doubt are superior! Lockheed in the short term certainly wouldn't lose out. However Lockheed would prefer to sell the JSF over the F-16 (too much money and time invested and in need of getting returns), just like Boeing desperately wanting to sell its Super Hornet to other buyers. I had a feeling that we were going for the Super Hornets, since our air force is already familiar with the earlier legacy hornet. It would be a relatively smooth transition. However it will never match the F-111's strike 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... I remember a quotation from a RAAF officer in the 1980's, in saying how the RAAF really wanted the F-15 Eagle. At the time though the Strike Eagle wasn't out yet and the department felt the Eagle was too pricey and too specialised an airframe. Makes me wonder what could have been if we had waited. The F-16 lost out because it was a single-engine fighter, and did not at the time posess an all-weather nav/targeting capability, despite the fact that it was 7% cheaper than the F/A-18A (according to Lou Drendal in his book on the Hornet ).

F-16 Blk 60 purchase would stuff up Lockheed Martin's JSF program. They want to sell as many as they can, and if they lose out on contracts the price would inevitably go up. In any case, according to the TV program, the JSF project is already experiencing cost overruns. I agree that the Strike Eagle would have been a very good purchase decision but the F-15E is considered "old school", for lack of a better term, by the current hacks in the RAAF and the Defence Department. Plus, despite being a Boeing Product it is the Super Hornet that Boeing really wants to sell. And sell they did.