Aircraft // Current

CRASH n BURN! -[Plane Crash Death%]

ONCE AGAIN--------- "Information IS Beautiful" ---------------------AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!... more

remanns
added this
11 days ago
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2 comments

Flying cars are Ready for Takeoff

The reality in 2009 is not the future people envisioned in the 50s, 60s and 70s.... more

Jeffnfun631
added this
10 months ago
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1 comment

Fuel-Thirsty U.S. Navy Pledges 50% Cut in Oil Use by 2020, and More

The United States Navy is taking a big leap forward in "greening" its 50,000-strong,... more

fordlyn
added this
1 month ago
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11 comments

No boundaries with the WB-1010 aircraft

The imagination cannot be restricted, especially when it comes to futuristic ideas.... more

Skyscraper08
added this
1 month ago
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7 comments

Are We the Martians of the Twenty-First Century?

War of the worlds hits Kabul.

An unremarkable paragraph in a piece in my hometown paper recently caught my eye. It was headlined "White House Believes Karzai Will Be Re-elected," but in mid-report Helene Cooper and Mark Landler of the New York Times turned to Afghan War commander General Stanley McChrystal's "redeployment option." Here's the humdrum paragraph in question: "The redeployment option calls for moving troops from sparsely populated and lawless areas of the countryside to urban areas, including Kandahar and Kabul. Many rural areas 'would be better left to Predators,' said an administration official, referring to drone aircraft."

In other words, the United States may now be represented in the Afghan countryside, as it already is in the tribal areas on the Pakistani side of the border, mainly by Predators and their even more powerful cousins, Reapers, unmanned aerial vehicles with names straight out of a sci-fi film about implacable aliens. If you happen to be an Afghan villager in some underpopulated part of that country where the U.S. has set up small bases—two of which were almost overrun recently—they will be gone and "America" will instead be soaring overhead. We're talking about planes without human beings in them tirelessly scanning the ground with their cameras for up to 22 hours at a stretch. Launched from Afghanistan but flown by pilots thousands of miles away in the American West, they are armed with two to four Hellfire missiles or the equivalent in 500-pound bombs.

To see Earth from the heavens, that's the classic viewpoint of the superior being or god with the ultimate power of life and death. Zeus, that Greek god of gods, used lightning bolts to strike down humans who offended him. We use missiles and bombs. Zeus had the knowledge of a god. We have "intelligence," often fallible (or score-settling). His weapon of choice destroyed one individual. Ours take out anyone in the vicinity.

He made his decisions from Mount Olympus; we make ours from places like Creech Air Force Base outside Las Vegas, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. Those about whom we make life-and-death decisions, as they scurry below or carry on as best they can, have—like any beings faced with the gods—no recourse or appeal. Seen on screens, they are, to us, distant, grainy figures, hardly larger than ants. This is what implacable means.

Continued at link . . .War of the worlds hits Kabul. An unremarkable paragraph in a piece in my hometown... more

pjacobs51
added this
1 month ago
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1 comment

Who are the worst plane passengers?

Smelly people, fat people and people who cough and sneeze are the most disliked... more

stupidy
added this
1 month ago
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10 comments

Cleaning Aircraft Cabin Air

air inside airplanes will soon be cleaner, more comfortable to breath, and healthier.

ryan8566
added this
2 months ago
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0 comments

TS Danny: Coast Guard marine warning

Elizabeth City, NC - Before approaching storms, the Coast Guard issues warnings to... more

stanman48
added this
3 months ago
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0 comments

Pictures: In Flight

Just over 100 years since the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered... more

hsaleem
added this
3 months ago
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0 comments

What Is This?

What in the name of every single goddamn fruitbat is this? Did someone create a... more

pjacobs51
added this
3 months ago
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8 comments

Airplane Helicopter Midair Crash Caught On Tape

Disturbing footage may shed new light on fatal crash above Hudson River, which left... more

Future_America
added this
3 months ago
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1 comment

Controller in midair crash acted inappropriately

The air traffic controller responsible for handling the airplane involved in... more

Future_America
added this
3 months ago
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1 comment

Fly Away! The Ultimate Guide to Budget Airlines Travel

Are you hoping to whisk yourself away for a few days vacation at an affordable,... more

CHANLEEPENG
added this
4 months ago
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0 comments

DoD Budget Wars: Obama threatens F-22 budget veto

A $680 billion dollar defense spending bill for next year just got a warning from President Obama about the wasteful spending pushed for by both parties in Congress for weapons procurement. Defense contractors are big business, bringing jobs to districts and campaign contributions to politicians. The F-22 Raptor is a marvelous piece of military technology, but the question is how many are enough?

When it comes to air superiority fighters, the US is not in any danger of being overwhelmed by any other country. The US fights major wars as a part of NATO, so talking about one country at a time isn't the most relevant measure, but I'll do it anyway. The US has about 2600 air superiority fighter aircraft, including about 140 F-22s, while China has around 1700 (premiering around 130 Sukhoi SU-27 variants (4.5g)and 150 J-10 variants (4.5g)) and Russia has around 1600 (premiering around 500 Sukhoi SU-35, -30 and -27 variants, (4.5g)). The Russian and Chinese air forces often have serious logistical, maintenance, and operational issues, and both operate in fairly small military alliances. The US Air Force is confident that the F-22 will dominate not only the Sukhoi-27 variants (including SU-30/35 and J-11), but all other fighters currently being designed.

A DERA study in 1994 concluded that the F-22 was about as capable as ten SU-35s, and each SU-35 was as capable as about 3 F-16s. This would imply that 140 F-22s would probably win against 1400 SU-35s, which are the most advanced of the SU-27 variants. Of course, a lot of things have changed since the era of Hootie and the Blowfish, in technology and budgets.

"I will veto any bill that supports acquisition of F-22s beyond the 187 already funded by Congress." said Obama in a letter to the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. John McCain, the ranking Republican Senator on the committee, has already voiced his opposition to ordering more F-22s.

The proposed bill funds $1.75 billion for more F-22s, and $439 million for new engines for the next mod of the F-22. $2 billion is small change for the DOD, but not for the Congressmen who want it spent in their districts. Defense Secretary Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman ADM Mullen argue that with the current buildout plans, they're still on track to have twice the modern airpower of China in 2020. Each additional F-22 costs around $140 million, and so far the program has cost the US $65 billion over the years to develop, test, build, and retrofit since the program began in 1986.

The DoD needs as much savings as it can find these days, with two wars on going, and deployments in many other countries, not to mention the general budgetary chaos in Washington.A $680 billion dollar defense spending bill for next year just got a warning from... more