Ken Cartwright

Do you mean pushed back from the gate? I don't think any of the sims I have support that. I know that XPlane works by simulating the air over the surface of the aircraft, so I think it can be a more realistic representation of an aircraft's flight than MS Flight Simulator, which uses a chart of performance statistics for each aircraft's flying characteristics, but I don't know if that helps in what you're trying to do.

I am not certain of what you mean by "similar sims," but I've played a number of flight simulators, including Microsoft Flight Simulator, DCS World, IL2: Cliffs of Dover, and Falcon/BMS. Did you have questions that you think I might be able to answer?

Here's another article on the transition: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2020/06/01/blue-angels-transition-to-the-super-hornet-will-make-airshows-look-a-little-like-1973/amp/

Those are all cool, but...Billie Jean? Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems a little out of character for a strike aircraft.

This seems like it should be a mandatory addition to this thread:

Yes, it was exciting and an honor to meet those men. I had the distinction of annoying Jim Lovell, I think. He was sitting down to dinner at that event and a friend wanted a photo with him, and it seemed he grudgingly agreed to it, and was a little annoyed that we caught him at that time. They had been in a different area earlier for photos, but not surprisingly, he had a crowd around him so that was the first opportunity we had. After I took a photo of my friend with him, I decided not to push my luck and get a photo with him my self. Here's a shot of me with Gene Cernan from that event:

5 years ago, I was able to attend a 45th anniversary event for it, and they had some of the key players there - a great opportunity to see some of the heroes of the space program.

I can't personally say who is right and wrong, but my friend has actually been integral to planning US Navy visits to Vietnam in recent times, so I'm guessing he knows a bit more about it than what's been floating around in the press. If I had to choose which was "fake news" - stuff coming out of the press or someone who has actually been involved in US Navy visits to the country - I think I am more inclined to believe someone who's actually gone through the process and assume the press was the fake news.

A friend of mine is a retired Navy officer, and based on the information he's seen, the problem lies directly with the Captain. My friend's understanding is that the choice to visit Vietnam was left up to the Captain, and it was recommended that he shouldn't do it, but because of the rarity of the opportunity, he decided to go ahead. Once the crew was exposed, the Navy leadership began making plans to get the ship to Guam well before Crozier wrote that letter, so steps were already underway to deal with the situation. My friend's opinion is that Crozier wrote that letter, knowing it would get out, to cover for his own bad decision-making.

It's definitely a cool looking plane. I noticed what looks like bubbles in the canopy, not sure what that's about.

Very cool. I live about 2 miles away and work under the flight path, and have been seeing more F-35s fly over and just assumed they were B models from Yuma. I did see one at a glance that I thought looked more like an F-22, but figured I just didn't see it that well. I'm guessing that was a C model.

Sorry if I missed this being mentioned earlier, but ALIS, after not working out, is being replaced with ODIN... https://www.yahoo.com/news/f-35-logistics-system-reinvented-002438724.html

Thank you, and Merry Christmas to all, and thank you for making ARC a great place to spend time.

The Russians have been doing it for years:

Don't post any spoilers on how the battle ends! 🤣