Lt Col James Rhodes

Uhhhh....the F-22 Flying Test Bed most certainly does still fly. It was previously retired Albeit, rarely, but according to Flight Global, the FTB was brought back into service around the 2008 timeframe, the USAF and Boeing agreed to overhaul how it developed F-22 software improvements into the Agile Integration Laboratory (AIL) which includes both the previously known FTB and a ground station for development. The AIL has since supported everything up to the new F-22 electronic attack functions through the APG-77 and the Small Diameter Bomb. Here's a link to a picture of it flying in Febr

We outsource an awful lot of things these days. And no offense, very glad you served your time, but I think actual weapons release authority needs to stay vested in the uniformed side of the DoD. I totally agree the job is not terribly exciting, but we've got to impress on these guys/gals the sheer seriousness of what they're doing, why it needs to be taken seriously, and why it's still a vital part of our nation's defense. The Air Force likewise needs to find a way to make sure these guys are recognized for the importance of the duty they're doing, and not just marginalized for some "oh, t

So...you heard something unofficial, which you are unwilling or legally obligated NOT to disclose, but you felt the need to jump online and immediately post, "I know something, but I can't say what it is, but it's not good." Yeah, that seems like the right thing to do in a situation where people died. Very respectful. /sarc

Aaron - because, Congress thinks they know better than the DoD what they need to accomplish the missions described in the National Security Strategy? As usual, trying to put logic to this is not going to lead anywhere productive, and it will probably just get the thread locked for political discussions. So hey, let's just speculate about they paint schemes of those extra 11 jets. I'm guessing gray.

So, the same people who just caused 4 airwings to get grounded due to budget troubles insisted on giving the DoN 11 more aircraft than it wants? Gee...thanks.

falcon20driver - I tackled the same problem as you did about 6 months ago to get a 1/32 Tornado in a case. I found an awesome step-by-step at eHow.com: How to Build a Custom Acrylic Display Case Pretty straightforward, easy to follow, and the results turned out nice. I can try to snap some pictures when I get back from my latest trip, if you'd like. Check it out, I think you'll like it. Alternatively, if you're looking for more of a shelving solution, like Richard's, and you have an IKEA near you, they have some nice hutch options. I have an IKEA curio case just like the ones in these p

And the Air Force appreciates your assistance...although I hope we don't have to go through all that again the next time you're wrong. Just keep the backups handy. It's called being a badass, no matter what the paintjob looks like. As for the rest of this thread...are you guys seriously arguing over which military contractor has proven most inept at delivering on-contract, on time? Seriously? That's the kind of urinary expulsion competition you're having?

I suspect this is just the beginning of problems with deploying an LO platform onto a carrier.

Actually, you are the one who does not get what is "actually" going on here. In the article I originally posted, it lists 17 squadrons which are standing down for the remainder of the fiscal year. Whether they're returning from a deployment previously this year or not, those units listed are done flying until 1 Oct 13, at the earliest. That's when the new fiscal year starts. I'll restate that, to be perfectly clear: as of this month, all of those units listed are assigned ZERO flying hours for the remainder of the fiscal year. So yes, they are actually shut down to the end of the fiscal

You'll pardon me for not shedding a tear over the public not getting to see loops to 80s rock power ballads whilst operational wings and squadrons in both the Navy and the Air Force are stuck sitting around waiting for the fiscal year to end. The worst part of this is, Congress had a chance to authorize the DoD the necessary flexibility to transfer funds across different funding lines to support operations and maintenance. The services have sufficient money to cover the OMA for all these units, but they cannot move that money into the OMA accounts because Congress failed to authorize fund

They're not. This particular article and list denotes the reductions/groundings to CAF--combat Air Force--units. MAF--mobility Air Force--reductions are impacted similarly. Tankers, airlift...it's all been hugely scaled back. However, since AMC is totally a pay-to-play operation (you want cargo moved? Sure...as long as you pay for its movement), the impact is different. And all official travel has been drastically cut back, to include VIP lift. Happens all the time, they're just not usually in uniform so you don't notice.

Still think it's about making things look bad through airshows?

Dammit, Tony, I told you NOT to give Happy a haircut, put him in a flight suit, and send him to a military installation. Now he's on national TV. It's not funny. Is this a joke to you?

Pretty sure that's what he meant by "people still brag about the F-14...etc etc." It was real subtle, with all the bells and whistles, but as you point out, in the end it wasn't really all that badass as first reported. Now that's something we can ALL agree on. "Operational" when nary a weapons system works on the thing at this point is less than impressive.

@Wayne - if you're attempting to communicate, it certainly would help if you could write in complete, coherent sentences. I'm quite certain English is not your second language. I'll attempt to answer your questions, but I'm not sure I fully understand what you are trying to say. Actually, if you look back, you'll see that the AF Museum does indeed have a budget, and they are required to reduce their budget by $374K this year. Their budget is not gone in its entirety. That is, $374K is the dollar equivalent to the percentage of their budget which has been cut. They opted to do this by re