Diamondback Six

LOL... I was taught "Twelve Hours from Bottle to Throttle."

I know that Blackbird crew liked to freak people out by extinguishing their smokes in JP-7... O.o lol

Curtis LeMay had no problem puffing stogies around birds... including around the Boeing proof-of-concept rig for the Flying Boom that was dripping fuel everywhere around.

Best guess, either the ejection handle--some seats do use a pull-down trigger that covers the head--or a canopy-breaker.

To the best of my knowledge, nobody ever did a "compass rose" for the early 318th FIS--another member here and I were just discussing that over on the F-106 Forum.

So much for competition keeping everyone honest... LOL

Caps, maybe it's just that perhaps a few too many of us got really bad shots in the last run... and I'd bet between Trumpy and AMK both having Sixes in the pipe, whatever holes one leaves the other will pounce on. LOL

Am I the only one creepily reminded of Penn Central Green by that primer shot? Or badly-weathered New York Central Jade Green?

Last time I talked with the folks at Bare-Metal Foil, EC's publisher, they're abandoning the decal business completely--no more reprints and when it's gone it's gone. Sent a note to Squadron asking them to consider negotiating to buy the line from 'em, but no response.

Jennings: Oh, please... 318th FIS "Green Dragons" all the way! (My grandfather retired out of the Dragons, and a prof of mine was one of the last CO's before they transitioned to F-15s.)

C-5 as a civilian L-500. Problem is, for the app where I'm writing the L-500 as having been built, it would need to be camo'ed to look like a military bird... :( (Think "C-5 as airmobile command post", like a bigger but less flashy and non-VTOL version of the SHIELD Globemaster.)

Given that most ARM's are surface-attack only (we'll leave the dedicated AWACS-killers the Russians converted from ALCM's/ASM's out of it), the idea of "eyes in the sky, ammo down below" does make a certain degree of sense, and I have to agree it is one with potential for point- and behind-friendly-lines area-defense. If we could get F-35 to talk to the Patriot system, that'd be a further expansion of capability...

Not funny, Ken--that actually WAS SAGE's doctrine for the F-106s after the missiles ran out, and to Hell with the pilots aboard.

Which comes back to the argument some make that "all you can count on is what's on-board, hence the importance of the un-jammable Visual Gun Pass". Chalk me up as somewhere in the middle... all that support and force-multiplier effect is great when you DO have it, but you also need to design, build, plan and train to account for the fact that the Other Team may have a wild-card to counter it and the warfighter in cockpit may HAVE to go it just himself and his wingmen with no outside help.

"Always cheat, always win. The ONLY 'unfair' fight is the one YOU LOSE." --Clint Smith, retired USMC drill instructor; Director of Thunder Ranch Academy

Aaron, hence my note of a two-stage "AMRAAM-ER" with a booster to extend its reach. B-52 acts as bait to lure 'em in, F-35 calls in the missile strikes unseen. And there are things that could be done to mitigate the StratoPig's RCS... Problem with a trailer is you have to GET it out there undetected...

Or a more passive "Old Dog"...

Missile truck? Heck, why not mod a B-52 or a B-1 to pack a metric buttload of AMRAAMs around waiting for an outward-deployed F-35 to call up a launch? Might mean developing a 2-stage variant akin to Sea Sparrow from AIM-7 and new high-density racks (whoever scrapped the Big Belly racks from Nam should be smacked til their head pops out their arse IMO), but it could work... Oh, BTW, guys, some are gonna find this offensive but some recent courses of events across multiple modeling boards, from multiple sides of various issues, are reminding me of one of my favorite lines from a favorite TV sho

Simple on 4466... in 1/48 you'll need three Hasegawa US Weapons Set E, or in 1/72 Hasegawa Set V.

Thud, can't see the top to tell if it's an A/C or a B/D, but def a Legacy--you can tell by the rounded intakes, Stuporbugs are more squared-off.

Dave, my advice would be to contact Eglin AFB's Public Affairs Office and explain that you'd like to visit the airpark if it's at all possible. They may have some questions, and you may need to agree to an escort if it happens at all--but most PAO's generally want to help as much as they can; when I needed to make similar arrangements at Tinker back in '02 to scratch their B-52 off my checklist I was told "airpark's outside the fence so no special arrangements required, enjoy your visit and if you'd like someone around to answer questions let us know."

Interesting... so, for those of us that like those retro/vintage fonts, what is it, where and how much? :)

Simple logic: kick 'em out after 25 years, you only gotta pay half pension and reduced other benefits. The earlier you can get rid of people, the less you have to pay 'em... makes sense when you think about it from the POV of the merry band of sociopaths in DC.

NICE! Have a source on decals? I have the old Monogram 1/48 movie-commemorative kit, and think the decals may have seen some water damage.

The fact that I was also romantically involved with my editor, and that she and I did not part ways well--she hit me with a "Meet Your Replacement" at Christmastime and I replied with a "Goodbye, Have A Nice Life"--may have helped push me across that line too.