BAM'n'IVM

Aren't helicopters supposed to be named after American Indian tribes or individuals? Even if the name was chosen in a competition (which apparently this one was), that still should've been a requirement.

Pretty sure Quantas airliners don't have IFF and aren't equipped with target radar. First time I read this list it was presented as being from the USAF and "tyre" was spelled "tire".

Dammit, I clicked and I saw something. Freaking internet.

Great looking model - and I went to college with Tito Hetland, that aircraft's pilot! Cool to see a familiar name immortalized in aircraft markings.

Not today, but Monday the 15th...between 5:45 and 6:00pm directly over I-35E in north Dallas (near Royal Lane, a few blocks south of I-635) - five Blackhawks in an echelon formation flying south right down the path of the freeway, low enough that I could make a positive ID in the near-dark. Anyone know what was up with that?

Not today, but yesterday - heard HEAVY rotors, looked up, and saw an Mi-24 Hind fly over in formation with a WWII era fighter or trainer I didn't recognize. Looked like a stretched P-47 with a squared-off rudder. But the Hind had most of my attention - not a common sight in North Texas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eagle The T-50 trainer is South Korean developed, based on the F-16 and developed with assistance from Lockheed Martin. Looks like this fighter variant is what the F-5 was to the T-38. Should be a fairly capable little aircraft for what it's designed to do.

That's one of my hometown Phantoms - BA tailcode was the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Bergstrom AFB. I grew up with those Phantoms overhead. Sad to know they're being converted to drones, but I suppose aluminum cans would be sadder.

...never mind, I just found your other posts.

Nice pics of FiFi - did you get any good shots of the rest of the Cavanaugh collection?

I've wondered for a while - what were the glove vanes for, and why was their use discontinued?

Stark, I like the cut of your jib. And your Google-fu skills.

Here, have a link to an article on the F-22's capabilities. Including a pic of a Raptor dropping a JDAM. http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/f22-raptor-procurement-events-updated-02908/ -edited to fix a typo-

F-22 can carry Small Diameter Bombs - it's had that capability for at least the last couple of years - and possibly other precision bombs. It's why the aircraft was briefly the F/A-22 - an effort to highlight this capability. When the F-117 was retired, it was stated that the F-22 could perform the stealth strike mission while also fighting its way in and out of the target area. Add to this the mission overlap between F-117s and B-2's, plus the acquisition of the F-35, and you have what passes for justification in a Congressional decision.

Because the stealthy strike mission is supposed to be undertaken by the F-35 and to a lesser extent the F-22. The F-15E will continue the precision non-stealthy "bomb truck" mission as it always has. Next question?