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?

Because those O2 systems were not designed for the Raptor, so in order to shoehorn them in, you'd need an extensive redesign of both the O2 system and the Raptor's guts in order to make everything work - which translates to months of design work, testing, test-fitting, test flying, approval, retrofitting the entire F-22 fleet... Millions of dollars later, rather than fixing the O2 system that was designed to work in the F-22 in the first place, you've waded into an expensive, time-consuming boondoggle to use a system that may or may not even be capable of being made compatible (one that was d

I grew up with Phantoms from the 924th FG flying overhead in that camo. Nice to see a TX tailcode Phantom done so well!

I love that they seem to have kept a bullet hole or two that the plane earned in its first incarnation...

Eh, pinstripes aren't as big an issue with me as some twerp trying to make his stock Honda look like a Matchbox car.

Pity. It was all kinds of striking and unique. Still...you've got some excellent pics both in subject matter and composition. KursadA - yes, that's the one! Along with two Huey's (a slick and a gunship), a Cobra, a Sabre Dog, and now an F-16.

Fake stick-on "exhaust vents" on the front fenders. Extra points if they're applied crooked and mis-aligned. Here's a link to a pic with ANOTHER pet peeve - cheap stick-on graphics from the auto parts store. http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/2/0/1/5/Picture003.jpg Yeah, pal, you look tough...

...and just so I'm not asking but not giving, here's my only recent Phantom shots that aren't already in this thread - the Phantom on a Stick at Camp Mabry, TX - formerly of the 147th TFW, Texas ANG: Eh...sorry 'bout the tree. Same Phanom, with my kids hiding the pole... And finally, with a bit of Photoshop tossed in.

Ah, man, Scott - lovely shots of the 924th's Phantoms in green/brown camo, and I loved the snuck-in shot of a 67th TRW Photo Phantom. Got any of the 924th Phantoms in the gray camo?

Man I miss Frekazoid...

You mean the Texas Flag tail flashes... Please do dig those photos out. I love those jets. Childhood memories of Phantoms from Bergstrom buzzing the house...