F-35 is such a turd.

While a totally accurate sentiment, I should clarify that my statement above is not meant as anti-republican.

 

Spoiler

 

That is beautiful.

At the Air Show in Houston this weekend the undisputed bad ass plane was the MIG 17.
It looked like it was flying twice as fast as the other planes, and the afterburner flame was 100 feet long.

 

Glad to see that the carrier version of the F-35 finally landed and took off from a carrier. It's taken long enough. I think the British, who are spending a bloody fortune building two very good carriers (probably the second best in the world after our big ones, when finished), are crazy to have changed their minds (at least twice) and settled on the ‎STOVL version, the F-35B. While a huge upgrade over the Harriers being replaced (Harriers are used by the Italians on their two small carriers, were used by the British on the now retired Invincible class small carriers used to win the Falklands War, and are probably used elsewhere - the Italians have the ‎F-35B's on order), they have a shorter range, and can carry a smaller weapons load. What makes it stupid, in my opinion, is that all the mind changing ended up costing them what it would have cost to install either the traditional steam powered catapult system, or the new EMALS (electromagnetic aircraft launch system) being put on the Ford class carriers, which are replacing the Nimitz class. The Queen Elizabeth's will end up being less of what they could have been. Fewer sorties per day (EMALS is much faster), more maintenance, smaller effective power projection. They will still be the envy of every country with carriers, excepting the US. And that includes China, which now has one carrier "in operation" (they have a long way to go to have an effective air wing on that carrier, but they are learning).

Yeah, it might seem a bit strange that a liberal Democrat would have a fascination with this stuff, but I grew up in a neighborhood in Southeast Houston where all the homes were built for veterans of WWII, who could afford them because of the GI Bill. My father served for a time during the war on the Saratoga, in the Pacific theater, which is probably the real genesis of my interest. These are amazing creations, incredibly complex, incredibly expensive to operate and protect. They are also a big reason why potential enemies fear us. In this case, fear is good. Fear can help prevent a war, believe it or not. Of course, it can also start them.

 

That thing looks like a spacecraft taking off -- it must be a real honor/ thrill to be chosen to fly one.

 

That is actually a picture of it landing. You can see the tail hook and the arresting cable.

 

^Yeah, you're right -- seems obvious after noticing the plane is at the back of the carrier.

 

Landing is the hard bit. I just posted the picture when I noticed KingLeopard's post. You can see the photographer in this video.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/STVAM85y3i0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

looks like he had a bolter on the first attempt

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/aYFIdpeoFaY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Gonna brag on my cousin, he's been one of the lead test pilots since the inception of the program



If yall have any legit questions, I can pass them along.

 

your cousin is RAF?

 

Lol, no, that's from when he demo'd the UK's first plane in London, '12.

 

I have never seen tan coveralls under a skeletal flight jacket/trousers.

 

Does the F-35B still have the problem of melting faces and carrier decks, or has that been fixed?

 

Imagine all the things we could have done with that 1.35 trillion that we spent on the F-35. I sure hope this thing comes in handy for our dog fights with the Taliban over the skies of Afghanistan!
273 million PELL Grants for college students
101,000 new elementary schools
5.7 Billion monthly Obamacare premium subs
150 million hospital stays

But nah, keep investing in war America, it would be un-American not to. And don't worry about your citizens back home, nobody notices anything with the 90% incumbent rate and over 20% of congressional candidates running unopposed.

 

Or we could, you know, not increase the deficit by not spending that money at all.

Then maybe all those scientists and engineers and hi-tech facilities could be used to build something that actually benefits mankind instead of a completely unneeded super expensive more efficient killing machine.

 

Worked well in Europe

 

You are supposed to give links to articles when you quote them on this forum. Or were you just plagiarizing?

Independent thought much?

 

Paraphrasing from an article is considered plagiarizing here? I wonder what you call the consistent regurgitation of propaganda heard from Fox News that I see posted here on a regular basis. Lots of independent thought displayed.

 

Copypasta isn't paraphrasing. If you want to quote articles, give a link. Site rules.

I would suggest thinking for yourself as well.

 

Try copy and pasting what I posted and find a result that is word for word or atleast 80% what I posted. If you find one, I will be done posting in D&D for the rest of the week. Have a good night, I hope your mother loves you.