Father of 5 kids, married.

Why not the gau 22/a from the f-35? 25mm, 4 barrel gatling. It will improve economies of scale, simplify supply lines, and will mean one less gun variety in active service. It is much lighter than the avenger, which can result in better frame performance and more payload capacity.

I love the F-16 xl design so much. Wit the later developed engine versions for the F-16 and the developed diverterless intake, it would have remedied most of its capability disadvantages vs. The F-15e. It is always going to be a smaller frame, but that can be an advantage in some ways too.

This eventually became the F-16XL, which used a cranked delta wing and was pitted against the F-15e in the high speed attack role. It lost out due to several factors such as less range, less payload, and vulnerability to ground fire. Later developments would have made it a better plane as there is now a better…

While the Wright 3350 turbocompound was indeed in production, it was very very maintenance intensive. It liked to cook exhaust valves and was hard on the rest of the engine. They were very fuel efficient and power dense when running though. The equivalent non turbocompound engine, the P&W 4360 with about 1/3 more…

I swear, I am SO sick of that stuff! I’m constantly having to change that crap at my buddy’s friend’s garage. I mean, what kind of crap has a service interval of 1000 miles and isn’t disclosed in the manual? I’m so glad that my friend told me about it before I ruined my LED blinkers in my new car. Those things are…

Or, as I have personally witnessed...

In two years, I’ll be looking to replace my daily. This vehicle will definitely be something that I take a look at. Unfortunately, I think it will be above my budget. It ticks every box in my wants for a new car: RWD, 4 doors, sporty looks, long warranty. My problem will be, very specifically, why would I buy this…

Ignoring the politics and getting to the technical, the F-18 Advanced starts from the super hornet, which already has a smaller RCS than the Eagle. The Advanced was just conformal tanks, weapons “canoes” that hid the missiles, and other minor tweaks and updates. It does give a more capable hornet, but it still is no…

Real simple...

It still surprises me that people so easily overlook the cost of shipping and raw materials. One of the largest factors in where a vehicle makes sense to build is the total cost of turning the parts into a finished product at a dealership compared to what a customer is willing to pay for it. That seems obvious on the…

Not really, the demographics of it all point to large concentrations of democrats in major urban centers, but much lower concentrations once you leave the big cities. Look at national maps of congressional districts and the breakdowns on how they voted. Republicans carried a lot of their districts with slim…

Turbo-compound or the win

Yes, there is absolutely a way to do it well. Downsized engine cars are at their least efficient during acceleration from a stop and again from moderate speeds to overtake. This is when they demand the most torque, and when they lean on the boost the most, requiring the richest mixture. You have to eliminate that.

Dad was an aircraft mechanic for the USAF during the Korean conflict. While he was never regularly assigned to SAC units, he worked with other mechanics that had plenty of time with the Convair B-36 Peacemaker (6 X P/W 4360, and 4 jets on later models) as well as having some time working on the B-50 ( basically a…

The comparison between the Typhoon and the Gripen is an astute reference, but it is not truly a like for like scenario. The Gripen is optimized for cost and operations in austere conditions. As such, it has a different layout of Canard and wing as compared to the Typhoon. The Typhoon is unquestionably optimized for…

If we were to be on the offensive against mainland China or a fixed base, this would be a pain for the US operational philosophy to deal with, especially if it works reasonably well. the US military lives and dies by its logistical tail, such as tankers, transport aircraft and also C3 assets. This is designed to go…

Not entirely true. Just as in cars, there is still something called momentum that has to be managed. A smaller, lighter aircraft with the same wing loading numbers as a larger, heavier one still has less momentum to have to manage when turning. The end result is that a lighter craft can be more maneuverable than a…

I’m sure that frontal RCS is quite small while aproaching its target. The design seems focused on being able to get to a launch point that is far from its base, unloading its payload, and then dashing for home. it is long and skinny as compared to other designs.

Maneuverability was a secondary design consideration to be sure. However, as compared to past interceptors and penetration strike fighters, its probably quite a bit better.