You bring up a few good points. I like the idea that in a democracy the leadership is elected based on what the people want at the time. In today’s political environment we have forgotten that politicians are elected officials that should be at the mercy of the people. Maybe during a full on “Clancy” moment we need a…

I really don’t get what the big fuss is, I’ve seen Foreflight used in the cockpit on iPads on military aircraft. So the Russians are using handheld GPS units for navigation, it’s probably just to increase their situational awareness. I’m sure they have their own GPS system in the aircraft that is just a pain in the…

Well one thing I’ve noticed when it comes to these high profile training events, is we’ll send our best, most experienced personnel to do the job. Sometimes it seems like the military likes to keep all their experience in a small group and relearn all their mistakes when those people leave.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/…

Good ole Cyanide and Happiness

If the Seawolf Class is the F22 of the Navy, does that make the Virginia Class the F35? That can go both ways. Maybe the F35 can someday become the aircraft we need it to be?

I think it’s really interesting to see the bike culture in the US versus Europe. Go to Amsterdam and make the mistake of walking in a bike lane and they won’t hesitate to run your ass over. Bikes dominate streets, and considering the narrow streets and lack of parking in Europe it makes a lot of sense. There seems to…

Upgrading the Stinger should be somewhere high on the list considering the Russian SA-24 is a pretty scary weapon and the Stinger's ability to shoot down a modern fighter is questionable. It'll probably wipe out all kinds of Third Word Air Force aircraft, but against a near peer military it'd probably be a coin toss…

Since we're talking about landing on the lawn, what about this guy?

That makes sense but I think there is more flexibility with a laser. It's the argument of defending the last attack instead of the future attack. The idea of a Mk19 would be great, but in reality what else can it defend against? Maybe sky divers, ultra light aircraft, and small drones? A laser has the flexibility to…

Have you seen the military uniforms lately? The military thinks THAT is camouflage.

Now that they're down and safe I'm sure they'll get all kinds of shit for picking a beach to land on. Playing "backseat pilot" I don't know why they didn't just land it somewhere that maintenance could get in and give them a better chance to get out.

I bet if the CDI (Chicks Dig It) factor was higher they would have kept it flying. There is nothing sexy about prop driven aircraft in a world of stealth, helmet mounted displays, and drones. When it comes to aviation, everyone knows that you need the sexiest looking aircraft out there to win wars, not the aircraft…

I'm all for cost saving. I think the specifications may be more high tech then people think. They're probably thinking cameras throughout the MOUT site, plus the safety systems that are required to make it a live fire house too. Who knows. All valid questions that should be asked to justify the price tag though.

Something to consider is that you can simulate a fire fight at a MOUT site, you can't do that at the WH. Could you imagine the brass, paint, and burn marks left all over the house after a training session? The reason the military uses replicas is because you can get the most realistic training done in a replica.…

They basically did an out of ground effect hover which requires a lot more power to accomplish then one might think, or realize. When a helicopter is hovering it needs to produce its own weight in lift plus more to climb. Fixed wings do that by using forward motion and large wing surfaces. Helicopters have to do it by…

An H60 at T/O can weigh around 18,000. ICAO standards puts it in the Medium turbulence class, the FAA has it in the Small class, but obviously that doesn't translate to "the equivalent of GA traffic in wake turbulence." It's still a medium helicopter with tons of power available. I've heard stories of H60s hover…

If I knew I was flying over the Pacific Ocean I'd probably want a more robust life raft than that taco shell. Could you imagine floating on that thing for more than a couple hours waiting for help to show up?

I was speaking to a couple of guys who ferried a couple of DA-40s from Cali to HI. They were saying it took 14 hours and they had ferry tanks stuffed throughout the cabin area, talk about uncomfortable. The plus side is they at least went as a flight of two, and of course, they didn't have to ditch the aircraft in the…

When I spoke to a dealership rep who called Munich directly, the answer I got was September in Frankfurt. Take that for what it's worth. No clue how true it is.