The Aviation Thread [Contains Lots of Awesome Pictures]

I went to try a (static) A320 simulator today, had a ton of fun. :D My first ever landing with no previous experience whatsoever, unless you count MSFS 4.0, wasn't even a complete disaster. :lol:
 
This is two kinds of awesome.

* Snip Mystery pic *

Any guesses on who that is?


Wow, I'd never have got that!

Good find!

:cool:

You must buy more War Bonds, before giving gas ration tickets to British_Rover again.

I went to try a (static) A320 simulator today, had a ton of fun. :D My first ever landing with no previous experience whatsoever, unless you count MSFS 4.0, wasn't even a complete disaster. :lol:

Good well done, so not Sullenberger yet, but on your way.

:lol:
 
Good well done, so not Sullenberger yet, but on your way.

:lol:
Funnily enough, the first takeoff and departure we (I was there with another guy) flew were from LGA, exactly as US1549.

Anyway, I think I might have another expensive hobby to add to my collection... ought to win the lottery at some point, although playing it would be, well, another expensive hobby. :unsure:
 
Just got my helmet cam, next drill that we jump I'll be posting footage.

AIRBORNE!

US_Army_Airborne_basic_parachutist_badge.gif
 
None really compare to the Tomcat...

I really miss that bird :(
 
None really compare to the Tomcat...

I really miss that bird :(

I don't. It looked cool but it was a maintenance hog and the Super Hornet is operationally better in just about every way.
 
I don't. It looked cool but it was a maintenance hog and the Super Hornet is operationally better in just about every way.

You've said that before, but operationally, who cares? We miss it for its size, its beauty, and its power.

Would you say the same thing about Concorde versus a 777?
 
Would you say the same thing about Concorde versus a 777?

The Concorde was just better than its contemporaries, full stop. The only reason it retired was because it hadn't been modernized over its lifetime and public perception failure after the Air France crash meant poor passenger numbers. There is absolutely no reason why a company shouldn't make a replacement. It would be a massive success and would transform the air travel landscape. Modern advances in materials and aerospace tech could create a bigger, faster, more efficient plane and wealthy people (which there are plenty of) would buy the crap out of it. Boeing, Lockheed, Airbus, and every other aircraft maker are idiots for not following through on this. I'd bet my career on this (if anyone would give me one, that is).
 
The Concorde was just better than its contemporaries, full stop. The only reason it retired was because it hadn't been modernized over its lifetime and public perception failure after the Air France crash meant poor passenger numbers. There is absolutely no reason why a company shouldn't make a replacement. It would be a massive success and would transform the air travel landscape. Modern advances in materials and aerospace tech could create a bigger, faster, more efficient plane and wealthy people (which there are plenty of) would buy the crap out of it. Boeing, Lockheed, Airbus, and every other aircraft maker are idiots for not following through on this. I'd bet my career on this (if anyone would give me one, that is).

My point was he said the F/A-18E,F,G,HIJKLetc is operationally better than the F-14 in almost every way. I don't disagree with that in the same sense that a 777 is more fuel efficient, can carry more passengers, and does the SAME job Concorde did. Concorde, though was beautiful, had a certain charisma that attracted aviation enthusiasts of all types to her, and was easily the most photogenic airliner ever created. Was it an operational nightmare? Yuuup - it was getting old on age, guzzled gas that wasn't getting any cheaper, and was a maintenance hog. Yet I still long for the roar of those afterburning Olympus engines going over my house as it left Dulles en-route to Paris, London, or whatever its far-away destination was...

We love the airplanes for reasons we can't really explain, despite any "operational" flaws they may have had...
 
Despite its "flaws", the Concorde was a money maker up until the Air France crash. People loved it not just because it was awesome, but because it got you across the Atlantic in half the time of anything else. People who can afford First class or business class would be happy to pay a premium for that, and that's exactly what they did. The lack of a Concorde successor is leaving a massive, and growing, market untapped. The world recession has done nothing to hamper the wealth of the wealthy, sports car sales prove that. If I had the resources, I'd build a new one myself and corner the market while everyone else is too blinded by safe, short term profits to bother with the idea (which leads to whole other rant about how businessmen have ruined the innovation of the aerospace industry).

EDIT: Can you tell I feel strongly about this? :p I think the retiring of the Concorde without a successor was a massive step back for the aviation industry.
 
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