The Aviation Thread [Contains Lots of Awesome Pictures]

I don't imagine the FAA would look too kindly on someone flying their aircraft that low lol.
 
And meanwhile in Canada;

 
KaJuN said:
He flew all the way to Australia!!
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And so did Amy Johnson, one of many famous aviatrix featured in a new documentary just shown on the BBC, some of you may be interested in looking out for Spitfire Women

BBC Website said:
During World War Two, a remarkable band of female pilots fought against all odds for the right to aid the war effort. Without these Spitfire Women the war may never have been won.

These trailblazers were part of the Air Transport Auxillary, a thousand-strong organisation that delivered aircraft to the frontline RAF during Britain's darkest hours. Every day, responsibility fell on their shoulders to get the planes to the fighters which often pushed them into dangerous and even deadly situations.

Using interviews with the last few surviving veterans, archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, this documentary brings to life the forgotten story of the ATA. (Wiki Link)

The resilience of these women in the face of open discrimination is one of the most inspiring and overlooked milestones in women's rights. Their story is one of courage, sexism and patriotism, but above all a story about women who want to break the confines of the world they live in and reach for the skies.
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The women veterans give a very interesting portrait of the time, of their work, the equality issues and some of the other famous women of the day who also flew with the ATA, including Jackie Cochrane

She subsequently went on to form the WASP - Women Airforce Service Pilots , a similar organisation in the United States in 1942.

One of the other women interviewed in the documentary, was another American lady called Roberta Levaux now aged around 90, who described what it was like to fly a ?High 8? aerobatic manoeuvre in a Spitfire.

:)
 
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BlaRo in Random Thoughts Thread said:
I was in central London today, and two Spitfires flew by overhead! :drool:

70th anniversary of Battle of Britain. Coolest thing I've seen here yet.
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And on a related note, there is another new 90 minute documentary from the BBC called The Battle of Britain which is worth looking out for, if you like a lot of awesome Spitfire filming.

BBC Website said:
Seventy years on, brothers Colin and Ewan McGregor take viewers through the key moments of the Battle of Britain, when 'the few' of the RAF faced the might of the Nazi Luftwaffe.

As they fly historic planes, meet the veterans, explore the tactics and technology, Colin and Ewan discover the importance of the Battle and the surviving legacy of the 1940's campaign for the modern RAF.
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Ewan McGregor of Star Wars, Trainspotting and Long Way Round fame, has a less well known brother called Colin, who was an RAF combat pilot that flew Tornados in the skies over Iraq. The documentary also has some excellent flying scene clips of the 1969 movie, also called Battle of Britain (IMDB link), woven into the narrative.

:cool:
 
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Bring back the ov10 bronco!
 
The biggest problem that a turboprop-powered combat aircraft suffers has nothing to do with its performance and everything to do with politics (especially in the US). Air forces see these aircraft as decidedly unsexy, and as a tacit admission that the hyper-expensive fighter jet programs they so dearly covet are of rather limited use. As such, they don't want anything to do with these aircraft if they can help it.
 
MrChips said:
The biggest problem that a turboprop-powered combat aircraft suffers has nothing to do with its performance and everything to do with politics (especially in the US). Air forces see these aircraft as decidedly unsexy, and as a tacit admission that the hyper-expensive fighter jet programs they so dearly covet are of rather limited use. As such, they don't want anything to do with these aircraft if they can help it.
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Hence why the USAF needs a budget cut and that money cut goes to the Army or Marines for some sensible TAC air squadrons.
 

Simply cannot get over how cool this thing looks. I can only imagine what it would've felt like seeing one of those up in the air in '85-'90s.
 
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Derek said:

Simply cannot get over how cool this thing looks. I can only imagine what it would've felt like seeing one of those up in the air in '85-'90s.
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It's simple wonderfulness with a pusher prop. :)
 
Shame it underperformed, but good to see it get a second life as a chase plane for Burt Rutan's spaceship development.

tn_Formation2w_1.jpg
 
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