Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: Still Thinking

Yea, well since it is called the Ardvark it looses points.


32 posted on 07/29/2016 7:28:52 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies ]


To: ImJustAnotherOkie
I also built the Revell B-58 as a kid. What a great-looking airplane.

Never saw a B-58 fly, but when I was stationed at McCoy an RAF Vulcan bomber flew in for a bombing competition. At the end of the competition it took off from the field and disappeared over the horizon; then it came back and did a victory roll! One of the coolest things I ever saw. (The victory roll was kind of ironic; their crew placed last in the competition, beaten by all the SAC B-52 crews.)

34 posted on 07/29/2016 7:35:20 AM PDT by jumpingcholla34 (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies ]

To: ImJustAnotherOkie

Actually, the F-111 wasn’t named during its service life. Aardvark was a nickname. When it was retired from service in 1996, it was “Offically” named. Additionally, the EF-111A was named “Raven”. They were retired in 1998.


51 posted on 07/29/2016 9:40:50 AM PDT by PJammers (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies ]

To: ImJustAnotherOkie
F111:In the late sixties it was the Edsel...
Aardvark was an upgrade after they figured out how to use it.

F104: Same period, Lockheed was repairing US, German and Japanese Starfighters pretty much full time, IIRC still building new ones as well...
After seeing them with the aluminum skin removed from cockpit area I could not figure out how they could convince anyone to plant his butt atop a boxed beam with a mortar attached, then wrap tinfoil around himself and turn the key to "start".
Starfighter was designed to be a clear-sky, short range, interceptor in a WW2/Korea mold. There were some pretty scary/hilarious films of US attempts at '104 interdiction and USAF was touting it in jungle cammo as late as 1969.

Germany didn't start off too very well either, I think the secret came in system upgrades, better suited ordnance, lack of options, and a lingering Germanic will to outdo the other guy (apparently just as misdirected today as it was in 1930/40s).

Shouldn't take much effort to realize that the more you ask of a system, the more failures will occur, the more complex you design a system, the more failures will occur, and what was cutting edge "then" will be a joke &/or a nightmare "now"...as witness the B-1.
Yesterday's challenges morph into today's ultra expensive boondoggles and, unless 3D printing grows up real fast, it will only get worse.

In my opinion, it'd be better economics to mothball tooling & physical plant (NOT junk one & repurpose the other), pre contract for many replacement components, and even build spare AC, so long as anything remains in service...and stop bemoaning "getting parts from a junk yard", opposed to retooling to build new parts, Arizona's Bone Yard has done it's job quite well over the years.

62 posted on 07/29/2016 1:41:44 PM PDT by norton
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson