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Bobby_Batronic

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Posts posted by Bobby_Batronic

  1. 10 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

    When I was in college, I worked for a grading outfit.  We had 1 operable WABCO scraper, and 2 for parts.

    I occasionally drive past March ARB.  Not too long ago, I saw a big fucker take off with the Omega symbol on the tail, which I googled when I got home.  I had no idea that private contractors did refueling missions. 

     

    Airborne refueling is a big need and the tanker fleet is/was getting overtaxed and long in the tooth. Which is why the Boeing tanker kerfluffle has been such a thing, and why I think the Air Force is looking at other options. 
     

    Also, I was corrected about the Starship. Apparently the one owner bought up all remaining airframes and parts them out for two operable planes. 

  2. 1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

    Old but good video giving an idea of just how expansive and old the universe is. Anyone who believes that we are the ONLY sentient life in this universe is delusional and should check into a mental hospital. The valid question is, have we or are we being visited?

    To answer that, just remember that in this universe there are between 100 to 200 BILLION galaxies each with sn average 100 BILLION stars. Many of those 100 to 200 BILLION galaxies are 5-6 BILLION years older than we are. Now imagination the 100s of MILLIONS of civilizations which have BILLIONS of years head start on us. Could just a few of those civilizations have solved space, time, and gravity?

     

    The better question is are any of the ones who may have solved those problems still in existence, and if so are they close enough to us to visit?

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  3. 6 hours ago, davidg said:

    For you guys that like flight tracks, here's a story of what looks to be a joint AF/Navy exercise off the coast of Baja a few days ago that needed a bunch of tanker helping out ...

    https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/mysterious-exercise-off-baja-brought-nellis-afb-uss-nimitz-aircraft-together?fbclid=IwAR20v2yInXZ60Ml2t14djpmy2ShWza7_VJPzh4FsULSpbV7REBTNE_p_1-I

     

     

    SOCAL-Exercise.jpg?auto=webp&optimize=hi

     

    Coming up from Cabo they were pointing out flights of F35’s left and right. Maybe a part of this. 

  4. 5 hours ago, Homercles said:

    I ended up wondering if it was something with NWS but brakes makes sense too.  Can you dispatch with only one FMS?

    Definitely maybe. 
     

    Were they short of ground crews by chance, because that’s still a bit of a thing everywhere?

    We had one issue once where they nav database was dorked up. Basically a waypoint that should have been in New Mexico was showing up over the Pacific Ocean. No amount of re-entering it, abusive language or threats of violence would make it behave up to and including deplaning and powering off the plane for half an hour. 

    It was written up. We have procedures for flying with the expired database. Buuuttt, we are no longer able to defer the current database. Oops. Multiple phone calls with numerous people in mx, safety and a few Chief pilots ended up with a flight cancellation with some histrionics on the side. 
     

    Or another time where mx pinned the correct deferred thrust reverser but entered the wrong one into the computer resulting in a very pissed off plane. That was two hours of trouble shooting, gate return and more trouble shooting before they figured out what was wrong. 
     

    All that to say that I don’t know, but it’s rarely something quick when it’s broken, and sometimes mx and or procedures exacerbate the problem. 

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  5. 8 hours ago, Homercles said:

    For bus drivers:  Yesterday I was supposed to be on AA 346 AUS-PHL.  Flight was delayed like 4 hours due to ‘computer problems’.  Dude next to me was saying he was on the PHL-AUS leg last week and they had same issue.  It was already delayed an hour that morning before I left for the airport, and stayed on the apron a good 45 minutes before even pulling into the open gate. 
     

    What kind of computer issue would take hours to resolve and keep it from pulling into the gate?  
     

    Obviously it could be anything but was wondering if there’s a common thing on A319s.  

    Not enough information to go off of. Some of the computer resets can be pretty lengthy procedures, and if it happens on the ground then policy says we stop the plane, run the ECAM, check the COM for further procedures, then determine if the item is crew deferrable and then call maintenance who might have an alternate reset procedure hidden somewhere in their cave of wonders. 

    No idea what could take four hours. Possibly dispatch computers going down?

    As for not pulling into an open gate maybe issues with the Brake Steering Control Unit?

    Sorry. Just spitballing because I don’t have much to go on.

     

     

     

  6. 5 hours ago, Lat22 said:

    I saw one take off out of Hobby a couple years ago. I think there’s one based at Addison. I always know when a Piaggio is coming into Sugar Land. 

    There was one we used to see in Aspen and a few other places. The owner had two. One operable and the other for parts. 

  7. 4 hours ago, Macanudo said:

    While that sounds good and all, killing Russian civilians, no matter how much they might be complicit in this whole thing, may not have the desired affect on Russian leadership.

    True. Which is why the washers need to have permanent blue or yellow dye secretly added to their innards so Russians’ laundry will be sending them a message in a less lethal form. 

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  8. 1 hour ago, Shoxthemonkey said:

    Maybe I'm not able to see all of the pics but I'm not seeing a Scorpion in any of those. Textron has been flying one over my house, off and on,  for the last couple of years. It's a cool looking plane and sounds unmistakable with it's little engines.

    Are you talking about the ass shot with the lawnchairs folks beside it? I thought that was the backside of the F-35.

    That’s the pic I’m talking about. It has two motors. 35 has a single big one. Pretty sure that’s the Scorpion

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  9. 11 hours ago, Homercles said:

    Read a very long interview with the F35 pilot who created the demo routine.  Believe it was on The Avionationist.  That it can do such sharp box loops and pedal turns without thrust vectoring is impressive.  
     

    That thing gets a bad rap but he makes a lot of good points.  
    * It flies more like an F18 than an F16, in that it likes high alpha…you can point the nose with authority at angles of attack that’d have an F16 out of control = after the merge when energy levels are dropping, you can flip the script from defensive to offensive quite easily

    * The M1.6 limits are with full weapons store…the fabled M2.5 of an Eagle are only attainable in clean, non-combat configurations = never gonna happen in real life

    * It takes a different mindset to be an effective dog fighter and thus you need time in the jet to get comfortable with the sensors, handling, ability to rapidly slow down and power = deadly in the right hands

    * He didn’t think former MiG pilots would ever get fully combat ready in it as the flows, switchology and trust in the flight computers are much more akin to an F16 = allies used to central control in analog jets are going to forever struggle 

    * More internal fuel and modern engine = better combat radius and loiter time

    * The sensor suite and ability to share tons of data in a directional, stealthy manner really is a game changer = it’ll never fully integrate with Gen 4 aircraft as Link16 is omnidirectional and can’t share what they ‘see’ without exposing themselves to the enemy

    * In a combat environment like Ukraine, the F35s would probably dominate, being able to take out air defenses in a hurry and clear the way for more traditional airframes to ground pound = natively excels at Wild Weasel-style missions so you don’t need a dedicated SEAD platform

    Overall the guy has a vested interest in talking up the airframe…but I take more stock in those voices than the ‘OMG it’s slow and a waste of money’ crap from non-aviation news sites.  It’s a long read but if nothing else, I thought his views on legacy RU-airframe pilots transitioning to the F35 was very interesting. 
     

    https://theaviationist.com/2022/04/07/f-35-interview-with-billie-flynn/amp/

    I’ve run into a few guys who teach/train in the F35 and to a man they proclaim it a winner. 
     

    I think the issue with the speed is not so much the lack of it. The Hornet is no speedster by modern standards either. It’s that the planes are limited to very little time above certain Mach numbers or their vertical stabilizers start suffering damage to their radar coatings which can lead to structural issues and sensor loss. 
     

    The block IV mod is supposed to address most remaining concerns is my understanding. You’re right that the 35 doesn’t need to get in a turning fight with a clean (insert competent dog fighter here) but at a war load out it can hold its own. 

  10. 38 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

    Agree with depth concerns on defense -- staying healthy will be a factor in their level of success.  Offense has to be better at time of possession and scoring (especially in the 2nd half of games) for this 2022 Texas team to get to 9-10 wins.  

    This team needs to become more successful and dominant in the 2nd half of games -- really "put their foot on the throat" of their opponents.  Let's beat a lot more teams by 15pts or more !!!

    We don’t have the team to step on the throat of pretty much anyone on the schedule minus maybe ULM. The defense is excessively porous and the offense is inconsistent. They should be better on both accounts this year, but we’re still a year or two away from suffocating anyone in the second half of pretty much any game.

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