A somewhat timely NYT article, possibly related to our your friend above:
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Man, I love watching the choppers fly over the beach on Tybee Island (GA, outside Savannah). Those guys are champs.
The Anecdote:
Love this shit: In-depth, authoritative breakdowns of military tech old and new. Foxtrot is like Christmas every day. If you ever run low on ideas...maybe the B-29’s gunnery system? For whatever reason, it’s fascinated me for decades, but data is scarce.
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development of the A-12/SR-71 began the year I was born and was flying 4 years later. using slide rules. no other entity could have pulled that project off except Kelly Johnson’s Skunk Works. P&W had access to the IBM 710 to help them, but it still came down to the drudge work of Ben Rich and his small team to develop… Read more
Rule 15 would have saved us all alot of trouble.
As someone who manages engineers at an aerospace company I really appreciate this post. Johnson casts a huge, well deserved shadow, over what we all do. His rules of management still make sense as well. I am a huge fan of small nimble teams over huge enterprises when you need to get something done. Read more
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Tyler, you have got to stop posting articles on Iowa class battleships and P51 Mustangs. I have had a love affair since I was a wee lad back in the 1950s. Anyone who has seen one of the Iowas in person or has heard a broadside knows that these ships project power. The thing that makes me smile is that all 4 of…
Ars Technica has a former-Navy writer that served on the Iowas who has put up some really excellent articles in the last couple months. Foxtrot Alpha should get him on staff :) Read more
Railguns and guided shells are going to bring naval artillery back in a major way. Read more
They way these ships were built, I think an Exocet or Harpoon missile would bounce right off of them. Read more
Wait, are you telling me it would take more than five sailors and a couple of dozen retired seamen to get an Iowa Class BB into action? Next you’ll be saying that they couldn’t get her underway in less than 12 hours. I’ve seen it done in the movies, so it must be true!
Imagine those Eagles Avenger pilots doing the same thing 70 years ago, minus the HUD, plus two other guys whose lives depended on you not blowing it. Helluva legacy to live up to.
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Try watching porn dubbed with Techno, just isn’t the same. I rest my case your Honor! Read more
Every squadron is going to do their own greenie board as they see fit. Generally though, green is an OK (worth 4.0 points), yellow is a Fair (worth 3.0 points), White is a no-count (points waved for extenuating circumstance), Black is a no grade (worth 2.0 points), blue is a bolter (worth 2.5 points) and red would be… Read more
It was the most rewarding time I had in my 21 year Navy Career to control Tomcats on a Aegis Cruiser. VF101, VF11, VF13, VF31, and went through FARP with VF74. The “TORCH” from STAR (Sleeze, Torch, Astro & Rocket) Control, never had so much fun. give me two Turkeys 2-2 and 2 with 18,000lbs or fuel, and we can sanitize… Read more
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In the late 50s, very early 60s, you could buy a Mustang for $10,000. I have thought that if you could go back in time, buy one, magically bring it to today, would you do so?
In that time frame, still-crated in cosmol;ine Packard-Merlins were almost given away. If you blew a piston you’d just install a new engine.
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Bet you’re great at parties Read more
Here’s hoping he names one of the cars Jalopnik. A brown, Volvo diesel, manual Miata wagon with the firepower of an A-10 Warthog and named the Jalopnik. Read more