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tflash

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Posts posted by tflash

  1. Anyway something is just clearly wrong with the latest patch: Against AI Mig-23's at 20K altitude I have relatively useful detection range when I narrow my sweep, but I loose lock continuously (in whatever mode). The AI Migs can engage me first 100% of the time. They are actually not really manoeuvring as they are AI. 

    It is only when I boresight the radar when the bandits are within 10 NM that I can lock and engage. 

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  2. Anyways after the last patch I have really difficulties to detect head-on Mig-21's and Mig-23's with the Hornet radar. at 20K I can only start to detect them reliably at somewhat more than 10 miles, whether I do RWS, TWS, HI/MED/Interleave, the contact is faint and the lock almost immediately broken. It is only when I am in boresight mode that I can get a stable lock. 

     

    That is a serious degradation over the earlier versions. 

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  3. On the "one design fits all" question: I'm not sure they could have made a navalised version of the F-16. You need to put the bigger gear somewhere, you need strengthened airframe and you need more low-speed controlability hence maybe a bigger wing. So if they would have opted for a one size fits all for 4th gen, it would have been the Hornet. We would have missed out on one of the very best fighters ever! 

    I also think the F-35A has in some aspects a suboptimal design due to the F-35B requirements. It could have been slicker, and cheaper. 

    It' still a magnficent aircraft of course, ,and with the future adaptive cycle engine could really come of age. 

  4. Well, I guess it's official now: https://www.airforcemag.com/usaf-to-cut-f-35-buy-in-future-years-defense-plan/ 

    It's a boondoggle. Good engineering offers capability at an anticipated cost. That's not really the case here. F-35 is for sure a better Harrier and an excellent F-117 - both niche aircraft - but simply too costly to replace the F-16 in substantial numbers. Overhyping "first day of war" in an century of decades-long conflicts is a bit tricky. Don't forget Pearl Harbor was a "first day of war". 

  5. Was really funny, I was practicing some landings at Batumi in IFR with several aircraft, and when I tried to land with the Mig-29G, it bounced like hell and I always crashed. What I found so strange was that I tried to land at about 250 km/h on the HUD (Mi-g-29 landing speed), until I noticed something strange: it indicated a desired landing speed of only 140 ! 

    Now that seemed to work. It is only then that I realizd the Mig-29G displays the HUD speed in knots, not km/h !!!

    A flight in the Mig-29A confirmed everything: here I could easily land at 250 on the HUD! 😄 

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  6. On 4/8/2021 at 12:17 AM, Pilotasso said:

    My take on this, and ignoring all sensationalism on youtube, is that I always felt that there was a fighter gap below the F-35 on the USA and indeed many of European countries, and others in Asia.

    There is a strong demand for a lighter jet that can perform QRA, Intercept, dogfighting and lighter A-G tasks better and cost far less per hour. The Gripen now occupies that slot but it is the only option, and is a bit too light for some requirements, a slighter heavier plane that could be a true F-16 successor is perfectly viable complement type.

     

    If we ever see live images of planes taking off for the first night of a new conflict, those will be the F-35's for countries that can afford them, then F15EX's and then the new light jet as the work horse after advanced threats have been taken out.

     

     

    I agree. It's simple: there will in the end be less F-35's fielded than originally planned, which is not so unusual (I remember this was hotly debated on this forum years ago) , and aircraft will be continued for which the F-35 was claimed to be also a replacement. They are already on the lookout for an A-10C replacement, a SpecOps light aircraft, and as you say a lighter, true F-16 follow-up (such as Gripen E ? ) or something based on the Boeing T7 RedHawk would make a lot of sense. The Navy is already planning a next gen Super Hornet replacement. It is absolutely not clear what the role of the F-35C is in this all, I guess they will also reduce the order. Btritain is rumoured to think about cutting down their F-35B follow-on order also. 

     

    The only reason Belgium, one of the 4 first European F-16 countries, bought the F-35 is because the Dutch already bought them and we work closely together. In reality we will normally never fly First Day of War missions, and we simply cannot afford to fly +35.000 $ / flight hour jets. That will very soon become a major problem once the F-35 gets delivered. 

  7. I think the most positive thing that came out of the F-35 development is that they now know how they would do everything differently! 

    • No more mixing incompatible requirements such as USAF F-16 replacement and Marines V/STOL requirement, once you realize that all doesn't fit in one you understand that one doesn't fit all! 
    • Ditch the concurrent development model that yielded one of the most protracted development cycles in fighter history
    • Rapid Digital prototyping - man 1995 is soooo long ago, another century really ! 
    • Forget the ALIS system outright: a good old mechanic is what you need!
    • Only design a pilot into an aircraft when they are absolutely needed and have added value over drones and networks

     

     

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  8. I cannot manage to hit anything with the CBU's or Rockeye's in the Hornet lately. I do nothing new, but they just don't seem to hit anything even when they explode right on target? 

     

    I only have the problem in the Hornet. In the F-16 it works like a charm, same mission! (So I just replace the Hornet with an F-16 in a simple ME mission, an it takes out most targets in one run, in the Hornet nothing happens, only some dust! ) Mfuze VT, HT 1500, 2 pairs CBU or Rockeye, I tried heights between about 6000 to 8000, no wind. 

     

    I thought it worked before on the Hornet also. 

  9. Absolutely one of my favorite aircraft! It's damn fast, and flies so well! I also have the more complex planes like the Hornet, but the F-5E is for me more fun, it's really about flying dangerously! Nothing better than some low-level CAS evading AAA's for an adrenaline-filled afternoon! And it's a decent dogfighter too!  Not an F-16 but still bonkers! 

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  10. Oh my! What happened to the forum! I really struggle to adjust: I do not clearly see what is new, I find it difficult to read and generally absolutely unattractive. I liked the previous forum very much. I'll adjust over time of course, but damn, what a strange experience!

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